This is an open letter to
Dr. Robert Lambert,
CEO Arnot Health
600 Ivy Street
Suite 102
Elmira, N.Y. 14905
Recently I learned that Arnot Health will be closing its medical facility in Canton and that it has pre-emptively terminated its contract with Dr. John Kirkowski, effectively shutting down his practice and his ability to see patients.
Before I write about your decision to abandon medical services in Canton, I would like you to know some things we value in our community.
We are a proud and hard working community and we measure our wealth in the bonds we form rather than the dollars we save.
The people of the Canton area are loyal to those who demonstrate compassion, empathy for afflictions, and care for neighbors in need. This attitude of community may seem old fashioned in an urban world, but we have learned the value of good neighbors who help others in time of need.
Loyalty is the staple fabric of our community. Business is often done with a handshake and a man's word is considered his bond. If in this day, that is considered an outmoded idea, then the idea of trust is an endangered ethic. I offer this background so that you may recognize how we value our relationships.
When it is perceived by our community that the value of the bottom line of profits takes precedence over quality, affordable, and locally available health care, you have lost the high ground of the primary concerns of medical care.
The evident lack of foresight in closing the Canton regional facility and the callousness in affording little more than 30 days notice tells our residents that Arnot has abandoned them and that we are expendable. If your decision is to prevail, the immediate task of finding a new doctor will be difficult, burdensome, and unwelcome.
Dr. John Kirkowski is a revered figure not only in Canton but throughout the region. Dr. John has been our family doctor for over 40 years. Long before the term "24/7" was coined, he exemplified that dedication by always putting patient needs first. He has formed a dedicated office staff who genuinely care about the people that they serve. They too will have to seek other employment. Dr. Kirkowski came to us as a city doctor and became one of us. He could have earned a much larger income had he stayed or relocated to a metropolitan area, but his concerns were for quality of life, available quality care, and for growing the medical infrastructure to meet the needs of an expanding population. You have terminated our beloved doctor without the courtesy of an adequate transition period. You see, we love our Doctor and a slight against him is viewed as a slight against us all.
If you value your reputation here in Canton, I urge you to reconsider this decision. If you are determined to close this facility, then at least give us a fair period of time so that we can find another medical option. Three months, six months or until year's end would demonstrate to us that we aren't just numbers to be crunched in some accounting room.
Lastly, I find it sad that a medical establishment becomes another bottom line business. I am old enough to recall doctor house calls and small town hospitals. While I surely understand the need for financial management, I wish that patients were seen less as monetary units to be given limited time in a quest for profit or that consolidation of facilities takes primacy over patient needs. Your decision is a "big" business retrenchment model that has been used (to their discredit) in "downsizing". Frankly, we had come to expect better from an establishment purported to put people first.
Steve and Susan Sliwinski
Granville Summit