UPDATE: On Friday, September 8, the OHS granted Sharon Hospital an extension to appeal the OHS's Proposed Decision. The hospital, and its parent company Nuvance Health, now has until October 18, 2023 to file a brief and exceptions seeking a Certificate of Need to close the hospital's Labor and Delivery Unit.
SHARON — Sharon Hospital’s application to close its Labor and Delivery Unit was denied by Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy (OHS) on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
The “proposed final decision” granted Sharon Hospital and its parent company, Nuvance Health, 21 days to appeal the decision. An appeal would continue a five-year battle between Sharon Hospital and members of the local community, led by Save Sharon Hospital, over maintaining the hospital’s labor and delivery services.
Sharon Hospital filed a Certificate of Need to close the maternity unit with OHS in January 2022, citing financial concerns, declining birth rates in Litchfield County, and underutilization of its obstetrics unit.
The hospital, which has cited losses of more than $20 million in a single year, estimated that closing the maternity unit would save $3 million in large part by enabling the hospital to employ some 18 fewer staff members, and cut down on physician fees incurred by after-hours surgery and anesthesia services.
The hospital also described a decline in births at Sharon Hospital, citing fewer than one delivery per day in 2021, and difficulty attracting and retaining trained staff in a rural community.
At an OHS hearing in December 2022, doctors, advocates, and local families rebutted the hospital’s claims that closing the maternity unit would not impact access to adequate care in the region, and raised questions about the hospital’s claim that underutilization of the unit was causing irresolvable financial and safety concerns.
In its Aug. 29 decision, OHS found that Sharon Hospital had not adequately met five of eight applicable criteria to qualify for a Certificate of Need, repeatedly citing testimony from the December hearing, as well as supplementary materials provided by Save Sharon Hospital and others.
Primarily, the decision to reject Sharon Hospital’s application rested on concerns about the closure’s impact on the accessibility of adequate care for pregnant women in the region. OHS emphasized the disproportionate effect this closure would have on people of color, the fastest-growing demographic in the region, and indigent people (more than 48% of Sharon Hospital’s labor and delivery patients paid through Medicaid in 2021).
The decision stated repeatedly that the burden of proof rested with the hospital and that the hospital had not succeeded in providing adequate evidence of either financial or safety concerns, nor adequate plans for alternatives for women in labor seeking care, especially for high-risk and emergent deliveries.
Though the hospital is non-profit, OHS took care to point out that its parent, Nuvance Health, provides financial support to Sharon Hospital, and, having ended 2021with a net increase in assets of $242 million and $1.7 billion in net assets, Nuvance is “by all accounts financially stable,” despite its operating losses at Sharon Hospital.
While there are other five other hospitals within an hour from Sharon, all able to accept women in labor, these options would require patients to make longer drives (the nearest hospital is Charlotte Hungerford in Torrington); OHS also cited concerns about these hospitals’ higher costs and lower safety ratings.
Gregg Pulver (R), Chairman of the Dutchess County Legislature, said that OHS’s decision was responsive to arguments from “representatives on both sides of the state line.” Patients at Sharon Hospital are more often from Dutchess County than from the Northwest Corner.
“Access to rural health care here is in crisis or at risk across the board,” said State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64). Though “it will always be a battle,” she said, “[We need] to keep this thriving hospital alive and vibrant and and helping all of us.”
Andrea Rynn, spokesperson for Nuvance Health, called the decision “concerning and disappointing.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30), U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5), Rep. Horn, and State Comptroller Sean Scanlon all spoke in support of OHS’s preliminary decision at a press conference in Sharon Town Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 30.
Blumenthal called on Nuvance not to appeal OHS’s “well-reasoned, fully researched decision.”
“Nuvance has an obligation to listen to its customers, its patients, its community,” said the senator. “I am hopeful that meetings like this one will convince [Nuvance] that it can and should do the right thing.”
Horn drew a contrast between the diverse, fact-based testimonies provided by local healthcare professionals, and Nuvance’s “one single argument, that ‘this is just unsustainable,’ and ‘we can’t afford it.’”
Harding said, “I want to applaud the Office of Health for taking the time, not only with reading the testimony, but the whole process in general. I think they did a great job of listening to all sides of the story.”
