IRVING, N.Y. (WKBW) — On one of her scariest days, Denise Zafuto of Forestville ended up at Brooks Memorial Hospital in October 2022 for a perforated appendix, something that needs immediate care.
But she had to wait.
She was transported to Buffalo General, about an hour away because Brooks didn't have the interventional radiology she needed. She waited even longer due to a lack of EMS transport. Members of the Seneca Nation took her for her procedure.
"I don't want to go to Buffalo for my healthcare when I'm 15 minutes from the hospital," said Zafuto.
It's situations like this that have people in Chautauqua County reminiscing on days when Lakeshore Hospital in the Town of Hanover was open.
"We need this hospital, the community is suffering for it, I'm sure there's been a lot of events that could've been prevented if this was still open," said Megan Gorsline, a former nurse at Lakeshore.
Lack of care in Chautauqua
Over the last 10 years, 11 New York hospitals have closed, according to the New York State Department of Health, including Lakeshore, which closed in February of 2020 because of a declining population and fewer patients.
Brooks Memorial is only 15 minutes away in Dunkirk, but CEO Ken Morris tells 7 News Brooks is facing struggles.
They're trying to relocate to a new facility, but have faced some money issues in that effort, causing delays. The maternity ward is currently suspended due to staffing, so they're sending people to Oishei (53 minutes away), UPMC Chautauqua in Jamestown (46 minutes away), or UPMC Hamot in Erie (57 minutes away).
Lakeshore was a 40-bed acute care facility with 40 nursing home beds and 20 mental health beds.
"There's been so many suicides because people are just not getting the help and we had the help here,"
Can Lakeshore open back up?
Residents want it to, but it's been up for sale since January of this year.
"Unfortunately, things have not gone the way everybody would like them to go...we're working very hard with the people who are planning on buying this property," said Edward Schintzius, Town of Hanover Councilman.
He tells 7 News he's 90% sure something will happen with the facility, but what? He says residents have to wait and see.
"Wait for what? Where's the transparency? Where is any of the information coming from? It's frustrating, it's heartbreaking," said Gorsline.
Looking for transparency
We took these questions to the state level, first asking Senator George Borrello what the plans are to get his district care. He says he never wanted Lakeshore to close in the first place and losing it was a big hit for healthcare.
He tells 7 News he's been working closely with the potential buyers, Gotham Assets LLC, out of New York City.
"It is unlikely that they're going to bring in a hospital however, we are looking at the potential of an urgent care, things like that," said Borrello.
This company is not known for opening healthcare facilities, but Borrello says they're open to it. It's still early in that entire process.
Next, we asked the New York State Department of Health, a spokesperson replied to our request with this statement:
“The New York State Department of Health continues to work closely with the regional healthcare leadership and healthcare providers to ensure that access to essential health services is maintained, as our commitment to the community has not changed.”
They add that Governor Hochul is committed to protecting health and safety and investing in healthcare statewide, but no specific notes about Chautauqua County.
