Like most people I have spoken with in the community recently, I am very dismayed about the proposal to transfer the assets of Jennie Stuart Medical Center to the Deaconess hospital chain headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Having served on the Jennie Stuart Board as mayor of Hopkinsville from 2007 through 2014, I have some knowledge of the hospital’s operation and impact in the community.
Incorporated in 1913, Jennie Stuart has been an integral part of the Christian County area for more than 100 years. For most of that time, the bylaws required that the Hopkinsville mayor and Christian County judge-executive serve as a voting member of the hospital board. I don’t understand why that was changed by the board about five years ago to eliminate the only two board members who had accountability to the public by being elected officials.
Having served as co-chair of the United Way Campaign twice and as a board member of several local charitable organizations, I am very appreciative of the huge impact Jennie Stuart has made through the years through sponsorships and fund-raising campaigns. I fear all of that will go away if Jennie Stuart is transferred to Deaconess. We will lose local control and all decisions will be made in Evansville, Indiana.