Mayor in talks with Clinic over birthing unit closure
Dennis Hanwell suggests hospital create neonatal intensive care unit here
Dennis Hanwell
MEDINA – From the mayor’s perspective, although the number of babies delivered at Medina Hospital is declining, the volume could increase if Cleveland Clinic continued to invest in its facilities here.
Upon hearing the news that Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital would be closing its birthing unit July 1, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell reached out to Medina Hospital President Dr. Thomas Tulisiak to express his concern with the decision made in downtown Cleveland.
“It’s my hope they give it some due consideration or get together with us and talk about it,” Hanwell said.
The Clinic announced March 16 it would close Medina Hospital’s birthing unit, citing around 65 percent of local expectant mothers choose to deliver outside of Medina County anyway. The move also comes as an effort to centralize deliveries at Clinic hospitals with neonatal intensive care units like Fairview (26 miles away), Akron General (21 miles away) and Hillcrest (40 miles away in Mayfield Heights).
The announcement has led to some public outcry on social media and local news organizations’ websites. Online petitions have started to circulate in attempts to convince the Clinic to keep the birthing unit at Medina, currently the only location to deliver in Medina County.
“The Clinic has made a great amount of investment in its Medina facility, so I don’t want to seem unappreciative ... over $80 million. That’s substantial,” Hanwell said of the Clinic since it merged with the then-independent Medina General Hospital in 2009. “What I’ve asked is whether or not they’ve done an analysis, from our (city’s) perspective, what would be the result of having a neonatal intensive care unit here? Would it draw people in from surrounding areas?”
The mayor – whose two children and granddaughter were delivered at Medina Hospital – said Tulisiak would “share those thoughts with the decision makers up in Cleveland.”
Stressing his gratitude, Hanwell acknowledged the Clinic is currently planning a $5.8 million expansion of Medina Hospital’s emergency room and a $1.3 million renovation of its intensive care unit. The volume of surgeries performed at Medina Hospital are up and oncology services have expanded significantly in recent years.
The mayor said the city is “doing what we can to discuss it with the hospital” when it comes to including a neonatal intensive care unit at Medina Hospital.
“Not only another job promoter here, but better services, more births and more opportunities. It’s an economic boost,” Hanwell said. “It seems to me from the outside looking in, we’re losing this volume, but we could we increase the volume?”
Hanwell said he will continue to express his concerns to Tulisiak, but understands “the city can’t compel (Cleveland Clinic) to do something they think is against their best business interest.”
“We’re doing our best to try and work through this. My hope and prayer would be to keep the birthing unit here,” Hanwell said. “With or without the NIC unit, obviously, that’s a hospital decision.”
Hanwell said he asked Tulisiak about potential emergency births, where a delivery is impending and whether Medina Hospital could handle that onsite beyond July 1.
“Staff there could still handle that. Dr. Tulisiak said that would be the case,” Hanwell said. “Once the baby and mother are stable, they would then be transferred to one of the other hospitals. I asked, ‘but wouldn’t that tie up LST (paramedics)?’ The doctor said they don’t use LST for that type of transport.”
Hanwell said he hopes to meet in person with Tulisiak soon.
Upon hearing the news that Cleveland Clinic Medina Hospital would be closing its birthing unit July 1, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell reached out to Medina Hospital President Dr. Thomas Tulisiak to express his concern with the decision made in downtown Cleveland.
“It’s my hope they give it some due consideration or get together with us and talk about it,” Hanwell said.
The Clinic announced March 16 it would close Medina Hospital’s birthing unit, citing around 65 percent of local expectant mothers choose to deliver outside of Medina County anyway. The move also comes as an effort to centralize deliveries at Clinic hospitals with neonatal intensive care units like Fairview (26 miles away), Akron General (21 miles away) and Hillcrest (40 miles away in Mayfield Heights).
The announcement has led to some public outcry on social media and local news organizations’ websites. Online petitions have started to circulate in attempts to convince the Clinic to keep the birthing unit at Medina, currently the only location to deliver in Medina County.
“The Clinic has made a great amount of investment in its Medina facility, so I don’t want to seem unappreciative ... over $80 million. That’s substantial,” Hanwell said of the Clinic since it merged with the then-independent Medina General Hospital in 2009. “What I’ve asked is whether or not they’ve done an analysis, from our (city’s) perspective, what would be the result of having a neonatal intensive care unit here? Would it draw people in from surrounding areas?”
The mayor – whose two children and granddaughter were delivered at Medina Hospital – said Tulisiak would “share those thoughts with the decision makers up in Cleveland.”
Stressing his gratitude, Hanwell acknowledged the Clinic is currently planning a $5.8 million expansion of Medina Hospital’s emergency room and a $1.3 million renovation of its intensive care unit. The volume of surgeries performed at Medina Hospital are up and oncology services have expanded significantly in recent years.
The mayor said the city is “doing what we can to discuss it with the hospital” when it comes to including a neonatal intensive care unit at Medina Hospital.
“Not only another job promoter here, but better services, more births and more opportunities. It’s an economic boost,” Hanwell said. “It seems to me from the outside looking in, we’re losing this volume, but we could we increase the volume?”
Hanwell said he will continue to express his concerns to Tulisiak, but understands “the city can’t compel (Cleveland Clinic) to do something they think is against their best business interest.”
“We’re doing our best to try and work through this. My hope and prayer would be to keep the birthing unit here,” Hanwell said. “With or without the NIC unit, obviously, that’s a hospital decision.”
Hanwell said he asked Tulisiak about potential emergency births, where a delivery is impending and whether Medina Hospital could handle that onsite beyond July 1.
“Staff there could still handle that. Dr. Tulisiak said that would be the case,” Hanwell said. “Once the baby and mother are stable, they would then be transferred to one of the other hospitals. I asked, ‘but wouldn’t that tie up LST (paramedics)?’ The doctor said they don’t use LST for that type of transport.”
Hanwell said he hopes to meet in person with Tulisiak soon.