The Independent answers your questions as Affinity Medical Center's closing date draws near.
MASSILLON Affinity Medical Center closes its doors at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, marking the first time in 100 years the community is without a hospital.
Affinity stopped taking new patients a week ago and will continue to operate the ER through Sunday night. Come Monday morning, all services at the hospital will cease, and a small crew will inventory equipment and medication.
As the closing date draws near, The Independent is working to answer your questions. If you would like to submit a question, email IndeNews@IndeOnline.com or call the newsroom at 330-775-1125. We'll do our best to find the answer and publish it.
Q: What happens on Feb. 11?
A: Affinity Medical Center will close at 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Susan Koosh, vice president of marketing and community relations, said the hospital stopped accepting new patients Feb. 1. The staff is working to ensure a smooth discharge for the remaining patients currently in the hospital, she said.
Q: Is the emergency room fully operational up until the final time on Sunday?
A: The emergency room will remain open until the Sunday deadline. Koosh said local emergency personnel were notified in advance of the timeline. Massillon Fire Department Chief Tom Burgasser said his department is already transporting trauma patients to Mercy Medical Center and Aultman Hospital rather than Affinity. Because the hospital closes at the end of the week, any traumas are more likely to be taken to an alternative hospital, he said. North Lawrence Fire Department Capt. Mike Bell said his depart stopped transporting people to Affinity altogether on Monday.
Q: What happens to the employees of the hospital after the closure date?
A: Koosh said small teams of individuals will remain to assist with final efforts such as equipment, supplies and medication inventory. After their final shift, employees will receive pay for an additional 30 days and health benefits will remain in effect through March 31, she said.
Q: How will the hospital's closure affect emergency medical services?
A: Burgasser said the fire department continues to see an increase in EMS calls. The department responded to 410 more calls in 2017 compared to 2016. The trend is continuing into 2018 with last month being the busiest January in the history of the fire department, he said. First responders received 64 more calls in January than the previous January. With the increase in calls and the closing of the hospital, the department is spending more time transporting more patients a further distance.
Q: What is the fire department's main concern?
A: Though both Mercy Medical Center and Aultman Hospital are handling the increase in emergency room visits that the Canton hospitals are now seeing, Burgasser remains concerned not only about the added time it takes to get patients to a hospital, but also the time it takes to get patients off a cot and into a bed in the ER. The department has been transporting fewer patients to Affinity since Monday, and was taking those patients to already busy Mercy and Aultman ERs, he said. This means longer time gaps when crews are outside of the city.
Q: How is the fire department adjusting to longer transport times?
A: The department added a 12th person to each shift, and is tightening its operations. Burgasser said a three-person combo company will be at each of the three station houses with a two-person utility crew at Fire Station 1 to respond to less urgent calls. An assistant chief also will be at Station 1. Response time for non-emergency ambulance calls will likely increase. Burgasser said the three-person combo crews will be reserved for emergencies such as fires, accidents or cardiac situations, while the two-person crew will respond to calls with "no inherent medical emergency," such as patient lifts.
Q: How will operations change?
A: Burgasser used a hypothetical situation to explain how operations will work with the hospital's closing: If the utility crew responds to a fall victim who is uninjured but cannot get up, and a nursing home calls for a patient who is not in immediate danger with elevated potassium, the second patient will need to wait for the utility crew to become available. Burgasser said the three-person crews will not be dispatched for non-emergent calls. Mutual aid also will not be requested for non-emergent calls. Burgasser said it causes a problem for the Fire Department when people repeatedly rely on emergency services rather than using a private ambulance company for situations that are not considered emergent. He also believes it isn't fair to city taxpayers for nursing homes and urgent care facilities to use the city's ambulance as a private ambulance company.
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