The Webb & Central Adirondack Communities Health Care Research Committee… long name, but amazing results are hoped for from this committee that was created this week by executive order of Webb Supervisor Robert Moore.
The committee will be tasked with gathering public input toward helping improve the local health care situation, particularly in relation to services available through the Town of Webb Professional Offices in Old Forge.
Moore created the committee at the Webb board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, November 8. He also appointed seven members.
Chairman will be Greg O’Hara, who currently serves on the Town of Webb Health Center Fund’s board of directors.
“He is an excellent facilitator and I have great confidence in his ability to follow through with this project,” Supervisor Moore said.
Other appointees include Hazel Dellavia, president of the Town of Webb Health Center Fund; Laura Cooper, Supervisory Registered Nurse at the Town of Webb Professional Offices; and Barbara Green, a former Town of Webb councilperson.
Two current councilpersons will also be on the committee. They are Mike Ross and Kate Russell.
A seventh appointee is to be named later.
“The initial charge of this ad hoc committee shall be to organize and undertake a comprehensive survey of both year-round and seasonal residents within the Town of Webb and our neighboring communities served by the Town of Webb Professional Offices,” Moore said.
The purpose is to identify relating to local health care.
“Once that information has been collected, reviewed, and refined, the committee shall report back to the town board, our community, and the stakeholders at large, on their findings,” Moore said.
Moore wondered aloud whether he should have arrived at this point sooner, but Councilman Ross interjected, reminding everyone of the magnitude of the challenge at hand.
“I feel that [the forming of the committee is] part of all the work we have done looking into this,” he said. “We are at that position where we need to move forward—I don’t want to say as fast as possible, but at a smooth pace.”
Councilman Herron echoed Ross’s sentiments.
“I have mixed emotions on [Robert’s] concern as to whether this was not soon enough, or just right, or too soon,” he said.
But the time is now to involve the public, he said, the board having educated itself on the various options.
“We still don’t know one-hundred-percent, but it’s time to come to the public and hopefully we can, together, figure out what’s best for the entire community,” he said.
“It’s a critical point and a critical step to take,” Moore said, and he acknowledged the patience of the board and community.
Councilwoman Kate Russell said she is glad to be part of the committee, and that she is looking forward to working with everyone in the public.