Hayes noted that the threatened closure is indicative of national trends in rural and women’s healthcare access. “We have seen women’s reproductive health attacked all over the country,” she said. “So I am excited about today, but also looking forward and committed to […] bringing this 20 year battle [over the future of Sharon Hospital] to an end.”
Nearly all of the speakers thanked the local 501(c)(3) Save Sharon Hospital (SSH) for its instrumental work in preventing the closure of Sharon Hospital’s labor and delivery unit by marshaling skilled testimony from health care workers.
SSH President Lydia Moore, who gave birth to her youngest daughter in Sharon Hospital about two months ago, acknowledged the community for contributing “almost 12,000 pages of public comment,” overwhelmingly in favor of keeping labor and delivery open, as critical to the movement’s success.
Acknowledging that Nuvance can still appeal the OHS decision, Scanlon said, “We’re here today to say that this is good news, but the fight to maintain access to affordable, quality health care, especially when it comes to labor and delivery, is going to continue beyond this morning.”
As of Sept. 4, Nuvance has not yet announced if it will appeal the decision.
“As part of a nonprofit health system, Sharon Hospital faces financial and operational challenges moving forward,” said Rynn in a statement. “We will be considering all options available as we reassess our path forward.”
North East Town Hall on Maple Avenue in Millerton.
MILLERTON — North East Town Board members approved a $168,000 loan from the Bank of Millbrook to purchase a new truck for the town’s Highway Department at their regular meeting Thursday, Dec. 11.
The meeting marked the board’s final session of the year.
The town received financing offers from three banks, with interest rates of 3.9%, 3.6% and 2.25%. Board members unanimously approved the lowest bid — a 2.25% rate from the Bank of Millbrook.
Town Supervisor Chris Kennan also updated the board on plans for the new Town Hall, which will be located in the former Jehovah’s Witness Hall on Route 22, south of the Village of Millerton. Kennan said interior renovation design drawings are expected soon and that he hopes to schedule a special meeting in January to allow residents to review the plans and ask questions. A date has not yet been set.
Kennan further briefed the board on a dispute with Suburban Propane involving a buried propane tank discovered at the former Jehovah’s Witness Hall property. After the tank was uncovered, Suburban Propane asserted ownership and demanded the town purchase it for $2,500.
Further investigation revealed the tank bears a sticker reading “Suburban Propane customer-owned property.” In response, board members authorized town attorney Warren Replansky to push back against the company’s claim.
“We’ve been asking, you know, since this started, for proof of ownership,” Replansky said. “We’ve never gotten that.”
Pine Plains Central School District Superintendent Brian Timm addressed the board to outline the district’s anticipated funding challenges, saying officials are preparing for a potential $4 million reduction in state aid and are exploring ways to mitigate the impact.
Timm said the district has historically received about $6 million in annual “foundation aid” from New York state, but ongoing tensions between the Trump administration and state officials have prompted Albany to take a closer look at public aid disbursements.
In the past, New York maintained a policy that protected school districts from reductions in foundation aid, Timm said. That safeguard, however, is now under review as the state responds to cuts in federal funding.
“I think the governor has some difficult decisions that she needs to make in her preparation of her budget,” Timm said. “So, I’m not 100% sure that we will be fully funded in foundation aid.”
Timm said the district is proposing to close its elementary school building in an effort to “right-size” operations. He said the district’s two remaining buildings would be sufficient for current enrollment, and that closing the elementary school could reduce costs and generate revenue through a potential sale or lease of the property.
More information is available on the Pine Plains Central School District’s website at ppcsd.org.
The meeting also marked the end of Ralph Fedele’s 12-year tenure on the Town Board, prompting members to approve a resolution of commendation.
Kennan praised Fedele for his commitment to public service and his work revitalizing and maintaining historic landmarks throughout the town.
“Ralph Fedele has served three four-year terms as a councilman on the Town Board of the Town of North East with good humor, kindness to all, and a deep concern for the community’s senior citizens and for those living on fixed incomes,” Kennan read from the resolution. The resolution was approved by a unanimous roll-call vote.
Community members used the public comment portion of the meeting to further praise Fedele and his service.
