Belhaven Hospital - far from dead, excitement is in the air | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    The Belhaven Hospital situation has been like a roller coaster and a soap opera put in a blender. It is hard to separate the parts. Belhaven has been through begging, pleading, praying, marches, negotiations, and contracts. Until recently this entire situation has been like a 200 car coal train with no brakes. Vidant has rolled along pushing away all who got its way.

    With the July 1 closing of the Punto facility and very little to take the place of the hospital beds and the emergency room, other than promises, reality reared its stark, ugly head. Mayor Adam ONeal volunteered to bring as much publicity to the situation as possible by walking to Washington, D. C. Others realized they could not match his huge contribution. These worker bees went to work.

    Vidant began stripping the hospital of furnishings and equipment necessary to run a hospital on July second. There are rumors that Vidant has offered to pay the LLC to have the building demolished. Citizens of Belhaven are on watch for equipment to be placed on the property that could be used to destroy the building. The appearance of a large crane to remove oxygen tanks prompted the Town to go to court to get a temporary restraining order requiring Vidant to protect the building from damage until the Department of Justice civil rights complaint could be settled. Rumors have it this could take as much as nine months.

    Vidant has petitioned the Federal Courts to have the case removed from State Court. Superior Court Judge Fitch has agreed to allow the Federal petition to he heard. Trying to change a case like this from State to Federal Court is a standard practice for those with deep pockets who want to delay and stall until the NAACP and the Town of Belhaven get tired and give up. The Town is adamant about going forward and has petitioned the Federal Court for an emergency hearing. Success in this hearing would make Vidant subject to a Federal restraining order and possibly some State laws.

    Supporters of the Belhaven Hospital are as dug in as the OLF supporters. That issue took six years to settle. So Vidant will also need some deep pockets.

    From the starkness of total defeat has come the resurrection of hope and the realization that it may just be possible to have a hospital in Belhaven.

    Business plans as to how a minimal hospital could survive have been produced by two consultants. Both reports are in agreement that a minimal hospital can survive. The NAACP and the Town of Belhaven along with a host of volunteers are pressing forward. A board of directors is in place for the new hospital.

    Some interesting information has come to light as a result of the volunteer effort. A part of Allen Street, which is 100 feet wide, was closed by the Town of Belhaven with the stipulation it was to be used for a hospital. The hospital was built on that closed part of Allen Street. There is reputed to have been a special bill passed by the legislature mandating the hospital property would go back to the Town of Belhaven if ever it was not used for a hospital. There are several opportunities for grants and loans should the Town acquire clear title to the property. The Belhaven Town Council voted to take title to the property by Eminent Domain if no other method is successful.

    Arguments are being made to the LLC stock holders that keeping the stock may not be a good idea in light of these recent revelations. Donating the stock to the Town may be a good idea. The stock holder could probably take a tax deduction. He could avoid having to spend time in Federal Court or answering the interrogatories, talking to Department of Justice Agents (the FBI), or hiring their own personal legal counsel. Those who donate their stock would certainly be supporting the effort for better medical care in Belhaven. Their motives about medical care in Belhaven could not be judged.

    So it is a complex issue. Check back later for more details as the situation evolves.