New York Hospitals April 2009

CEO foresees hospital issues - recordonline.com - The Times Herald Record http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080504/BIZ...
CEO foresees hospital issues

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“How can you allow the insurance companies to make this kind of money to the
detriment of the hospitals and patient care in New York State?” says Allan
Atzrott, St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital CEO.
Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON
By Christian Livermore
Times Herald-Record
Posted: May 04, 2008 - 2:00 AM
NEWBURGH — St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital President and CEO Allan E. Atzrott sees problems ahead for
New York hospitals — St. Luke's in particular.
Inadequate Medicare reimbursements and about $21 million in charity care annually translated into a $2.7
million operations loss for St. Luke's in 2007, Atzrott said at the seventh annual President's Breakfast
Friday morning.
Piling on are malpractice insurance rates, which can be 30 percent higher than in surrounding counties,
discouraging doctors to practice here, even while the hospital's Medicare reimbursement rates are lower
than any hospital in Orange or Dutchess County because of a geographic-based quirk in the Medicare
reimbursement system.
All while health insurance companies in New York State posted excess reserves of $5 billion.
"How can you allow the insurance companies to make this kind of money to the detriment of the hospitals
and patient care in New York State?" Atzrott said. "Something's got to be done."
He proposed the state insurance superintendent should have the power to regulate commercial health
insurance, as in some other states.
Citing underfunding, the hospital announced recently the layoff of 26 employees.
Union officials have suggested that Atzrott was using the union's switch to the national benefit fund — about
$1 million more expensive for the hospital, Atzrott said — as a leverage tool to justify the layoffs and get a
better deal in the next union contract.
"It's not a leverage tool," Atzrott said after the breakfast.
"If some of our employees want that, they can have it, but there's a cost to it. We're the ones who issue
paychecks, not the union."
clivermore@th-record.com
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2 of 5 3/18/2009 2:06 PM
Glens Falls Hospital cuts 65 jobs - The Business Review (Albany): http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/05/19/daily24.html
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Glens Falls Hospital cuts 65 jobs

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Other Matching A year-to-date net loss of nearly $1 million has prompted Glens
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3 of 3 3/18/2009 4:43 PM
Hospital Obstetrics Ward Will Close Amid Malpractice Crisis - July 31, ... http://www.nysun.com/new-york/hospital-obstetrics-ward-will-close-ami...
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NEW YORK NATIONAL FOREIGN BUSINESS OBITUARIES HEALTH+
RELATED SUN TOPICS ›

Hospital Obstetrics Ward Will Health and Fitness
Close Amid Malpractice Crisis Healthcare
Doctors at Long Island College Hospital Dissent From Medical Specializations
Continuum Plan
Medicine
By E.B. SOLOMONT, Staff Reporter of the Sun | July 31, 2008
Obstetrics and Gynecology
SHARE | PRINT | EMAIL
RELATED SUN STORIES ›

A CASH-STRAPPED BROOKLYN HOSPITAL WILL STOP
Mount Sinai Appoints a President
delivering babies, aiming to regain its financial footing and
reduce its escalating medical malpractice costs. Pataki, Spitzer, Paterson
Drug Leaves Patients Cancer-Free

Long Island College Hospital, in the Cobble Hill neighborhood,
plans to shutter its obstetrics department pending approval Injection To Cure Arthritis Can Be Available Within
5 Years
from the state's Department of Health, hospital officials said
yesterday. Last year, the hospital delivered 2,800 babies, and it Appeal Made for More Blood Donor Buses
is on track to deliver about 2,200 this year.
Officials from the hospital's parent company, Continuum Health

Partners, said they made the decision in an attempt to avoid
bankruptcy. The Brooklyn hospital has accrued $170 million of
debt, with the obstetrics department accounting for 33%, or $11
million, of the hospital's losses each year. Malpractice insurance
costs for the obstetrics department, $8.8 million each year,
represent 40% of the hospital's overall malpractice insurance
costs, about $22 million each year. The hospital will retain a
gynecology practice.
"Our decision to take this step is not a happy one for us,"
Continuum's president and chief executive officer, Stanley
USNewsUniversityDirectory.com/MBA
Ads by Goooooogle Brezenoff, said at a news conference yesterday. "We are taking
this approach because not to do so would leave LICH in even NEW YORK ›
greater jeopardy and bring about far more adverse September 11 Health Bill Stalls; One
consequences." Backer Blames City Hall
Mr. Brezenoff said the decision is part of a larger reorganization Low-Price Laptops Tested at City Schools
plan designed to address a gap between the hospital's revenues New Policy Is Sought in Albany After
and its expenses, translating to more than $30 million in Report on Silver's Travel
annual losses.
Bed Bug Boom Is a Boost To One Sector
The plan, outlined in a memo to the hospital's physicians and Solons Busy Outside Office, New Income
staff, includes the sale of real estate holdings, including the Report Shows
Polhemus building on Henry Street and another building at 97
Atlantic Yard Project Suffers a Setback
Amity St. The hospital also plans to reduce its number of beds
by as many as 100. The hospital is licensed for 500 beds, but it
operates 350. NATIONAL ›
Feingold Bill Would Limit Searches of

The decision to close the obstetrics department will affect more Travelers' Laptops
than 350 employees, including some whose jobs are protected
by their unions. Hospital officials said they would try to place Palin, McCain Decry 'Gotcha' Journalism
employees in other departments, although some layoffs are Gates Calls for a Balanced Military
expected.
Dispute Over Witness Disrupts Stevens
The hospital's interim chief executive and its chief restructuring Trial
officer, Dominick Stanzione, said the hospital's challenges are Heart Patients Need Screening For
related to issues that affect every health care organization in Depression
New York. "In this state, we have an overwhelming problem
Little Progress Made in Effort To Restore
1 of 3 3/18/2009 2:19 PM
Hospital Obstetrics Ward Will Close Amid Malpractice Crisis - July 31, ... http://www.nysun.com/new-york/hospital-obstetrics-ward-will-close-ami...
with the medical malpractice situation," he said. "This Everglades

institution is a victim of that."
ARTS+ ›
In New York, doctors and hospitals pay malpractice insurance
premiums that are among the costliest nationwide. Last year, New York Film Festival Goes Around the
following a 14% rate increase, Governor Spitzer charged a task World and Back
force with investigating and addressing the state's high medical A British Artist Plumbs the Politics of
malpractice costs. The group did not produce a final report, and Hunger
earlier this month, instead of raising rates again, the state's
Barbet Schroeder Can't Be Killed
Superintendent of Insurance, Eric Dinallo, announced a delay in
the setting of new rates to give lawmakers time to address the 'Choke': Hard To Swallow
situation. 'Eagle Eye': Let It Go to Voicemail
"The bottom line is, I'm not surprised that one major hospital 'The Lucky Ones': Nothing Salves the Soul
that does a significant number of deliveries is discontinuing Like a Road Trip
their obstetrics service," the executive director of the New York
chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, Donna Montalto, said. "That speaks volumes to
the maternity crisis."
A past president of the New York State Academy of Trial

Lawyers, John Bonina, said the medical malpractice problem in
New York is driven by a small percentage of bad doctors. "The
problem with medical malpractice litigation is medical
malpractice itself," he said.
Mr. Bonina, who lives in Brooklyn Heights, a neighborhood

served by Long Island College Hospital, said he could not
comment on the hospital's balance sheet, but he said he has USNewsUniversityDirectory.com/MBA Ads by Goooooogle
seen an increasing number of malpractice cases at the hospital.

"There has been a great deal of turnover there, and it's not what
it used to be," he said.
The announcement punctuates a period of turmoil at the

hospital.
Within the past year, a group of obstetricians moved their

practice to New York Methodist Hospital in the Park Slope
neighborhood, and a large urology practice recently followed.
In June, the Long Island College medical staff, led by a

25-member executive committee, held a rally where they
criticized Continuum for exerting excessive managerial control
and at the same time shortchanging the Brooklyn hospital to
benefit other Continuum hospitals, including St. Luke's-
Roosevelt Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center, both in
Manhattan. At the time, they also announced intentions to file
complaints against Continuum with the state's Department of
Health and the office of Attorney General Cuomo.
The hospital's president, Rita Battles, abruptly left her post last
week. Continuum officials declined to discuss her departure.
"I'm very troubled," an attending psychiatrist and the president

of the hospital's medical staff, Dr. Arnold Licht, said yesterday
following the announcement. He said the reorganization would
turn Long Island College Hospital into a "minor community
hospital," while complex cases would be diverted to Beth Israel,
a competitor that attracts some patients from northern
Brooklyn.
In a statement released yesterday, other members of the

hospital's 900-member medical staff further criticized
Continuum for selling off $24 million in real estate holdings
within the past two years, resulting in the closure of at least five
health clinics.
"What they are doing is not thoughtful in terms of the needs of

the Brooklyn community," Dr. Licht said.
2 of 3 3/18/2009 2:19 PM
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Today's News Tuesday, September 23, 2008

NYU Langone enters addiction controversy
The debate sparked by Buprenorphine’s approval for treating

Parkway Fights On opiate addiction is ongoing. Proponents point out that people
The state Department of Health, which on Friday denied Parkway addicted to heroin or painkillers can simply get a prescription
Hospital’s request to again extend its closure deadline, has asked from their family doctor, unlike with methadone programs, in
authorities to divert emergency room patients to nearby hospitals which patients must visit a clinic for a daily dose. But critics say
so that Parkway gets no new ER admissions. The move would be a Buprenorphine makes it almost too easy and that the drug may
blow to the Forest Hills hospital. The state expects Parkway to cure addiction symptoms without addressing deeper
respond to DOH’s decision to deny an extension with a lawsuit in psychological needs.
state Supreme Court. In a letter to Dr. Robert Aquino, Parkway’s
In an effort to settle the argument, NYU Langone Medical
owner, DOH Deputy Commissioner Jim Clyne said a lawsuit would
Center is participating in a trial conducted by the National
be "shortsighted and risky" and noted that Dr. Aquino hasn't
Institute on Drug Abuse. Though Buprenorphine has been
responded to the agency's Sept. 5 letter asking Parkway to submit
legal for a while, many doctors are skeptical about prescribing
a closure plan. On a visit to Parkway, DOH regional office staffers
it. They question whether giving a patient a prescription and a
found it "proceeding with business as usual, despite the legal
list of counselors constitutes providing adequate care, says
requirement to close by Sept. 30,” Mr. Clyne wrote.
lead investigator Dr. Marc Gourevitch.
“We are trying to learn how much counseling is enough,” he

Victory Bonuses says.
The court overseeing Victory Memorial’s bankruptcy approved
So far, 54 addicts have enrolled, and Dr. Gourevitch expects to
bonus payments to two hospital administrators, President Dr.
have 60 patients when the study starts in December. “It’s an
Vincent Calamia and Associate Administrator Mary Ann Conlon.
important study, because addiction to painkillers is surpassing
The payments are part of a wind-down employment plan that
heroin addiction,” he says. “High school students are using
Victory proposed in May. Under the plan, Dr. Calamia’s severance
painkillers to get high more [often] than [they’re using]
agreement will be replaced by a $125,000 bonus if he stays on and
marijuana.”
meets five performance milestones. Ms. Conlon would get a bonus
of $50,000. The court, didn’t approve a $25,000 bonus for COO Some participants are being recruited from Bellevue Medical
Ron DeFranco. The performance milestones are the sale of Center. “Without making it sound too colorful, we do have
Victory’s nursing home and hospital campus, filing of a people from all walks of life,” from the homeless to
reorganization plan, confirmation of a plan, the plan’s becoming stockbrokers, Dr. Gourevitch says.
effective and final payments to creditors.
LICH Plans At a Glance

Executives from Continuum Health Partners, including its WHO’S NEWS: Rockefeller University has named Dr. Jean-Laurent
president, Stanley Brezenoff, presented their restructuring plan for Casanova head of the Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious
Long Island College Hospital to Community Board 6 on Monday Diseases. A pediatrician and immunologist, Dr. Casanova most recently
night. The plan includes closing the maternity beds, as previously worked at the Necker Hospital for Sick Children, in Paris. He will focus on
reported, as well as the dentistry department and all inpatient and the global study of genetic mutations that appear to make children
outpatient pediatric services. The current census is nine to 10 vulnerable to certain infectious diseases, including tuberculosis.
pediatric patients a day; 12 to 14 are needed to break even.
Continuum also wants to end LICH’s operation of four school- FORUM: Hofstra University is hosting a health care forum Sept. 25, from 6
based health programs. If approved by DOH, the changes would p.m. to 8 p.m., at the student center. Part of Hofstra’s series leading up to
require layoffs and transferring residency teaching programs to the presidential debates, the event is co-sponsored by the North Shore-LIJ
SUNY Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn. Health System. Speakers include Aetna President Mark Berolini and North
Shore-LIJ President Michael Dowling. For details, see
www.hofstra.edu/educate08.
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The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Lending to docs still strong
One corner of the credit market has been untouched by the

LICH Layoffs financial crisis: lending to office-based doctors’ practices. It
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is holding a press seems that doctors and dentists are safe bets when it comes
conference and community rally on the future of Long Island to credit risk, since they have a default rate of less than 1% on
College Hospital today at 1 p.m. The event follows news that loans that average a 7.5% yield, reports lender Henry Schein
Continuum Health Partners may slash 175 positions at LICH. Some Financial Services.
positions will be lost through attrition, like that of the chair of family
“If you were a dentist with a remotely decent credit rating, we’d
medicine, who is tired of commuting from southern New Jersey,
say yes in an hour,” says Keith Drayer, a vice president at
according to a spokeswoman for LICH. Other people who may lose
Melville, L.I.-based Schein. “One of the safest niches is lending
their jobs are pediatricians, physician assistants, family medicine
to office-based practices.”
doctors, maintenance workers, and lab and radiology technicians.
The scope of the proposed layoffs “shocked” LICH board Chairman The average loan to a dentist is about $70,000, with $200,000
John Wren, says one source. LICH is “becoming a smaller hospital, the average loan to dentists who are just starting out, he says.
which in turn requires fewer staff. So layoffs—whether they happen The loans cover medical equipment as well as soft costs,
next week or in two weeks or a month from now—are still very including leasehold improvements, marketing and plumbing.
much a possibility, if not an unfortunate likelihood,” says the LICH
spokeswoman. Applications for practice equipment financing in 2008 in the
New York area have increased more than 30% through
October, compared with a year earlier. On average, more than
DOH on SVCMC 95% of the applications Schein receives are approved.
The state Department of Health says it is leaning toward approving Michael La Penna, a health care consultant in Grand Rapids,
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers’ controversial new hospital Mich., who works with local doctors, is being bombarded with
in Greenwich Village. SVCMC President Henry Amoroso said loan solicitations for his clients from small banks. Last week,
(Pulse, Oct. 8) that state officials were looking favorably on the he got two calls from banks asking if any doctors needed
plan, based on their comments at a recent Landmarks Preservation money for new equipment or a merger.
Commission hearing on the hospital. Neil Benjamin and Thomas
Jung of the DOH health facilities financing division attended the Some lenders may be in for a surprise. The growth of HSAs
hearing. “Based on our on-site visits and information submitted to may mean that doctors’ receivables grow, says Mr. La Penna.
us, an upgrade, modernization or replacement of St. Vincent’s “Banks lag about two years behind physician problems.”
facilities appears warranted,” says a DOH spokeswoman. Nothing’s
official until the CON review, she adds.
At a Glance
Medicare Claims WHO’S NEWS: Affinity Health Plan, a Bronx-based managed care plan,
National Government Services, which processes claims for New announced two promotions. Mark Corcoran is now executive vice
York providers that accept Medicare patients, says that new president, overseeing enrollment and claims processing. He had been
software led to backlogs in payments to providers who submitted chief financial officer. Abbe Abboa-Offei was promoted to senior vice
claims on paper. The company says that it recently implemented president and will oversee marketing, sales, recertification and field support
the software to read hard-copy claims, which make up 5% of total services, in addition to her existing responsibilities for customer service,
claims in New York and Connecticut. “Although this software will corporate communications and community relations.
lead to better processing of paper claims, it has temporarily
resulted in a backlog of paper claims not being processed within
our normal 30-day time frame. We have already taken steps to
address this issue, including system changes to improve
productivity,” said NGS in a statement. It plans to cut the
processing time to 20 days by the end of this month.
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The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Health leaders endorse public reporting
Leaders in health care and health care policy feel strongly that
NJ Layoffs the way the United States pays for care must be fundamentally
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, part of the Saint Barnabas reformed, according to a survey taken with the past month by
Health Care System, is laying off 100 employees and restructuring the Commonwealth Fund and Modern Healthcare, a Crain
its outpatient clinics and pediatric cardiac surgery program. The Communications title.
actions will save about $15 million, according to a statement issued
Of 222 respondents, 69% were strongly dissatisfied with the
by Saint Barnabas. Physicians are among those affected by the
current fee-for-service system. They labeled it ineffective in
restructuring. They include Dr. Theresa Redling, director of BI’s
encouraging high-quality and efficient care.
Center for Geriatric Health Care and medical director of its inpatient
hospice unit. The geriatrics program is being changed from an “These results show that most leaders favor rethinking the way
academic to a private model, the hospital said in a statement. It is we pay health care providers, in order to attain better value
asking geriatricians in private practice to join the program, and “we and lower costs for the nation,” says Commonwealth Fund
are hopeful that Dr. Theresa Redling, who remains an active President Karen Davis.
member of the staff, makes the same decision.” The pediatric
cardiac surgery program has been temporarily suspended, but the A majority said bonus payments for high-quality providers
hospital is considering such strategies as partnering with another (55%) and public reporting of information on provider quality
institution. and efficiency (53%) were “effective” or “very effective”
strategies for improving performance.
SVCMC Nurse Contract They also strongly supported moving away from fee-for-service
payment toward bundled approaches: making a single
Nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association at payment for all services provided to a patient during the course
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers won a total 12% wage of an episode or time period. About 53% of respondents
increase in a contract signed last month. The two-year package preferred a blend of modified fee-for-service and bundled per-
includes a 6% raise to cover money lost when the nurses agreed to patient payment, while another 23% chose bundled per-patient
forgo raises during the system’s bankruptcy. That bump is in payment alone. The survey is online at
addition to a 3% hike this year, retroactive to February, with http://www.commonwealthfund.org.
another 3% set for 2009. The new agreement means entry-level
salaries of about $70,000 for those with basic nursing training and
$87,000 for those with advanced training, such as nurse-midwives.
The bargaining unit has 788 nurses. Contract talks were unusually
At a Glance
long: There were 46 negotiating sessions. HEALTH POLICY: The New York Academy of Medicine is holding an
Albany update in Manhattan on Nov. 6. Featured speakers are Deb
Layoffs at Cardinal Cooke Bachrach, state Medicaid director; Dr. Foster Gesten, the Office of Health
Insurance Programs’ medical director; and Jim Clyne, deputy
Nurses at Terence Cardinal Cooke Medical Center will hold a commissioner, Office of Health Systems Management. For details, contact
candlelight vigil tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. to protest the akline@nyam.org
proposed elimination of 18 of its 231 jobs now held by registered or go to www.nyam.org.
nurses. The RNs will be replaced by licensed professional nurses.
The union representing the RNs says that because LPNs have less
training, the substitution poses a risk for patients at the Upper East
Side nursing home. The layoffs are slated to occur before year-
end.
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The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Monday, November 10, 2008

