Letters to the Editor - The Lakeville Journal - 11-24-22

Trust in Sharon Hospital’s transformational plan

I am a mother, grandmother, nurse, and proud member of the Sharon Hospital family. I write today to share my confidence in Sharon Hospital’s leaders and support the tough decision to close its Labor and Delivery unit to preserve the hospital as a truly vital resource for our community.

My journey at Sharon Hospital began over 20 years ago when I joined the team as a unit coordinator in the surgical department. As a single mother, I was able to grow my family because of the resources provided by the hospital. I was also able to grow in my career – the hospital provided me with the opportunity to attend nursing school, helping me fulfill a lifetime goal that I would not have been able to afford on my own.

Outside of my work, Sharon Hospital is where my entire family receives our care. Before my father passed away at age 90, he would only receive care at Sharon Hospital because he knew it was where he would be met with the most compassionate, skilled caregivers. Sharon Hospital is a truly special place, filled with talented and caring people, including its leadership team.

Every member of Sharon Hospital’s leadership team started their career at the bedside, giving them a deep commitment to patient care that is at the heart of everything they do. It has been truly meaningful to watch as they’ve worked their way through various management positions to where they are today: serving as thoughtful, intelligent, and kindhearted leaders of our beloved hospital. I know that this leadership team does not take the hospital’s future lightly, and I have full trust in the path they have charted for our future.

Our community needs Sharon Hospital – outside of the exceptional care it provides, it is also a leading employer in our region. While it breaks my heart to know that the unit that helped bring my grandchildren into this world may close, it would be far more devastating for me personally and our entire region if the hospital were to close. I wish the hospital could remain unchanged, but I’ve also watched for two decades as many different leadership teams have struggled to make our community hospital sustainable without making cuts. No other strategies have worked.

I know that this is the best decision to keep the hospital running, so we can continue serving the community we love. I find comfort in knowing that while Labor & Delivery may close, the overall transformation plan prioritizes growth to ensure a vibrant future for Sharon Hospital.

Ellen Edge

Copake, N.Y.

Local government works, and here is proof

Recently our local government laid out a beautiful ribbon of sidewalk between Salisbury and, traveling west, the new field of wildflowers on Main Street.  The leaders and crew of Metcalf Paving did a marvelous job as they prepared the walkway and driveway aprons along the stretch.  Immediately, as residents on this route, we began to see neighbors and visitors out and about, walking the ribbon along with children on bikes, scooters, and roller-skates.

It was an awakening of Main Street West and glorious to behold. Salisbury’s First Selectman, Curtis Rand, deserves much credit for this revival, as he worked hard to make it happen. Many thanks from this part of the village to him, and to those local citizens who have supported the project.  With its unfortunate political polarization, national politics and governance remain bogged down in a swampland of bickering and discord.  The new sidewalk demonstrates, though, that accomplishments can still be achieved at the local level.  Let’s keep at it!

Loch and Leena Johnson   

Salisbury