Feds inquire into Good Samaritan closure’s effect on African-Americans
Clergy group’s complaint to HHS says move would violate Civil Rights Act.
The federal government DAYTON — has opened an investigation into whether the closure of Good Samaritan Hospital will have a disparate impact on African-American residents, according to the legal team of the clergy who filed the civil rights complaint.
The Good Samaritan Hospital emergency room at 2222 Philadelphia Dr. is set to close noon Thursday, and the final close date is 12:01 a.m. Monday.
The group of clergy, who have organized as Clergy Community Coalition, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights in May arguing that the closure will “have a discriminatory and separate adverse impact on African Americans and women” in violation of the Civil Rights Act and under the Affordable Care Act.
The Dayton-area residents for whom Good Samaritan is the closest hospital are 75 percent African-American, according to the complaint. The total population of the counties Premier Health serves is 12.5 percent African-American. At a Monday news conference, Ellis Jacobs, an attorney for Advocates for Legal Equality, which represents the clergy, said closing the facility will create a “health care desert.”
As of press time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human services had not confirmed the status of the investigation. Jacobs said HHS expedited the investigation after Premier Health went from saying it would close no later than Aug. 29 to having a final July 23 closing date.
The clergy are asking Premier to keep Good Samaritan open for the duration of the federal investigation. Premier has already closed down several of the major medical units at the hospital.
“Premier, will you be a good citizen and commit to not closing, demolishing or disabling Good Samaritan Hospital until this investigation and any other legal action is complete? They should be prepared to answer that question today,” Jacobs said.
Premier Health Spokesman
Ben Sutherly said the Good Samaritan emerg e ncy department is still scheduled to close at noon Thursday, and the hospital is sched- uled to close at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
The network can’t comment on the complaint, he said.
Premier has previously said the hospital is operating at half capacity and many of the same services are available 5 miles away at Miami Valley Hospital.
The Clergy Community Coalition still aims to keep the hospital open. Rock- ney Carter, president of the organization, called the expediting of the inves- tigation a “monumental victory.”
“It’s a wonderful day for the city of Dayton,” Carter said. “It’s a miraculous day for the city of Dayton.”
Expedited investigations are unusual, according to Jacobs, and it isn’t clear how long the investigation will take.
“I asked the investigator, and he said, ‘This is so unusual, I can’t tell you how quickly we’ll be able to proceed,’” Jacobs said.
The closure of Good Samaritan Hospital will affect West Dayton in several ways, Jacobs said.
It will remove a maternity ward from the area with the highest infant mortality rate in Montgomery County, make it more difficult for people in the area with chronic illnesses to see doctors and lengthen rides to emergency rooms.