Selectmen: Keep health center in Winsted

WINSTED — The Winchester Board of Selectmen voted 5-2 March 21 to write a second letter of support for the Winsted Health Center on Spencer Street, reiterating a desire to keep emergency and other services on the property and not let them move across town.Mayor Candy Perez joined fellow Democrats Lisa Smith, George Closson and Michael Renzullo in supporting the motion, along with Republican Glenn Albanesius. Voting against the motion were Republicans Kenneth Fracasso and Karen Beadle.For the past year, an alternative site for the health center has been under consideration by Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, the primary tenant of the Winsted Health Center, which would leave the facility without an emergency room and numerous other services if a decision is made to move to the proposed new location.In the fall of 2009, Charlotte Hungerford announced it was looking into the possibility of moving to a new location, and Torrington-based Borghesi Building & Engineering presented a plan to the town of Barkhamsted to build a new health center at 390 New Hartford Road, next to Mallory Brook Plaza. Charlotte Hungerford representatives initially showed interest in the plan, but representatives of the Winsted Health Center Foundation organized opposition to the move. The foundation serves as the landlord at the Spencer Street facility.In August 2010, the Board of Selectmen issued its first public letter in support of keeping services at Spencer Street, which they approved with a unanimous vote. “As you know, we have had emergency services at this location for many years,” Perez wrote. “Many of our community members count on this service to access care.… The services Charlotte Hungerford offers in Winsted are a major part of our future as we look to attract people to Winsted.”Selectman Lisa Smith said she was proud to support a second letter supporting the Winsted Health Center. “I think we need to keep health services in town because we have quite a large senior population here,” she said. “And as a mother of five kids, I have frequent flier miles up there.”Smith said she is just one of many community members who have been helped by excellent services at the Winsted Health Center, which often serves as a transfer point for LifeStar patients headed to Hartford Hospital. Patients are wheeled straight out of the emergency room to a helicopter landing area for those trips. Emergency doctors and nurses at the health center often stabilize critical patients before they are transferred out and can determine the extent of care that is necessary in emergency situations.“My kids have had everything from stitches to broken bones and internal bleeding,” Smith said. “They always take good care of their patients.”While supporters of moving the health center to Barkhamsted have cleared a number of municipal hurdles, support for keeping services at the Winsted Health Center appears to be growing, as Torrington’s Community Health and Wellness Center has opened an office at the Spencer Street facility. The office, which offers health services to low-income residents, was initially interested in moving to the proposed new location in Barkhamsted. An advanced practice registered nurse, Heather Platt, provides primary health care at the office, which is open Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.Smith said keeping health services in Winsted is also a financial issue for the town, and said she would only support a move if it was within the town’s borders. “People should support keeping the health center in town,” she said. “It shouldn’t be a political issue.”