With the election less than a month away, the Daily News Tribune turned things around this week asking candidates to pose their own questions for fellow at-large City Council hopefuls. From a list of their suggestions, the editor chose: What would you do as a city councilor to ensure a new and much-needed hospital comes to Waltham?
Since Waltham Hospital shut its doors in the summer 2003, the city has been without an emergency room. Children's Hospital Boston at Waltham moved into the space shortly thereafter and Newton-Wellesley Hospital operates an urgent care center at the site, but they do not accept ambulances and only handle injuries that are considered non life-threatening.
Councilor Sarafina "Sally" Collura, who suggested the question, said she would work with the mayor and state representatives to purchase Walter E. Fernald Development Center land, a 196-acre parcel the state is fighting to close down, in the hopes of attracting are hospitals to expand at the location.
"If Children's Hospital expanded to Waltham, then it goes without saying that there are other hospitals with similar future plans so we should be proactive in convincing them to establish a hospital here," Collura said.
Incumbent Kathleen B. McMenimen said she is familiar with the challenges faced by small, local hospitals, having served on the former hospital's board of trustees.
"Many complicated variables contribute to the viability of a hospital," McMenimen said. "The current mayor has been in discussion with various medical communities since our hospital closed ... I, as one councilor, will work with her (to find a medical hospital provider and location)."
According to candidate Robert McGurrin, getting a new hospital in Waltham is unlikely and largely due to mistakes made by former and current city officials.
"My view is that the City Council and the previous mayor did a terrible job of managing the situation, they gave away the store and have no leverage left," McGurrin said, referring to the city's sale of the hospital land to developer Roy MacDowell in 2002, in a last-ditch attempt to stop the hospital from closing.
MacDowell had agreed to spend $8.5 million on a turnaround effort in exchange for buying the land and building an apartment complex on its parking lot. The turnaround failed but MacDowell got the land and later sold the hospital to Children's Hospital Boston for $53 million.
"I don't see a hospital in the foreseeable future," McGurrin said, adding what the city should do is focus on ambulance response time to make sure residents are transported to neighboring emergency rooms at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Mt. Auburn Hospital as quickly as possible.
Incumbent Paul J. Brasco said the City Council did everything within its power to stop the former Waltham Hospital from closing. He said the loss attests to a "national health care crisis" affecting much more than just Waltham residents.
Brasco said city officials must take a proactive approach to make the city an attractive location to expanding hospitals, whether that means tweaking zoning regulations or approaching medical groups themselves, as the council tried to a couple years ago with Tufts Medical Center.
"Although it doesn't have an emergency room, we do have a world-renowned hospital (Children's Hospital Boston at Waltham) at the site," Brasco said, also calling Newton-Wellesley's urgent care center "a great facility."
Incumbent Patrick J. O'Brien agreed that Waltham has some "outstanding (medical) facilities," naming Joseph Smith Community Health Center on Main Street and Mass. General West Medical Group on Second Avenue. But, he said, "we still need an ER."
"I look forward to continuing the effort with our mayor and state delegation to bring an emergency room to Waltham," O'Brien said.
Candidate William Fowler said bringing another hospital to Waltham would be no small feat.
"There's no magic wand that can be waved that miraculously drops a hospital into Waltham, there are several things that must be done," Fowler said, who listed finding a hospital looking to increase its market share or a large medical group to run a hospital, as well as pinpointing a location.
"This is where the council comes in," he said. "We must be willing to help facilitate any land acquisition that is needed using every tool available including taking land by eminent domain."
If he had been on the council at the time, candidate Joe Vizard said he "would have attempted to take the (Waltham Hospital) land in order to preserve a resource that was so vital to our city."
"I believe we should work with the hospitals that have a presence in Waltham, especially those at the former hospital site, to bring back a fully functioning hospital that our city needs," Vizard said.
Incumbent Thomas M. Stanley said attracting a new hospital with an emergency room falls primarily on the mayor's shoulders.
"If the mayor is successful in attracting a health care institution to our city and needs the assistance of the council I would be as supportive as possible," Stanley said.
Incumbent David H. Marcou Jr., said the city has not seen any "viable companies" to finance an emergency room but he does see a need for one. At the same time, Marcou said, he is "very satisfied" that Children's Hospital Boston came to Waltham.
"While we were unable to save a full-scale hospital, we were able to attain the world's most renowned hospital for children," Marcou said.
Candidate David Gately is away training with the Army Reserves and could not be reached for comment.
Nicole Haley can be reached at nhaley@cnc.com or 781-398-8004.
