The closest hospitals to Oxford Township are at least 16 miles away in Rochester, Pontiac or Lapeer.
For years, township officials have said a hospital is needed in the community.
“It’s a long way if you have a 2-year-old with a temperature of 104 or a Lego stuck up his nose,” said township Supervisor Jack Curtis.
There is no urgent care facility in the township that’s open 24 hours for those minor emergencies.
Even worse, 16 miles is a long way for someone with a more serious health condition, such as a heart attack, Curtis said.
It takes 20-35 minutes to get to a hospital in an ambulance with lights and sirens activated, he said. Residents driving to a hospital on their own can expect a 45-minute ride.
The township’s population has grown by about 40% since 2000, he said. The populations of neighboring townships are also growing, Curtis said.
Oxford Township and its neighbors need a hospital that can keep patients with serious conditions overnight, he said.
Curtis and others are frustrated by the state’s initial recognition that a hospital was needed in the area and its reversal of that assertion..
The Certificate of Need Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, grants permission for new hospitals based on population in the area and other factors.
Beaumont Health applied to build a hospital in Oxford in 2018, said Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, in an email. MDHHS works with the Certificate of Need Commission
But the commission and MDHHS discovered “technical problems” with the data that initially supported a Certificate of Need, she said.
A group of experts convened to update the way that areas of need are identified, she said. The commission adopted the new standards in 2021.
“This run of the data with the revised need methodology did not show a need in Oxford Township,” Sutfin said.
The commission is going to look at the data again later this year, she said. The commission has also agreed to convene a group of experts to review the criteria again, she said.
Beaumont said in a statement that it “took numerous steps to pursue building a new hospital in Oxford, but ultimately did not receive the required approvals to proceed. Beaumont remains committed to increasing access to care and serving the people of southeast Michigan.”
