It was just five years ago that the community board which operates the not-for-profit Little House Health Center joined with the then-burgeoning Beth Israel/Deaconess Medical Center (BI-DMC). It was a time of rapid-fire consolidation in the health care field. Boston's major hospitals were forging mergers with each other as health care providers struggled to form alliances to insure their own survival. The new conglomerates looked at the network of primary care locations operated by neighborhood health centers and reached out to form alliances.

Only two hospitals, Carney and Boston City had any involvement in our neighborhood. The Carney, now called Caritas Carney, had sponsored and supported a network of these storefront health centers all across Dorchester and Mattapan, while City Hospital, now called Boston Medical Center, had supported many others. The founding principle of these sponsorships was to provide primary care to under-served neighborhood populations- preventative health care at local neighborhood offices that would reduce the needs of patients to seek more costly treatment at hospital emergency rooms and out-patient offices.

But during that time of rapid consolidation, other hospital groups took notice of our neighborhoods. Partners Health Care, a merger of Mass General and Brigham and Women hospitals, took a run at purchasing the Carney from the outgoing owners, the Daughters of Charity; that bid lost out to the growing Archdiocesan group called Caritas Christi.

After the BI/Deaconess persuaded the Bowdoin Street Health Center's community board to break its ties with Carney and affiliate with them, board members at Little House health center saw a chance to improve their facility by following the Bowdoin Street example.

On August 3, 1998, when the Little House re-opened under its new BI-DMC affiliation, a Little House health committee official told patients the new association would ensure "the same high-quality care you and your family have come to expect."

"In fact, we will be expanding our services to address additional community needs... Your doctor and nurse will coordinate all of your family's health needs, including referrals to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Children's, and other area hospitals when you or your children need specialized care, testing, or hospitalization. Transportation to and from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will be provided when needed."

It was a heady time, full of great promise in the Columbia-Savin Hill neighborhood.

But now, BI-DMC has announced it will cease its sponsorship of the Little House this spring. Residents in that neighborhood have been told that, without the support, the facility will shut down.

Health care advocates in the neighborhood are scrambling to find ways to forestall the closure. Most acknowledge that BI-DMC has been struggling financially and must find ways to reverse its financial losses. But they argue there's a higher priority here- the need of neighborhood residents to receive good quality health care in their community.

The Dorchester community is coming together to seek ways to keep the Little House health center alive. Political leaders like Mayor Menino, Councillor Feeney and Senator Hart are working overtime to find a solution to prevent the closing. And the Codman Square Health Center and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center have also stepped up, proposing a way to take over the health center under their management.

Trouble is, BI-Deaconess, as of this writing, has refused to meet the community halfway by helping Codman Square and Dorchester House cover the costs of the first-year debt that they would inherit in a salvage effort. As Senator Hart said in last week's Reporter, the community is simply looking for a fair "severance package" from Beth Israel-Deaconess.

Beth Israel-Deaconess CEO Paul Levy and his board members should seize this opportunity to make a graceful exit from Columbia-Savin Hill and ensure continuity of care for the longtime patients for whom the Little House has long been a beacon of hope.

-Ed Forry