The sale of Conemaugh Health System to Duke LifePoint Healthcare in 2014 sparked a controversy in the 72nd Legislative District.
Republican nominee Amy ·Bradley believes that current state Rep. Frank Burns · falsely portrayed her role in the deal in television commercials and mailings, implying her involvement in the decision to sell. She said she didn’t.
During the sale to Duke LifePoint Healthcare, an international healthcare services company based in Brentwood, Tennessee, Bradley served as Conemaugh’s marketing director and spokesperson.
The sale includes the Conimo Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, as well as other health system locations in Cumbria, Somerset and Blair counties.
Burns alleges that the sale of the nonprofit Conemaugh to for-profit Duke University has led to hospital staffing shortages, doctor layoffs, longer emergency room wait times, and service consolidation.
Conemaugh has announced two layoffs in the past two years — 24 in May 2023 and 10 doctors in February last year.
Burns’ ad included statements that Bradley, as a spokeswoman for Conimo, had “sold” or “helped sell” the hospital, portraying the deal as a positive impact on the community and ignoring the negatives.
He said his ad said, “Amy · Bradley — she sold Cornimo Hospital to an out-of-state for-profit organization,” not that she “sold” Cornimo Hospital to Duke University.
Two versions of Burns’ Conemaugh ad have aired – the first version includes news footage related to the sale, while the updated version features people making the same statement on screen about the impact of the sale and Bradley’s character.
Bradley, who is now president and chief executive of the Cumbria Regional Chamber of Commerce, said Burns’ campaign message misrepresented her role in the deal 10 years ago, and that she had “absolutely” no say in the sale of the Cornimo Health System to Duke University.
As a marketing director, she says, her job is to “promote the [Johnstown] hospital, introduce new technology, and act as a voice for [Conimo].” ”
Rodney Reider, president of the Conemaugh Health System market and CEO of Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, joined the system 18 months ago, and he supported Bradley’s concerns about Burns’ campaign ads. He said employees working in the system’s healthcare facilities felt hurt.
“Burns has been a friend of the hospital for years,” he said. “That’s what surprised us.”
Conemaugh is for sale for a long time and involves many establishments. In August 2014, Judge Timothy · Cryney, then president of Cumbria County