Bumpy road ahead for HHC
After a long stretch of solvency, New York City Health and

Home Care Layoffs Hospitals Corp. faces budget cuts and potential deficits. The
The Metropolitan Jewish Geriatric Center Home Care agency, worsening fiscal picture is coming into focus at the beginning
known informally as MJGC Home Care, will close at year-end. The of a period during which more New Yorkers are likely to rely on
Brooklyn agency, an affiliate of the Metropolitan Jewish Health HHC facilities for treatment. People are losing their insurance,
System, is giving its 220 employees pink slips. Some of the jobs and the city’s private hospitals often refer uninsured patients to
are clerical, but most are per diem home care workers. Patients will the public hospitals for nonemergency care.
be shifted to other agencies within Metropolitan Jewish. A
According to a report released last week by Mayor Michael
spokeswoman for the system says it is shutting down the agency
Bloomberg, HHC is expected to slip into the red in 2010 and
because it is licensed to serve only Brooklyn, whereas MJHS’s
stay there at least through 2013, based on projections of
other home care operations are citywide.
expenditure and revenue trends. It’s not clear how HHC would
make up the shortfall; the city already subsidizes the
Skelos and Health Care corporation.
Although the state Senate leadership is still in flux, it is becoming HHC President Alan Aviles says the municipal system is
clearer that Republican Sen. Dean Skelos will lose his position as cutting $2.4 million from its 2008-09 budget of $5.7 billion and
Senate majority leader. His loss of power has several implications $4.7 million from next year's budget.
for New York’s health care community. Mr. Skelos had promised
The mayor’s report predicts the budget gap will widen to about
that education would be off the table during the upcoming budget
$1 billion by 2013. Mr. Aviles has not been available for
battle, a threat that shifted the burden of cuts to health care. But
comment since the report was released, but at a recent public
now, “if education cuts are back on the table, health care no longer
hearing in Staten Island he said things could get even worse if
is the sole contributor of cuts,” says one Albany observer. The
Albany slashes Medicaid payments to deal with its own budget
negative of Mr. Skelos’ losing his post, however, is that he is more
shortfall.
open than Democrats to tort reform. With him out of the majority
leader post, the source says, “any possibility of liability reform is “These cuts are likely the first installment,” Mr. Aviles told the
limited.” crowd.
Union Reform Push

At a Glance
SEIU is keeping up the pressure to enact health care reform. The
national union is running new Web ads following a basic theme, EVENT: Women in Health Management will hold its 2008 leadership event,
“You voted for Obama, you voted for health care. … Pledge to Strides in Cancer Prevention and Detection: Perspectives from Two
keep health care on the map.” The link asks people to sign up for Oncologists, on Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Roosevelt Hotel. For information,
Healthcare for America Now, a coalition of community organizers, visit
nurses, doctors, small business owners, faith-based groups and www.whmny.org. Speakers are Dr. Jenny Romero of the Ralph Lauren
other organizations. “In keeping with President-elect Barack Center for Cancer Care and Prevention, and Dr. Julia Smith, director of the
Obama’s election night speech, it is now up to all of us to make NYU Cancer Institute. Pulse reporter Gale Scott will moderate.
change, and as he said, ‘Pitch in and work harder, and look after
not only ourselves but each other,’ ” Dr. Toni Lewis said in a
statement. The Queens geriatrician is president of CIR/SEIU
Healthcare, which represents 13,000 residents. The ad is at
http://action.seiu.org/healthcaremap/index.php.
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By JAKE MOONEY
Published: November 20, 2008
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SAVE THIS
LONG ISLAND COLLEGE HOSPITAL has stood at the E-MAILED BLOGGED SEARCHED
PRINT
northwestern corner of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, overlooking the 1. A Portrait of Change: Nation’s Many Faces in Extended
REPRINTS First Family
harbor for 150 years, so its presence in the surrounding
SHARE 2. Maureen Dowd: Exit the Boy King
neighborhoods cannot be boiled down to a single anecdote. It has
3. Op-Ed Contributor: Oaf of Office
been there for births and deaths and the large and small crises in
4. Transcript: Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address
between: a case of a school principal with whooping cough, say, or a
5. Wines of The Times: South African Wines Step Onto
professor with a sprained ankle. the Stage
6. Radical in the White House
Now it is the hospital that is in danger. Continuum Health
7. The One-State Solution
Partners, the company that runs it, says the hospital is in deep debt and facing
8. Well: Your Nest Is Empty? Enjoy Each Other
bankruptcy, and has sought to close its maternity and pediatric units, among others. For
9. Books of The Times: The Joys and Pains of Being an
neighbors, the uncertainties are deeply unsettling: Will the hospital still be there in two Animal
months? If so, what will be left? If not, what will this corner of Brooklyn do without it? 10. Skin Deep: Flush Those Toxins! Eh, Not So Fast
Go to Complete List »
Part of Continuum’s plan to shrink the hospital was rejected last week when the State
Department of Health denied it permission to shut down the maternity and pediatric
services, ruling that the other local hospitals cannot make up for the loss. The agency
also approved a $3 million loan to the hospital, though Continuum said that money
would last only until the end of the year. nytimes.com/opinion
Bankruptcy is a real possibility, said Jim Mandler, a Continuum spokesman, adding,

“Certainly, the institution is in serious financial distress.” The company, he said, still
hopes to avoid that outcome and is willing to work with the state.
1 of 3 1/22/2009 11:43 AM
Dispatches - Long Island College Hospital Teeters on Brink of Bankruptcy... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/23/nyregion/thecity/23disp.html?_r=1
But trust in Continuum is low in some neighborhood circles, said Jeff Strabone, an
N.Y.U. professor who visited the hospital with the sprained ankle (besides other
maladies over the years), and who is also the president of the Cobble Hill Association.
“I don’t know what Continuum’s motives are,” Mr. Strabone said. “Closing obstetrics
Two little (huge) things Obama said
Also in Opinion:
and pediatrics at a time when the community is getting younger and having more kids "The speech": the experts' critique
Kennedy's words, Obama's challenge
doesn’t seem like a plan to keep a hospital open.” A great big bipartisan love fest
Many neighbors, he said, are suspicious because of the hospital’s prime location and
because, in 2004, the company sold a part of the Beth Israel Medical Center, on the
Upper East Side, to a developer who tore it down to build condos. The fear, he said, is ADVERTISEMENTS
that the company wants to eliminate Long Island College Hospital to control its land.
Mr. Mandler, at Continuum, strenuously denied that suggestion, though he did say the
hospital’s restructuring plan involves the proposed sale of two nearby buildings to pay
An amazing 3D immersion in the world of
for debt service. watchmaking.
Regardless, Mr. Strabone said the loss of the hospital would be catastrophic.
“People would die,” he said. “People would die because at some point, someone’s not
going to make it to the hospital in time, either because they’re taking a taxi to
Manhattan or they’re taking an ambulance across Brooklyn to another hospital.”
Besides Continuum’s plan, there are alternatives for the Health Department to consider:
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The hospital’s staff has proposed taking it over and maintaining all its operations, and
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Meanwhile, many just wait and worry. The Rev. Clinton Miller, the pastor of the Brown Hourly Hospital Employees- Not Paid for Lunch? Visit:
www.hospitalovertime.com
Memorial Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, said the hospital is a regular stop on his
rounds to visit sick parishioners. Doll Repair
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The feeling of awaiting decisions from afar, from Continuum’s board in Manhattan and www.dollsbydiane.com
the Health Department up north, is a bitter one, the pastor said, adding, “It seems that
Brooklyn has once again become the stepchild of New York City.”
At the Brooklyn Secondary School for Collaborative Studies in Carroll Gardens, the
hospital runs a small health center with a social worker and a nurse practitioner — one
of four that would close under Continuum’s plan.
The school’s principal, Alyce Barr, said she had been told that the center could stay
open under different management, and that is a relief because its services — from
dispensing medication to psychological counseling to, yes, treating a principal’s case of
whooping cough — were essential.
The situation, she said, has her baffled.
“Here’s a hospital facility that exists in a city with millions of kids, in a borough with
hundreds of thousands of kids, and we can’t find a way to keep it open to provide care to
people,” Ms. Barr said. “That doesn’t make sense to me.”
More Dispatches at nytimes.com/cityroom.
A version of this article appeared in print on November 23, 2008, on More Articles in New York Region »
page CY1 of the New York edition.
Click here to enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Times for less than $1 a day.
2 of 3 1/22/2009 11:43 AM
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The patients no hospitals want
When Continuum Health Partners announced in August that it

Union Rejects Hospitals Request planned to end obstetrics, neonatal and pediatric services at
In what amounts to a severe economic blow to New York hospitals Long Island College Hospital in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, the
dealt by their close union partner, 1199/SEIU formally denied a impact was felt miles away in Borough Park. “When the news
request by the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New broke, we started getting phone calls from people wanting to
York to forgo a 3% wage hike that goes into effect on Dec. 1. The get into our obstetrics services,” says Pam Brier, president of
league is the bargaining agent for 94 nonprofit hospitals, nursing Maimonides Medical Center, the state’s busiest birthing center.
homes and their affiliates. Almost all of those providers are in the “We can’t absorb 2,300 deliveries,” she says.
Greater New York Hospital Association, which is 1199/SEIU’s
Without state medical malpractice reform, no other Brooklyn
partner in lobbying against health cuts. Hospitals already have
hospital wants LICH’s OB patients—not when they cost the
budgeted for the 3% wage increase. But delaying its timing would
hospital up to $4,000 per birth. “We are facing an obstetrical
have brought financial relief to facilities facing millions of dollars in
Armageddon,” says Mark Mundy, president of New York
state funding cuts. The move by the union, which did not have a
Methodist, where maternity cases for the first 17 days of
comment by Pulse’s deadline, is potentially embarrassing for both
November spiked nearly 40% from a year earlier. Through
GNYHA and 1199/SEIU. Their unified message to Albany
October, the hospital treated almost 500 more OB patients
lawmakers has been to “share the sacrifice” in budget cuts. The
than during the year-earlier period. “We have done everything
union, it seems, was unwilling to take that step.
to just hold where we are and not expand,” adds Mr. Mundy.
Nearby Brooklyn Hospital also cannot take on the financial risk

Pharmacy Pain of more OB patients, says its president, Dr. Richard Becker.
Advocates for pharmacies in New York state say customers can “The malpractice claims around OB were part of the reason
expect longer waits, less service and fewer prescription drugs in why this hospital ended up in Chapter 11,” he says.
stock if threatened Medicaid cuts go through. According to a
The state recently denied request to end OB services. LICH’s
Pharmacists Society of the State of New York review of the state’s
fate is now the subject of state talks over the next few weeks.
Board of Pharmacy records, 152 drugstores already have closed
“Nobody is sure how this will play out, and we don’t have a
due to the impact of a $50 million cut in Medicaid reimbursements
visual of how LICH should be financially viable,” says a DOH
to druggists. Another $30 million cut is proposed. “It seems like
spokeswoman.
pharmacy reimbursement is always seen as an easy place to cut,”
says Stephen Cilento, proprietor of Bridge Pharmacy in Brooklyn,
an independent drugstore near the Verrazano Bridge. Pharmacists
who fill prescriptions for Medicaid patients depend on getting a At a Glance
small fee plus a percentage of the wholesale cost of the drug.
“When they trim that even by 1%, it adds up," he says. By law, WHO’S NEWS: Fitz Reid was elected President of Local 768, the third-
pharmacists also must waive the $3 to $6 co-pays on Medicaid largest health care union in New York City. Mr. Reid took office last week
prescriptions if a customer says the fees are unaffordable. “We’re at the 4,000-member local, which is part of District Council 37. Mr. Reid got
already losing money on some prescriptions,” Mr. Cilento says. For 57% of the vote, winning the post from the incumbent president, Darryl
more on the cuts, see www.protectpharmacypatients.org. Ramsey.
SCHEDULE: Pulse will not publish on Nov. 27 or Nov. 28 for the

SSRC to Relocate Thanksgiving holiday. It resumes publication on Dec. 1.
The Social Science Research Council, a nonprofit that studies

health and economic topics and other societal issues, is moving
from Manhattan to a 25,000-square-foot space in Brooklyn Heights
in December. Its new address will be 1 Pierrepont Plaza. The
council, founded in 1923, employs 80 people.
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Friday, November 28, 2008
Health Care: As their endowments shrink,

hospitals question expansions
The Business Review (Albany) - by Barabra Pinckney The Business Review
Related News Last spring, Glens Falls Hospital was making

Saratoga chamber
plans for a new, $26 million emergency
elects new officers, department.
adds seven to board
Hospital names VP of It had consulted with architects and engineers

medical affairs and was ready to file a certificate of need
Health Care: Hospitals application with the state Department of Search for Jobs powered by onTargetJobs
fret over likely Health. Then officials stopped, looked at the
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Street blowout cuts environment doesn’t look so good right now,”
into investment DONNA ABBOTT VLAHOS |
income said David Kruczlnicki, CEO of Glens Falls THE BUSINESS REVIEW
Hospital. Ellis Hospital’s chief Business Resources

Hospitals face $28M resident Dr. Neema
loss in state budget Starting a Business
“We tabled the project, and left it there,” he Afejuku checks in on The new company will
HIXNY names board patient Sheila Miller. succeed Denver-based
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said.
View Larger Essential Advisers Inc., an
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The hospital had two main concerns. One, it with $80 million in assets
wanted to be sure it had not overlooked other priorities, such as the need to improve its under management.
surgical unit. Second, it was concerned about its ability to finance the ER project given the
turbulence on Wall Street and tight pocketbooks on Main Street. Sales & Marketing
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Other hospital chiefs say they, too, are taking a closer look at their capital budgets. Recession aided deal for
Investment income, which many draw on for projects, has taken a hit. Charitable Owings Mills firm.
donations, another vital component of any building plan, are slowing. And the financial
industry crisis could make it harder to secure financing. Nationally, 56 percent of Business Strategy
Catching the multi-ethnic
hospitals said they are reconsidering or postponing capital expenditures, according to a wave has proved to be a
November survey by the American Hospital Association. growth strategy for
accounting firm.
St. Mary’s Hospital, in Troy, also plans to rebuild its ER, for about the same price as the
Glens Falls project. Technology
Alternative energy
companies prove attractive
“We have not delayed it yet,” said Scott St. George, chief financial officer of parent Seton while most sectors suffer.
Health. “But we are continuing to watch the markets and to evaluate if this is the right
time for us.” HR & Hiring
Deloitte rolls out ‘mass
The cushion goes flat career customization.’
Investment income may be a small part of a hospital’s revenue base but, as pure profit,
can make up more than half the bottom line. It is often investment income that gives
hospitals the wherewithal to purchase equipment and upgrade their facilities. But the
trouble on Wall Street has flattened that cushion.
1 of 3 1/22/2009 11:53 AM
Health Care: As their endowments shrink, hospitals question expansions -... http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/12/01/focus2.html?ana=...
“That 35 percent drop in the stock market really hit our endowment hard,” said Dr. James
Reed, CEO of Northeast Health. “And that endowment is what really drives our capital
spending plan.”
He said Northeast Health—the Troy-based parent of Samaritan Hospital, Albany

Memorial Hospital, Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital and The Eddy network of
senior services—has not put its capital improvement program on hold. But, “we are going
back and looking at our spending plan and deciding, what can we put off if we have to?”
Angelo Calbone, CEO of Saratoga Hospital, said the Saratoga Springs institution does
not expect to spend as much on capital projects in 2009 as it has in past years.
“And we will most likely hold off until after the first quarter or the first half, to be sure we
aren’t seeing revenue shortfalls we have to adjust for,” he said. “We want to stay
conservative, and time our decisions so we don’t over-commit too soon.”
Remember those pension plans?
The drop in the stock market also can put pressure on hospitals in other ways.
The funding of pension plans can become an issue. While most hospitals have moved to
401(k) plans, many still have pension plans with older workers grand-fathered in.
When the value of plan investments drops below required funding levels, the
administrators face a choice. Do they hope the plan recovers on its own in time, or do they
take money from somewhere else on their balance sheets to make up the loss?
If they make the latter choice, they cannot move the money back, even if the market
recovers. In the just-completed American Hospital Association survey, 31 percent of
hospitals with pension plans said they may have to increase funding.
James Connolly, CEO of Ellis Hospital, said the Schenectady institution has decided to
increase its contributions into its pension plan beginning in January.
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certain balance sheet levels be maintained. news delivered to your
“If the value of investments—such as cash on hand—declines because of the economy, that
can count toward those covenants,” Kruczlnicki said.
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Buffalo > Print Edition > Industries > Health Care Subscribe to Business First
Friday, November 28, 2008 | Modified: Sunday, November 30, 2008
Medical research faces challenges

