On Nov. 2, I plan to vote YES to build a new hospital. My vote will not just be for a building. My vote will be for stronger local health care, for Allen County and for Moran.
Many here remember a time when Moran had movie theaters, car dealerships, multiple grocery stores and white-painted elm trees proudly lining the main street. Over the years we have watched powerlessly as many of those things gradually disappeared. Businesses closed in the county, farming changed, population declined. The losses continue today. The closing of Haldex, like many closings and losses in the past, will have a ripple effect all over Allen County, including in Moran. Allowing Allen County Hospital to decline or be lost will have the same negative impact.
This time, right now, we have a chance to do something about that trend. A vote to finance a new building is really a vote to save and likely improve a vital part of the community and the local economy. That economy includes Moran, Elsmore, Mildred and the rest of eastern Allen County.
We have everything to gain in exchange for our $25 per $10,000 of taxable spending. For most of eastern Allen County, and definitely for Moran, ACH is by far the closest hospital. In an emergency a few miles can make a difference. Some of our friends and neighbors in and around Moran are among the hospital’s 160 employees who patronize local businesses and send their children to school at Marmaton Valley. We have the highest population of children living at or below the poverty line in our recent local history, as well as an aging population. These realities make keeping healthcare as local as possible so very important.
Recently, negative experiences with ACH have been raised in The Forum and elsewhere, some of those concerns originating in Moran. The quality of care at ACH has been topnotch in my experience and that of many others. If we all haven’t had that experience, then let’s use this election as an opportunity to require our hospital to be sure we are getting the best possible health outcomes, and that systems function as close to perfectly as possible. I am 100 percent convinced the caring and competent em-ployees of ACH genuinely want patient satisfaction as much as patients and their families.
One thing we seem to agree on all over the county is that we will need new doctors to serve the next generation, as well as specialists to keep needed services close to home. A new hospital facility all by itself will not magically attract new doctors and specialists. However, if you were a young doctor, wouldn’t you be much more likely to come to a community that voted YES, not just for the building, but for everything else YES means? I am certain I want to live in a community that values itself enough to vote YES. And if the vote fails? What message is our community giving prospective medical professionals then? What are we saying about what we value as a community?
To my friends and neighbors in Moran and all over eastern Allen County, I sincerely encourage you to vote YES for Allen County Healthcare on Nov. 2.
YES, we in Allen County care about the health and wellness of all of our citizens, young or old, rich or poor. YES, we want to bring medicine here into the 21st Century. YES, we care about our local economy. YES, we recognize that one of the duties of a community is to provide a place to take care of one another when we are birthing, sick, hurt or dying. YES, we know we are all in this together — Moran, Humboldt, Iola and all of Allen County.
Respectfully,
Patti Boyd
Moran, Kan.
