Questions about HLRC Closing

Dear Editor,

I’ve heard some real disappointing stories and I was wondering what you know about the Hi-Line home and our hospital / doctors office?

Is, or was, the census at the Hi-Line up near 40 residents recently? Is the door that used to connect the home and the hospital emergency room closed off now? I have seen 2 ladies pushing a gurney through that door and they were running. The patient didn’t have to wait for the ambulance or pay the expense, and the patient was tended to quickly. When my father, my mother and both my wife’s parents and her aunt were residents at the Hi-Line they were also wheeled through that door.

Is the Hi-Line going to close? If so, why is it closing? Is one of the issues lack of nurses? Couldn't the hospital and Hi-Line share some of the required nurses and other workers?

How many resident’s of the Hi-Line will have to leave Malta for their care? Won’t those same residents see less of their loved ones if they’ve had to move farther away?

How many Malta residents will lose their jobs if it does close? How many of those same residents of Malta will move somewhere else to find employment? And what do you suppose will be the economic impact of that exodus on the local economy and tax base?

When the residents of Phillips County built the hospital and doctor’s office connected to the Hi-Line, we thought that made the most sense. And many of us, over the years, put our money where our mouth was with regard to supporting those facilities. In hindsight, I still think those facilities located as they are, is a good deal for Malta and Phillips County.

Isn’t there some way Malta and Phillips County can keep our rest home, our hospital and our doctors office open and continue to operate under one roof?

John Koss

Malta, Mont.