Our Viewpoint Editorials
Clouds hover over Dickerson Memorial

For years now, the Jasper area has prided itself on many different issues.

The recreational aspects, the people and the medical services offered in this area are normally at the top of lists promoting the Jasper area.

One issue that is often bantered around regionally is the fact that Jasper has two hospitals that call this area its home - Christus Memorial and Dickerson Memorial Hospital.

While one hospital is flourishing, the other has made headlines for the past couple of weeks but not for any good reasons.

Dickerson Memorial Hospital is dangerously close to closing its doors. The hospial is under seige from different areas and has faced problems such as insufficient checks to employees, a large utility bill owed to the city of Jasper and the threat of shutting off the utilities, the long-time medical icon of the hospital leaving the facility and this week's arrest of the CEO of the company in Houston.

All of these factors add up to a headache for both hospital employees and those wanting to see the hospital survive for the residents of Jasper.

The hospital has long been respected for its service to this community. That respect should be not lost now.

Many ex-employees have been expressed disdain for the hospital's administrators and the running of the facility. They blame mismanagment for the majority of the problems the hospital is facing.

But these problems are being experienced by hospitals all over the country. Mounting issues with Medicare and Medicaid payments and the treatment of uninsured remains key problems facing the medical community.

During a time that it appears to be easy to be critical of the management of the hospital, we should all back off our criticism in order to see if these problems can be rectified at the hospital.

We will all benefit from Dickerson Memorial Hospital staying open and turning these issues around.