I came away with mixed emotions after reading an opinion piece in Sunday’s Courant on the Health Center’s proposed affiliation with Hartford Hospital.

Written by Fred Hyde, M.D., an advisor to six unions representing employees at the Health Center, the commentary is very supportive of the Health Center’s unique mission and our outstanding faculty and staff. I certainly have no objections to those points.

What troubles me, however, is the article’s premise that any affiliation between us and Hartford Hospital is not worthy of further discussion. I have said, and will continue to say, that these affiliation talks are attempting to address some very knotty issues that many observers say are unsolvable. Perhaps the naysayers are right about some of the purported roadblocks. But maybe, just maybe, they are wrong.

What we need now, more than anything else, is a collective attitude that says, “What if?”. What if we try it this way? What if we take a different approach? What if we look at the glass as being half full instead of half empty?

There will be plenty of time to critique whatever results from the affiliation discussions. But for now, we need to consider, examine and exhaust all possibilities, however challenging they may seem. And above all we must remain focused on the future quality of health care in our region.

---