A survey of 667 New Hanover County residents—commissioned by the Save Our Hospital Group and conducted last week—shows a range of concerns about the sale of the Regional Medical Center.
The results say that close to three quarters of respondents—73%--think that the cost of medical care will go up if the hospital is sold to a large hospital system.
Almost half—48%--think the quality of medical care at the medical center will get worse if it's sold to a hospital system.
And just over half—56%--think there will be a loss of local jobs if hospital is sold to a larger healthcare company.
In a statement, Save Our Hospital spokesman Gene Merritt says the survey confirms that both Democrats and Republicans oppose the sale, and that now—during a pandemic—is the wrong time to move forward.
He adds …
“What's the hurry in the middle of a pandemic. Why are you trying to get this thing through at this time when all of the people that have made proposals, have been affected financially by the pandemic and some of them have admitted that they would have to reconsider some things down the road. So it's just all kind of confusing, quite frankly.”
The survey was conducted by Public Policy Polling of Raleigh and conducted by telephone. The margin of error is +/- 3.8%.
New Hanover County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the proposals for the medical center on Monday, June 22, at 5 p.m.
Vince Winkel, WHQR News
PRESS RELEASE FROM PUBLIC POLICY POLLING:
From: Katherine Patterson, Public Policy Polling
To: Interested Parties
Subject: New Hanover County Voters Oppose Sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Support Maintaining Current Operations
Date: June 16, 2020
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds that a large majority (70%) of New Hanover County voters oppose the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, while just 11% support it. A further 76% support maintaining New Hanover Regional Medical Center as it now operates, with only 9% opposing that.
Many voters view the NHRMC’s sale as detrimental to the quality of care and to the local community.
- 73% think that the cost of medical care will go up if the hospital is sold to a large hospital system.
- 56% think there will be a loss of local jobs if NHRMC is sold to a large hospital system, while only 27% think there won’t be a loss of local jobs.
- A plurality (48%) think the quality of medical care at NHRMC will get worse under a large hospital system, while just 13% think the quality of care will improve and 34% think the quality of care will stay about the same.
Public Policy Polling surveyed 667 New Hanover County voters from June 12-13, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3.8%. The survey was conducted by telephone.