What happens when hospitals merge.

In the middle 1980's I was involved with the merging of St. Paul hospitals that resulted in the  closing of five smaller community hospital in the forming of the new hospital 'corporation' called Health East. Although this may be considered as a 'normal' evolution in the business of health care, it is not without great  affect on the lives of all of the staff, particularly middle management and staff. It also has has an impact on the community as patients find their favorite hospital closing.

Now as I spend two days in Tucson's Heart Hospital I am feeling the sense of loss to the staff and my friend, the patient, because of the planned moving of the Heart Hospital to St. Mary's Hospital since it has merged with the Carondelet Health Network. Although administrators and doctors would like to present a positive picture through the media to the community the sense of loss is felt from the dining room to the waiting room to the nursing stations. Good Luck to all involved. In time it will level out. It did in St. Paul.