Business First of Buffalo - by Tracey Drury Business First
Related News For five years, funding from from the National
Scientists note
Institutes of Health has been flat. That has
seasonal adjustments driven Buffalo-area medical research
LouHIE courts institutions to search for money from private
vendors for electronic foundations, corporations and other sources. Jim Courtney
health record bank
UB researcher Gene
Business Journal gets The result? A somewhat steady stream of funds Morse is working
a makeover – and the constant need to look for more. HIV/AIDS clinical trials
Business Journal 40 through the National Search for Jobs powered by onTargetJobs
Under 40 winners “We’re lucky. We have been able to keep our Institutes of Health.
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Grant lifts UB cancer get the funding,” says Candace Johnson, deputy
research
director and senior vice president for translational research at
Roswell Park Cancer Institute. “I don’t want to paint a picture Business Resources
that it’s so rosy.” Starting a Business
The new company will
succeed Denver-based
A division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Essential Advisers Inc., an
Institutes of Health (NIH) includes 24 separate institutes and divisions and is considered investment advisory firm
with $80 million in assets
the world’s largest biomedical research facility. under management.
The organization distributes research funding to more than 325,000 researchers each
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year at more than 3,000 universities, medical schools and research institutions. Last year, Sponsored by
about 50,000 grants valued at $29 billion were distributed nationwide. The amount Hoovers®
awarded in New York state last year was $1.93 billion. Recession aided deal for
Owings Mills firm.
The University at Buffalo, Roswell Park and Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research

Business Strategy
Institute remain the region’s leading recipients of NIH funding, with most dollars going Catching the multi-ethnic
toward biomedical research and related projects. wave has proved to be a
growth strategy for
accounting firm.
Although more than a half-dozen multimillion-dollar grants have been awarded to the
three groups this year, all three are looking outside NIH to find additional funds. That
Technology
effort helped Hauptman-Woodward land a $3 million appropriation from the Alternative energy
Department of Defense early this year to conduct research on how viruses mutate and companies prove attractive
while most sectors suffer.
transfer between animals and humans.
According to NIH data, Roswell Park saw the only increase in funding over the past three HR & Hiring
years, growing from 83 grant awards for nearly $38 million in 2005 to 96 awards valued career customization.’
at $39.5 million in 2007.
During the same time period, Hauptman-Woodward saw a decline from seven grants for
$6.6 million to five grants totaling $4.4 million. UB saw a decline from 181 grants valued
at $55.5 million in 2005 to 158 grants valued at $46.7 million. The line is somewhat
blurred by the fact that many Roswell Park and Hauptman-Woodward researchers hold
1 of 4 1/22/2009 11:52 AM
joint faculty appointments at UB.
Although the agency’s budget was doubled by Congress from $13.6 billion to $27.1 billion
between 1998 and 2003, it has remained flat in recent years at about $30 billion. Funding
for 2008 is $29.5 billion. The issue was the subject of a report earlier this year by a
consortium of universities titled “A Broken Pipeline? Flat Funding of the NIH Puts a
Generation of Science at Risk.”
According to the report, substantial advances in scientific research – including

breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s disease, lung cancer and depression – are at risk of slipping
away. The report noted that the overall funding success rate for NIH research project
grants dropped from 32 percent in 1999 to 24 percent in 2007, meaning more than three
out of every four research proposals are not funded.
The difficulty stems not only from the failure of funding to increase, but also in the
increase of applicants and changes in the way NIH scores applications. In the past 10
years, the number of people applying for funds has doubled to 46,000, with the number
of grants awarded going from about 7,500 to 9,000. Many dollars also shifted from
individual grants to larger, institutional grants.
Regaining some equilibrium now will take time, says Eaton “Ed” Lattman, CEO of
Hauptman-Woodward. Meantime, many organizations are seeing projects interrupted or
put on hold when grants for continued funding are not approved or take more than one
cycle to be renewed.
“The research organizations got greedy,” Lattman says. “Collectively, they wildly
overanticipated how much would be available. It is not only Wall Street that can be
overcome by greed.”
The impact is especially great on younger researchers struggling to get their first grant
application approved. The average age of those winning their first NIH grant has risen
from 39 in 1990 to 43 in 2007.
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“It is a mark of are you a good scientist,” Johnson says. “That’s the real tragedy – the Get the latest local business
young scientists. I’m experienced, so I can weather the storm. I have a lot of funding and news delivered to your
can send out a lot of grants and try to weather this storm, but if you’re a young inbox. Sign up Today!
investigator and you need even one grant and you may lose your job, it’s tough. And this is
all over the country.”
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2004 and 2007.
That slight increase was enough to move UB up two notches to No. 56 on a National
Science Foundation list of universities ranked by total research expenditures, says
Jorge Jose, vice president for research.
“We have gone into different areas to get new resources, and we’ve seen a significant
increase of industrial support of research at the university,” he says. “To generate new SPOTLIGHT EMPLOYER
dollars, we have to go into new collaborations that have been identified as important
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“The competition is fierce,” Jose says.
Lattman says Hauptman-Woodward will continue to develop new funding streams,

including fee for services from its crystallography center and tech-transfer opportunities.
The organization also realizes supplementing with foundation grants may get tougher in
the current economic situation.
2 of 4 1/22/2009 11:52 AM
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3 of 4 1/22/2009 11:52 AM
EAVES Ambulance seeking help -- just to stay open - NewsChannel 9 WSYR http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/EAVES-Ambulance-seeking-hel...
EAVES Ambulance seeking help -- just to stay open
Last Update: 12/09/2008 12:33 am
EMS funding loss 12/8/08
East Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - Emergency medical

services across the country are closing their doors because they
can't get enough money to operate -- and EAVES in East Syracuse
is facing the same difficulties.
They've been serving East Syracuse and DeWitt since 1973, but
they'll need the public's help to continue.
EAVES responded to just about 2,400 calls last year; they've

already saved 4 lives this year. (WSYR-TV)
“These people were dead -- and we brought them back,” says

EAVES Ambulance director Vinnie Stevenson.
But the ambulance service lost $290,000 in 2007 because it relies entirely on third-party
reimbursement. Medicaid and Medicare don't pay nearly enough, and more people are without
health insurance, so they can't pay their bills.
In turn, EAVES can't spend money on necessary improvements; doors are rusted or cock-eyed, the
roof is leaking, the heater comes and goes. “The heater versus drugs to save someone's life,” says
Stevenson.
And there isn't enough room for the aging equipment. “If it’s wet, these circuits trip and cuts power
off,” Stevenson says.
There was a flood years ago, which filled the building with 10 inches of water; the floor is still
damaged -- and they can't get rid of the black mold.
“[We] can't seem to get rid of it -- have to rip up building and we don't know where that'll lead,” says
Stevenson.
Local municipalities are tapped, so Stevenson doesn't know where else to turn -- except to the
community.
“There’s no luxury here -- we go with bare minimum,” he says. “We're okay, but now we have to buy
equipment and pay staff that's here.”
Staff that wants to continue saving lives.
1 of 2 1/22/2009 12:17 PM
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EAVES gets less than a third of their funding from tax dollars. While fire departments get millions,
Stevenson says ambulance services are usually forgotten, even though the majority of emergency
calls are for medical help.
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Related News Kaleida Health may be forced to lay off up to 500 employees, shutter
ECMC workers edgy
a nursing home and half of its 97 ambulatory clinics if the state
as merger nears carries through on proposed cuts in spending during fiscal 2009.
UB offers free tax prep
That’s the message delivered by Kaleida President/CEO Jim Kaskie
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niche meeting place
Tuesday in testimony provided to representatives of the state Senate
during a public forum at the Buffalo Museum of Science. Kaskie
ECMC takes interim
tag off CEO Lomeo was among nearly 50 individuals scheduled to speak on budget
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Kaskie also warned the health system could be forced to postpone View Buffalo Jobs - 2916 jobs today
implementation of a consolidation plan with Erie County Medical Center: Kaleida is
slated to lose at least $14 million in the 2009 budget, while ECMC is facing at least $11
million in cuts. Business Resources
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Margaret Toohey, board chairman for Planned Parenthood of WNY, told the panel while most sectors suffer.
the agency has cut five administrative positions and closed its family planning clinic in
Lockport. Additional funding cuts will seriously undermine agency programs, including a HR & Hiring
pediatric primary care practice that sees 3,000 children per year, she said. career customization.’
“Across the board cuts are not the way to go,” Toohey said. “Any cuts would devastate our
pediatric practice.”
University at Buffalo President John Simpson warned legislators not to lose sight of
the opportunities and solutions available.
1 of 3 1/22/2009 12:16 PM
Warning sounded on NY budget cuts - Business First of Buffalo: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2008/12/08/daily16.html?ana...
“Cutting higher education when our state’s economy is foundering is literally squandering
our future,” he said.
Buffalo State College President Muriel Howard echoed Simpson’s comments and
urged legislators to support a rational tuition increase policy supported by SUNY, while
allowing the individual colleges to keep the $620 annual increase to help offset other cuts.
The college, facing a $5 million cut in aid, has put a freeze on hiring and delayed
purchases, while cutting back on expenses related to living and learning facilities.
“It’s becoming more and more difficult as the cuts become deeper,” she said.
READER COMMENTS
(1) Comments
Bernard Brothman December 9, 2008 9:02PM EST

Sorry folks, the government can't cut the budget and have everyone get the same money. Here is my idea: Have
each one of these agencies make a presentation to a randomly selected group of WNY'ers who would then vote on
the most to least desireable. The agency with the least votes gets its budget cut to nothing and the savings used to
fund eveyone else. Best
Comments 1 to 1 of 1
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» Dispatch records cloud
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» Thruway commercial expansion.
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» Gas card leaves some
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Nicole Pitaniello, spokeswoman for Albany Med. search of a
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Today's News Tuesday, December 16, 2008

NYP out of Westchester deal
The ailing economy forced the New York-Presbyterian

North Shore P4P Contract Healthcare System on Thursday to pull out of a deal to take
Aetna signed pay-for-performance agreements with the North over New York Westchester Square Medical Center.
Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and its faculty practice. If
The bankrupt Bronx hospital had been mandated to close by
the hospitals and doctors meet the contracts’ benchmarks, they will
the Berger commission, but NYP came to the state
get up to $3.6 million in financial incentives. One agreement is a
Department of Health with a $25 million deal to take over the
10-hospital P4P program for patients using Aetna’s commercial
operating certificate and maintain Westchester Square as a
products. The two-year agreement, which begins in 2009, will offer
128-bed division of NYP. The system proposed running the
hospitals incentives to improve the quality of care. For example,
site with enhanced primary and urgent care services to reduce
they will be encouraged to give patients antibiotics prior to surgery.
unnecessary acute care admissions and ED visits.
They also will be judged on efficiency, including whether they cut
down on readmissions for the same injury or illness. The facilities A downsized Westchester Square would have had a three-
will be encouraged to report to The Leapfrog Group on individual year life, at which time a community needs assessment would
hospital performance. The second agreement, a three-year have determined its most appropriate use.
contract, gives doctors incentives for clinical effectiveness
improvements, such as higher screening rates for breast, cervical While NYP was working on the deal, DOH had extended
and colorectal cancer, and better diabetes screening and Westchester Square’s license to June 2009. The hospital
management. The doctors would also be rewarded for providing actually has been getting more patients and will break even or
access to new Aetna patients and for complying with Aetna’s make a profit this year. It will meet with DOH and explore
formulary. The final contract covers doctors who treat Aetna expressions of interest from other health systems.
Medicare plan members. It gives incentives for providing and
"What happens next is uncertain,” says a DOH spokeswoman.
documenting follow-up care for chronic conditions and for meeting
“We will talk to both institutions and proceed from there.”
quality targets.
About Those Taxes

At a Glance
Though there will be no income tax hikes in the budget that Gov. DEBUT: NYU Langone Medical Center yesterday officially launched its
David Paterson unveils today, some observers say hikes still may Center for Healthful Behavior Change. The concept behind CHBC is
end up in the final version. The governor’s staff is leaving the issue important. Some 50% of deaths in the United States result from such
open so that, in the worse case, Mr. Paterson can compromise by unhealthy behaviors as physical inactivity, poor diets or smoking.
accepting tax hikes he didn’t propose. “There is some belief this is Preventing or managing many chronic illnesses requires that patients shed
being structured to drive the administration to the higher taxes, but unhealthy habits and adopt healthy ones. The new center will develop, test
the governor isn’t proposing such taxes,” says one Albany source. and spread evidence-based behavioral interventions into everyday clinical
The budget will eliminate some tax loopholes. GNYHA and the practice and community settings. CHBC’s director is Dr. Olugbenga
Working Families Party had advocated for higher taxes on incomes Ogedegbe, an internist who recently joined NYU.
more than $200,000.
MADOFF: North Shore-LIJ says its financial exposure to Madoff Securities
is $5.7 million, the contribution from a single donor who stipulated that the
money be invested with Madoff. The amount is less than 1% of the
Insurance Proposals system’s total investment portfolio, and the donor who contributed the $5.7
Amid all the spending cuts, the governor’s budget also will include million “graciously agreed to reimburse the health system for any financial
a request for authority from the state Legislature to propose a loss.”
federal waiver to expand eligibility for Family Health Plus to 200%
of the poverty level. The waiver would mean a small expansion as
well as an equalization of income levels for various categories of
adults. There also will be a package that gives easier access to
public health programs through such measures as ending in-
person interviews, asset tests and fingerprinting. New York
insurers, however, will be hit hard. The industry is expecting up to
$900 million in new taxes: the $645 million proposed in the
governor’s November budget, plus a premium tax of more than
$200 million.
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St. Francis to scale back mental health facilities

Downsizing move endangers 54 jobs
BY CRAIG WOLF • POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL • DECEMBER 16, 2008
Read Comments(6) Recommend (9) Print this page E-mail this article Share
With fiscal deficits looming, Saint Francis Hospital and Health Centers plans to downsize its mental health
inpatient facilities, a move that will put 54 jobs at risk of loss.
It will also make it harder for people needing care to find it in a county whose
facilities are overcrowded, officials say. Some patients are already sent to
other counties. RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
Medicine
Saint Francis will also cut back on substance addiction and alcoholism Hospital Administration
treatment programs, and in doing so close its Beacon building, the former Healthcare Industry
Highland Hospital, and eventually sell it.
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Pay raises are not planned in 2009.

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"Mental health is unfortunately one of those services that has no margin," The Hartford.
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governments are willing to pay for."
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"The impact, if carried through, could be terribly destructive," Glatt said.
"About 30 people a month are transferred from Saint Francis Hospital to other
hospitals throughout the area because Saint Francis is filled and doesn't
have any beds."
Dutchess has fewer psychiatric beds per capita than any county in the state
Office of Mental Health's 16-county area of which it is a part, Glatt said. He
said he would "vigorously oppose" the plan when it comes up for review by
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The hospital is running a 2008 deficit of about $6 million on a total operating
Advertising provided by: budget of around $150 million, Savage said. Funding for mental health is
ARALifestyle.com
inadequate in New York state, he said, leaving this program running at a
chronic deficit.
Basic hospital services, the medical-surgical kind, bring in enough money to cover costs and create a small
surplus that can be used to support programs that run at a loss, such as mental health, Savage said.
Reimbursement reductions have already occurred, and more are expected with the state's financial troubles,
he said. The governor's earlier proposal would have cost the hospital another $2 million through fiscal year
2009-10, he said. A new proposal is expected in the budget Gov. David Paterson presents today.
1 of 3 1/22/2009 12:15 PM
Savage said patient volume is going down "just because of the economic times," adding, "People are not
doing things that could be considered somewhat elective. People are choosing not to have surgery."
Saint Francis will eliminate 13 adolescent and 18 adult mental health beds, maintaining 28 adult ones,
Savage said.
The hospital will move The Turning Point alcohol and substance abuse program, now at the Beacon campus,
to Poughkeepsie, and shrink it by removing 29 beds and transferring the remaining 71 to Poughkeepsie.
This results in closing the Beacon facility as a part of the hospital, though the moves will not immediately
affect the private physicians' offices there or the services provided by the WorkPlace. The Panichi Family
Center for Communication and Learning will stay.
"I'm disappointed to hear that the Turning Point will be closing," Beacon Mayor Steve Gold said. "They served
the needs of the Beacon community well, and good people will be forced to find new employment."
Over the next 90 days, Saint Francis will help the 54 workers find jobs within the hospital or at other
organizations in the area, Savage said. Employees were informed Monday.
St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital said in September it would close its mental health unit.
Glatt said the state's Hudson River Psychiatric Center in Poughkeepsie, at 120 beds, is for intermediate and
long-term care, not the kind of short-term care Saint Francis provides. That facility is too small for the need,
too, he said.
Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie has no mental health inpatient facility. But it has a 20-bed
unit at Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel, said David Ping, vice president for strategic planning and business
development at Health Quest, parent of Vassar and Putnam. State approval was gained recently to add 10
beds, he said.
Reach Craig Wolf at cwolf@poughkeepsiejournal.com or 845-437-4815.
In Your Voice
READ REACTIONS TO THIS STORY
doyoucwhatic wrote:
I am so happy that people who have left comments thus far have strongly opposed
this plan. The hospital is supposed to be a "Non-Profit" organization. They recieve
funding from private organizations, as well as the state and federal governments.
They recieve numerous tax breaks as well. As well as all of this they do not pay
taxes or even contribute to the local fire, ems and police services as we all read in
the "Fairness for Fairview" article. The administration stated they are attempting to
save around 2 million dollars by slashing 54 jobs, and releasing patients that have
been declared by one or more doctors to be a danger to themselves or others. All
of us in this community contribute to this hospital through our tax dollars, therefor
we should all have a say in this matter. I strongly urge every person to write letters
and call lawmakers. Have them audit all expenses by this hospital. This is a huge
injustice to the people being laid of, the patients, and also the taxpayers.
12/17/2008 2:10:38 PM
Recommend (2) New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse
lovealwayz wrote:
The Admininstrative staff dont care about their employees or the patients. As long
as the keep receiving their 6 digits every year, they can care less about anything
else. They have made drastic cuts that only affect the low wage employees and the
mentally ill. Bob Savage needs to retire!!!Your another George Bush!!!!!!
12/16/2008 3:30:32 PM
SuefromPV wrote:
I wonder where the adolescent mentally ill are to be taken? Since that is the age
group where many mental illnesses first manifest, there is certainly a crying need
for this. Do we put ill 14 year olds in with ill 40 year olds? What are the plans, Mr
Savage?
12/16/2008 10:37:56 AM
Recommend New post Reply to this Post Report Abuse
2 of 3 1/22/2009 12:15 PM
PositiveMind wrote:
Let's just switch from a Mental Health to Trauma - Trauma Trauma Trauma that the
St. Francis money bag now but at whose expense?
12/16/2008 9:44:50 AM
SuefromPV wrote:
Shame on Mr Savage and shame on the St Francis board of directors. Because

there is no opportunity to make a profit on the mentally ill and drug addicted - often
the same population - they will be denied access to services. Of course, they can't
really advocate for themselves, so this should be a pretty safe decision, right Mr
Savage?
Dr Glatt, tell me where to sign up. I'll be happy to help spread the word about the
type of institution St Francis Hospital REALLY is - not what its public relations
people or the Catholic Church want us to believe.
12/16/2008 9:38:34 AM
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Breaking News: 'Benjamin Button' leads Oscars with 13 noms January 22, 2009 10:40 am
Published: December 17, 2008 04:00 am
Bassett, Fox: Cuts will be "damaging"

