THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606120114
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 35 lines
A proposed public hearing for citizens concerned about the demise of Portsmouth General is off.
Representatives from Maryview Medical Center, which is taking over Portsmouth General, said they will meet with smaller groups. Tidewater Health Care was opposed to a citywide public hearing on the proposal, Maryview officials said Monday.
Hundreds of residents signed petitions to try to stop the buyout. However, the deal is a private transaction between two businesses, and there is little that residents can do to stop it, according to city and hospital officials.
Officials with Tidewater Health Care, the company that owned Portsmouth General, declined to participate in a public forum, said John Stone, a representative of Maryview Medical Center.
Stone said that representatives with Maryview already are scheduled to meet with the Park View Civic League and two different Kiwanis clubs.
Some citizens had complained that Portsmouth General couldn't be sold because it at one time had been ``owned by the citizens of Portsmouth'' and that it had been transferred improperly to Tidewater Health Care.
City Attorney Timothy G. Oksman said he had researched the transactions and that Virginia's attorney general had reviewed and approved the previous transfer. Oksman said that according to the records, the city never has had ownership or a controlling interest in the hospital.
``It's tough for people to accept, but Portsmouth General will be closed,'' Mayor Gloria O. Webb said Monday. ``The deal is closed. We just want to make sure people understand that Maryview will be taking care of their health concerns.'' by CNB