On Friday, Brockport area residents received a form letter from Stewart C. Putnam, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Unity Health Services on Long Pond road in Greece.
In the letter, Putnam tries to explain why Unity is making a move into the Brockport area, despite the fact that there is no evidence of any pressing need for another health care provider in and around Brockport.
But Putnam doesn’t explain why the information in his letter differs from the information Unity provided to the New York State Department of Health.
The project Putnam describes in his letter is much more extensive than the project Unity Health described to the Department of Health.
According to the Project Description on the Department of Health’s web page for the project, Unity Health only plans to do the following:
“Relocate the Brockport Family Medicine extension clinic from 6565 Fourth Section Road, Brockport to 6668 Fourth Section Road, Brockport and certify physical therapy services.”
However, the Department of Health web page also includes a statement that the Department of Health does not guarantee the accuracy of the project description:
“…the information provided reflects that as submitted by the applicant and may or may not be confirmed by the Department…”
In his letter to Brockport are residents, Putnam paints a completely different picture of what Unity plans to do.
“Unity Ob/Gyn at Brockport and ACM Medical laboratory Patient Services Center – which have been located in Brockport for more than 10 years – will be moving to this facility.”
“In addition … we will locate several specialties in the new building. These will include Vascular Surgery, Diabetes Care and Education, Pulmonary, Infectious Disease, and Neurology.”
“...we will also offer a small physical therapy area and basic imaging and mammography services from Borg and Ide.”
“We have also created space for a one- or two provider primary care office.”
Those 87 words describe a totally different project than the 24 word description that Unity Health System provided to the Department of Health, at least as it is shown on the DOH website.
There is the distinct possibility that Unity Health may have applied for permission to do one thing, but plans to do something else.
Sound familiar? That’s exactly what the towns of Sweden and Clarkson did to the fire department. Their ad hoc said they should form a joint fire protection district, but instead the towns said the committee advised forming a fire district.
Saying one thing and doing another is a time-proven technique that those, who are something less than perfectly honest, use to pull the wool over other people’s eyes.
It’s another example of the “I’ll tell you what you want to hear, then I’ll do exactly what I want to do anyway syndrome” so common in our politicians and business leaders today.
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