Letter to the Editor

Editor:

The People of Henderson County have won a great victory through our settlement of the lawsuit filed against Henderson County by East Texas Medical Center.

In the Fall of 2004, I wrote a letter to ETMC and asked for this hospital to live up to the promises it had made to the People of Henderson County beginning in 1982. Instead of doing what I asked, ETMC sued me, County Judge David Holstein and Henderson County.

Now, almost three (3) years later, ETMC has finally recognized the error of its actions and agreed to a settlement of the lawsuit it filed against us. County Judge David Holstein has estimated that this settlement will be worth over eight hundred million ($800,000,000.00) dollars to the People of Henderson County over the life of the lease between Henderson County and ETMC.

It is disappointing and sad to me that some of the good people of Henderson County have been misinformed, confused and mistaken about the lawsuit ETMC filed against us, about the obligations ETMC had to the People of Henderson County and about the purpose of the actions I took, beginning in the Fall of 2004, to require ETMC to do the things it promised to do for the citizens of our County.

My efforts to require ETMC to live up to the agreements it made with the People of Henderson County have caused several of those who have been misinformed, confused and mistaken to speak and write in a harsh, critical and negative manner about me and my activities as I have worked since 2004 to require ETMC to keep its word to the People of Henderson County.

Some people have apparently tried to make my wife Laura, our children Brad, Amanda, Kenneth, Matthew, Hannah, Katelynn and me feel uncomfortable because of my work in seeking to require ETMC to live up to its word given to the citizens of our county. We certainly hope these people will now be able to fully understand and appreciate why I insisted that ETMC keep its word. It's all about high quality health care at a reasonable price and I certainly want the highest quality of health care for the People of Henderson County at the best price.

Now that we have won a significant victory for the people of our county, I hope we can all join together to enjoy the blessings God has provided us and work toward peace and harmony in the days and years ahead.

County Attorney, James Owens