Christus Schumpert on Margaret Place: a vast health care center announces a shutdown; the community begs for a compromise

view of Schumpert from the soccer field, a photo by argiveshots on Flickr.

Dear Stephen Wright and the Christus Schumpert board:

Health care management is a monstrous job. I appreciate the difficult task on your desk.

But I beg your your reconsideration in the closing of the huge Margaret Place facility.
The loss of that service center and those jobs is going to be devastating to Highland and Shreveport.

I hereby request that you open up a window of strategy to the effect of How CS plans to Keep Alive part of the MP facility.

Your precipitous announcement of the closing (not even warning City Councilman Jeff Everson, for instance) lets the public know that you feel sheepish about the closing.

Transparency in your decision making - reasons for the closing plus figures to back them up - is not something Louisianians expect. But an ethical organization ought to feel obligated to offer details to the community and its leaders. No matter how embarrassing. And there's an obligation - if you're a soulful organization, which I believe you are - to work with them to seek compromises in the revamping.

Here I call upon the mayor and city council to work with CS in this transition. We are, gentlemen, all in this together.

Free enterprise is not entirely free. I respectfully request a forum for the investigation of this horrendous shift of business. I hope to see city leaders and CS address this closing with options open.

The zipless announcement of "We're outta here" is not good enough.

regards,
Robert E Trudeau