Aurora patients in an uproar
Patients at Aurora Health Center Mukwonago are angry. After last week's story about the clinic's March 20 closing, the Chief received numerous calls from patients who said they did not receive letters from Aurora informing them of the decision and accusing Aurora of mishandling the announcement.
Patients also questioned what would happen to their medical records and voiced frustration with having to travel to see their doctors.
Valerie Hinsenkamp of East Troy has come to the Mukwonago clinic for years and trusts the physicians at that location. She is upset by the manner in which Aurora handled the announcement.
"They gave them (staff) no forewarning whatsoever," Hinsenkamp said. "Aurora gave everyone one month. That is not proper procedure. … It's just not fair."
Hinsenkamp said that to continue with the doctor she currently sees in Mukwonago, she will face a lengthy round trip.
Hinsenkamp also pointed to the elderly facility directly behind the Mukwonago location and the number of patients that are within walking distance to the clinic.
"Closing this clinic will leave so many of the elderly out in left field," she said.
Aurora, too, has dealt with a firestorm of calls since the announcement, said Peter Balistrieri, public relations manager for the Kettle Moraine region. According to Balistrieri, letters were sent out early last week to patients, not the previous week, as he originally stated.
"Our apologies have to go out on that because they were sent out shortly after that (initial report)," said Balistrieri. "It was a timing issue."
Patient records will be sent to the clinic the doctor is transferring to unless otherwise specified by the patient, Balistrieri said. Staff members at the Mukwonago clinic will help patients with transferring their records and also with scheduling visits beyond March 20.
Clinic physician Thomas Reiners will transfer to Wales and physician Anjoo Gharia will transfer to Waukesha.
Physician's assistant David DeVries will be at the East Troy center. Balistrieri incorrectly identified DeVries as a doctor when contacted for the Feb. 18 story.
Patient Ingrid Stroh said she doesn't like being lied to.
"If you have to close a facility, tell the truth. Is it because of the hard times?" Stroh wrote in a letter to the Chief.
Balistrieri said several factors contributed to the decision.
"As a not-for-profit, we definitely have to look at how we manage our resources," Balistrieri said. "There are efficiencies gained by transferring to another location. Overall, patient volume did have a role in this."
Additionally, the East Troy location offers a newer building with more space for adding services and , along with more parking than is available at Mukwonago and easy access off the freeway, he said.
Balistrieri said home delivery of prescriptions will still be available, as will prescription refills by phone or on the Internet, as well as having access to prescription records at any of Aurora's 120 pharmacies. The original story incorrectly stated there were 20 pharmacies.
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