Sonora, CA — Those were the words of Fourth District Supervisor Mark Thornton Tuesday afternoon after voting to eliminate the acute care services at Tuolumne General Hospital.

Thornton was joined in that vote by Supervisors Liz Bass and Dick Pland respectively. Second District Supervisor Paolo Maffei was the lone dissenter.

Thornton added that despite the emotion packed testimony during the Beilenson Hearing, he simply had to look at the big picture and stop the flow of red ink from the county´s general fund. T.G.H. is scheduled to lose $9 million this fiscal year and $8.3 million next fiscal year.

The acute care services that will be cut over a period of time include: the emergency room, the surgical-medical component and the intensive care unit. A plan to end those services will be presented to the Board by County Administrator C. Brent Wallace on June 6.

Written by Bill Johnson