“The way you laugh, it opens my heart,” said Claire Goodman, a Millerton resident and volunteer with the Friends of Spencer’s Corners Burying Ground. “It doesn’t matter whether we’re standing out in the cold, scrubbing tombstones at Spencer’s Corners, or whether you’re ringing the bell at the schoolhouse. You always have such grace, and you’re a true gentleman, and one of the reasons I decided to stay here. Thank you.”
Millerton Village Hall, where the Zoning Board of Appeals has begun laying the groundwork for a zoning overhaul aimed at modernizing the village’s code.
MILLERTON – The village Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) met on Tuesday night to begin laying the groundwork for a long-anticipated update to its zoning code — a process officials say is necessary to replace regulations they repeatedly describe as “outdated.” The discussion comes as the Town of North East faces public scrutiny over its November release of a years-long zoning rewrite of its commercial district.
To better understand the rewrite process — and avoid replicating challenges the town has encountered — ZBA Chair Kelly Kilmer invited two members of the North East Zoning Review Committee (ZRC), Edie Greenwood and David Sherman, to share insight.
Kilmer emphasized that the village has no intention of embarking on a years-long rewrite like North East’s, noting that the town’s zoning update has already stretched over four years. “Some of our terms [in office] will be up by then,” she joked.
Instead, Kilmer said the village intends to begin by zeroing in on the parts of the code that most often appear before the ZBA and Planning Board.
“We need to look at the zoning laws that come up the most when people come to us for variances,” Kilmer said. “The ones that are really holding people up.” She added that she doesn’t want to over-complicate the process.
Parking is one issue that continually comes up at Village Hall. It is already under review and will be discussed at a Dec. 15 public hearing, where a proposed zoning change will be presented. The revision would ease off-street parking requirements in the business district and lower barriers to entry for new businesses.
Greenwood offered two key suggestions for the village’s early stages. First, she recommended becoming fluent in the 2019 Comprehensive Plan, which she said guided the town’s zoning process and served as a blueprint. Second, she urged the village to hire a consultant, pointing out that zoning code is generally “too technical” to interpret and rewrite without professional support.
Greenwood said she pursued a grant through Hudson River Valley Greenway to help the town pay for its consultant. However, the September deadline has already passed for the upcoming year, meaning the village would need to wait until next year to apply
She also advised beginning the process with a clear purpose. “Whether you call it ‘legislative intent’ or ‘purpose,’ that’s the brainstorming of what you want to happen in that district,” Greenwood said.
Village board member and ZRC volunteer David Sherman echoed the sentiment: “Begin with the vision you’d like to see in the district.”
With the help of Greenwood and Sherman, Kilmer outlined four immediate next steps for the village.
Greenwood recommended additional in-person and online training, including programs through Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and the New York Conference of Mayors (NYCOM). While ZBA members are only required to complete four hours of training annually, officials said they intend to do more.
Even as the zoning conversation moves ahead, board members stressed that the village’s long-running wastewater constraints will ultimately shape what any zoning changes can accomplish.
“We can dream all we want,” said ZBA member Delora Brooks, “but if the wastewater doesn’t get addressed, everything else we do will be shaped around that.”
Cathy Fenn, who has served in multiple village and town roles over the decades, questioned why the Planning Board was not at the table, noting that it led the last major zoning change in the village.
The meeting took place as the Village Board weighs whether to consolidate or potentially eliminate the Planning Board in favor of a different structure. Kilmer said there was value in keeping the initial zoning conversations small and focused while the village works through those broader governance questions.
Looking ahead, Kilmer said that transparency will be central to the process, noting that she intends to use the public as a sounding board and help demystify the steps ahead.
Correction: The Amenia Planning Board does not have another meeting scheduled prior to the end of the year. It is currently unclear if the board will schedule another meeting to make up for the cancelled meeting on Dec. 10.
A snowstorm that dropped about an inch across northeast Dutchess County forced the cancellation of municipal board meetings in the Village of Millerton, Amenia and Pine Plains on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Planning Boards for all three municipalities were meant to meet on Wednesday night.
The Village of Millerton's Planning Board was meant to discuss a site plan for Caffeine Academy — a proposed education center for children and young adults with developmental disabilities.
