Temple University Health System Hurting Itself

May 2009 National Article, National Scene Magazine

http://www.nationalscenemagazine.com/html/national.html

Temple University Health System Hurting Itself:

Public Outcry Over Proposed Closing of Northeastern Hospital in Port Richmond, PA


Written by: Karen Benardello


The staff and patients of Northeastern Hospital in Port Richmond, Pennsylvania received good news on Thursday, April 9 when officials of the Temple University Health System, which operates the hospital, agreed to delay their plan to convert it into an outpatient-care facility by July 1. The delay, which will last for 30 days, will give local elected leaders a chance to analyze Temple’s decision to close the hospital and offer possible alternatives.

However, “They’re not guaranteeing anything,” said state Rep. John Taylor, R-Philadelphia, one of the four politicians who have criticized Temple for excluding leaders and the public from the decision-making process. “They’re holding off…so we can explore all the issues we should have been exploring months ago, when they weren’t talking to anybody,” he also said.

Temple announced that Northeastern couldn’t continue to operate as an inpatient hospital on March 23, because it was losing considerable amounts of money: $6.6 million in the 2008 fiscal year, which is projected to rise to $15 million during this fiscal year. As an outpatient facility, Northeastern Hospital would cut down on expenses by just providing prenatal care, lab work and radiology services.

If the change goes through, more than 800 jobs will be lost. But some, including Jerry Silberman, the local leader of the union that represents the hospital’s nurses, are trying to stay optimistic of the news of the delay. “But Temple’s style of negotiating is to not negotiate, so we’ll see how this goes,” Silberman said.

There has also been public outcry over the belief that Temple values their profits over patients, and it will close the hospital even though some, including Taylor, have described it as a lifeline for the residents of Port Richmond, Fishtown, Kensington and Bridesburg. In response, John Buckley, Northeastern’s chief executive, told the Daily News that the hospital was threatening to jeopardize the remainder of Temple’s health system, as more than 53 percent of its patients use Medicaid, which only compensates the hospital for 75 percent of the cost to treat patients.

Buckley also told the newspaper that many of the estimated 48,000 people who visit Northeastern’s emergency room every year are there for primary care. He also stated that the hospital needs about $100 million of upgrades and renovations, and the hospital has also had a difficult time recruiting physicians and specialists.

At several community meetings, Taylor and Silberman suggested several actions the public can take to show Temple that they believe closing Northeastern is a mistake. While Taylor threatened to cut off more than $150 million in funding Temple receives from the state, Silberman suggested that residents and hospital workers turn to the courts to file a restraining order against Temple to halt their transition plans.

While many businesses need to be cutting down on their expenses during this current recession, hospital and health care should not be one of them. While people can do without such luxuries as traveling and fancy cars until the economy turns around, everyone is entitled to, and should receive, medical treatment all of the time. The officials of the Temple University Health System should remember that such an action is inhumane, and should reconsider their decision to close Northeastern Hospital.