By Denise Richardson
Staff Writer
The governor's proposed 2009 budget would add salt to

financial wounds created this year by a tumultuous economy,
officials at hospitals in Oneonta and Cooperstown said
Tuesday.
A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital and Bassett Healthcare officials

said specific impacts of state funding aren't clear yet, and
also depend on the Legislature's final plan for the fiscal year
that starts April 1.
But the result is expected to be painful, they said.
"We are entering 2009 with an expectation that the

governor's budget plans will be very damaging to our overall Maps, Menus, Store hours,
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The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Wednesday, December 17,

Where hospital budget talks go from here
2008
Click here to access Pulse Extra Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services Joe Baker
yesterday labeled Gov. David Paterson’s budget proposal “a
clarion call to the Legislature and the New York public to work
Insurers’ Reaction together to significantly reduce spending.” The hospital
The New York Health Plan Association yesterday said the budget’s industry and the Paterson administration will be searching for
$700 million in increased taxes on health insurance premiums common ground in the coming weeks.
showed little sign of “shared sacrifice.” Paul Macielak, HPA’s chief Mr. Paterson and Budget Director Laura Anglin made
executive, said, “We should not tax health insurance out of references during the budget presentation to two issues that
existence, and yet that is the effect of the governor’s budget plan.” are likely to frame negotiations. First, the governor restated his
New York businesses, their employees and families already are position against raising income taxes. GNYHA is pushing
paying more than 4% of their premiums in various taxes, higher taxes as part of its 5-5-5 plan. The most likely scenario
surcharges and assessments, he noted. is that after whacking Medicaid costs, the governor will raise
income taxes. He hinted as much yesterday when he said, “I’d
Nursing Homes Hit consider it, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Nursing homes would take a $900 million hit from the budget, twice Ms. Anglin called the budget “filled with shared sacrifice.”
the state’s $450 million in savings when federal Medicaid matching GNYHA responded that “this budget falls far short of any
funds are included, says Robert Murphy, executive vice president, definition of shared sacrifice.” The common ground might be
government affairs, for the New York State Health Facilities relief from Washington, D.C.
Association. With 75% of nursing homes’ budgets going toward
The governor’s budget doesn’t rely on a federal stimulus
labor, he predicts layoffs and bed reductions if the cuts go through.
package. But HANYS President Dan Sisto hopes that
There also would be no renovations or service enhancements at Congress and the Obama administration will come to New
that reimbursement level.
York's rescue with $4 billion to $5 billion in Medicaid relief.
“The signals are positive,” says Mr. Sisto, but with Congress
Budget Odds and Ends besieged by pleas from the auto industry and from bankers,
Medicaid relief could be whittled away. “We have to make sure
The governor’s budget calls for a new $1 assessment for each that any Medicaid aid goes to help Medicaid patients,” he says.
claim processed by entities that administer self-funded health Medicaid cuts would force hospitals to look to insurers for
insurance plans. As well, it proposes a new “physician procedure higher rates, which would trigger higher premiums.
surcharge” that extends the 9.63% HCRA surcharge on services in
hospitals to surgical and radiological procedures in private
ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices and urgent care
settings. Radiologists who serve the Medicaid population may see
At a Glance
the state institute prior approval for some high-cost radiological KUDOS: The budget got kudos from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
procedures. Other new fees include a 1% assessment on clinical “New York’s fiscal troubles didn’t start when Wall Street collapsed. The
laboratory annual receipts and a hike in the biennial physician state's financial weakness has been developing for years,” says Mr.
registration fee to $1,000 from $600. DiNapoli. The budget “has kept the gimmicks and one-shots to a minimum”
and avoids incurring excessive debt, he adds.
Detox Cuts
PULSE EXTRA: This week’s edition shows how New York compares with
Countering many providers’ gloom, most substance abuse neighboring states on measures of health care.
treatment experts are happy with Gov. David Paterson’s decisions.
At the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, Director
Karen Carpenter-Palumbo says the agency will lose $77 million,
bringing its budget to $695 million. But it is getting welcome new
responsibilities and revenue streams. They include running a $4
million criminal justice program that allows courts to send offenders
to treatment, not jail. The state-run Manhattan Addiction Treatment
Center will close, saving $14 million. The New York Association of
Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers says that is a
reasonable solution.
ADVERTISEMENT
Red tape, economy slow plans at Arnot | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette http://www.stargazette.com/article/20081224/NEWS01/812240321/100...
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Red tape, economy slow plans at Arnot

Hospital must await state OK, then seek financing
BY RAY FINGER • RAFINGER@GANNETT.COM • DECEMBER 24, 2008
Arnot Ogden Medical Center officials are hopeful the economy and bond market are in better shape after
state review of an expansion project is completed about a year from now.
The hospital plans to file a certificate of need with the New York State Department of Staff photo
Health this month for a new four-story patient tower, said Wes Blauvelt, vice president of Arnot Ogden Medical Center. (Buy this photo)
the medical center. The tower would replace 120 inpatient beds at the hospital that are located in sections
that had been built in 1928 and 1953. RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
Elmira Savings Bank FSB The
"It's our expectation that it will take the health department close to a year to review this project," he said Financial Services
Tuesday.
Banking
If the state recommends approval, the hospital would go into the tax-exempt bond market at that time to see Powered by Topix.net
whether the rates had come down, Blauvelt said, noting current market rates make it difficult to borrow
money. More News Headlines
Elmira board OKs funding for two threatened programs
"It would be not a very feasible project in today's market," he said. (6)
Suit filed over Legionnaires' (15)
Regulatory review is in an early stage, so there will be quite a bit of time before hospital officials have to make Witnesses: Colegrove disliked his family (2)
a decision to move ahead with the project, he said.
Is she in or out? Reports conflict on Kennedy bid (7)
"If things are still a mess in terms of the general economy, and the tax-exempt bond market in particular, then Author urges strong foster care system (1)
we would hold off until such time that things sorted themselves out and we could get a comfortable rate that
we would want to use to finance the project," he said. Latest Headlines
Corning school board approves teachers' contract
In June, the Elmira hospital made public its future expansion plans that also include construction of a new Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year
healthplex building for outpatient facilities and physicians' offices. The cost of the projects could total up to
Sisters testify Colegrove was generous (3)
$120 million and are part of a 10-year plan that represents the final step in facilities planning, health center
Elmira schools announce calendar errors
officials told the city at that time.
FLYERS Mentoring Program honors volunteers
The medical center had approached the city to seek expansion of the hospital zone west to Hoffman Street.
Seven Day Archives
The current zone was established about 15 years ago with Walnut, Ogden and Hart streets and Roe Avenue
as its boundaries. But Mayor John Tonello held off putting the proposed expansion to a vote by Elmira City Wednesday | Tuesday | Monday | Sunday | Saturday |
Council.
Friday | Thursday | Older archives

"I didn't want to put forward something that didn't have council's support, which just wastes everybody's time,"
he said Tuesday. "We were talking about different options, how best to meet the hospital's needs and how Teeth Whiteners Exposed!
best to preserve those neighborhoods and go from there." Find out which ones actually brighten your smile, and
which ones don't
City Manager John Burin said he had some preliminary conversations with Blauvelt and Anthony Cooper, www.Best-Teeth-Whitening.com
president and chief executive officer of Arnot Health, during the summer. Hot Stock Alert - EVSO
Solar Power Your Portfolio With Evolution Solar. Invest.
The city's position at that time was that Elmira already has enough tax-exempt properties, he said. www.EvolutionSolar.com
"Until they could prove to the city administration that they could not accommodate their parking within their Alternative to Open Back Surgery
existing hospital zone, we were against any expansion," he said Tuesday. World Leader of Arthroscopic Procedures for Back and
Neck Conditions!
"We're open to looking at anything. If in fact they could not accommodate it within their existing hospital zone, www.laserspineinstitute.com
we would have to consider an expansion. But as of right now, they have not come back, so it's basically in
limbo," Burin said.
"Our tax base is stagnant. That's no secret," he said. "Until we find a way to start sharing the cost of
administering public services and public safety to these regional assets, the city's going to be taking a very
1 of 2 1/22/2009 12:22 PM
Red tape, economy slow plans at Arnot | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette http://www.stargazette.com/article/20081224/NEWS01/812240321/100...
close look before we agree to any expansion of these facilities."
The state of the economy, in terms of both the availability of cash to finance these projects and the cuts that
hospitals are facing generally, could dramatically impact the scope and shape of the Arnot Ogden project,
Tonello said.
"I would imagine for them -- and I'm not an expert on that -- that it's got to be harder now than ever to get
approval based on the cutbacks the state is looking at," he said. "A lot of that has to do with the marketplace,
the number of existing beds and the public that's served by those health facilities."
In Your Voice
jimhaley wrote:
Finance costs on this huge expansion---if and when approved--would impact patient
and our insurance costs with respect to in-patient charges.
We know all hospitals are doing more and more procedures are being performed in
out-patient facilities. Patients are spending are spending a few hours in the hospital
after the procedures and very few overnights. If true, why not try "living within your
means" for a change. Do some minor face lifting and keep the patient costs at their
already high level.
Health care costs are high enough and already take too much out of our economy
when healthy.
Part of the present recession causes can be related to too many entities spending
too much money for stuff they really do not need. I hope the State does not improve
this unneeded expansion.
12/24/2008 3:37:33 PM
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2 of 2 1/22/2009 12:22 PM
A look at hospital troubles across the country - Boston.com http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2008/12/27/a_look_...
HOME / B USIN ESS / HEALTH CARE A D V E R T IS E ME NT
A look at hospital troubles across the

country
By The Associated Press
December 27, 2008
Email | Print | Single Page | Yahoo! Buzz | ShareThis Text size – +
Hospitals around the country are struggling to stay afloat amid the recession,
although many have had financial problems for years, often blamed on
Medicare, Medicaid and other government health programs that don't fully
cover the costs of care for millions of patients.
Some recent developments:
--In mid-December, the prestigious Cleveland Clinic started a hiring and INSIDE BOSTON.COM
salary freeze across the 33,000-worker health system; it also restricted travel
LATE-NIGHT GRUB
and use of consultants and contractors.
--In New Jersey, five of the 79 acute care hospitals in business at the start of
2008 have closed, most recently Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, and a
sixth may close soon. In early December, the state health department said it
would dole out $44 million to six others to keep them from closing or slashing
Ten palatable places to chow
services. down all night
THE SEEN
--Other recent hospital closures include the 617-bed Physicians Medical Center
Carraway in Birmingham, Ala.; Century City Doctors Hospital in Los Angeles,
and Lincoln Park Hospital, in an upscale Chicago neighborhood.
--The Healthcare Association of Hawaii in November reported hospitals there

posted their eighth straight year of losses and said the situation will worsen.
See who was out on the town
The two-hospital Hawaii Medical Center filed for bankruptcy, several hospitals in Bill Brett's latest photos
have laid off large numbers of workers and the Hawaii Health Systems network THE BIG PICTURE
of about a dozen public hospitals needed a $13 million advance in late August
to avoid shutting down.
--Numerous hospitals have filed for bankruptcy, including Charlotte,

N.C.-based Hospital Partners of America, which operates four hospitals;
Michael Reese Medical Center in Chicago and Associated Healthcare Systems Goodbyes and hellos: scenes
Inc., which has four rural hospitals in the South; and North Oakland Medical from a historic day
Centers in Pontiac, Mich. GLITZ AND GLAMOUR
--Many hospitals are laying off workers, trimming the hours of part-timers and
reducing use of more-expensive temporary nurses hired through agencies.
Among them are the four-hospital St. Vincent's Health System in Alabama;
Boston Medical Center, which primarily serves immigrants and poor people,
and the Columbia St. Mary's system, which has four hospitals in Milwaukee Ashton and Demi among those
at late-night inaugural parties
and Mequon, Wis.
PLUS...
--Nashville-based HCA Inc., the nation's No. 1 private hospital chain with Blogs |Games |Podcasts
about 160 hospitals, is cutting about 110 jobs and closing most functions -- |Puzzles |Personals |Movie
listings |Classifieds |Globe
even the emergency department -- at its Portland, Tenn., hospital, and laying
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off roughly 100 headquarters staffers.
-- For-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp., which operates 56 hospitals in 12 states, MOST E-MAILED
has seen patient volumes dip, missed Wall Street expectations in the third
quarter and warned it may not make its financial targets next year. Its shares 1. The Inauguration of President Barack Obama
have been hammered, plunging from $6.55 in early September to $1.10 by 2. TJX holds sale related to breach of consumer data
Christmas.
3. The travel deals take off
--Some hospitals have been posting multimillion-dollar losses or had credit 4. Systemwide crisis leaves Hub banks hobbling
rating agencies put their bonds on credit watch or downgrade their ratings.
5. Microsoft tries to win back fans with Vista alternative
Some investor-owned hospital companies have seen share prices plummet,
6. Vitale paid off legal debts for DiMasi relatives
missed Wall Street forecasts or lowered their own financial performance
predictions. Along with trimming expenses and delaying capital projects, some
are discussing mergers or selling medical office buildings to raise cash.
2 of 3 1/22/2009 12:23 PM
Lee Memorial Hospital to lay off 36 workers - NewsChannel 9 WSYR http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Lee-Memorial-Hospital-to-lay-o...
Lee Memorial Hospital to lay off 36 workers
Last Update: 1/05 4:23 pm
Fulton, New York (WSYR-TV) - Three dozen people are losing their
jobs at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fulton. They were notified Monday
that they'll be laid off next Sunday.
Hospital executive director Dennis Casey says they're being laid off
due to lower inpatient volumes -- less people are going to the
hospital for treatment.
The cuts are across the board in several different positions at the
hospital. (WSYR-TV)
The layoffs are not related to the Berger Commission's recommendation to convert the hospital into
an outpatient clinic and urgent care facility.
1 of 1 1/22/2009 12:41 PM
AMC: Cuts could prompt nursing home closure - Adirondack Daily Enterprise http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/504342...
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LAKE PLACID - Adirondack Medical Center could
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stand to lose $648,038 in funding if Gov. David Article Photos
Paterson's budget proposal passes unchanged. AMC
Weekender - A&E officials say such a large cut threatens the future of
North Country Living its Uihlein nursing home in Lake Placid, which is
Outdoors already operating in the red.
Business
Health AMC spokesman Joe Riccio said $106,000 of the loss
would be to the hospital in Saranac Lake, $171,731
NY State News
to the AMC-Mercy nursing home in Tupper Lake and
National News $370,307 to AMC-Uihlein in Lake Placid. AMC-Uihlein nursing home in Lake Placid
World News (Enterprise file photo — Rebecca Steffan)
Eyes on Congress Uihlein ended last year with a nearly $500,000
SUBMIT NEWS deficit, Riccio said.
Opinions "It would not be good, and we are working extremely hard to make sure this doesn't happen," Riccio said
of the proportionately larger cuts to AMC-Uihlein. "If Uihlein were to close, that would be a huge blow to
Editorials the health-care network in our region."
Letters
Guest Commentary Without AMC-Uihlein, Riccio said, patients with extended care needs would be forced to stay in hospital
SUBMIT LETTERS, beds, which he said can cost around $600 a day compared to the $100-a-day nursing home beds.
COMMENTARY
"We would see a backup of patients in the hospital beds without the nursing home outlets for them to
recover in," he said.
Columns
The Uihlein nursing home is licensed for 156 beds, and Mercy has 60 beds.
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Riccio said health-care providers are counting on their state legislators to deny these cuts. He will attend
People meetings today held at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh to collaborate with hospitals across the state in
efforts to stave off the cuts.
Archives: 1948,
1952-76 "There is no wait-and-see with this," Riccio said. "These meetings are being held across the state with
special sessions to discuss the budget cuts, what they mean, and how we can fight them off."
Today's Front Page Riccio said the losses would be due to cuts in Medicaid funding, a "gross receipts tax" on all money taken in
by the hospital, and cuts in the "trend factor" that keeps state spending at the same pace as inflation.
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A recent poll by the Siena Research Institute shows that 84 percent of those polled opposed cutting health
Crossword puzzles care spending, and two-thirds said they would rather see a broad-based tax increase than health-care
cuts.
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Health-care providers face threats to Medicaid funding on a yearly basis, Riccio said, but this year's
CU Photo Galleries proposals are a bit more aggressive.
"We are constantly in the mode of defending the resources we need to provide a high level of care," Riccio
Customer Service said. "This year, given the overall economic situation in the country, obviously it is a lot more concerning.
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Terms of Service "In addition to the cost of delivering the best care to the Tri-Lakes region, recruiting the necessary
Brand Builders physicians to provide that care requires an enormous amount of hospital resources," Riccio said. "We are
working actively to make sure this doesn't happen."
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1 of 3 1/22/2009 12:37 PM
Convention and Visitors

Bureau Trout120
Saranac Lake Area
01-07-09 11:02 PM Business,
Chamber of Commerce
»Report Abuse
Tupper Lake Chamber of Touche'
Commerce
Saranac Lake Central
School District business
Tupper Lake Central
01-07-09 8:04 PM Oh goody trout, when are you leaving? If the fraud and abuse were cut out
School District
»Report Abuse of health care expense, a large part of the shortfall would be solved.
Lake Placid Central School
District
New York's Olympic Trout120
Region
01-07-09 5:56 PM With cuts like this and all the negative comments lately about the region in
Bunk's Place
»Report Abuse general, who in heck would ever want to relocate up here? This place is
Franklin-Essex-Hamilton going to be like a ghost town out West. Ironically though, some of the
BOCES nations most expensive homes are up here. This stuff has to knock their
values down, but when you have money like that, who cares? It just blows
me away that some local hotels can charge Aspen like prices for a Newark
NJ type of atmosphere. (with mountains)
SLforLife88
01-07-09 4:28 PM FYI: AMC is not looking to close the facility. The Governor wants to cut
»Report Abuse health care spending which would have a negative impact on AMC as a
whole, mostly Uihlein though.
concerned
01-07-09 4:07 PM i only wish i knew who to beleive......everyone who faces cuts, paints us a
»Report Abuse bleak picture of what will happen.......we have thousands of agencies
painting us these pictures..they are all capable of stretching the truth.WHO
DO WE BELEIVE?
vendor
01-07-09 3:35 PM At the same time AMC is looking to close this facility and lay off 180 workers.
»Report Abuse The Plattsburgh/North Country Chamber of Commerce is attempting to get
the state and Federal Government to give 12 million for a bike path and a
train to no where. Even more ironic is the fact that the local business would
rather see the tracks removed and the path in it's place at no cost to the
taxpayers. No wonder the business in Saranac Lake think thier chamber is
out of touch with there goals.
shipsaint
01-07-09 2:02 PM we will see my young friend

»Report Abuse
Afinehowdoyoudo
01-07-09 11:41 AM They are NOT going to close Uhilein.

