Northeastern Hospital Is Too Important to Close
On Saturday, roughly 100 people demonstrated in Center City against Temple University' profit-motivated plans to close Northeastern Hospital. Last year, Northeastern Hospital treated roughly 50,000 people in its emergency room and delivered 1,800 babies, serving the predominately low-income neighborhoods of Port Richmond, Fishtown, Bridesburg, Juniata Park, Kensington and Narrowgate. Too many Medicaid patients, too many uninsured,a nurse said at yesterday' protest.
Temple' administration, trustees and newly appointed hit man Senior Executive Vice President of Health Sciences Edmond Notebaert - who closed hospitals in his former capacity as President and Chief Executive Officer of the University of Maryland Medical System - have only one motive: profit. But they are in for a fight!
In front of the Union League club at Broad and Sansom, where Temple President Ann Weaver Hart was hosting a $500-per-plate fundraiser for Temple' organ transplant program, the Coalition to Save Northeastern Hospital (http://www.savenortheastern.org) organized a loud, determined and unyielding protest. Health care workers, community leaders, and people in solidarity with this struggle converged on this fundraiser for the moneyed health care clientele. Flyers were handed out to passersby and visitors to the Union League, and countless cars honked when prompted by the protesters' signs to do so if you want Northeastern to stay open.The protestors shouted patients yes profits noor Ann Weaver Hart you need to get a heartas they circled the Union League. Others asked sarcastically: where' the fundraiser for Northeastern?- sarcastically because there does not need to be a fundraiser for Northeastern. Temple just needs to live up to its social responsibilities and to its obligations to the public due to the millions of dollars it receives in state funds every year. The Temple Health Care System is very profitable and could easily absorb the little money Northeastern loseson the low income, senior and working poor of Northeast Philadelphia that they serve.
The fight for Northeastern Hospital is also symbolic for the wider struggles against the ongoing profit-based decisions, which are made by and for the few. The continuous efforts to wage economic war on the less moneyed folks in favor of those that already have everything does not only take place at Northeastern. Students, janitors, taxi workers, undocumented immigrants, or those that are threatened by gentrification all face this struggle against greed and for their economic human rights.
Northeastern is a central site of opposition to profit-based decisions. Northeastern also shows that health care cannot be left to market forces.As Dr. Steinbach and Dr. Pizzica of Northeastern Hospital point out: Hospitals can't cherry-pick their payer mix, and the people who need care cannot support the system as it is. Closing Northeastern is just abandoning the people who need the most help.
Temple can do the right thing and invest in health care for the Northeast instead of investing in only the profitable health care programs and clienteles. Such as, for instance, organ transplant programs for which patients are only accepted if they can provide $1,000,000 in insurance coverage. Guess how many can do that who live in the communities that Northeastern serves?
What you can do to take action:
Call Bob Brady to Save Northeastern
As Temple proceeds with plans to close the Hospital, the most important call supporters of the Hospital can make is to Congressman Bob Brady, whose district includes the Hospital.
Tell Mr. Brady the most important project he can work on to help ease the economic crisis and protect the health of his district residents is to keep the Hospital open! If Temple is not blocked from proceeding with plans to shut down services within two weeks, the physicians, nurses and other critical staff needed to keep the Hospital functioning will have left for other jobs, making it extremely difficult to renew services.
Mr Brady can be reached at: 215-389-4627 Fax 2115-389-4636 at his District Office or 202-225-4731 Fax 202-225-0088
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Call Bob Brady to Save Northeastern
From the Coalition to Save Northeastern:
As Temple proceeds with plans to close the Hospital, the most important call supporters of the Hospital can make is to Congressman Bob Brady, whose district includes the Hospital. Tell Mr. Brady the most important project he can work on to help ease the economic crisis and protect the health of his district residents is to keep the Hospital open! If Temple is not blocked from proceeding with plans to shut down services within two weeks, the physicians, nurses and other critical staff needed to keep the Hospital functioning will have left for other jobs, making it extremely difficult to renew services.
Mr Brady can be reached at: 215-389-4627 Fax 2115-389-4636 at his District Office or 202-225-4731 Fax 202-225-0088