Politics

PAC pushes Park Ridge 'friends' in Republican primary

By Bill Moss, Published: April 26, 2012

FLETCHER — A retired CEO and two other supporters of Park Ridge Health Care formed a Political Action Committee in hopes of electing county commissioners who tilt in favor of the Fletcher hospital.

"We're trying to get board members and so forth who are friendly to Park Ridge is the basic theme," said Owen E. Spencer, a Horse Shoe resident who is listed as treasurer in a PAC form dated April 16 and filed with the Henderson County Board of Elections.

Other members of the PAC are Bob Burchard, who was Park Ridge CEO from 1985 to 1995, and Paul Donahue, a retired congressional staffer and past chairman of the Henderson County Democratic Party.

The battle between Pardee Hospital and Park Ridge has become a proxy for the May 8 primary, with the Republican candidates in broad agreement on low taxes, industry recruitment and other conservative mainstays. But the candidates differ sharply on whether Pardee, the 60-year-old county-owned hospital founded by local doctors, should partner with Mission Hospitals on a two-story 80,000-square-foot medical clinic straddling the county line in Fletcher.

District 2 County Commissioner Charlie Messer favors the joint venture while District 5 incumbent Bill O'Connor opposes it. Messer's challenger, Dennis Justice, strongly opposes the joint venture. One of O'Connor's four opponents, Jeff McKinney, strongly favors it.

Pardee's Board of Directors on Wednesday drew a contrast between the Hendersonville hospital's strict guidelines on electioneering and the Park Ridge effort.

An information sheet from the PAC, Friends of Park Ridge Hospital, spells out candidates' positions on the joint venture.

Spencer, a retired Park Ridge lab supervisor, and Donahue said the PAC is not affiliated with Park Ridge, nor has it been driven by Park Ridge's government affairs representative, Graham Fields.

"I'm opposed to that joint venture," said Donahue. "It would severely hurt Park Ridge Hospital to have a 100,000-square-foot facility over there. They're going to duplicate everything Park Ridge has done — medical care, labs, emergency room — everything but the hospital beds ... My personal feeling is it will put Park Ridge out of business."

Donahue said he thought Mission wants ultimately to control the health care market in the region. "I think what will happen with Mission (and Pardee) is the same thing that happened to St. Joe," which was absorbed by Mission.

Donahue said the PAC has "probably $1,000" and does not plan a big fundraiser or large donations to friendly candidates.

"We're just out to inform people where the candidates stand on the issue," he said.

Pardee on Thursday released a fact sheet on the project that said residents of North Henderson and South Buncombe "will soon benefit from more convenient access to health care" through the Pardee-Mission project. "The Health Campus is an innovative model offering a wide variety of outpatient health care services" including imaging, lab services, physical therapy, primary and specialty care, urgent care with extended hours, retail pharmacy, endoscopy suite and cardiac rehabilitation, the summary said.

"Jointly managed by Pardee and Mission, the collaboration to build the Fletcher campus will help enhance patient experience in a growing area by providing high quality care close to home," the Pardee fact sheet said. Providing preventive care and other services under one roof will lead to greater efficiency and lower costs, Pardee said.

Disclosure: Lightning editor Bill Moss is married to Elizabeth Willson Moss, a development officer for the Pardee Hospital Foundation.