My name is Ron Altbach, and I am the son of one of the founders of the Inter-Community Memorial Hospital in Newfane.

When I learned several weeks ago that the Newfane hospital, now part of the ENH system along with the Lockport facility, had received the worst possible rating a New York state hospital can be given with respect to safety and that the hospital was likely to be closed or dismantled and transformed into a treatment center, I contacted two of the members of the Board of Directors of ENH to try to get some of the details.

The hospital in Newfane, founded by my dad along with Dr. Carmer, Dr. Argue and other leaders from the surrounding communities, has provided exemplary health care and security for people of the communities for nearly sixty years. For all those years, the hospital was there for a baby on the way, a broken limb on the football field or, most importantly, in the case of a life or death emergency. This news about the failing grade and the failing hospital is not just shocking, it’s unacceptable.

For the readers who did not have the opportunity to tune into WLVL last week, Tim Schmitt asked Dan Dy, whose father was one of the early doctors establishing the Newfane hospital, and me if we were frustrated by the news about ENH and the events surrounding recent meetings between the Board of Directors and local Elected Officials. The answer is yes, of course I’m frustrated, particularly by what the elected officials perceive as a lack of free flowing, accurate information.

For example, although the committee of elected officials was shown a presentation prepared by a consultant in a meeting 10 days ago, during this meeting the consultant stated clearly that his presentation was based solely on the data given to him by ENH administration. Further, the elected officials requested a copy of the presentation in order to, hopefully, decipher and share with other health care experts and the community. That request was denied immediately, and then again over the following week when the request was re-submitted. The elected officials were told they could not have a copy because the information was complex and not intended for general distribution.

My professional background has allowed me to both sit on boards, and serve as a CEO reporting to boards. Although I have not had personal contact with the CEO of the ENH, I have throughout my career observed crisis management issues in several companies, and one common symptom of companies in crisis is the lack of information being given out. CEOs in crises almost always get lost in the details and the data that supports their then current strategy. I admit to having made this mistake personally, a mistake that eventually cost many jobs.

Burdened with the stress involved in trying to keep the doors of a business open, CEOs frequently are selective with respect to sharing available information. CEOs in this position often think they can “save the day” and some, certainly not all, believe that their board of directors can provide all advice necessary.

In a crisis management situation such as exists with respect to ENH, I can only hope that the CEO and the Board are accessing all possible and available expertise and assessing all possible options, including bringing in outside expertise from either a truly independent crisis management firm with small town hospital experience or, preferably, expertise from one of the area’s large healthcare groups like the Catholic Health systems.

Our elected officials rightly feel their responsibility is to fully participate and to bring all their combined resources to bear in order to help keep these facilities open. They should have all pertinent information available to them in order to make informed decisions for the benefit of their respective communities. And yet, case in point- the locally Elected Officials weren’t allowed to leave the meeting with a copy of the presentation provided by the “independent consultant.”

The elected officials, including Senator Maziarz, and Mayor McCaffrey, have publically requested that ENH enter into discussions with the Catholic Health System and the Kaleida Health system to explore all possible options. I have been told that Catholic Health in particular has successfully provided support to other small hospitals around the Niagara Frontier, most recently Mount Saint Mary’s.

I also think it’s crucial to have a community representative in all meetings, including all meetings with Kaleida or the Catholic Health group.

The legacy of the board members will depend on the difficult decisions facing them in the coming weeks. I would, by the way, gladly offer my time and experience to serve on the board if invited although I do live in NYC, so it might be more practical to add one or two people from the area who have had crisis management experience.

Finally to the ENH Board members, I know you are trying to do the right thing and not leave any stone unturned when considering the future of Newfane hospital and the entire ENH system. Because this is personal to me, I would like to make a personal request to the board: please do what YOU would want ME to do if I was on the board determining the fate of a hospital that your father founded!

Ron Altbach is a New York City resident.

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