Public Employee Press

Union ready to fight possible hospital cuts

Gov. Pataki’s hospital closing commission is to make recommendations in 2006. Labor-community coalition prepares for battle to protect jobs and services.

DC 37 is working to protect public hospital services and jobs with a broad coalition of unions, elected officials, health care activists and religious groups. They are preparing a campaign to fight back against the wave of service cutbacks, bed reductions and hospital closings that Gov. George E. Pataki could unleash next year.

One threat is the Federal-State Health Reform Partnership — a proposal from the governor to the federal government to restructure hospital funding and cut Medicaid costs. Under F-SHRP about one-third of the state’s hospital beds — almost 20,000 out of 63,000 — are considered excess beds that presumably could be closed. About 9,000 of these are in New York City.

The F-SHRP proposal is linked to another threat, the State Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. The stated goal of the commission is to “right-size and reconfigure the hospital and long-term care delivery systems.”

Hospital Closing Commission
But the governor’s true intentions might be better summed up in the group’s popular name, which is the “Hospital Closing Commission.”

The commission, which was set up in July, is to make recommendations next year on beds to eliminate and institutions to shutter. Under the governor’s plan, the cuts would be implemented in 2007. The commission has 18 members, 12 appointed by the governor and six appointed by state Senate and Assembly leaders.

“We are monitoring these developments very carefully,” said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts. “With our coalition, we will be ready to halt any plan that endangers community health services and our members’ jobs.”

Coalitions
DC 37 leaders are preparing to fight to protect the public health care system from the potential cuts and closings in partnership with the HHC/MLC, a subcommittee of the Municipal Labor Committee. The HHC/MLC includes DC 37 locals and other unions that have a combined total of 30,000 members working in the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp.

The labor group is working closely with a wide range of community, advocacy and religious organizations who are concerned about possible hospital closures.

“The services our members provide are a matter of life or death in many communities,” said Carmen Charles, president of Municipal Hospital Employees Union Local 420. “Our members will be part of this vital struggle to protect these services and the jobs of our members,” she said.

“We will fight together with the community to make sure that health care and jobs are maintained,” said Ralph Palladino, 2nd vice president and Hospital Chapter chair of Local 1549. “Instead of thinking about closing hospitals they need to increase services,” said Palladino.

Judy Wessler, head of the Commission on the Public’s Health System, has expressed serious reservations about the Pataki plan. “We know that in past proposals, the hospitals that are targeted for closing are most frequently in communities of color and medically underserved, low-income, immigrant areas,” she said.

“We are ready to fight the Pataki plan every step of the way,” said Roberts, “working with our community allies and reaching out to state legislators who care about providing for the health needs of the people of our state and city.”