Hallyburton letter: St. Luke’s

St. Luke’s Idaho is taking more public streets.

Keep Boise Connected’s recent opinion concerning St. Luke’s request of Ada County to take Boise streets for their use captures exactly what is wrong in America today. Here’s another giant (Idaho) corporation with near unlimited funds that is altering public policy to their will with little concern for John Q. Public. In this case it’s a nonprofit behemoth with huge political clout that will forever change the way we work, play and get medical care in Ada County. And, oh yeah, they don’t pay taxes, so we the customers, we the public, we the taxpayers get to foot the bill. The taking of public land by any corporation should face heavy scrutiny, and the taking by a nonprofit even more so.

Key points included: It’s only a win for St. Luke’s executives; it’s a loss for Ada County patients they will force to make the congested commute to a hospital with poor access (St. Luke’s would have us believe improved emergency care is the issue yet 64 percent of increased traffic is due to new nonemergency care). Please attend the June 22, 6 p.m. meeting at ACHD, 3775 Adams St., Garden City.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Hallyburton letter: St. Luke’s."