Debate Heats Up Over Yale-New Haven's Plan to Open Medical Center in North Haven

As Americans look to August 2 as the federal debt ceiling deadline, North Haven residents look to August 3 as the deadline set by the CT Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) to receive public testimony on Yale-New Haven Hospital’s plan to build a medical center on Devine Street.

So far, public hearings have been held in Hartford and North Haven, and Yale-New Haven has filed a certificate of need with OHCA. OHCA now has sixty days to review testimony before it issues a decision on the matter. As it stands, Yale-New Haven will learn if it will be able to proceed with the project on October 3.

In the meantime, a standoff between North Haven and Meriden has developed over the project, with First Selectman Michael Freda supporting the project, and Michael Rohde, Meriden’s mayor, expressing opposition.

“Yale-New Haven’s plan with us here in North Haven is designed to provide outstanding health care service to North Haven," said Freda. "It creates options for patient care and the more options we have creates a better environment that may just help reduce the cost of health care over the course of time. We presented all factual testimony as to why we need the medical center here and we’re hoping the state will allow Yale to move forward with the project.”

Rohde’s opposition, meanwhile, is based on his support for Meriden’s own MidState Hospital.

“I’ve been involved with MidState since day one when the new MidState Health Center was built over 10 years ago,” Rohde said. “We’re very proud of it and there have been four renovations to improve emergency room capacity. There was overcrowding so we added emergency room beds to address that situation.”

Rohde added, “Our area of service is 25 miles, which includes North Haven, so the Yale center has the negative effect of pulling emergency service away from Meriden, which results in lost jobs and revenue.”

Freda rejects that position, stating, “The argument that the facility would hurt the economic health of Meriden is purely speculation and is irrelevant to us in North Haven because the vast majority of people in North Haven use either Yale-New Haven, Yale-New Haven in Guilford or St. Raphael’s in New Haven for their health care emergency needs. Yale New Haven has also provided the statistical analysis to demonstrate why a facility here is needed.”

Regarding the Yale research, Vincent Petrini, Yale-New Haven’s senior vice president of public affairs, said, “Close to 14,000 patients a year from North Haven use Yale-New Haven’s emergency service now, so there’s a significant need for the facility.”

Rohde contended, however, than an additional emergency care facility in North Haven is not needed because Yale-New Haven is adding emergency room service to its New Haven hospital. Additionally, he noted, primary and preventive care options are less expensive options for most patients.

“The point is, how many emergency beds are needed?" Rodhe asked. "We’ll be over-bedded."

But Freda shot back, “The contention that a Yale-New Haven facility in North Haven would create a glut of emergency department capacity is not the case. In North Haven, we have people who were stuck in ambulances, stuck in significant traffic with emergency situations that would never occur again if we had this facility. North Haven’s population is aging, we have a great need for this facility here and people want quality options for their emergency care.”

Finally, Rohde said MidState Medical Center is “our largest employer that has made a huge investment in our services and is in good financial standing. Anything that undermines that I would be opposed to.”

But Freda takes issue with that point as well: “If the roles were reversed, I would never oppose another town’s initiatives. This opposition tells me there are those who do not care about the citizens and families of North Haven.”

OHCA, meanwhile, remains mum about its decision.

“It’s a pending matter, the department can’t comment on it,” said Bill Gerrish, a spokesman for the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

But you as a citizen can still get involved in the discussion. Send your comments before August 2 to Kimberly Martone, Director of Operations, Office of Health Care Access, P.O. Box 340308, Hartford, CT 06134.