I continue to trust that Hillsboro and the surrounding communities can see through Newton Medical Center’s initiative for opening a clinic in Hillsboro.

Recent statements boast that “the number one thing to accomplish is to provide additional medical services in the community.” Services are already provided in our community, and we appreciate the community’s support.

We hope to provide care to many more patients from Marion county in the near future. The “additional” services that aren’t already here will be provided at Newton Medical Center and will not benefit our community.

The irony of this is, as a physician in Hillsboro, I readily follow the practice of sending our patients to Newton to receive services that cannot be provided here. So if recent statements regarding the mission are truthful, their new clinic will provide absolutely nothing that isn’t already occurring in Hillsboro. Except obviously, gaining revenue for Newton Medical Center and lessening that of Hillsboro Community and St. Luke Hospitals.

The Newton CEO attempts to provide us with reassurance stating that the new clinic will have only 11 lab tests and a basic x-ray. What isn’t apparent to most here, is that those tests and x-rays comprise the majority of what is being done for outpatients at Hillsboro Community Hospital.

Hillsboro Community Hospital has worked hard to recruit physicians for the near future that have a stake in our area. A physician with a primary interest in another community is not what I feel our county needs.

Our local hospital and clinic also provides many services that we don’t get paid for. Again, let’s not lose sight of what already exists in our community and plan to support it.

Dr. Shauna Kern
Hillsboro Community Hospital