Business groups react to Aurora plans

Waukesha Freeman, August 17, 2006

By ERIK BROOKS
Freeman Staff

TOWN OF SUMMIT Business leaders said they will watch Aurora Health Cares Pabst Farms building plans closely.

But one vocal critic of Auroras previous plans to build in western Waukesha County doubts there is much that can be done to stop construction of a new hospital on 43.5 acres southeast of Interstate 94 and Highway 67.

We are going to share this with our membership, said Bill Nantell, co-chairman of Concerned Businesses for Responsible Health Care, an organization that promotes membership of more than 100 business opposed to the Aurora hospital. But were pretty concerned that there probably isnt much we can do about it.

Still, Nantell added, Its too soon to say that we are prepared to throw our hands up.

Nantell is a board member of Waukesha Memorial Hospital. It and Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital are ProHealth Care facilities. ProHealth, an Aurora competitor, also has been a vocal critic of Auroras plans but has declined comment this week on the settlement.
Nantell said he was very disappointed in the settlement announced Tuesday between the town, Oconomowoc, Aurora and Pabst Farms that cleared the way for construction of the new hospital, especially after the Waukesha County board overwhelmingly voted last year to block its construction.

If the political process allows for a backdoor way for one municipality in Waukesha County to decide to approve what the entire county board decided not to approve, that is unfortunate, Nantell said.

Dianne Kiehl, executive director of the Business Health Care Group of Southeast Wisconsin, a coalition of companies across the region fighting for lower health care costs, also raised concerns with the hospital project.

Obviously, we will be concerned about what impact it might have on pricing, she said. It is additional infrastructure, which is something we have not been supportive of in the past. We still believe that excess infrastructure is costly.

Kiehl said her organization is going to hold Aurora accountable to its pledges that the new hospital will set prices in line with its competition.
There will now be competition in that marketplace that didnt previously exist, Kiehl said. Will that offset the negative part of it? The future will tell us that.

Aurora has said its hospital will provide better quality of care, service and innovation, bringing about competition that should work to at least act as a check on the growth of costs, spokesman Jeff Squire said.
Squire said Aurora rejects the whole notion that health care costs will increase solely because a second hospital is being built in western Waukesha County.

Prices will be competitive in the marketplace, Squire said. Its nothing we wouldnt do in any community, simply to be competitive.