»Report Abuse
shipsaint
01-07-09 11:09 AM another loss for the local workforce,why dont the countys cut funds
»Report Abuse like,fireworks,or the walking path alongside the railroad tracks,this is just
another shot to the local living,crazy
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3 of 3 1/22/2009 12:37 PM
Hours cut at ER on table -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=757308&Cat...
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Hours cut at ER on table
Ellis Hospital officials say midnight shift at former St. Clare's not worth the expense
11 of 17 Local news stories: By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer

Save up to 50% when you
<< PREVIOUS | NEXT >> First published in print: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
start delivery today!
OTHER STORIES SCHENECTADY — Citing a lack of patients during the overnight period, Ellis Hospital officials want to
» Shopping by the numbers reduce operating hours at the emergency room at the former St. Clare's Hospital.
» Gas card leaves some
running on empty Some nights, the ER sees only one patient an
» District teachers make hour, said Patti Hammond, vice president of
grade operations for Ellis.
» ROUNDUP
"That's not a cost-effective way to run an ER," she
said.
Ellis wants to reduce the 24-hour operation by

eliminating the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, Hammond
said.
Ellis merged with St. Clare's last year. While most

inpatient hospital services moved to Ellis Hospital
on Nott Street, the emergency room at the
McClellan campus — the former St. Clare's
Hospital — remained open.
For now, both ERs will continue to run 24 hours a day, Hammond said.
During the early months of the merger, the Ellis ER was overloaded, with some patients waiting six
hours to move through the emergency room to admission and finally into a hospital bed. The "triage-
to-bed" times improved dramatically in December, hospital officials said. The wait was 14 minutes at
the Nott campus and about 22 minutes for patients coming through the McClellan campus ER, said
Donna Evans, spokeswoman for Ellis.
The 29-bed emergency room at the Nott campus saw about 124 patients a day in December, Evans
said. The 14-bed ER at McClellan treated about 70 daily in the same period. During each overnight
shift, the Nott ER averaged 20 patients in December while McClellan averaged nine.
Ellis is in discussions with the federal government to determine if a 16-hour operation can still be
considered an emergency room or whether it will have to become an urgent care center. Medicare
and Medicaid pay less for services provided at urgent care centers, Hammond said.
Hammond and other Ellis leaders talked about their plans Tuesday at a meeting of the Schenectady
County Committee on Health Care Issues, a community group that meets regularly to discuss the
health landscape in the region.
The hospital is also in considering expanding its hospital shuttle service to include stops at local
nonprofits, Hammond said. A trial run of the shuttle may start at the end of the month. It would pick
up patients once a day — just after lunch — and bring them to Ellis campuses. Potential stops on the
shuttle would be the YMCA and YWCA, the Bethesda Home, the City Mission and Hometown Health,
among others.
Hammond elaborated on the hospital's plan to turn the McClellan campus into a medical mall for
outpatient and primary care services. The plan calls for moving toward a "medical home" model,
where patient care is coordinated through a family doctor with an emphasis on preventive care and
preventing avoidable hospitalizations.
Hammond warned that "nothing is set in stone" as the hospital tries to shape McClellan into a
financially sustainable operation.
Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at 454-5348 or ccrowley@timesunion.com.
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» Shopping by the numbers
1 of 2 1/22/2009 12:41 PM
Medical Center deficit reaches $70M | lohud.com | The Journal News http://www.lohud.com/article/20090108/NEWS02/901080419/-1/RSS01
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Medical Center deficit reaches $70M

BY CANDICE FERRETTE
THE JOURNAL NEWS • JANUARY 8, 2009
Text Size: Normal | Large | Larger
VALHALLA - Westchester Medical Center's budget deficit has grown $12 million in the last month to $70 Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla: The deficit includes the
expiration of a $25 million cash infusion the hospital had received
million for the 2009 budget year, hospital officials told the board of directors last night. for treating poor patients and the elimination of more than $15
million it got for teaching new doctors, or residents. (File photo by
The estimate largely reflects deep cuts to health care in the state's executive budget proposed Dec. 16. Mike Roy/The Journal News)
It also includes the expiration of a $25 million cash infusion the hospital had RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
received for the past three years for treating poor patients and the Medicine
elimination of more than $15 million it got for teaching new doctors, or Nursing
residents. Hospital Administration
Medicaid
"There are a lot of dark clouds on the horizon," Mark Tulis, chairman of the
Medical Center's finance committee, said last night at the hospital board's Health
first meeting of 2009. "We're going to have to do what we have to do." Healthcare Industry
The Medical Center will have to cut some programs to save money, said
Michael Israel, chief executive officer. Top officials are evaluating the LoHud.com Text Alerts
How to Avoid Bankruptcy cost-effectiveness of several hospital programs. Israel declined to say which
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Administrators have stalled in proposing a 2009 budget because they are

grappling with how to close the $70 million gap with minimal impact on
patient care, Israel said.
» Modify existing alerts
The hospital's board last night announced it would have a special meeting
» School closings,
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Meanwhile, those representing the Medical Center's workers say they are
concerned about job security.
Layoffs at the hospital would be "absolutely devastating for some people,"

said Artie Alfreds, president of Local 9201 of the Civil Service Employees
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Association. The union represents 2,000 Medical Center employees with
Clinton sworn in as secretary of state
various job titles, including pharmacists, nurses aides, social workers, clerks
and maintenance workers. Director of U.N.-connected agency charged in child porn
case (5)
Build Muscle and Get
Ripped without Steroids The Medical Center is among Westchester County's largest employers, with Tax question dogs Obama's Treasury pick
nearly 4,000 people who work there. The quasi-public-private hospital has a Student, 12, charged with leaving bomb threats at West
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ARALifestyle.com budget of more than $700 million.
Joan Jennings, Yonkers BID's longtime deputy director,
Recently, the hospital has limited requests for overtime and has tightened up retires (1)
on other rules for workers, Alfreds said.
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Raises for at least 12 top administrators have been suspended this year. But 3 percent raises promised to 'Personal situation' prompted Kennedy's departure from
1 of 4 1/22/2009 12:40 PM
Medical Center deficit reaches $70M | lohud.com | The Journal News http://www.lohud.com/article/20090108/NEWS02/901080419/-1/RSS01
members of the CSEA and the hospital's nurses union will stand, Israel said. Senate consideration (7)
`Benjamin Button' leads Oscars with 13 nominations
The Medical Center expects to lose $30 million in state Medicaid funding under the state's executive budget Opinion roundup: Economic woes face Putnam, nation; and
proposal, according to a report from the Healthcare Association of New York State. more
7 arrested in vicious robbery of Harrison couple (27)
It is among the top 10 hospitals in the state most negatively affected by the governor's budget, said Tony
Milestones for Peekskill coach, player (1)
Mahler, senior vice president of strategic planning and development.
In addition, hospital officials unsuccessfully tried to get the Medicaid cash infusion agreement renewed for
2009, they said.
The former county government-run hospital has lost a combined total of more than $200 million in 2002, 2003
and 2004.
With the help of state and county aid, a new team of managers seemingly brought the institution back to
financial solvency.
The Medical Center, formerly owned by Westchester County, receives about $15 million annually for utilities
and other services from the county. This year, the county cut its contribution to the Medical Center by $1.5
million.
Reach Candice Ferrette at cferrett@lohud.com or 914-696-8229.
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4,000 employees? They have more employees there than Iona College and Sarah AARP.TheHartford.com
Lawrence College have in students, combined.
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While it's true that we need a regional trauma service, maybe we don't need
expensive services like a heart transplant progarm that treats maybe 1 patient a
year when we are only 20 miles from hospitals in NYC that regularly do such
procedures. It's probably just an ego trip for some doctors and the hospital
administrators.
And the only reason that the medical center is the only one providing services like a
burn center, etc, is because the state health department limits how many hospitals
can offer certain services to promote expertise. If the medical center stopped
tomorrow, other hospitals would be lining up to be allowed to take over. The
services would not go away.
As for saying that the "private" hospitals, like Phelps wouldn't take a hit, don't kid
yourself. All hospitals in NY are non-profit and must treat the uninsured just like the
medical center. They just don't need 60 VPs to do it. And when you think about,
where might you think you might find more uninsured, Peeskill, Ossining, Sleepy
Hollow, Yonkers, & White Plains or in Valhalla?
Maybe, just maybe, the hospitals like White Plains, Phelps, Etc are just better
managed than the big government behemoth?
Enough already, stop pouring more and more government money into a
mismanaged financial black hole. Close it or sell it. Do we really want the
government in the healthcare business? Look at what a great job they've done
managing the economy!
1/8/2009 6:30:02 PM
devonianfish wrote:
We are destroying ourselves. Most people know it, but no one can stop it. It's going
to get ugly. Real ugly.
1/8/2009 5:15:20 PM
Bailster wrote:
2 of 4 1/22/2009 12:40 PM
Think you're ailing? Consider plight of hospitals | lohud.com | The Journal... http://www.lohud.com/article/20090111/OPINION/901110315/1015/RSS08

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Think you're ailing? Consider plight of hospitals

BY LAURIE NIKOLSKI • JANUARY 11, 2009
Read Comments(4) Recommend Print this page E-mail this article Share
For hospitals and nursing homes in the Lower Hudson Valley, it's not déjà vu all over gain. It's déjà vu times
10.
Every state-budget year (April 1 to March 31) and every hospital-budget year (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31), there
comes a period of bracing for the worst but hoping for the best. For 2009, that limbo has arrived with a
vengeance. For this particular purgatory, not only must hospital officials worry about the future of their
hospitals, local taxpayers, residents and patients must wonder whether they will be left to make up lost
funding, whether health care will suffer and even whether local hospitals themselves will go out of business.
In facing down promised cuts in state aid and reimbursements, officials are
beyond pessimistic. "This is as bad as I've ever seen it,'' Michael Israel, chief
Patient Nely Santana of North Salem is helped into her new room
executive officer of the quasi-public Westchester Medical Center told staff at the new Camarda Care Center at Putnam Hospital Center in
writer Candice Ferrette in a recent report on the impact of the recession and Carmel Aug. 20. Assisting her are, from left, Nursing Manager
Annmarie Phillips, registered nurses Sissy John and Tara Selber.
New York state's dire financial straits. "This is really, really bad.''
(Stuart Bayer/The Journal News)
Joel Seligman, chief executive of Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount

Kisco, predicted: "There are some hospitals in our area that won't survive
this.''
With resignation, hospital officials are looking at downsizing, cutting

administrative costs, reducing staff and reducing services, although none
would publicly specify yet exactly what would be affected. Israel did say that
raises for at least 12 top administrators have been suspended this year,
although 3 percent raises promised to CSEA members and the nurses union
will stand. Artie Alfreds, president of Local 9201 of the Civil Service
Employees Association, which represents 2,000 employees at the
Valhalla-based hospital, said layoffs there would be "absolutely devastating
for some people.'' One of the county's largest employers, with nearly 4,000 Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle
workers, the medical center envisions a $70 million revenue shortfall in its testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and
roughly $700 million budget for 2009. Pensions Committee hearing on his nomination Jan. 8. (AP
Photo/Susan Walsh)
Pipelines Of Money
Hospitals get their money from a host of sources, not the least of which is
government reimbursement for the care they give to the poor and elderly
through the "entitlement'' programs Medicaid and Medicare. That funding
guarantees payment to health-care providers for taking care of the sick. The
problem is, those reimbursement amounts almost always are far less than
what privately insured patients, and their insurers, pay.
Right now, hospitals once again are trying to pin down the revenue they can
reasonably expect from the government in the coming year. For 2009, the
key word is "reasonably,'' since predictions on funding are so difficult to
make.
1 of 3 1/22/2009 12:40 PM
Think you're ailing? Consider plight of hospitals | lohud.com | The Journal... http://www.lohud.com/article/20090111/OPINION/901110315/1015/RSS08
Perhaps the greatest uncertainty - and hope - is the impact that the Barack Obama administration could Michael Israel, chief
executive officer of the
make on the economy in general and the health-care sector in particular. Westchester Medical
The president-elect has inextricably linked the two areas. At a hearing on the Center (Joe Larese/The
Journal News)
administration's plans Thursday, Tom Daschle, Obama's choice for secretary
of health and human services, laid out priorities, including placing more
emphasis on preventing disease and primary care; increasing Medicare
payments to primary-care physicians; making more money available for
community health centers and rural health care; and greater use of heath
information technology for better care and efficiency. New York Gov. David
How to Destroy Acne
Without Destroying Your Paterson has echoed similar priorities.
Skin
Nuggets Of Hope
For hospitals and nursing homes, there are some nuggets of optimism in the
Daschle outline, especially if Medicare rates do rise. But hospitals should be
jittery, given that government philosophy about the system is clearly moving ON HARD TIMES
away from an emphasis on hospitals' acute and emergency care missions Lower Hudson Valley Hospitals stand to lose more than $66
and toward preventive and primary care delivered outside hospitals. million in funding under the governor's proposed state budget. A
rundown on their expected funding cuts:
Americans will hear more from Daschle when he discusses Medicaid and Westchester Medical Center, $31.1 million
$2 Million in Scholarships
for Working Parents Going Blythedale Children's Hospital, $10.8 million
Medicare later this month before the Senate Finance Committee. Meanwhile,
Back to School Good Samaritan Hospital, $7 million
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, warned that the
Nyack Hospital, $5.2 million
nation's dire economic situation would "inhibit our ability'' to expand such
Sound Shore Medical Center, $4.2 million
programs. Helen Hayes Hospital, $1.9 million
White Plains Hospital Center, $1.8 million
There was a flash of hope regarding Medicaid funding Friday when U.S. Northern Westchester Hospital, $1.6 million
Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he will push Congress to Lawrence Hospital Center, $1.6 million
send $5 billion in extra Medicaid dollars to New York state and counties as Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, $1.3 million
part of the federal government's $800 billion stimulus package. The money A few Lower Hudson Valley hospitals will gain money:
would benefit local taxpayers whether they get sick or not; Medicaid is one of St. Joseph's Medical Center, $1.5 million
Simple Steps that Will Hudson Valley Hospital Center, $324,000
the state's largest expenses, and the counties pay a share of that cost. Such
Slow the Signs of Aging
is one of the unfunded state mandates saddled upon the counties. Whether Riverside Health System (St. John's Riverside Hospital), $764,000
Advertising provided by: any of that money would provide relief to local hospitals specifically, though, Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry, $96,000
ARALifestyle.com Source: Healthcare Association of New York State.
remains a large question mark.
RELATED ARTICLES
State And Local Impact Med Center closing nursing home
Yet the greatest overall revenue worry for local hospitals is the numbers, and impact, they take away from LoHud.com Text Alerts
Paterson's proposal for the state's 2009-10 budget; it seeks to close an estimated $14 billion deficit,
combined with the current year's gap. The health-care (and education) sectors would be hit hardest under Get breaking local news
as it happens from
the Paterson plan if adopted by the state Legislature. The Healthcare Association of New York is estimating LoHud.com. Enter your
that the governor's budget would eliminate more than $2.5 billion in health-care funding "with more than $1 phone number below:
billion in hospital cuts alone,'' the group said in a statement after the governor's State of the State address
Wednesday. Its president, Daniel Sisto, asked, "How will nursing homes and home health care providers
continue to serve vulnerable populations? . . . How will we meet the demand of thousands of new Medicaid
beneficiaries and uninsured individuals who are the victims of the economic meltdown?'' The association
applauded one Paterson proposal, expanding coverage privately rather than through public subsidies, by
allowing employed parents to continue purchasing health insurance for their adult children, up to age 29. » School closings,
delays and early
dismissal alerts
But locally, hospital officials simply say that the situation is just plain "bad,'' as Ferrette reported. While some
hospitals would gain under the Paterson plan, most would not. Altogether, Lower Hudson Valley hospitals
stand to lose $66 million in state funding. Some other examples: Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla,
$10.6 million, and Good Samaritan Hospital, Suffern, $7 million.
Perhaps the biggest problems for hospital budget-writers, and, therefore, New Yorkers, are the uncertainty
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and timing surrounding the state and federal government plans. When will the state's plans take firmer
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shape? And what about the Obama initiatives? Just as with very sick patients, the hospitals will need to wait
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and see, while preparing for the worst.
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The writer is associate editor of the Opinion pages. E-mail address: lnikolsk@lohud.com In addressing state's fiscal crisis, ax-wielding angers all -
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Attention: We are in a world of financial trouble - 12/14/2008
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alnium wrote: Ban cross-endorsements to reinvent party - 11/28/2008

