Diana residents speak out on Harrisville Health Center changes
Dec. 1—HARRISVILLE — Passion was apparent on both sides of the debacle surrounding the Harrisville Community Health Center during a special board meeting in the town of Diana on Tuesday night.
Town Supervisor David E. Parow and the board were confronted by the majority of about 70 people who made it out on the snowy night. Sixteen attendees made comments or asked questions about why the Lewis County Health System was informed that its lease on the town-owned building that houses the Health Center would not be renewed and Clifton-Fine Hospital in Star Lake was approached about taking over the clinic.
Most comments surrounded the practitioners involved: the doctor Lewis County Health System put in place at the clinic in 2019, and the physician assistant who was removed before him and now works at Clifton-Fine.
The PA, Brittani L. Bickel, is a resident of Harrisville and her removal in 2019 prompted a similar packed meeting at the time. The supervisor admitted he is one of her patients.
The vast majority of the comments were in support of keeping the current doctor in place, although there were a smattering of supporters who hope to have the PA reinstated if Clifton-Fine takes over the clinic.
Clifton-Fine Chief Executive Officer Dierdra D. Sorrell attended the meeting to speak about the hospital's services and answer questions.
She said there would likely be a mixed team of mid-level providers like nurse practitioners and PAs working at the clinic but that there likely wouldn't be a doctor.
"At this point I don't envision one provider ... I see an opportunity of having a couple of providers and one day open for walk-ins." Ms. Sorrell said.
She also acknowledged that it is challenging to recruit doctors and rural health care providers and that she is glad that either way the community will have quality health care.
Accusations flew at the board for the sudden and secretive nature of the decision to end the relationship with Lewis County Health, while others countered with the fact that Lewis County Health had removed the PA without much notice, too, so it was justified.
Mr. Parow drew fire for saying one "driving force" for ending the relationship with Lewis County Health was because he found it suspicious that the facility brought in some of its own staff to estimate the work on the building needed to bring the air heating, cooling and circulation system up to an acceptable level and wanted to pay for it all or in part.
Many said they thought he should have used it as an opportunity to negotiate, not break ties.
Ultimately, after an executive session with legal counsel from Town Attorney James A. Burrows, it was announced that because the work on the building would have to be done no matter what hospital runs the clinic, an engineering company would be hired to assess the work and costs.
Simultaneously, the board agreed to create a request for proposals from all area health systems and hospitals before determining who the next tenant will be.
Community members in attendance emphasized they want to be present when the proposals are discussed, and the board confirmed it will be done in a public meeting.
