Centennial congratulations to Sharon Hospital

One hundred years is a long time. For a small, rural hospital, it’s a very long time to have continuously served the communities around it. Sharon Hospital last week held the first of its public commemorations for its 100-year anniversary, gathering more than 700 area residents for an evening barbecue. Physicians and others who work at the hospital grilled and served picnickers, an outgrowth of what they do in so many ways every day for those in need of their medical services.

The celebration included food, music, speeches and the gathering of historical artifacts for a time capsule from many who have been served by the hospital over the years, including this newspaper. The Lakeville Journal, which has published since 1897, has reflected the entire history of Sharon Hospital (and, of course, the area in general) in its pages over these long years, and Editor Cynthia Hochswender gathered articles and photos for the time capsule.

The hospital is such an important part of what keeps the population of the Tri-state region’s communities not only healthy, but simply able to live here and raise their families here. From prenatal care to the birth of a child, through childhood and adulthood, and into the senior years, the care available at a local hospital makes a huge difference in the quality of life for those who live in any region. And, in addition, Sharon Hospital helps the numerous boarding schools in its neighboring towns be more able to assuage parents’ concerns on the proximity of medical care for their children while they attend these schools.

There are many areas of the country, both urban and rural, that have in recent years lost hospitals to the vagaries of dipping local economies and the changes in health care services and their reimbursement. This region is fortunate to have Sharon Hospital still available as a resource for health care services. A lengthy series of steps was taken leading up to the conversion of the hospital from a not-for-profit to a for-profit facility when Essent Healthcare purchased it in 2002. Essent has kept its promises to improve the plant and the services at the hospital, and most importantly, kept it viable and here to serve its communities.

Those families who have lived in the area for generations have experienced many of the most important, joyful and also traumatic moments of their family histories at Sharon Hospital. And for newcomers, the fact that there is a hospital here probably had a substantial part in their decision to move to the region. Without access to health care services, this rural area would surely suffer and diminish in its size and scope. Having a hospital available in a region as isolated as this one makes a great difference in its ability to attract both tourism and new population.

This is a time when health care is in transition, with changes occurring at the state and federal levels of government in order to improve the country’s health care delivery system. The Connecticut state Legislature has succeeded in overriding Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s veto of the SustiNet program, while Massachusetts has been implementing a state plan which says all of its residents must have health insurance. And, if Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is successful in his goal of passing the federal legislation first championed by his friend and mentor, Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, things will change, we fervently hope for the better.

But no matter how the health care system changes, and it has changed in many ways over the 100 years of the life of Sharon Hospital, it’s good to know that the Tri-state region continues to have a local hospital available for its residents. Sharon Hospital enters its second century in difficult economic times, when every hospital in the state faces challenges on the financial side while also constantly trying to improve services.

It is clear, though, that Sharon Hospital has an ongoing commitment to be here to strengthen and serve all in the area it serves.