WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
A community meeting Monday at Eastwood Elementary School in Sturgis addressed the impact of a restructuring plan at Sturgis Hospital.
Facilitated by State Rep. Aaron Miller, the meeting drew a few hundred people and featured a question-and-answer session with Rob LaBarge, president and CEO.
Planned changes at the hospital were announced last week and included the closing of obstetric services and the oncology treatment center. Discontinuation of Hospice services also is part of the reorganization, as is a reduction of inpatient medical and surgical services and an adjustment of staffing and structure of the emergency department.
LaBarge said if he could go back and do one thing differently, he would have made the changes months ago. He said administration has been working the past year to find a partner to work with the hospital. It got to a point, LaBarge noted, where the hospital doesn’t have a partner nor the resources to continue.
LaBarge was asked about offers for a partnership with the hospital. He replied that it has had no firm offers to date.
