Lozzi forms own group to oppose Partners’ hospital plan

LYNN – Partners HealthCare is about to be attacked on two fronts instead of just one.Ward 1 Councilor Wayne Lozzi is launching a group of his own aimed at keeping Union Hospital a full-service hospital.”It’s an idea I’ve had for awhile,” he said. “It’s called Community United for Union.”Partners, a regional health care provider that owns Union, Salem and several other hospitals, announced last November it planned to move surgical beds from Union to Salem Hospital and add psychiatric services to Union Hospital. The announcement caused concern and frustration among area residents and elected officials.Katerina Panagiotakis Koudanis rallied residents and a number of city and state officials shortly after Partners announced its intentions, and together they founded Union Hospital Advocates. Lozzi said he attended a few of their meetings but felt he wanted to move in a different direction. He is hoping to raise money to hire an attorney to fight Partners on the legal front.”It seemed best to form another group to proceed with that,” he said.Lozzi said he has met with a former Department of Public Health attorney who is drafting up a plan to help his group launch a legal attack, while Koudanis and her group prepare to meet Partners at the table when it files its Determination of Need with the state.Partners’ plans for Union and Salem hospitals must be approved by the state. The advocates group has filed a 10-taxpayer group so they will be a part of the proceedings.Koudanis said she encourages other groups to go after Partners but said the fact is Lozzi was uncomfortable with the grassroots advocates “and wanted to control the group without hearing others’ suggestions.”Koudanis said what she loves about the advocates group is the fact that others are empowered by the cause and no one controls the group.Lozzi said he wasn’t trying to take anything away from anyone, he simply believes they have different agendas but the same goal.Koundains said she also felt Lozzi was uncomfortable with the Republicans in the group, Rep. Donald Wong and congressional candidate Richard Tisei.”We are a non-political group,” she added.Lozzi pointed out that he feels he is doing what he was elected to do, react to the will of his constituents, and he praised Koudanis’ work.”It’s great what the group has done so far,” he said. “They are an energized committee. If it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t be doing this. They demonstrated by their popularity and investment that they are a lot of passionate people, but I felt the need to take another step in a different direction.”There is one path both groups are toying with following and that is eminent domain. Both Lozzi and Koudanis have said that taking Union by eminent domain is an avenue worth exploring.Koudanis said the advocates group’s petition to take over Union as a public community hospital, managed by any hospital willing to work under the people’s conditions, would be a conflict of interest for Lozzi.”We would need his vote on the council to not be absent,” she said. “As far as seeking legal counsel to fight Partners’ plans, we have two attorneys, who are consulting with us anonymously at the moment, and, apart from the group, I have already filed an 84-page suit with the Department of Antitrust at the state and federal level.”Lozzi said as a city councilor he is elected to lead and take charge, and that is what he is doing.”I felt I needed to do it,” he said. “I’m certainly not against them, we’re all in this together.”Lozzi said his group will be holding a fundraiser at the Knights of Columbus Sept. 13 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., and he hopes to see 200-300 people in attendance.