PRESS RELEASE BY Margaret Brown
Local residents and community advocates have launched a widespread public petition campaign calling on Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday to launch an immediate antitrust investigation into New York-based Kaleida Health. The push comes following revelations that Kaleida Health blocked a potential transition of the Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) campus to Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) Health by demanding a highly restrictive, 10-year non-compete clause.
The grassroots petition, hosted on Change.org, demands that the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General intervene to strike down any restrictive property covenants that prevent alternative medical networks from restoring critical healthcare infrastructure—including emergency department services—to McKean County.
Pettitioners claim that Kaleida Health is prioritizing corporate market dominance over the lives and safety of rural Pennsylvanians. Demanding a decade-long ban on clinical hospital operations at the Bradford site serves no medical or public purpose. It is a “naked restraint of trade” designed to force our residents to travel to New York state for emergency care just to protect Kaleida’s bottom line.
The community’s legal grievance centers on potential violations of state and federal antitrust laws, specifically Section 2 of the Sherman Act regarding monopolization. By systematically decommissioning Bradford’s healthcare capacity and legally blocking horizontal competitors from utilizing the vacant physical infrastructure, advocates argue Kaleida is creating a captive market for its nearby profitable asset, Olean General Hospital.
The closure of the emergency room and the impending shutdown of the 95-bed Pavilion skilled nursing facility leave thousands of regional residents facing a hazardous 30-minute commute for life-saving care—a geographic barrier that local leaders warn will lead to preventable algorithmic tragedy during severe winter weather.
Organizers aim to gather thousands of verified regional signatures to present to Attorney General Sunday’s Antitrust and Public Protection divisions.
The petition is entirely free to sign and can be accessed publicly at: https://c.org/Bdp4wbY8W8
The grassroots petition, hosted on Change.org, demands that the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General intervene to strike down any restrictive property covenants that prevent alternative medical networks from restoring critical healthcare infrastructure—including emergency department services—to McKean County.
Pettitioners claim that Kaleida Health is prioritizing corporate market dominance over the lives and safety of rural Pennsylvanians. Demanding a decade-long ban on clinical hospital operations at the Bradford site serves no medical or public purpose. It is a “naked restraint of trade” designed to force our residents to travel to New York state for emergency care just to protect Kaleida’s bottom line.
The community’s legal grievance centers on potential violations of state and federal antitrust laws, specifically Section 2 of the Sherman Act regarding monopolization. By systematically decommissioning Bradford’s healthcare capacity and legally blocking horizontal competitors from utilizing the vacant physical infrastructure, advocates argue Kaleida is creating a captive market for its nearby profitable asset, Olean General Hospital.
The closure of the emergency room and the impending shutdown of the 95-bed Pavilion skilled nursing facility leave thousands of regional residents facing a hazardous 30-minute commute for life-saving care—a geographic barrier that local leaders warn will lead to preventable algorithmic tragedy during severe winter weather.
Organizers aim to gather thousands of verified regional signatures to present to Attorney General Sunday’s Antitrust and Public Protection divisions.
The petition is entirely free to sign and can be accessed publicly at: https://c.org/Bdp4wbY8W8
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