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Hospital Ponders Appeal of Decision Favoring Center

Dec. 6, 2004 — The Roy Lester Schneider Hospital Board met Monday evening to discuss the recent decision of Health Commissioner Darlene Carty to grant a Certificate of Need to the Ambulatory Surgical Center LLC.
Rodney Miller, hospital CEO, told the board they had not yet received any official documentation from the Health Department.
On Nov. 26, Carty had issued a press release to the media announcing her decision to approve the certificate for the center. (See "Carty Approves Ambulatory Surgical Center "). Miller said the release was not faxed to the hospital.
Miller, circulating a document to the board, said he received the four-page document from St. Thomas-St. John Administrator James O'Bryan Friday. The document was not signed nor did it have an official letterhead.
The document reported Carty's decision to grant the certificate to the center and gave the criteria by which the center's application was reviewed.
"Obviously, we have some concerns about the document we received," Miller said adding there were a lot of things to consider from a legal standpoint.
June Adams, board chair, said of the document, "I question this because there is no date, no letterhead, no signature. This is an insult to the board."
Adams said she doesn't understand how the Health Department's main office is "right upstairs" and they did not have the "courtesy" to let them know of their decision at the same time with the media.
"I'm hoping this is a bad oversight," board member Beverly Chongasing said.
Miller said his staff was working on a response to be given at a press conference Thursday and also on a plan of action.
"Had we not brought this [the surgical center] to the table, the public might not have heard about it until the decision was made," Miller said.
Miller said the board was considering an appeal of Carty's decision but "at this point we're not sure."
He added, "We're considering all options to preserve the healthcare of the people of the Virgin Islands, specifically the St. Thomas-St. John District."
The board, approving a motion made by member Francis Jackson, moved into executive session to further discuss the issue.
Board members attending the meeting were Adams, Chongasing, Jackson, Ray Joseph, Leighman Lu, Natalie Thomas and Samuel Topp.
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