Celebrating A Legacy of Community Devotion to LMHC

Leelanau Memorial Health Center's long tradition of dedicated community involvement has continued, even as plans moved forward to close the facility. Changes in health care delivery and funding have made it unfeasible to continue offering services at LMHC. It was announced in April 2004 that the facility would close on December 31, 2004.

However, positive steps have been taken since that announcement:

• Long-term Care — Services will continue at LMHC for the next 18 to 24 months while Tendercare, Inc. builds a new, state-of-the-art facility in Leelanau County. When it is completed, long-term care residents and LMHC staff will move together to a much-improved setting.
  
  
• Pool and Fitness Center — In August, 140 community members formed a non-profit corporation to support continuation of fitness services at the center, which opened in 1996 through the generous support of the David H. Warm family.
  
  
• Intergenerational and Discovery Center Services — LMHC will continue to operate the Child Care and Preschool programs for the next two years with an emphasis on helping those programs become financially viable so that they may continue when LMHC is no longer in business.
  
  
• Emergency Services — Beginning at 4 pm on Dec. 31, the ER will essentially travel to wherever it is needed. Emergency services will be provided by four Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support ambulances in Leelanau County. By responding to homes and accident sites, the EMS system will provide the same stabilization as offered in an emergency room, but with faster response and transport times. Patients who need further care will be transported to Munson Medical Center's Emergency Room.

These changes, encouraged by community ideas and cooperation, are the latest evidence of the determined attitude that inspired the establishment of Leelanau Memorial Hospital 47 years ago. Over the decades, the community's unflagging support provided the funding for hospital improvements as needs arose and the building aged, said Kathy Garthe, Head Coach at LMHC.

"The building and services were upgraded at each step along the way, thanks to the support of the community. Even as recently as this summer, we received recognition for the quality of our services with the Governor's Award of Excellence.

The community has been committed to making sure this was a top quality organization from the day it was founded," Garthe said.

'The Need for Community Support Remains'
"Health care, no matter where it is delivered, always needs the financial support of the surrounding communities," said John Erb, Chairman of the LMHC Board of Trustees. "We hope the people in our area will continue to help all of us by supporting a strong regional health care system through Munson Medical Center and Munson Healthcare."

The delivery of health care today has changed, Erb said, because so many services are now offered on an outpatient basis. "We may not need hospital beds in our local area anymore, but we do need a regional center in place for those times when a hospital bed is needed. We need highly-skilled professionals and top technology available close by."

"Munson Medical Center offers regional ER services," Erb continued. "It has the Number One Cardiology program in the state as well as essential and top quality orthopaedic, stroke, and neurology services. It is important that those of us in Leelanau County help keep that safety net of service in place."