By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- The Town Council made an informal agreement on Wednesday that they will support legislation in Albany that would back Massena Memorial Hospital’s right to affiliate as a municipal entity, if it is tied to bill that would support the employees in the event of privatization.

“I am in favor of pursuing this if it is connected to another bill on pensions and buying in for employees on the cusp of milestones,” Town Supervisor Joseph Gray said. The councilmen then all indicated they agreed.

One of the points of contention throughout the years-long privatization debate is the state pension. MMH employees are currently in the system and could lose out on bumping up to the next milestone if the hospital goes private and would have the leave the program.

Assemblywoman Addie Russell, D-Theresa, spoke to the board Wednesday and said state law will allow Massena Memorial to affiliate as a town-owned hospital. MMH officials are pursuing privatization.

She introduced a bill toward the end of the last legislative session that she said wouldn't actually change what the town can do about MMH. She said it's "more in line of a clarification ... a public hospital can affiliate," she said.

Russell told the board they can go after affiliations in the same manner as contracting with other non-governmental agencies – through a request for proposal and bidding process.

“You get the value and best deal for your organization,” Russell said.

She believes if MMH were to privatize and affiliate with a larger system, the larger system would benefit, not Massena.

“It’s dangling a shiny thing in front of the taxpayer’s face … and handing the facility to an out-of-state entity,” Russell said.

Massena Memorial Hospital CEO Robert Wolleben said affiliations can take many forms, one of which could involve gaining the financial resources of a more robust entity.

“We have need for something in the order of $21 to $25 million dollars in the next five years for expenses,” replacing outdated equipment and “needed improvements,” Wolleben said, which includes remodeling the emergency room to meet increased demand and revamping some patient rooms.

During Russell’s time speaking, she said an affiliate would be in it for their gain, not to help MMH.

“They want to bring cash in, not put cash out,” she told the board.

Wolleben said privatization would help MMH clear long-term debt. He said they have applied for a large state grant that would clear their books, but privatization and affiliation are dealbreakers.

“MMH has submitted $21 million in requests to the [Department of Health] and to date, been approved for $5.8 million with the expectation that MMH convert to a non-profit organization and establish an affiliation with a larger hospital system,” Wolleben wrote in a prepared statement he released at the meeting.

Russell said the idea that hospitals must privatize in order to affiliate is a “myth” created by large law firms that stand to make big bucks from situations like MMH.

“It is a myth the hospital must privatize … driven by a handful of power brokers, some of whom engage in union-busting, and will make a ton of money off this,” she said.

Wolleben said if MMH affiliates, it could take several forms.

“It could be very simple, a contract relationship where one party provides services to the other and just says ‘all we want is our name in front of our place’ … or very complicated where we merge into a system,” he said. “In some instances of merging … you get the advantage of the [larger system’s] credit rating.”

Wolleben said they have not yet chosen an affiliate, although they have received requests from three, and the services they receive from other hospitals are contract deals, not affiliations. That includes new cardiologist Dr. Aderonke Adeniyi, who comes from University of Vermont Health Network but has her expenses paid by MMH, Wolleben said.

“Under non-profit status, Massena Memorial Hospital will have access to the necessary capital required to purchase state-of-the-art equipment, upgrade facilities, update outdated rooms, machine and tools and increase research that will allow us to compete with neighboring hospitals. Additionally, the change will allow us to recruit the best doctors and physicians,” Wolleben wrote in his statement.