DKH / Covenant Acquisition Facts

DKH, a healthcare system including a hospital, medical group, homecare and hospice services and a foundation based in Putnam, CT, will relinquish its assets and local control to Covenant Health of Tewksbury MA. 

DKH has filed for a Certificate of Need with the CT Office of Health Strategy (OHS), falsely claiming that this is the only alternative for saving the hospital. DKH has not provided a history or rationale of past failed merger attempts, or alternative fiscal solutions to OHS or to the community. DKH intends to complete this deal on 30 September 2022. However OHS must first determine that DKH’s application is complete before determining next steps.

Community Concerns

DKH will abandon its secular status, lose local control of its policies and practices, and become a Catholic institution. As such, it must abide by the dictates of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in its statement of Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs). These mandates will result in restrictions on reproductive health services, end-of-life decision making, gender affirming care, referrals to such services, and other constraints for patients and staff, including loss of personal health care insurance coverage for DKH employees. Many women will be forced to find other providers for reproductive health care and to leave the area for their care. Many medical decisions will be based upon religious doctrine - not sound medical practice and scientific evidence.

Local History

A community hospital for 128 years, Day Kimball has served Northeastern Connecticut and surrounding communities by providing quality healthcare, homecare, hospice, and medical providers. We value the people who have created and sustained this vital and cherished hospital, its services and facilities. We recognize the challenges of financial viability for rural healthcare systems but contend that DKH needs to pursue alternatives to this acquisition which will cause less harm, assure health quality, and keep DKH’s promise to the community to maintain local control. 

Desired Outcomes

• We desire that DKH will remain fully governed by a local community board and that it will maintain the assets that have been built by our community for 128 years.

• We expect continued quality of care based upon sound medical practice and scientific evidence. 

• We require that DKH services not be curtailed by religious principles. 

• We want Day Kimball Healthcare to be fully transparent to its Northeastern Connecticut public in all aspects of its governance, plans, policies and practices. This includes to ensure opportunity for open communication with, and feedback to, management, board and corporators who are chosen to be stewards of our health resources and representatives of the needs and wants of our community.

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Link to "Change.org" petition