Republican introspection: How to repair the Grand Old Party -
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2 of 3 1/22/2009 12:40 PM
2 Hospitals in Queens May Face Bankruptcy - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/nyregion/14hospital.html
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2 Hospitals in Queens May Face Bankruptcy
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS
Published: January 13, 2009
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Two Queens hospitals are facing bankruptcy and may close by
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February, the Queens borough president said Tuesday, in one of the
REPRINTS
first indications that New York State’s budget shortfall is hurting
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the hospital industry.
The two private hospitals, St. John’s Queens and Mary Immaculate,
had sometimes been given millions of dollars in state subsidies just
to meet their payrolls, according to other hospital officials who have
been briefed on the matter. But with the state facing a $15 billion
budget gap, the state was less likely to help hospitals that had limited long-term
viability.
Helen M. Marshall, the Queens borough president, said in her State of the Borough
speech Tuesday that she was “extremely concerned today about the stability” of the two
hospitals. Her spokesman, Dan Andrews, said later that Ms. Marshall had learned from
officials at Caritas, which runs the two hospitals, that St. John’s and Mary Immaculate
could file for bankruptcy this month and could close by next month. He said she has MOST POPULAR
appealed to the governor’s office for help, and chose to mention the hospitals in her E-MAILED BLOGGED SEARCHED
speech just hours before delivering it.
1. A Portrait of Change: Nation’s Many Faces in Extended
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Ken Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said Tuesday that
2. Op-Ed Contributor: Oaf of Office
he was concerned that these could be the first of several hospital casualties of the bad
3. Maureen Dowd: Exit the Boy King
economy. “I am worried that this is a precursor of things to come,” he said. Mr. Raske
4. Transcript: Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address
added that he did not think Ms. Marshall’s warning was a political ploy aimed at 5. Wines of The Times: South African Wines Step Onto
building public support for the hospitals. “I think this is a hard dose of reality,” he said. the Stage
6. The One-State Solution
But Claudia Hutton, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department, said that the 7. Radical in the White House
hospitals’ problems had more to do with their sustainability than with the state’s fiscal 8. Skin Deep: Flush Those Toxins! Eh, Not So Fast
crisis. She said that the state had done its best to help them survive, extending a total of 9. Well: Your Nest Is Empty? Enjoy Each Other
$44 million in loans and grants to the two Caritas hospitals over the last two years. “It 10. Books of The Times: The Joys and Pains of Being an
wasn’t meant to be a permanent source of funding,” she said, adding that “we don’t Animal
have any pending loan applications from them.” Go to Complete List »
The two hospitals have just over 400 beds and about 3,000 employees between them,
and have been in precarious financial condition since at least 2005. John Kastanis,
chief executive of Caritas, did not return repeated calls for comment.
Joe Baker, the governor’s deputy secretary for health, also did not return a call for
comment on Tuesday.
Mr. Andrews said Mary Immaculate, in Jamaica, had a trauma center that would be
sorely missed if it closed because demand for its services is brisk. St. John’s is in
1 of 2 1/22/2009 12:39 PM
2 Hospitals in Queens May Face Bankruptcy - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/nyregion/14hospital.html
Elmhurst, a more middle-class area.
Indeed, Mary Immaculate frequently shows up on the police blotter. Just last weekend,
two of the three victims of a triple shooting were taken to Mary Immaculate, where one
was pronounced dead. Vivian Squires, an 86-year-old woman who fought off a knife-
wielding intruder who broke into her home in South Jamaica on Jan. 4, was also
treated there. Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, who were wounded in the 50-shot
police fusillade that killed Sean Bell at his bachelor party in November 2006, were also
taken to Mary Immaculate.
Long Island Jewish Medical Center, which runs several hospitals in Queens, has
expressed interest in taking over the two hospitals, but only if it can consolidate the two
antiquated facilities into a single plant, Terry Lynam, a spokesman for Long Island
Jewish, said Tuesday. But he added that Long Island Jewish would need a bond issue
and state support to build a new hospital, both of which are increasingly unlikely
because of the economy. ADVERTISEMENTS
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2 of 2 1/22/2009 12:39 PM
Hospital to close nursing home, lay off staff | lohud.com | The Journal News http://www.lohud.com/article/20090113/NEWS02/901130362/-1/RSS01

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Hospital to close nursing home, lay off staff

BY CANDICE FERRETTE
VALHALLA - Westchester Medical Center will close its nursing home and lay off about 400 staff members
hospital-wide to help offset a $70 million gap left by proposed state health care cuts.
About 100 residents of the Taylor Care Center nursing home will have to find another place to live by April 1,
when the home will close. Twenty of those residents depend on ventilators.
"We do this with a heavy heart," said John Heimerdinger, chairman of the
hospital's board, at an emergency meeting held yesterday morning when
Teeth officials voted to close the nursing home. "We are all not happy about what is
happening here."
Whiteners
Exposed! Shutting the 73-year-old nursing home is part of a plan to cut spending this
Find out which ones year by approximately $40 million. The Taylor Care Center of Westchester
actually brighten your
has lost about $10 million per year, hospital officials said.
smile, and…
Residents, families and staffers had heard rumors over the weekend that
Best-Teeth-Whiteni… hospital officials would close the nursing home. Several of them gathered
outside the board meeting yesterday morning.
"This is really heart-breaking for us," said Edith Marc of Mount
Vernon, after hearing yesterday that the Taylor Care Center
"This is really heart-breaking for us," said Edith Marc, 40, of Mount Vernon, nursing home will be closed because of lack of funding. Marc's
AARP Auto whose 80-year-old mother, Resia, is on a ventilator. "We don't know where mother, Resia, is a resident of Taylor center and is on a
ventilator. (Ricky Flores/The Journal News)
Insurance she's going right now. We don't know what we are going to do. This is her
From… home, and everyone here is like family to me."
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Minutes w/… home because there are not many facilities in Westchester that offer such
acute care. But the main hospital does have the expertise to serve as ON THE WEB
backup, and officials say they are committed to working with each resident to Harrison home invasion
AARP.TheHartford.com make sure he or she is adequately placed.
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The hospital's board of directors approved a $766 million interim budget, Medicine
Nursing
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medical center is among Westchester County's largest employers, with
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EvolutionSolar.com Hospital officials refuse to say which programs in the main hospital may see Get breaking local news
as it happens from
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"Naturally, we're upset. We're confused. We're just waiting for more
information," said Artie Alfreds, president of the hospital's Civil Service
Employees Association.
1 of 5 1/22/2009 12:39 PM
Officials met with representatives from the hospital's two unions yesterday to propose buyout plans in the » Modify existing alerts
hope of getting some employees to leave voluntarily. Severance packages would be offered to staff members » School closings,
depending on their years of service to the hospital. The leadership of the CSEA and the nurses union have delays and early
dismissal alerts
until Thursday to tell the hospital if they approved a plan to offer resignation incentives to the hospital's union
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With the exception of the nursing home, there will be no reduction in the number of bedside nurses in the
main hospital, hospital officials said.
Rene Garrick, chief medical officer, said the cuts would "have no changes in the quality of care." More News Headlines
Clinton sworn in as secretary of state
The hospital will continue to honor the 3 percent raises promised to its union employees, but nonunion Director of U.N.-connected agency charged in child porn
employees will not receive raises this year, said Michael Israel, the medical center's chief executive. case (5)
Tax question dogs Obama's Treasury pick
Nineteen upper management positions are being eliminated, Israel said.
Student, 12, charged with leaving bomb threats at West
Nyack school (11)
Israel said closing the nursing home was something that had to be done to balance the budget and to make
sure that the hospital could focus on such programs as the Trauma Center and its Burn Unit, which are Joan Jennings, Yonkers BID's longtime deputy director,
retires (1)
unique to the medical center.
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"You've got to look at what's in the best interest for the whole," Israel said.
'Personal situation' prompted Kennedy's departure from
Senate consideration (7)
Israel and other officials also stressed that hospital boards across the state were being forced to make similar
`Benjamin Button' leads Oscars with 13 nominations
cuts.
Opinion roundup: Economic woes face Putnam, nation; and
The state Health Department approved the hospital's nursing-home plan yesterday. more
7 arrested in vicious robbery of Harrison couple (27)
About two years ago, the panel charged with streamlining the state's health-care system, often called the Milestones for Peekskill coach, player (9)
Berger Commission, mandated that the hospital downsize the Taylor center to 181 beds from 321 beds. In
April, the hospital further reduced the nursing home's bed count.
"In keeping with the Berger Commission, this closure will help right size the number of beds in Westchester.
... The department remains committed to ensuring there is a seamless transition of services for residents, and
we will monitor the facility's closure process until the last resident has been placed in the most appropriate
heath-care setting to meet their needs," said Jeffrey Hammond, spokesman for the Health Department.
The Taylor Care Center has lost money for years, said Liz Sweeney, director of health-care ratings at
Standard & Poor's.
Last year, the nursing home was projected to lose $8.1 million - red ink that the hospital had to absorb,
according to a report that the ratings agency issued Oct. 30.
The medical center received a $6 million state grant to downsize the nursing home from 181 beds to 91,
according to Standard & Poor's. The move was expected to "significantly" reduce losses at Taylor and
provide the medical center with inpatient expansion space, according to the report.
In its report, Standard & Poor's said the medical center remained dependent on impermanent sources of Teeth Whiteners Exposed!
revenue, such as government grants. Find out which ones actually brighten your smile, and
which ones don't
The medical center had been on the brink of financial ruin in the earlier part of the decade, when it lost more www.Best-Teeth-Whitening.com
than $200 million in three years. But with the help of federal, state and county money, the medical center has
operated in the black for the past three years. AARP Auto Insurance From The Hartford
The Hartford.
This time, however, Westchester County doesn't have the resources to give any more aid to the medical
AARP.TheHartford.com
center, Deputy County Executive Larry Schwartz said.
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referring to the $13.5 million that Westchester County continues to give to the hospital. www.EvolutionSolar.com
County legislators also seemed to take a hands-off approach to the hospital.
"I don't think the county government is going to second-guess a public-benefit corporation and the steps they
are taking. Our primary concern is that the hospital is solvent and taking care of the most needy," said Bill
Ryan, chairman of the county's Board of Legislators.
The hospital ended 2008 with about $109 million of cash in its coffers. With the cuts enacted yesterday, the
hospital's 2009 interim budget projects that the hospital will have to spend about $60 million of that cash.
But Sweeney of Standard & Poor's said she wasn't surprised to hear about the recent turn of events.
"In the health-care business? Not at all," she said. "There's no free lunch there. I'm sure they're closing it for a
reason, and things have changed somewhat since October. ... It's hard. They're trying to run a medical center
that has a huge public mission, and they're undercompensated for a lot of services."
2 of 5 1/22/2009 12:39 PM
Staff writers Jerry Gleeson and Gerald McKinstry contributed to this report.
In Your Voice
apinsley wrote:
Let's not skirt the real issue here. People are losing their jobs and the residents are
being displaced. With the economy as bad as it is, people can't afford to be without
work of some kind. Let's hope that these employees are absorbed into other
hospitals and medical fields. Nursing homes with openings should help those who
have no place to go. Maybe more homes with 02 units should be considered as well
as increasing the 02 beds at those which already have 02 units. I pray for all those
affected by this closure and that they may find some comfort in this time of
uncertainty.
1/14/2009 8:35:31 AM
twigman wrote:
Let's be clear, Mr. Israel's administration has gone through a typical WMC cycle.
When times are lean you downsize, but when times are better you top load your
administration. His currently has a large number of senior vice presidents, many of
whom will move on. But were they needed in the first place? His administration
moved very few people up through the ranks, and were predominantly friends. A
senior vice president of the month club.
Also, let me comment about the nursing home losing money. There are a lot of
reasons, but it is certainly not due to overstaffing. The facility has been downsizing
its staff for years, yet have continued to provide very good care. Watch the on line
video with this article for examples. TCC has provided the hospital a placement
option for patients with varying issues. Undocumented patients are only covered by
medicaid while they require hospitalization. Once they reach an alternative level of
care, medicaid no longer reimburses. If they don't need the hospital and can't go
home, a move to TCC creates a loss about 10% of being in the hospital. The
transferred loss to the nursing home, they have no choice on that kind of admission,
is then blamed on the nursing home. What gall. TCC has also provided placements
for patients requiring expensive treatments or medication regimens. Other facilities
will not accept these patients due to the high cost of such treatments and low
reimbursements, which do not cover the associated costs. Again the costs are
shifted to TCC and they are blamed for losing money. Yet this administration has
not put funds into retrofitting the facility, which was in the process of becoming
completely sub acute. Nor have they advertised the sub acute or vent services, as
many other facilities are doing, in order to attract more referrals. It's as if they
wanted TCC to fail. Well it looks like they got what they wanted, even if it disrupts
residents and families who view TCC as home.
1/13/2009 10:19:25 PM
callie1113 wrote:
3 of 5 1/22/2009 12:39 PM
I am shocked at the "ignorance" displayed in the above blog comments. It is

embarrassing to read our society is placing blaming on the "illegal immigrants" for
WMC's financial ruins! It was due to poor management and greed not the innocent
victims of poverty! The "illegal immigrants" who are unable to pay for medical care
are the true victims. Their inability to pay for medical services rendered actually
benefited the Medical Center. The are consider tax write offs! Every human being
has the right to medical care and should receive it. There are hundreds of
employees of WMC who are making over $85,000/year and are not accountable for
their salaries. How many supervisors, managers, VP's and Presidents are need to
run an organization or a department? Let the Journal News investigate and publish
all salaries in excess of $85,000/year with their job descriptions. I am certain there
are many "fabricated "departments on paper paying supervisors who do not have
personnel to supervise. Publish the facts and let the public form intelligent opinions.
There are many "illegal immigrants" washing the hospital floors that WMC personnel
walk on and they do their job proudly. Mr. Israel, I believe, is doing the best he can
with what he "walked into." Does he have the true facts concerning the performance
of highly paid employees of his organization? Who provides Mr. Israel's appointed
adminstrators the employee files-the supervisors who are in fear their private
financial gains will be exposed? If Michael Israel is bring in his friends or former
colleagues its because they have proven to be successful working professionals!
Mr. Israel should have HR personnel review all departmental personnel records and
see if there are more then one supervisor performing the same task. Eliminate
many of the departmental heavy heads and maintain the lower level personnel who
are actually the true working professionals. In the past WMC was a county position
and the employees received unbelievable financial gains through their employment.
Long standing "former county employee" are still receiving unjust raises/pay at all
levels. They maintain their high salaries today because of their affiliation with their
unions. Do they truly earn their living or are they continuing to receive high, unjust
salaries due to tenure? If the employees are questioning Mr. Israel's salary and the
salaries of his administration;they should reflect on their own first. Are they truly
earning their living or are they hiding behind a union in hopes of maintaining their
financial security.
The public has the right to know who is taking care of them behind the scenes. Are
they qualified? Do they hold the adequate credential to perfrm their job? Did they
earn their position or did they acquire it through nepotism? WMC allows their
employees the opportunity to obtain an associates degree from Westchester
Community College. How many of WMC's longstanding employees took advantage
of this great opportunity to obtain a higher level of education? I am told there are
many benefits attached to being an employee of WMC-how many of the employees
(outside of administration building) complain when they take advantage of their
benefit packages?
Lets be fair to the patients, politicians and Mr. Israel (& his appointed
administrators): where are there positions in WMC departments that could be
handled by one and not three people? Who is the qualified one? Who has the
patients best interest are all times and not their bi-weekly pay check?
I welcome the publication of all salaries/department personnel as we the concerned
public awaits the annoucement that the Medical Center will be available for all
humans in the Westchester, Putnam and Rockland communities! We need the
security of knowing our health will always being the primary concern of all
employees of WMC and do not look to us as YOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OR
AS A DOLLAR SIGN! Mr. Israel do what you need to do to ensure your community
will have a facility available to public to rely on in our time of medical need.
Forget the unions and forget the overpaid employees:KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON
THE MEDICAL NEEDS OF THE PUBLIC.
1/13/2009 8:40:19 PM
cascades2 wrote:
Everyone from all nationality receive care at the hospital who aren't able to afford
medical insurance or don't have any medical insurance. My point is that we shouldn't
blame the illegals because of these budget cuts now the underpriveledge will suffer
the consequences like our elderly who have lost their homes and have wasted all
their retirement money on healthcare.
Hopefully we can reopen this facility once again and be able to provide the excellent
care that the nursing home has provided the last 73 yrs.... Like others my father
was a resident at Taylor Care the staff were like family. My prayers are with those
that will have no placement, and those losing their jobs.
1/13/2009 6:36:11 PM
goodcominsense wrote:
Not one word about those outrageous salaries of all those overpaid under worked
administrators.
1/13/2009 4:30:09 PM
1 2 >> Last
4 of 5 1/22/2009 12:39 PM
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Denis P. Sweeney, Director of Marketing/Community Development
Phone: (607) 737-7810
Fax: (607) 737-7839
E-mail: dsweeney@stjosephs.org
Date: January 14, 2009
FOR 9:30 AM RELEASE – WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2009
St. Joseph’s Hospital announces rightsizing plan

Elmira, NY – In response to the current economic climate and other market forces facing the healthcare industry,
officials at St. Joseph’s Hospital announced this morning a rightsizing plan that includes revenue enhancements and
cost reductions. The plan, which includes an organizational reassessment utilizing internal and external resources, is a
direct result from the current economic climate, Governor David Patterson’s proposed New York State budget, and
other dynamics impacting the healthcare industry.
As part of its rightsizing plan St. Joseph’s will take the following steps:
· Collaborating with Guthrie Healthcare System in recruiting physicians to practice at St. Joseph’s such as
anesthesiology, physical rehabilitation medicine and thoracic surgery. Additional physicians from other specialties
should join St. Joseph’s Medical staff within the next 60 – 90 days.
· Recruiting additional clinical staff members.
· Improving methods to increase the hospital’s overall efficiency.
· Instituting a new physical rehabilitation assessment process resulting in higher patient volumes in St. Joseph’s
Physical Rehabilitation Department.
· Re-evaluating current vendor contracts.
At the same time St. Joseph’s will also implement labor and non-labor cost reductions in areas where patient
volume has decreased. The elimination of 19 positions at the hospital is expected to enhance the hospital’s efficiency
without impacting patient care. At this time it is unknown how many employees will be affected by the rightsizing plan
until the hospital’s seniority based “bumping process” has been completed. Some of the affected employees may accept
positions that are currently vacant.
Sister Marie Castagnaro, SSJ, St. Joseph’s President/CEO cited several reasons behind today’s announcement:
· Governor Patterson’s proposed 2009-2010 State budget could result in a nearly $2.6 million cut to St. Joseph’s
2009 budget.
· The number of uninsured or underinsured individuals has increased resulting in higher bad debt/charity care
costs. At the end of 2007 St. Joseph’s bad debt/charity care stood at $3.7 million. At the end of November of 2008 that
number increased by 16% to $4.3 million.
Within the last 9 months health care providers experienced two reimbursement cutbacks from New York State.
Sister Castagnaro expects even more bad news. “If the State’s deficit continues to grow there’s always the chance of
additional cuts from the State in 2009,” said Sister Castagnaro. “The rightsizing plan we’ve announced today will allow
St. Joseph’s to continue its mission of providing quality healthcare at an affordable price. Our high quality programs
and services we offer will carry on during these very turbulent times.”
### ### ###
Taylor Care Center closure leaves void | lohud.com | The Journal News http://www.lohud.com/article/20090114/NEWS02/901140353/-1/rss01

