Monday, July 26, 2010

For Eyes Only

For some time we've had two eye doctors serving
folks in Iron River. Recently Dr. Bathje's
practice was closed and combined with that of
Dr. Atanasoff.



The history is just a bit more complicated.

Several years ago, Dr. Mark Stempihar, an
ophthalmologist who does eye surgery, had an
arrangement with the hospital here in Iron
River. He did surgeries here, locally, for
those folks for who needed it.

Then for some reason no one is talking about,
a typical Iron County unofficial secret, the
good doctor and the hospital had some sort
of falling out, after which Stempihar's
practice was only available at Grand View
Hospital, at Ironwood.

Dr. Stempihar continued to visit Iron River
and took referrals for surgery from both
Bathje and Atanasoff.

The two local eye doctors tried for several
years to cut a deal with Iron County
Healthcare, and its successor Northstar, to
combine practices under the hospital's
umbrella. Alas it was all to no avail.

But the merger did eventually take place
under the auspices of Grand View Hospital.
Their sign is not on the door. But we are
led to wonder why it is that a hospital
some 90 miles away saw the need for complete
eye care for our aging population, and found
it economically advantageous to get into the
business here in Iron County, while our local
hospital, underwritten through municipal
bonding of the City of Iron River (both alleging
to serve the public)failed to seize the
advantage of being local and take charge of
businesses offering themselves to being taken
over.

Properly operated, the eye business here in
Iron County offers a positive cash flow in
an economic climate that doesn't have much
to offer, and Northstar Health Systems is in
financial trouble and need. But true to the
local paradigm favoring failures the hospital
passed up yet another opportunity leading to
success.

I am pleased to hear that Grand View has hired
a retinologist, the first in Michigan's entire
Upper Peninsula, and that he will be accepting
appointments right here in Iron River. That
will save those who need these services from
traveling to Wausau or Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, I spent
a few hours at Rhinelander in a retinologist's
waiting room that held at that moment 6
individuals from Iron River

We are an aging population here in Iron
County. One wonders why so little is locally
attuned to that fact.

Bill Vajk

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