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DUNKIRK – A healthcare facility in northern Chautauqua County is facing criticism following plans to move the site away from its current Dunkirk location.
Administrators from Brooks Memorial Hospital held a rally at the Clarion Hotel Saturday to garner support for the future of the service. In attendance were members from the hospital’s board of directors, as well as former New York State Senator Cathy Young.
The gathering comes as the Brooks-TLC company eyes a site on East Main Street in Fredonia as a possible location for a new, better-optimized facility.
Meanwhile, local leaders and residents of Dunkirk organized a so-called “counter rally” just outside the hospital on Lake Shore Drive. Participants, including Dunkirk Mayor Wilfred Rosas, expressed their concerns over the move out of the city, and the impacts it could have on the residents.
“It will have a devastating impact, more so those less fortunate. We have a high level of poverty in our community here, in the City of Dunkirk, and those are the people that would be most impacted by this move,” Rosas said. “I don’t understand, and there’s a lot of people that are with me who don’t understand why they can’t rebuild right here at the same site. You’re seeing the Buffalo Bills do exactly that. They’re rebuilding a brand new stadium right on their same lot. This board of directors says they can’t do that.”
As for the reason behind the move, Brooks-TLC Chairman Christopher Lanski told us the new site, being near several major thoroughfares, would provide greater access to healthcare for all of northern Chautauqua County.
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