May the lord be on your side ed.....Your in my prayers I know how it is [sniper]

Well with over 2000 emply. at this facility that means you are in a large enough market that there is another facility.

Better to remove the cancer than kill the who town.

Your hospital was not competing or a leader in your town so all it was done was sucking business away from the more succesfull facilities.

Each hospital in your town was probably running 50% bed use. Now one facility can concentrate on being the best rather than concentrating on fighting for ever dollar in town.

I started in the medical service business in 83 just about the time DRGs came in and reduced governemt payments.

Before this the government.org felt that every town no matter how rural deservice the best in medical equipment not matter how often it got used or how non cost effective it was.

Only the best/most efficient places survive now.

If you are not an industry leader you gonna get clobbered and go the way of the DoDo bird.

Times changed and your facility did not change fast enough and got passed on by.

I have done service in many towns where one hospital battled the other untill one survived and one died.

I currently live in a town where either hospital can handle the patient load for the entire area. Each has control of half the area clinics.  Every time one opens a clinic in a town of 1000 people the other does the same.

Total duplication of equipment and services is not gonna last for ever.

Good luck Ed!  We would welcome you in Texas.  

Also, in response to David Hineline: I agree with your observation except...

Providing the "best care" (most appropriate) is not enough and does not give you any assurance of survival.  It is about money; the most efficient hospital/providers will usually come out on top.  Money drives the system and care is a close second.  Ironically, without competition, there really is not much incentive to "be the best you can be".    

Gee Mr. Gecco, greed is good.