In true Albany fashion, a far-reaching law has gone into effect and no one is really sure how - or if - it will be enforced.
The recommendations issued last month by the Commission of Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century officially became law on Jan. 1 after the state Legislature failed to vote against them in special session last month.
That means, officially, that hospitals and nursing homes will be closing, downsized and merged.
That means, officially, that Auburn Memorial Hospital is losing its maternity ward, along with 91 in-patient beds.
But what is official and what is real are two different things at this point.
Lawmakers and health-care leaders are saying that the recommendations may not be implemented - it's up to the state Department of Health to decide what to do and how quickly to do it.
That's potentially good news for AMH, where keeping maternity services is a community priority.
But it's only good news if the health department - now under the control of Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer - decides to spare the maternity unit and makes that decision quickly.
The same need for a speedy resolution can be said for just about all the recommendations in the commission's report.
Our fear is that these recommendations languish in the bureaucratic process, along with the uncertainty surrounding the future of the institutions affected.
In AMH's case, where officials are actually trying to boost the number of deliveries its maternity unit handles, it will be quite tough to get expecting parents to commit to a birth there as long as the prospect of a closure is out there.
Spitzer needs to understand this, and he needs to push his health department to act quickly, decisively and openly.
That means, officially, that hospitals and nursing homes will be closing, downsized and merged.
That means, officially, that Auburn Memorial Hospital is losing its maternity ward, along with 91 in-patient beds.
But what is official and what is real are two different things at this point.
Lawmakers and health-care leaders are saying that the recommendations may not be implemented - it's up to the state Department of Health to decide what to do and how quickly to do it.
That's potentially good news for AMH, where keeping maternity services is a community priority.
But it's only good news if the health department - now under the control of Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer - decides to spare the maternity unit and makes that decision quickly.
The same need for a speedy resolution can be said for just about all the recommendations in the commission's report.
Our fear is that these recommendations languish in the bureaucratic process, along with the uncertainty surrounding the future of the institutions affected.
In AMH's case, where officials are actually trying to boost the number of deliveries its maternity unit handles, it will be quite tough to get expecting parents to commit to a birth there as long as the prospect of a closure is out there.
Spitzer needs to understand this, and he needs to push his health department to act quickly, decisively and openly.
The Citizens' Say
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