Premier Health has announced it will close Good Samaritan Hospital sometime late in 2018. Officials say theclosing is part of a long-term strategic plan that will strengthen the company and benefit the local community.
Premier Health President and CEO, MaryBoosalissaid the decision was not made lightly.
“We made the very difficult emotional decision that we could not, on a long term basis, sustain two high-acuity hospitals that are only five miles apart,” she said.
The Good Sam North campus and Miami Valley South will be expanded under the plan to cover the services now offered at the Philadelphia Dr. location.
According toBoosalis, the national trend of increased outpatient care and a population shift in the Miami Valley were key issues behind the decision to close Good Samaritan. But she believes that most, if not all, of the more than 2000 Good Samaritan employees will be able to move to Miami Valley Hospital or one of the other Premier campuses.
"I'm very confident because we've done a lot of analysis around it. You've got to remember that we're the second largest [Dayton area] employer after [Wright Patterson Air Force Base], so a plus of being large is that even in your natural turnover, you carry a large number of vacancies. And because we're giving it the year transition, we don't have to just say 'Look at the openings today,' we can work with individuals over time."
Continuing to acknowledge that the closing will be an emotional issue for a lot of people with ties to Good Samaritan, especially those who were born there, Boosalis says in a few weeks Premier will engage residents and community leaders in a series of public forums seeking input on what services could still be provided at the Philadelphia Dr. site where Good Samaritan stands.
Premier Health will work with CityWide Development Corporation and Planning NEXT to complete the redevelopment. The latter company is also involved in the redevelopment of the current Montgomery County Fairgrounds location.
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