Your opinion

Grafton hospital would increase costs

Milwaukee Business Journal, August 10, 2007

A new hospital in Grafton (as proposed by Aurora Health Care) would lead to an unnecessary duplication of services and higher health care costs.

Ozaukee County is far from underserved. There is clearly no need for an additional hospital, especially one located five miles from the existing Columbia St. Marys Hospital Ozaukee in Mequon.

Our Ozaukee facility, which opened in 1994, is a state-of-the-art, full-service hospital designed to meet the needs of the community well into the future. We have served Ozaukee County and the surrounding communities since 1940.

As our community struggles to control unacceptably high health care costs, it is troubling to see millions of dollars spent on building an unneeded hospital in an affluent area that is already being fully served.

Health economists agree that creating excess hospital capacity always increases the cost of care. We think community health systems should contribute to the solution, not exacerbate the problem.

The population of Ozaukee County is 86,000 and is growing at less than 1 percent per year. Graftons population is 13,000 and growing at less than 2 percent a year.

When Columbia St. Marys opens its new bed tower at the end of September, the system will have 176 beds, more than enough to serve the entire current population. In addition, 64 patient rooms are being shelled and will become available when the need warrants. We have a track record of responsible growth in the communities we serve.

We provide a comprehensive range of services with unquestioned high quality and superb customer service at some of the lowest costs in the region. That will continue to be our first priority.

Leo Brideau is president and chief executive officer of Columbia St. Marys Inc. health system, Milwaukee