by J.M. Denooyer

The Bellingham Herald 1988, 

    Being a Democrat, I rarely agree with any Republican. However, in the case of Republican State Attorney General Ken Eikenberry and his suit against the merger of St. Joseph and St. Luke's hospitals, I have to agree.
I happen to be pro choice, and would like to choose a secular hospital when I need one. Not being Catholic, I don't like the idea of only one Catholic hospital. It's true I could choose a secular hospital out of town, perhaps in Seattle. But then I would be some distance from my family and support system. I just don't like the idea.
The whole concept of consolidating the two hospitals in Whatcom County when this county is in a growth period seems absurd. This county's population is growing at a steady pace. The reason for this growth would appear to be the "quality of life" this region has to offer. "Quality of life," an extremely ambiguous phrase to begin with, in my opinion should include the type and quality of health care available in this county.
The public is told that the cost of health care would decrease if the merger of the two hospitals goes through. Duplication of services will be eliminated and therefore the public will be better served, or so we are told. Will this be true in the long run?
Duplication has improved our quality of health care here. The two hospitals have played a game of keeping up with the Jones's. When one hospital invested in a CAT Scan, the other hospital felt compelled to buy a CAT Scan. This "competition for quality" will be lacking in a one hospital monopoly.
The cost of a hospital stay may well decrease, at least for the short term. However, anyone who opens his or her eyes knows, the population of this county is rapidly increasing. If St. Joseph Hospital is allowed to have a monopoly in providing hospital beds for residents, then those who believe that the cost of staying in the hospital will stay at a reasonable rate (as if hospital rates were ever reasonable) are sadly naive.
This seems to be at the heart of Eikenberry argument. The State Hospital Commission, which Bellingham's former state senator, Barney Goltz, currently chairs, might very well be eliminated by the state Legislature. If this happens, there may be no governmental organization to stop St. Joseph Hospital from increasing its rates.
At the Puget Sound Health Systems Agency meeting on January 27 to consider the merger, it seemed that the cost effectiveness of the merger was emphasized. There is more at stake than mere economics. Residents of Whatcom County will lose their ability to choose. They will lose a hospital which has shown a great deal of compassion. As pointed out by a representative from Evergreen Legal Services, St. Luke's has taken in four times the amount of charity cases St. Joseph has.
In fact, St. Luke's has shown a great deal of flexibility in collecting payments. whereas St. Joseph has been rigid in its billing.
Then there's the thorny abortion issue. St. Luke's, being a secular hospital (although one couldn't tell by the name,) allows abortions to be performed there. St. Joseph, owned by the Catholic Church, needless to say, does not.
Abortion is once again claiming national headlines, as President Bush endorses the pro life movement and the U.S. Supreme Court considers reconsidering the famous abortion case, Roe vs. Wade. Closing down the one hospital in the county that allows abortions will not alleviate the debate. Indeed, it might add fuel to the fire.
True, most abortions are performed in clinics, since they have come to be routine, in the practical, medical sense. (Certainly not emotionally.) Those clinics do have doctors, however, it is conceivable that St. Joseph in formulating future policy might deny those doctors access to its facilities.
That might sound extreme, but given other tactics used by the pro life movement, such as bombing of abortion clinics, it does not seem implausible.
The right of women to have a safe abortion has been a long, hard fought battle. Women have won that right in court. To nullify it, however indirectly, through a corporate merger such as this would make a mockery of the judicial system.
However, the merger is a foregone conclusion. The attorney general's office can only prevent mergers from taking place. If, in two or three years, residents of this county see the cost of a hospital stay increase and the quality of health care decrease, there will be no going back to the good old days.

John M. Denooyer is a student at Western Washington University and is on the board of Whatcom County Specialized Transportation. He is a community columnist chosen by The Bellingham Herald.