technically, a stroke and heart attack hospital. Vice Mayor L. Martin stated over
the last few years he held conversations with FMC on the matter, as did
Commissioner Dunn in some one-on-one discussions to ensure FMC would be
around to be Lauderhill’s go-to medical facility. Over the last few months, City
administration received information that hospitals were downsizing; and two or
three weeks prior, the City learned that Steward Health Care System, the parent
company for Broward hospitals, was filing for bankruptcy, and they planned to
sell all the hospitals they owned in the State of Florida.
He said City
representatives tasked themselves with contacting the head of Broward Health,
Shane Strum, to discuss what was being planned; at present, when Lauderhill
rescue picked up a patient suffering from some trauma, if they could not go to
FMC, they had to drive the patient to Broward Health located in downtown Fort
Lauderdale, or north to hospitals in either Tamarac or North Lauderdale.
This
meant Lauderhill’s fire rescue trucks and staff spent more time out of the City,
reducing their availability to respond to other emergencies. He said the City and
its representatives sought to raise the level of awareness of this situation as
high as possible; Mr. Strum affirmed he was aware of what was transpiring with
Steward, as well as the City of Lauderhill’s concerns; Mr. Strum told them his
team and he were holding following-up discussions with FMC about the
potential of Broward Health holding some interest in FMC. Vice Mayor L. Martin
explained the subject resolution was to communicate the City’s strength and
position, and he hoped surrounding cities, such as Lauderdale Lakes,
Plantation, and Sunrise would join in the effort, as they, too, were affected by
what was unfolding.
If central Broward became a hospital desert, it would
impact cities’ resources with regard to emergency staff, and equipment,
including how the life span of emergency vehicles were normally calculated and
rated, thus affecting how taxpayers’ dollars were spent. He urged residents to
take notice, and participate to make their voices and concerns be included in
the City’s efforts to ensure proper healthcare was available to all its residents.
Lauderhill and surrounding cities continued to develop, and grow, attracting
more residents, businesses, services, etc., yet no one was speaking about the
availability of healthcare. Many of the City’s residents checked all the boxes for
stroke, heart attack, and other chronic, life-threatening conditions, so the
availability of health care facilities closer to Lauderhill was essential.
He
encouraged residents to speak to anyone they knew in the healthcare field, and
voice their concerns to them, so they, too, could become involved in the effort;
though there were numerous small health centers around the City and when it
came to major trauma, access to a hospital was vital.
Mayor Thurston opened the discussion to the public.
Ms. Greaves thanked Vice Mayor L. Martin for his detailed explanation, as she
was unaware of what was transpiring; she would definitely stay abreast of what
was going on, and she would speak with individuals she knew in the healthcare
industry, in order to add her voice, and, hopefully, theirs.
Sam Wilkerson, Lauderhill resident, asked about the feedback and positions
voiced by elected officials in surrounding cities on the matter.
Vice Mayor L. Martin indicated city staff and he contacted Plantation,
accumulating data on the number of transports that would have gone to
Plantation Hospital had it been open, but now they had to go further. Based on
the information they received from Plantation and other cities, including
Lauderhill, almost 1,000 trips were made by each city over the course of a year