Caffeine Academy founder Alex That purchased Millerton's former Presbyterian church at 58 Main St. in April, with plans to convert it into the second location of his West Babylon, New York-based music and video production learning center.
The site plan hearing has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 16, at village hall, 5933 N. Elm Ave., starting at 7 p.m.
The Town of Amenia's Planning Board postponed two public hearings due to the snow.
The first on the agenda is a small subdivision proposing to split a single lot with a farm into two parcels on Kent Road.
The second public hearing on the agenda concerned a modification to site plans for two condo buildings in the Silo Ridge luxury housing development.
The board also had several discussion items on the agenda, including a special use permit to convert the former bank in the Freshtown Plaza parking lot into a drive-thru coffee shop.
Board members were also expected to discuss improvements to the septic system at Cumberland Farms on Main Street, as well as continue discussions on the proposed Cascade Creek workforce housing development and the proposed Keane Stud luxury estate subdivision.
Pine Plains Planning Board members were expected to review and approve resolutions for three applications, including the proposed Upstate Pines retail cannabis dispensary that has been the subject of months of public hearings.
That meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m. The Planning Board is expected to approve a solar ground mount at a residential parcel, the proposed cannabis dispensary on Main Street and a six-month extension for site plan approval for hardwood manufacturer The Hudson Company's proposed mill and showroom.
The Stone Round Barn at Hancock Shaker Village.
My husband Tom, our friend Jim Jasper and I spent the day at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A cold, blustery wind shook the limbs of an ancient apple tree still clinging to golden fruit. Spitting sleet drove us inside for warmth, and the lusty smells of manure from the goats, sheep, pigs and chickens in the Stone Round Barn filled our senses. We traveled back in time down sparse hallways lined with endless peg racks. The winter light was slightly crooked through the panes of old glass. The quiet life of the Shakers is preserved simply.
Shakers referred to their farm as the City of Peace.Jennifer Almquist
Originally founded in England, the Shakers brought their communal religious society to the New World 250 years ago. They sought the perfection of heaven on earth through their values of equality and pacifism. They followed strict protocols of behavior and belief. They were celibate and never married, yet they loved singing and ecstatic dancing, or “shaking,” and often adopted orphans. To achieve their millennialist goal of transcendental rapture, we learned, even their bedclothes had to conform: One must sleep in a bed painted deep green with blue and white coverings.
Shakers believed in gender and racial equality and anointed their visionary founding leader, Mother Ann Lee, an illiterate yet wise woman, as the Second Coming. They embraced sustainability and created practical designs of great utility and beauty, such as the mail-order seed packet, the wood stove, the circular saw, the metal pen, the flat broom and wooden clothespins.
Burning coal smelled acrid as the blacksmith fired up his stove to heat the metal rod he was transforming into a hook. Hammer on anvil is an ancient sound. My husband has blacksmithing skills and once made the strap hinges and thumb latches for a friend’s home.
Shaker chairs and rockers are still made today in the woodworker’s shop. They are well made and functional, with woven cloth or rush seats. In the communal living space, or Brick Dwelling, chairs hang from the Shaker pegs that run the length of the hallways, which once housed more than 100 Shakers.
A Shaker chair.Jennifer Almquist
In 1826, the 95-foot Round Stone Barn was built of limestone quarried from the land of the 3,000-acre Hancock Shaker Village. Its unique design allowed a continuous workflow. Fifty cows could stand in a circle facing one another and be fed more easily. Manure could be shoveled into a pit below and removed by wagon and there was more light and better ventilation.
Shakers called us the “people of the world” and referred to their farm as the City of Peace. We take lessons away with us, yearning somehow for their simplicity and close relationship to nature. One Shaker said, “There’s as much reverence in pulling an onion as there is in singing hallelujah.”
A sense of calm came over me as I looked across the fields to the hills in the distance. A woman like me once stood between these long rows of herbs — summer savory, sage, sweet marjoram and thyme — leaned on her shovel brushing her hair back from her eyes, watching gray snow clouds roll down the Berkshires.
More information at hancockshakervillage.org
The Shakers embraced practical designs of great utility and beauty.Jennifer Almquist
