Supervisor says there’s a need for a hospital

By Don Rush

In regards to moving the state to give the go-head for a local hospital, Oxford Township Supervisor Jack Curtis is not going gently into the night. Local officials have urged the state to grant a Certificate of Need – which is necessary to build a hospital in the state – for the past several years.

They have been denied.

This past Friday, Curtis penned a four-page letter, with 70 additional exhibit pages to the Certificate of Need Commission.

“Based on the facts and supporting data contained in this letter, Oxford Township firmly believes there is a dire need for an acute care hospital within its borders, especially in light of the Nov. 20, 2021 tragedy at Oxford High School that left four students dead and seven people injured. We are asking the CON Commission to please re-examine the criteria and methodology it uses to identify such a vital need,” Curtis’ letter started.

Curtis said Oxford and the surrounding communities are a rapidly growing area. He stated while Oxford was once considered a “rural” area, “The community has become a much more suburban place with numerous resident developments, a revitalized downtown district, more than 500 acres of parkland, modern schools and a thriving industrial sector.”

He stated four years ago the state “ . . . agreed that Oxford needed a hospital. In Sept. 2018, the state determined there would be a need for 117 acute hospital beds in the Oxford area by 2021.”

However, he continued, in 2021 the state changed its methodology which meant the beds were not needed as Oxford is still considered a rural area.

His letter laid out reasons why the CON Commission should give the okay for an Oxford hospital to be built. He stated the population in Oxford has grown 40 percent since the 2000 US Census, and over 9 percent since the 2010 Census. Oxford (village and township) has a populationof 22,419. Further, “Currently, there are 183,887 people living within a 10-mile radius of downtown Oxford. The five hospitals closest to Oxford are 16 to 22.4 miles away in communities such as Pontiac, Lapeer and Rochester Hills.”

Calls responded to by the Oxford Fire Department have increased by 43.2 percent over the last 10 years. The call volume went from 1,550 in 2011 to 2,220 in 2021. Of the 2,220 calls last year, 81.6 percent (1,812) were medical calls. Over the last 10 years, the number of calls Orion’s fire department has responded to has increased 102 percent; Brandon Township, 69 percent; Addison Township’s fire department has responded to a 35 percent increase in calls over the past 10 years.

Curtis said last Friday, the CON Commission opened for public comment – and that is why he submitted the 74-page letter.

According to news accounts, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ written public comment period on the standards used when granting a Certificate of Need, necessary to build a hospital ends at 5 p.m., Oct. 21. This public comment period is to receive written testimony on what changes need to be made to the standards. The public can submit their comments by sending an email to MDHHS-ConWebTeam@michigan.gov.