December 02, 2008 05:05 am Northeast Health System officials may eventually decide to close the North Shore Birth Center in Beverly, due to increasing malpractice insurance costs. But they are at least giving the center's supporters a chance to make a case for keeping it open. Dr. Henry Ramini, interim CEO of the hospital since the abrupt resignation of former CEO Stephen Laverty, and Vice President Chip Payson were to meet this morning with a group of advocates for the center to discuss the reasons for the possible closure. That alone is a vast improvement from Laverty, whose general policy was to ignore requests for meetings, or even information, not only from the general public, but from nurses, doctors and elected officials as well. It is also an improvement from what mother Rebecca Haines heard when she requested a meeting with the hospital trustees. Haines, who launched a Facebook group online to support the center — a group now has more than 500 members, said trustee Chairwoman Nancy Palmer told her that the trustees were very busy and didn't normally meet with community groups. That had been one of the major problems with Northeast under Laverty's leadership — an attitude that members of the community are owed nothing more than the collection of their money for medical services. Yes, Northeast runs Addison Gilbert Hospital and Beverly Hospital as a private corporation, yes the trustees are busy and, of course, they cannot hold regular meetings with community groups. But that has created a longstanding shadow of distrust for the corporation, particularly among the people of Cape Ann. And the corporation regularly seeks public support. Health care is a public trust. And the possible closing of the birth center — while thankfully on hold after its supporters rallied two weeks ago — is a major event that ought to include public input. Indeed, it would be most unfortunate for the birth center to close after nearly 30 years. It was the first freestanding birth center in the Northeast, and remains one of only two in the state. It has been intensely popular as an alternative to a hospital setting for women with low-risk pregnancies. All that said, Haines and other advocates must realize that their desire for the center, while understandable and even laudable, is not going to trump financial reality. If there is a reason the center may close, it is not because hospital leaders or medical staff want it that way, it will be because they cannot afford it. And that will be because too many people look to sue for multiple millions every time there is an unfortunate outcome in a birth. Sometimes a lawsuit is justified, because real malpractice has been committed. But other times, it is a simple tragedy that no doctor or hospital could have fixed. Yet even in those cases, doctors and hospitals (and their insurers) frequently have to spend many thousands of dollars defending themselves. That litigious reality is unlikely to change. So if the center does close, its advocates should realize that Northeast's leaders and staff are not the enemy; the enemy is everybody. Still, the fact that hospital officials and birth center advocates are talking holds out hope for some positive resolution. Let's hope those open lines of community communication — seemingly a one-way street for so long — will remain open from now on.
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