CLEARFIELD – An area resident, Jim Leitzinger, voiced that he is “severely concerned” about the future of the Clearfield Penn Highlands Hospital during Tuesday’s regular commissioners’ meeting.
Prior to the public comment period, Commissioner John A. Sobel explained that Leitzinger had recently approached him and Commissioner Mark B. McCracken about voicing his concerns with the decision by officials at Penn Highlands Healthcare to no longer maintain a traditional intensive care unit (ICU) at Clearfield.
“I believe it was Jim’s comment to Mark and I that ‘no one is talking about it,’” said Sobel. “But I think what he really meant by his comment is that people are talking about it, just not in a public forum with their community leaders.”
Leitzinger said he attended the meeting “for himself” and wasn’t there on behalf of any local business or organization. He said he’s “severely concerned” about the Clearfield campus, especially after Penn Highlands Healthcare officials closed the maternity unit in April of 2014 and announced plans to no longer maintain the traditional ICU earlier this year.
According to him, it was a “great thing” when the Dr. Nathaniel D. Yingling Cancer Center opened six or seven years ago. “Many of the people in this area had to go to Altoona for treatment. It became much easier for them to just go to Clearfield,” he said.
“The day of the grand opening, the pride of the people was so great. Now, it’s my understanding that it’s gone.”
In e-mail correspondence with GANTDaily, Amy Duke, marketing director for Clearfield Penn Highlands Hospital, clarified that the cancer center isn’t closing as part of the restructuring at the hospital. She said, “We offer chemotherapy/medical oncology at the NDYCC. Actually, we added a full-time medical oncologist at the NDYCC this fall, Dr. Maofu Fu.
“…We did discontinue offering radiation therapy at the cancer center in 2013 and consolidated that service at Hahne Regional Cancer Center at Penn Highlands DuBois. Perhaps, that is where the misconception is coming from. Again, the cancer center is not closing.”
Leitzinger also commented that the Clearfield hospital campus was founded by fathers and forefathers and the local businesses that invested millions of dollars to build it. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s now a first aid transfer station. They bring them in, assess them and then ship them out. It’s wrong what is going on. It’s hurting the people of this area,” he said.
He said that the decisions of Penn Highlands Healthcare officials have given area residents no choice but to go to DuBois. He blamed the Clearfield Penn Highlands Hospital’s decline in revenue and in patients on decisions to downsize its available services.
Leitzinger said officials at Penn Highlands Healthcare plan to spend more than $6 million to construct a facility in Philipsburg. However, he wasn’t certain why with many people from that area visiting hospital facilities in Tyrone, State College and Altoona.
Clearfield County, he said, has engaged in efforts to recruit businesses in order to facilitate economic growth. He pointed out that representatives from prospective businesses consider the quality of healthcare available and become discouraged if a community has little to none.
“People aren’t talking about this publicly. I just had to say something,” said Leitzinger. “I cannot just stand aside and let our hospital be taken apart piece by piece. All of these great employees used to work there, and now they are no longer there. It’s really distressful.”
In closing, Leitzinger commented that Penn Highlands Healthcare officials have continued to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on “big ads” in local media about “how great they are” at the Clearfield campus. Leitzinger said this money should instead be spent on offering services at the hospital.
Afterward, Sobel applauded Leitzinger’s courage for speaking up on a very important issue within the community. Sobel said the commissioners have noticed the morale is down and urged officials at Clearfield Penn Highlands Hospital to step up and find a unique service to offer their community.
Both Sobel and McCracken urged officials at Penn Highlands Healthcare to be more “transparent” about their long-term plans for the Clearfield campus. “If they continue to just let balls drop, that’s not acceptable,” said McCracken.