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The worst news has come that we have two hospitals closing and no news about how long we will go without healthcare.
People will die. People will become sick. Hundreds will be unemployed. Many will leave. Few will be enticed to move here.
This will happen unless our state and federal government prove they care about us and find us healthcare now.
I’ve read a lot of news about individual communities discussing how to mitigate the effects of our hospitals closing. But I have not seen anything about our local leaders meeting together to come up with solutions.
As a resident, I ask the mayors of La Salle, Peru, Spring Valley and Oglesby continually meet together as one to discuss ideas. I hope that every mayor and village president in Bureau, La Salle and Putnam counties will also want to meet.
Some points that come to mind:
What will happen to people who need their prescriptions?
How can we help single mothers, the elderly, the low-income families now that they must drive far for services? Is there a fund we can set up to help them travel out of the area? For some of these outside locations, we are talking about at least a 3-hour window for 1 appointment. Time is not a luxury for everyone, neither are the funds to get there.
Is the current public transportation infrastructure enough to sustain all the new people who will now have to leave the area for services?
How will the loss of hospitals affect those they had contracts with, worked with, and donated to?
How can we incentivize more people to live here?
How can we combat the housing shortage so that people who want to live here, have places to live?
How will the hospital situation affect our schools?
Maybe at some point, the community could be invited to share their concerns publicly? Peoria holds a “Big Table” event that invites hundreds of people from all walks of life to have conversations designed to strengthen and connect the community.
People will continue to move away, and new families will become less inclined to move here if there’s not a stable hospital system.
People are our greatest asset. It’s time for our cities to work together.
Ali Braboy
La Salle