By PAUL KIRBY
Freeman staff
pkirby@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/PaulatFreeman

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The head of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley and another executive with the company will take questions from Freeman news staffers and members of the public during a session Wednesday that will be shown live on the newspaper’s website.

David Lundquist, HealthAlliance’s president and chief executive officer, and Joshua Ratner, its chief strategist, will discuss the possibility that the company will close Kingston Hospital or Benedictine Hospital to stem financial losses.

The session will start at 2 p.m. at the Freeman office on Hurley Avenue in Kingston and can be viewed at www.dailyfreeman.com.

Besides taking question from Freeman staffers, Lundquist and Ratner will respond to questions submitted by the public. Questions can be submitted online during the event or ahead of time at pkirby@freemanonline.com or via Facebook at on.fb.me/qFyAGU.

Lundquist and other HealthAlliance officials have said a major cause of the hospitals’ financial woes is they receive federal reimbursements at a lower rate than hospitals in neighboring Dutchess and Orange County because Ulster County is not in the same federally designated Metropolitan Statistical Area, or MSA, as Dutchess and Orange.

According to tax filings and Lundquist, the two local hospitals suffered a combined loss of $10 million during the period of 2008 to 2011.

Freeman Managing Editor Tony Adamis expects Wednesday’s session with Lundquist and Ratner to generate a stimulating discussion.

“We are pleased that Mr. Lundquist and Mr. Ratner have accepted our invitation to talk about the very serious prospect of the closing of one of the affiliated hospitals,” Adamis said. “We hope the public will participate by submitting questions, either in advance or online Wednesday as the discussion unfolds. It promises to be a very interesting hour.”



Adamis and Freeman Publisher Ira Fusfeld will participate in the session. Continued...

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Freeman Life Editor Ivan Lajara, who also is East Region engagement editor for Digital First Media, said Wednesday’s livestreamed event is part of the newspaper’s Community Media Lab outreach initiative.

Digital First Media manages the Journal Register Co., the parent company of the Freeman.

“This Community Media Lab effort aims to address the community’s need for information and empowers it to use our forum for discussion and engagement with the people who make the news and those who report it,” Lajara said. “The issues with the area hospitals greatly affect the area, so it’s only proper to make the community part of this event.”

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