County commissioners express disappointment with UPMC Lock Haven cutbacks

LOCK HAVEN, PA – All three Clinton County Commissioners at their Monday work session expressed disappointment with last week’s UPMC announcement that its Lock Haven facility will no longer be an acute care hospital.

Board chairman Miles Kessinger said the UPMC announcement “was not the outcome we wanted.” All three commissioners lamented that they were not made aware of the cutback to become effective in April until late in the process. Kessinger said they only found out of the plans a week to ten days before the word came, made aware by state Sen. Cris Dush.

Kessinger said the UPMC decision means there will be no in-patient hospital in the southern end of Clinton County and added, “This will create a lot of hardships for a lot of people’ in having to drive to Jersey Shore or Williamsport for in-patient care. “It’s a shame that Clinton County has to go through on what seems like a regular basis (for) services we need and big companies can do whatever they want (saying) ‘we’re not going to be here anymore,’”

The board chairman’s view was shared by commissioners Angela Harding and Jeff Snyder. Harding urged county residents to continue to support services offered in Clinton County to help ward off future departures. Snyder said “it’s hard to fight” when the county board was kept in the dark on the pending UPMC shutdown announcement until late in the process.