SEARCH BY:
ALL

Taylor Care Center closure leaves void

BY CANDICE FERRETTE
VALHALLA - The daughters of 72-year-old Shirley Centrillo are finding out how unique Westchester Medical The Taylor Care Center of Westchester on the campus of
Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. (File photo by Stuart
Center's nursing home is. Bayer/The Journal News)
When they heard the hospital will close the Taylor Care Center, a 100-bed nursing home, come April 1, they
WESTCHESTER MED CENTER CEO SPEAKS WITH
quickly scrambled to get their mother admitted into a nursing home closer to Brewster, where they both live. LOHUD.COM EDITORIAL BOARD ABOUT CUTS
This is our Editorial Spotlight video channel. Click on
But because the new nursing home doesn't have the expertise to care for a 'On-Demand' button, then navigate to desired video.
special kind of tracheal tube inserted in Centrillo's windpipe, it is likely that For sound, click on the character below.
Teeth the daughters will have to keep searching.
Whiteners "I can't believe the hospital is doing this to us. They know how vital that
Exposed! nursing home is. All along they gave us the impression that even if they
Find out which ones closed the nursing home, they would keep the 02 unit," Louann Centrillo
said.
smile, and…
The ventilator unit, sometimes called "02" because it is on the second floor,
Best-Teeth-Whiteni… seems to present the greatest challenge in closing the 73-year old Taylor
Care Center.
Medical center officials decided Monday to close the nursing home because
AARP Auto it was losing up to $10 million annually.
Insurance
Closing the home is part of a plan to save about $40 million this year. The
From…
Over 50? Save $363 on medical center projects it will have a $70 million gap due to the lack of state
Your Auto Insurance In funding in its 2009 budget.
Minutes w/…
The medical center will lay off 400 people, 190 of whom work in the nursing
• Go to a larger player
home, officials announced.
AARP.TheHartford.com RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
About 20 residents at the nursing home cannot breathe on their own and Medicine
depend on ventilators to live. Hospital Administration
Hot Stock Alert Healthcare Industry

Not all nursing homes have units that offer care to ventilator-dependent
- EVSO patients.
Solar Power Your
LoHud.com Text Alerts
Portfolio With Evolution Outside of the Taylor center, there are 23 ventilator beds in Westchester
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as it happens from
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Michael Israel, the medical center's chief executive officer, said there was phone number below:
EvolutionSolar.com
talk of trying to keep the ventilator unit open, even if the hospital closed the
rest of the nursing home.
The state's Health Department, however, wouldn't allow it, Israel said.
In April, medical center officials talked about possibly expanding the ventilator unit by adding four more beds » School closings,
delays and early
1 of 3 1/22/2009 12:38 PM
Taylor Care Center closure leaves void | lohud.com | The Journal News http://www.lohud.com/article/20090114/NEWS02/901140353/-1/rss01
that could also accommodate dialysis because they believed there was a need for the service in the region. dismissal alerts
The closing plan for the Taylor center includes looking at ventilator units in 11 counties around Westchester,
where there are 584 certified ventilator beds, said Jeffrey Hammond, spokesman for the state's Health
Department.
Because patients come from counties outside of Westchester, looking at other counties is appropriate, Israel More News Headlines
said. Commemoration of King's birth is extra special this year,
Rockland residents say (13)
"We want to make sure that patients and patient families are satisfied with the alternatives," Israel said.
Yonkers fire unions agree to work free shift to curb layoffs
(12)
At the Dumont Masonic Home in New Rochelle, where there are 15 ventilator beds, there was one vacancy
Clarkstown Town Board report (5)
yesterday quickly filled with a resident leaving Taylor Care, said Judy Fenster, administrator at Dumont.
Westchester briefing
But Fenster said that her nursing home is struggling with financial pressures as well and continues to run a Katonah-Lewisboro surprise kitchen visits aim to improve
deficit in excess of $1.1 million this year. sanitary conditions (3)
"We are all facing the same challenges," Fenster said.

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"We're concerned that there are going to be more of these agonizing decisions over nursing-home closures,"
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Heim said.
Opinion roundup: Hillary Clinton and her successor;
Putnam's new domestic violence court; and more
Staffers at the Taylor center yesterday were still grappling with the news of the nursing home's closure.
Nurse Nancy Lupo said she feels most for the patients who don't have families.
"Most of our residents here don't know anyone but the staff as their family," Lupo said. "I think there should
be public outrage over what we are doing to our senior citizens. I really think this is horrible."
In Your Voice
Yankee49 wrote:
Bill Clinton has credited the Westchester Medical Center with saving his life when he
had heart trouble. WMC then even named its cardiac center after him. Teeth Whiteners Exposed!
Find out which ones actually brighten your smile, and
And Bill Clinton has been going all over the world raising hundreds of millions of which ones don't
dollars for healthcare in Africa. How about for the people in his own backyard? www.Best-Teeth-Whitening.com
After all, his wife was Senator for 6 years and I don't see any evidence of the AARP Auto Insurance From The Hartford
Queen of Healthcare having done anything for the people of NY! And that was her Over 50? Save $363 on Your Auto Insurance In Minutes w/
job; not to run for President! The Hartford.
1/15/2009 1:03:12 AM AARP.TheHartford.com
Hot Stock Alert - EVSO
squale22 wrote: Solar Power Your Portfolio With Evolution Solar. Invest.
The good news is that all of Spano's buddies who he got appointments to the WMC www.EvolutionSolar.com
board will all keep their high paying jobs, while they run the WMC into the ground.
I pray for the families and patients who will be affected by this situation. We can
come up with money for many ridiculas programs but we can't find a way to aid
those who need help to live their final days with dignity. I feel ashamed of what we
have become in this county.
1/15/2009 12:06:22 AM
bluespencer wrote:
Reply to AREUKIDDIN1
well at least 2 of us understand this tragedy....never mind the finacial destruction of
medicare/medicaid paying for all this care.
1/14/2009 7:02:53 PM
AREUKIDDIN1 wrote:
2 of 3 1/22/2009 12:38 PM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2009
Contact: Kendrick Bentham, VP of Marketing & Community Relations

Office: 951-7041 or by cell at 597-7837.
TLC Health Announces layoffs
Irving, NY– TLC Health Network, an affiliate of Lake Erie Regional Health System of New York State, announced today
that it is downsizing its workforce and reducing hours of other employees at some of its sites including Lake Shore Health
Care Center and Tri-County Memorial Hospital. The decision comes as a result of an expected $3.6 million dollar deficit in
2008 and draconian cuts to Medicaid proposed in the Governor’s 2009 budget. The multi-million dollar deficit is the result
of many factors both locally and nationally, including declining patient volumes, increasing numbers of uninsured,
increasing bad debt and charity care, reimbursement shortfalls, healthcare professional shortages, and significant health
insurance increases.
“It is after much thoughtful deliberation that the pressures imposed by the current economic climate in New York State have forced us
to make some very difficult decisions and adjustments to ensure our own financial health. Our network hospitals and nursing home
have served the community for many years and taking these steps, although painful, will help ensure we can continue to fulfill our
commitment to serve our patients and our communities for many years to come,” said Jonathan I. Lawrence, President and CEO of
Lake Erie Regional Health System.
Out of a workforce of about 900 employees, approximately 30 filled positions were cut with another 15 positions affected by
reductions in hours. “We are doing our best to minimize the impact to our employees by making reductions through attrition when
and where possible, and by identifying other opportunities to appropriately reduce expenses without compromising the quality of
care,” Lawrence added. In addition to workforce reductions, TLC Health is also reducing expenses by aggressively managing other
operational expenses and will be examining the possible closure of programs and services that may no longer be financially viable.
A recent white paper issued by the Healthcare Association of New York State entitled, Vital Signs Fading, states “New York’s
hospitals, nursing homes and home care services seem permanent, but are far more fragile than most realize.” As an example of this
frailty, TLC Health Network provides a large continuum of services to the tri-county region with approximately 75 percent of its
programs and services depending upon Medicaid reimbursements; services such as home care, nursing home, mental health, chemical
dependency, and medical clinics. “As Governor Paterson’s budget proposals look more likely to find favor with the State Legislature,
we will need to take a focused look at the continued viability of these programs, as we can no longer afford to subsidize services for
which we do not receive adequate payment.” indicated Lawrence.
###
Caritas outlook bleak - Crain's New York Business Page 1 of 2
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Thursday, January 15, 2009

Caritas outlook bleak
Connecticut Proposal After months of negotiations with the state and possible
saviors, Caritas Healthcare’s board met yesterday to discuss
The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut proposed a options.
new state health care program to expand insurance coverage to
Connecticut’s estimated 300,000 uninsured. The effort echoes There had been reports that the board was nearing a decision
initiatives in New York to extend public programs. The proposal, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but no such
called SustiNet, puts state employees and retirees into a self- decision was made at the meeting, according to the state
insured pool with Medicaid participants. Other groups could join, Department of Health. Caritas, which consists of Mary
including people without employer-sponsored insurance, sole Immaculate Hospital and St. John’s Queens Hospital, has 452
proprietors, small businesses, nonprofits and municipalities. People beds.
would not be excluded for pre-existing conditions. Enrollment would
be phased in over five years, from 2011 to 2016. By 2014, 98% of There also have been rumors the board would shutter Mary
Connecticut’s population would be insured. The foundation Immaculate and give control of St. John’s to North Shore-LIJ.
estimates the changes would save households and employers $1.7 Any such drastic scenario would impact 1199 SEIU, which said
billion by 2014. However, the proposal calls for the state to yesterday it is working to keep both hospitals open. The union
increase spending by $950 million in a time when state budgets are has not received a required 30-day closure notice from Caritas,
being slashed. Connecticut may not be able to afford the cost of and had no information on whether Caritas had hired
such ambitious health reforms. The Connecticut State Medical bankruptcy advisers.
Society helped develop the plan, which calls for higher
reimbursement rates for doctors. The foundation hired The Urban John Lavan, the system’s chief restructuring officer, did not
Institute—also modeling a universal coverage proposal for New respond to requests for comment. In October, North Shore-LIJ
York State—to assess the economic impact of SustiNet. The signed an exclusive agreement to negotiate a deal with
proposal is online at www.healthcare4every1.org/sustinetproposal. Caritas, which loses $4 million to $5 million each month.
Hot Tickets At a Glance

1199 SEIU has doled out hundreds of free tickets to the hottest
event in the nation: President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration WHO’S NEWS: Dr. Simon Samaha started last month as chief executive of
next week. Those tickets are going for $1,000 apiece from private the Summit Medical Group, the largest independent multispecialty medical
sellers, but an SEIU spokeswoman says the union members who practice in New Jersey. He had been chief medical officer at Cooper
have them wouldn’t think of selling. The union sent thousands of University Hospital in Camden. Summit eliminated its executive director
workers to campaign in key states; the people who got the position with the departure of Andrew Mintz last February and is moving
inauguration tickets were drawn from those volunteers. They’ll get toward a C-suite structure.
the tickets as they queue up predawn to board chartered buses to
the Capitol. “We don’t think we’ll be able to get closer than
Maryland, and then they’ll have to take the metro,” says a union
spokeswoman. “But people are very excited. They worked so hard
to make this happen.” The union also is holding an all-day
Inauguration Watch, where members can view televised
proceedings at its Manhattan headquarters.
Home Care and Drugs

About 28% of elderly patients were at risk for harmful medication
interactions or drug duplications when they were admitted to home
care, according to a new study by the Manhattan-based Center for
Home Care Policy & Research. The study also found that during
the course of a home care episode, nearly a quarter of elderly
patients experienced problems related to their drug regimen,
including falls, weakness and confusion. Patients with chronic
illness take as many as eight medications when they first enter
home care, which increases the risk of an adverse interaction. The
study said that medication management training for home care
nurses and nurse managers helped home care agencies minimize
older patients’ medication risks.
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UTICA — The Midstate Regional Emergency Services
Council of Madison, Oneida and Herkimer Counties will hold From Faraway Lands
a public hearing Tuesday, Jan. 27, to determine if the City of Hinckley Reservoir report
Utica can continue offering ambulance service. Holy Trinity Monastery
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NICOLE L. CVETNIC / Observer-Dispatch The Lights of Friday Night
Utica Firefighter and paramedic John Stewart washes the The hearing is at 7 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 200
Woody Mower
outside of an ambulance at the Utica Fire Department, Genesee St.
Wynton Marsalis
Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2008 in Utica.
Written comments must be received by Jan. 23 and should Ask the Expert
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Comments (20)
ambert Utica, NY
1 week ago
Report Abuse
The city should not be in the business of health care. It is a duplication of services at a time when consolidation should be a
priority. The fire department needs to fight fires. Let an ambulance service take care of the ill. Search provided by Premier Guide
kettle
1 week ago Popular Searches Featured Business
Report Abuse
Private sector jobs should never have been turned into public jobs supported by taxpayer dollars.
Murder victim's fiance details Monday night's events
azbill
1 of 4 1/22/2009 12:37 PM
1 week ago Utica man faces kidnapping, robbery, assault

