REPORT: September 2006

Coalition tells Hospital Closing Commission: Do No Harm

by Nancy Webber

“Access to care must be given the highest priority when hospital closings are considered. Patients come first – not financial reports and statistics,” said Kim Moore-Ward, associate director for NYSNA’s Economic & General Welfare program.

Moore-Ward spoke at an Aug. 8 media briefing on the New York State’s Commission on Health Facilities in the 21st Century, often informally referred to as the “Hospital Closing Commission.” The briefing was sponsored by NYSNA and the Save Our Safety Net-Campaign.

“NYSNA joined the Save Our Safety Net Coalition because our registered nurse members share its concerns and goals,” Moore-Ward said. Since its inception in 2005, the coalition has worked to make the public and our elected officials aware that hospital closings, particularly in New York City, have traditionally been concentrated in communities where the need for healthcare services has been the greatest.

At the press conference, the coalition displayed maps of New York City that showed the location of the 66 hospitals that have closed in the past 40 years. A majority of these hospitals were located in or near high-poverty, medically underserved areas.

“Most striking is the lack of any focus on racial and ethnic disparities in access to care and the outcomes of healthcare services,” said Judy Wessler, director of the Commission on the Public’s Health System, and co-coordinator of the coalition. “Study after study has shown that these disparities exist, yet the commission turns up a blank on the collection or analysis of data related to these disparities.”

The coalition made public letters that were addressed to the “Closing Commission” about the need for transparency to address these issues. The coalition filed a Freedom of Information Law to review documents providing details on the commission’s decision making process. But the commission refused, claiming it is exempt from such disclosure.

In response, coalition representatives said they are seeking legislation to ensure that “the commission acts in an equitable and responsible manner and in so acting does no harm.” The sponsor of this bill in the NYS Assembly, Adriano Espaillat, said during the briefing and that the bill has passed through the assembly and has been awaiting a vote in the senate.

In presenting the vital need for this legislation, Moore-Ward decried the incomplete evaluative criteria set forth by the commission. “NYSNA members attended the poorly-publicized ‘open’ hearings held by the commission. NYSNA members urged the commission to consider overall community healthcare needs; racial and class disparities in healthcare delivery; and the special needs of the young, the elderly, the disabled, and the underinsured.”

“We are fast approaching Dec. 1 when the commission is required to make its recommendations to the legislature and the governor,” continued Moore-Ward. “When that happens, affected communities will learn that their essential healthcare services are in danger. But, by then, it will be too late to react unless this legislation passes. In addition to the legislation, we need the public to stand with us for full transparency from these bureaucrats that are intentionally keeping the public in the dark.”