Health board needs to explain itself

The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board has again demonstrated that its organization and lack of a full complement of qualified Board members is not discharging its statutorily assigned responsibilities in a timely manner as it relates to the Certificate of Need process for meeting the health care needs of the residents of Will and Kendall counties. Canceling its scheduled Jan. 6 meeting due to a lack of a quorum further delays the approval of the Certificate of Need for Edward Plainfield Hospital. Residents of this explosive-growth and congested-traffic area have sought and supported the construction of a hospital for more than five years. But the board has continuously denied the reality that the facts supporting the "need" for improved access to a full-service hospital have merit. Instead, it maintains a vacant seat on the five-member board. Unlike other elected and appointed governmental bodies, the chairman curiously votes first. This is pure gamesmanship, and has facilitated the probability of two votes denying approval. The board has also canceled or rescheduled meetings several times due to the inability to have three members out of four complete a quorum and approve the Edward Plainfield application.

The Certificate of Need process can no longer be used exclusively to benefit connected individuals or assist executives of existing hospitals outside this growing area. The next time they meet, the four board members should not just vote, but deliberate the facts in public and complete its statutorily mandated task: "Guarantee the availability of quality health care to the general public." The public should be informed as to factual basis of each board member's decision. There needs to be no lingering doubts in the public's mind about the ability of board members to fully evaluate this area's need for Edward Plainfield given the volumes of facts and testimony.

Jim Sanders

Plainfield