Report Abuse charges
To even consider or hint that EMS services provided by the private sector or volunteer services is inadequate is profound. All EMS
personnel are held to the same high standards by the same organization. Woman indicted in fatal Utica crash
The city saw a 'cash cow' in providing ambulance services, whereby they bill insurance companies for their services. This is the Public defender: Peeler acted in ' extreme delusional
same opportunity that volunteer departments and ambulance services employ as a way to stay 'solvent' and purchase new way’
equipment as the old ages.
Meteorologist Lanza leaving WKTV
This practice is costing the city taxpayer dollars in wages for additional personnel; it takes important firefighters out of the Arrest made in fatal Broome County home invasion
firehouse to answer medical calls; it adds $$ to the cost of insurance for the rigs; it is more for management to 'manage' when
they should be managing fire fighting and fire training. Deaths
Motorist hits sheriff's vehicle, leaves scene
I agree, let the private sector manage medical care for city residents and let the fire department manage fire fighting and
community education for fire prevention. In our declining economy let the private sector provide much needed jobs. Girl to testify via closed-circuit TV in rape trial
nancy13502
1 week ago Deaths
Report Abuse
These are all cogent reasons as mentined above. What a great start to reducing the size of goverment.
It's true -- the city looked upon this service as a 'cash cow' but it comes with a price -- that price must pay back the cost of
borrowing money to purachse the equipment; the re=configuration of fire houses to accommodate the EMS services. The City
should not compete with the private sector. We don't the private sector in the business of fighting fires; we want the city
employees -- firepersons -- to do the job as trained, battling fires.
wenewell
1 week ago
Report Abuse
We have a City trying to run a business without the proper permits or licenses to operate.
Try to do that yourself and see what happens. The City must prove public need.
Lets leave the ambulance services to the operations that have the proper licenses and permits to operate. These company's have
served us well in this area for many years and also hire local qualified EMS personal who undergo continuous training on new
lifesaving procedures.
We are over taxed enough and have enough retirement contracts to pay on for years to come.
herbf56
1 week ago
Report Abuse
Why should the city not provide ambulance service?? It most definitley is a way of generating dollars for the city. So where does
that leave the argument that it is taxpayer funded?? Maybe the initial cost yes, but this service is paying for itself. The taxpayer
should be glad that they have some 'forward' thinking individuals in the Utica Fire Department that initiated this!!
As far as the argument that this is a 'Cash Cow' that volunteer EMS and Fire Dept. use to replace aging equipment, boy that is far [+] Open House - 4 listings
from the mark!!
The reason that volunteer agencies started billing, was not just to replace aging equipment, but to be able to provide a service to [+] steel buildings: 4 only 2) 25x34, 2) 30x46. Must
the community, due to raising insurance and workers comp costs. Also increases in the cost of initial training and continued move!
medical education, that could no longer be covered by citizens donations! That is the true aspect.
Furthermore, that City Fire Dept. always responded with that 'other' private service anyway, rendering needed care to the ill and [+] Mattress: Kings Size Utopia by Kingsdown, new
injured for several minutes, because the 'private' service was bussy doing pre-arranged transfers from nursing homes and $3,800,
hospitals to hospitals. After all, those are guaranteed payers!
So, where is the savings? If they respond anyway, with their personell, then bring your ambulance and transport too. [+] Prom Gowns (3): 2 Ball Gowns (teal green) (peach
It translates in to faster care and transport, no matter how you slice it!! &
I don't understand, why the city does not initiate a municiple law (like some other big municipalities out west), and just declare a
[+] BIO-FOrce: Home gym, new $700/best. Call
bidding process that allows the City of Utica to regulate who provides the service. If you submit a lower bid, because you can do it
cheaper, so be it. If not, shut up allready and let the City keep their ambulances. [+] Pellet Stove: 4 tons of pellet, $2400 firm,
I think the City is better off with it's own Ambulance service and the taxpayers are better served by it.
1st Amendment [+] tv 35": RCA $50. BD set: Cherry finish, traditional 4
1 week ago poster
Report Abuse
Cash cow is the only way to look at it. Up until Utica got into the ambulance business, were there any issues with having just View all ads
Kunkel do this? Nothing that I heard stated as much.
[+] Pontiac: Grad Prix '05, 67K, loaded, good cond.,
Just like Wene states, they've been operating this without the permits and licenses. Anybody else who isn't friends or family to the
$7800/
mayor's office would be shut down in a heartbeat. Reminds me of that clip in the preview from 'Frost/Nixon', when the president
(mayor) does it, its not illegal. Yeah right. [+] Snow Plow: Fisher, Minute Mount 2, 8 ft plow,
$2000.
And to the naysayers, the EMTS and paramedics who are with the UFD have to meet the same standards as anyone else holding
those credentials. Matter of fact, each person on the UFD has to have at the very least their EMT certification to be on the force. I [+] trailblazer '02: 4x4, LT, 77K, leather, loaded,
know, I used to have certification and was a candidate for the UFD. So, its not a matter of the city provided better or worse runs/drives
healthcare, its a matter of whether they should be at all.
scottie2 [+] enclosed trailer: Load-Write, '04, drive on/off, 2
1 week ago place,
Report Abuse
I think at the time, the city thought it could undercut all the private services by offering cheaper services but increasing taxes to [+] Nissan titan: '04, crew, 4x4, heavy duty tow, less
cover the losses not gained in the service itself. Now that that is no longer an option, I'm sure that is something they are than 75K
considering...
1st Amendment [+] ford ranger: '99, needs engine & battery, fair cond.,
7 days ago
Report Abuse [+] Polaris: '02, studded, reverse, low miles. $2,500.
View all ads
So far the city has yet to show the public how this benefits the city financially. Scotty hit the nail on the head. It was a way of
pushing out the private sector provider to take over. The fact that if you call for an emergency in the city, they automatically send
the city ambulance unless you specify otherwise. They are the ambulance by default. That does not set a good example of trying There are no ads to display
to promote business and growth when the government makes a move like that to compete with a business.
herbf56
7 days ago
Report Abuse
Permits and licenses........Ok, lets educate the un-knowing on that. The City has all the 'Proper Licenses'. If anyone would like,
review NYS Public Health Law Article 10, part 800.
They are operating within the law.
Looks to me like some Ex-Ambulance Service Providers are attempting to take over these comments and put their 'Spin' on it, in
true replubican spin doctor fashion. In other words, if you tell astory long enough, no matter if it is based on fact or not, the public
will believe it, sooner or later and take it as fact.
After all, that is how G.W. managed to remain in office for two terms.
Let Utica keep thjeir fine Ambulance Service! They do a good job in a timely fashion!
clipper220
7 days ago
Report Abuse
I find it ironic that the same council that will hold the hearings is composed of ambulance providers among others. It was at one
time very heavily influenced by Joe Taylor from Amcare, and one or more of the Kunkels. I am not disputing the dedication to
2 of 4 1/22/2009 12:37 PM
service of either of those individuals, but it is kind of biases against the city before the hearing ever starts.
Many seem to think that the firefighters don't belong in the EMS business. As a former EMT and EMT instructor, I disagree. Fire
departments have both manpower, and the communications systems in place to provide a quick and efficient response.
Firefighters are also paid to sit in the firehouse and to train and do housekeeping chores when there is no fire to fight. They are
more efficiently used and more is gotten for the taxpayers dollar if they are involved in EMS. Even going back to the 80's when I [+] S Utica: 2 bd, newer plush townhouse, basement,
was a state EMT instructor at BOCES, the City of Utica Fire Department has had some of the finest and most dedicated EMTs in w/d hookup,
the area. My original course was taken from retired fire captain Tony Skane, and some of my students at BOCES included Al
Belmont, and others, who dedicated their lives to the City of Utica. May they rest in peace. [+] ilion: 2 bdrm., garden style modern building on bus
route,
This whole goat rope seems to me like a political game by the private services to eliminate competition and to monopolize what
should be a public service, and provided by as many as it takes to cover all the calls. Money should not be the issue, service [+] s. utica: 1st fl. 2 bd, laundry, $650 + util., sec. 2nd
should. Kunkel does fine, and is now spread into the outlying areas as the primary ALS provider called in many cases. There is
enough calls in the city for all to be busy and needed. Let Greed be left out of the equation and service be the only factor. [+] n. utica: 517 Coolidge Rd. 3 BD, attached gar. nice
1st Amendment [+] New Hartford Village, Brand new 3 & 1 bdrm, 2
7 days ago
Report Abuse baths. No
For starters, I'm not a republican, nor a former EMS. Second, the permit or license that the city had to get in order to operate this [+] Utica Oneida Square. 1 bdrm. apts. for rent.
ambulance service is expired. It has been for some time. Perhaps herb should spend a little more time following the news instead
of beating its chest. That would be why this is in the news now, because they have to renew that. $550/mon.,
clipper220 [+] Chadwicks: 2bd, 1 bath, available March 1st. $9,000
7 days ago
Report Abuse View all ads
Then take the politics out of it, and simply renew the City permits. Kunkel will simply put a few more EMT'S back on their payroll
and put a couple of more rigs on the road, and they will reap the profits, while Utica is left with a fully trained staff of paramedics
and EMT's and a fleet of ambulances that will be parked unnecessarily because of political crap. Now THAT would be a travesty Defense: Peeler felt threatened in ‘extreme delusional
and a gross disservice to the taxpayers of the City of Utica, who have already invested in the ambulances, and the training. The way’ (01/22/09)
training was a wonderful investment whether the city had their own ambulances or not. When my mother in law needed EMS, the
firetruck ALWAYS arrived ahead of Kunkel and were well into assessing her condition when the ambulance arrived. Heck, history Community Forum promotes teamwork, optimism
reflects the city being in the EMS business for as long as I can remember. The city police cars used to carry 'pulmotor' (01/22/09)
resuscitators in the trunk way back in the 50's and saved many lives by simply providing breathing assistance and oxygen.
madspartan Excellus BCBS gives back, funds Genesis Group
7 days ago (01/22/09)
Report Abuse
Forum to discuss drugs, gangs (01/22/09)
Forget separation of 'church and state'. How about separation of 'private enterprise and state!'
Meteorologist Lanza leaving WKTV (01/22/09)
The government can't do governing right. Why would they think that they could run a business?
Bat Masterson Arcuri to speak at Rome Chamber event (01/22/09)
7 days ago
Caroline Kennedy confirms she's dropped bid for
Report Abuse
What really is unethical in my opinion is how the city steals medical calls by sending UFD and not Kunkel thanks to the 911 Senate seat (01/22/09)
system. That's crazy and so unfair to private industry. Even tow trucks have a rotation system, but when it comes to medical calls Irish Cultural Center hits snag on tax-exempt status
they ALL go to UFD .. not Kunkel. Pretty low I think. One positive point is when Kunkel is called directly on the private line .. it is
answered in 1 ring and you are talking to at least a EMT. They also respond super fast and you getEMT's or Paramedics that are (01/21/09)
well seasoned.. not a full time firefighter being a part time EMT/Paramedic. Most firefighters do a great job at EMS and work and Wallace reappointed as county administrator
study hard.. but .. well.. you see my point. Thanks for listening.
1st Amendment (01/21/09)
7 days ago Consolidation meeting set for next week (01/21/09)
Report Abuse
Everyone is missing the point here. Why did Utica get into the ambulance business a few years ago in the first place? What was
the reasoning then to invest in vehicles and equipment and start their own service? Nevermind what to do with that infrastructure if
they are not allowed to continue as of now. Answer why they did this in the first place and you will have your motive. This was
never about public safety at all. Nothing was ever conveyed to show the city needed more ambulances.
Not sure who ever interjected politics into this clipper but this is not a political issue. Freeman is the one trying to sound off with
republicans and what not.
hmmmm
7 days ago
Report Abuse
I wonder how many times the UFD ambulance transports someone to the hospital that more than likely doesn't need that extreme
treatment? The city gets to bill the insurance companies, the hospitals get to send a huge bill for emergency room services and
guess who is paying most of the time? Yes that's right, the poor taxpayer. I would like to see some statistics as to how many of
these ambulance rides and emergency room bills end up being paid by social services. Hey, what the heck it is victimless, the
state is paying the bill. Oh wait, we pay those bills!
amcare5
7 days ago
Report Abuse
This is in response to clipper22. The board was never heavily infulenced by Joe Taylor. Listen in Rome years ago there was 2
ambulance services, remember? Amcare was originally Nunn's amb. and the other was Federal Amb. In the begining both
services would try to jump the calls. Which was to call enroute before the other service would. It was just like the movie, Mother,
Juggs and Speed. After a while Rome Fire control started alternating calls. This made a big difference on how the two services
worked with each other. Rome hospital did the same thing with rotating the calls.
I don't believe rotating calls was ever an option given to Kunkel when UFD started the amb. service. Listen I think running an amb.
service by UFD is great. But the problem really lies with Utica Fire Control. Why should Utica have their own 911 system. If this
was run by Oneida county then they could rotate calls between UFD and Kunkle. Also this would explain the comment regarding
response time. This never came up until Utica was looking into starting the service.
If you listen to the UFD radio then you would some of the calls the amb. is dispatched to. For example arm,leg, and stomach pain.
just to name a few. How about the EDP's, Emotionally Distrubed Person. I know because I listen to the scanner, they are running
all night long. I'm sure some of the guys at UFD would love to get some sleep during the night. I'm friends with quite a few UFD
firemen.
Also remember Utica 911is staffed by firemen sometimes of which is overtime for them. Not to mention the overtime they are
paying for the guys to run the extra ambulances. That's why they need to really show both sets of books. Most calls are no-pay,
because the insurance company felt there was not a medical need for the patient to be transported by abm. They need to make
sure on their PCRs that there was a medical need to be transported by amb. or else no-pay.
If they are going to run the service let's make things fair so everyone can benefit from it. I like that they are running the service,
but remember Mr. Julian's reason for starting it, was to generate income for the city. Sometimes being in it for the money isn't
always best reason to do something. Unfortuneitly if they do not get their certificate then, quite a few firemen maybe out of a job.
Some very great guys. Also to their is retired Utica Firemen on the REMSCO board.
Daffy Duck
6 days ago
Report Abuse
''They need to make sure on their PCRs that there was a medical need to be transported by amb. or else no-pay.''
3 of 4 1/22/2009 12:37 PM
EMT's are NOT doctors- its there job to pick up the patients and transport them to the hospitals. Yes a patient may have 'stomach
pain' and in 2 hours it might go away- then again it might be a AAA and they will be dead. A EMT cannot tell the difference- they
are good- but they are not that good.
Basically is it better to have 100 ambulances rolling out on the streets between 2 services or 50 because there is only one? Even if
the city does get out of the game I highly doubt that Kunkel is going to pick up another 50 rigs to fill the gap that is lost. Also just
keep in mind that most EMT's get paid crap- which is why many of those who work for the Cities service also work for Kunkel or
COVAC.
Some things in life you need to forget about the money and 'coast cutting' and just bite the bullet pay for it. You people are being
so cheap that you are putting saving money ahead of saving lives! Yes the city may have gotten in the game for the wrong
reasons but those who said lets do this are not the same people who are working those rigs.
1st Amendment
6 days ago
Report Abuse
Still no one answers the questioin. Before Utica got into the ambulance business, how the this city do with just Kunkel? Nothing
has ever been publicly announced showing there was an increased need for ambulances that was not being addressed.
Its not better to have 100 ambulances if half are never used.
And just like with tow trucks, the ambulance should be on a rotation, yet the city made their own service the default one. With facts
like that, its no wonder people question this as a way to make money and drive out a business. What else could it be? there was
no expressed need for additional ambulances.
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The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Friday, January 16, 2009

Insurers may balk at more Cuomo settlements
Diabetes Plan Which insurer is next? New York State Attorney General Andrew
Cuomo’s office is putting enormous pressure on New York insurers to
United Healthcare is launching a health care plan to help diabetics and fall in line behind United Healthcare and Aetna, which have agreed to
prediabetics manage their conditions. The Diabetes Health Plan will stop using Ingenix databases for calculating patients’ out-of-pocket
reward diabetic and prediabetic individuals who routinely follow steps to costs when they seek out-of-network care.
manage their condition, including blood sugar checks, exams,
preventive screenings and wellness coaching. The plan also provides a “We will not stop until the entire industry has been reformed,” Mr.
voluntary screening model that helps people learn if they have Cuomo said yesterday.
undiagnosed diabetes or are prediabetic. Benefits include some free
diabetes supplies and diabetes-related drugs (insulin, oral But he may not get the cooperation he is seeking. Some insurers are
anti-glycemics, ARB, ACE, antidepressants and statins), as well as resisting an agreement with Mr. Cuomo because they do not want to
lower co-payments for related doctor visits. United estimates the annual share data nationally with competitors. But their chief reason for
savings at up to $500 for the insured person, and the new plan can help resisting Mr. Cuomo is their displeasure with how he treated United
lower health care costs for employers. The estimated annual cost of a when he announced his agreement with the insurer.
diabetic on staff is more than $22,000 a year, 13 times higher than the Mr. Cuomo leaked news of the agreement to The New York Times and
average cost of an employee without a chronic disease, according to the Today show, and his choice of rhetorical language angered
United data. Its diabetes plan is being marketed to self-insured insurers. At yesterday’s Aetna press conference, there was more of the
customers. Employers can offer the program as a stand-alone health same. Mr. Cuomo praised Aetna, which said it would contribute $20
plan or as an enhancement of an existing plan. million to create an independent nonprofit that will calculate “usual,
customary, and reasonable” fees.
North General Hospital But Mr. Cuomo also said: “The situation we are discussing today is the
greatest scam I have seen in office.” He called the use of Ingenix data
The state Department of Health gave North General Hospital a $1.5
“a blatant fraud. It was an obvious fraud.”
million loan from the restructuring pool this week so that the Harlem
hospital could meet its critical capital needs. Rumors have resurfaced Insurers who see themselves as innocent customers of Ingenix are in
that North General is on the brink of bankruptcy. no rush to stand next to Mr. Cuomo during similar announcements.
Equipment Purchase
At a Glance
Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center says it is the first facility in New
Jersey to acquire Varian Medical Systems' Rapid Arc radiotherapy WHO’S NEWS: Kings County Hospital Center and its behavioral health
system. The equipment is said to be 80% faster than conventional program will get new leadership on Feb. 2. Antonio Martin, currently executive
radiation devices, reducing treatment time to 90 seconds from 20 director of Queens Hospital Center, will be senior vice president of the
minutes. The hospital says it cost $500,000 to make the necessary Central Brooklyn Network and executive director of Kings County. He
upgrades to its existing Trilogy linear accelerator. replaces the retiring Jean Leon, who led Kings County at a time when its
troubled psych ward became the target of a federal lawsuit. Dr. Joseph
Merlino, a psychiatrist and clinical leader at Queens Hospital Center, will
serve as administrator of Kings County Behavioral Health Services.
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Submit News IRVING - TLC Health Network has announced layoffs
and position eliminations at its facilities, citing an
Sports expected financial deficit and "draconian cuts" in
Local Sports Medicaid as causes.
For the record
According to TLC, approximately 30 filled positions
National Sports were cut out of a workforce of about 900 employees,
New York Sports representing around a 3.3 percent reduction. Another
Submit Sports 15 positions had their total hours decreased.
Kendrick Bentham, VP of Marketing and Community
News Elsewhere Relations for TLC, said that the cuts were made
Around the Region across a breadth of the network's job spectrum.
NY News The Lake Shore Health Care Center
"It's a wide variety," she said. "It's not any one
National News particular department; it covers just about
International News everything."
Opinions Jonathan I. Lawrence, President and CEO of Lake Erie Regional Health System formed by the partnership
The OBSERVER's View of TLC and Brooks Memorial Hospital, said in a statement that TLC has tried to minimize the cuts' impact
People's column on employees by "making reductions through attrition when and where possible, and by identifying other
opportunities to appropriately reduce expenses without compromising the quality of care."
Commentary
Blogs According to a release, TLC has an expected $3.6 million deficit in 2008, citing causes including declining
Retrospective patient volumes, increasing numbers of uninsured, increasing bad debt and charity care, reimbursement
Newsmaker of the month shortfalls and healthcare professional shortages. The deficit, combined with proposed cuts in state
Medicaid funding - which TLC says approximately 75 percent of its programs and services depend on
Newspapers In reimbursements from - was said to elicit the need to cut costs.
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"It's something we've been keeping an eye on throughout the year, but as you get closer to the year end
"The Tale Of Desperaux"
and you see the numbers the way they were and knowing what we're expecting to see from the
Contest
governor's cuts and budget, we knew we just couldn't continue to have these kinds of losses and we had to
NIE Lesson Plan Library make adjustments to our expenses," Bentham said.
Living According to figures provided by the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) on its Web site,
www.helpyourhospital.org, TLC Health Network is facing an estimated $807,000 loss through Gov. David
Religion Paterson's proposed budget. The same figures project Brooks Memorial Hospital as losing $1,693,000 in
funding and WCA Hospital as losing $3,593,000 in funding.
Entertainment
Those figures, however, only account for losses to acute care and do not include cuts to additional facilities
U.S. Olympian and services. According to HANYS spokesman William Van Slyke, funding for TLC's Lake Shore Hospital,
Jennifer Stuczynski Inc. Nursing Facility is estimated to drop more than $750,000 in the proposed state budget - and it may
not end there.
Video of her return
Recent articles "Hospitals and healthcare providers were already cut twice in this state's fiscal year - which ends March 31
- already cut twice this year for $1 billion," Van Slyke said. "The governor is proposing $5 billion more in
Special Sections cuts over the next two years. If those cuts go through ... these painful decisions that TLC is confronted
with will be repeated across the state."
Special Reports
According HANYS, the average national operating margin (i.e. the revenue made that hospitals, as
Ads not-for-profit organizations, reinvest into their facilities) is 4 percent. In 2007, New York State posted its
first positive average operating margin in 8 years, at 0.7 percent.
Local Classifieds
Jobs If the state's financial crunch continues to intensify, Van Slyke said that many hospitals may be forced to
NY Classifieds consider cutting services. While core programs such as ER and maternity would likely have only minor
National Classifieds downsizing made against them, community outreach programs such as health screenings could suffer
Place a class ad greatly.
Ads from the Observer "For the last 10 years, hospitals have been asked to do more with less," Van Slyke said. "Now we're in the
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Place a FREE ad era of doing less with less. It's the space between the rock and the hard place."
CU Galleries Bentham confirmed that cutting programs is a consideration if necessary, but that no specific services have
been tagged as likely to be removed first.
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HANYS and many healthcare facilities are engaged in lobbying efforts to try to restore state funding. One
Edition ray of hope comes in the form of federal Medicaid funding brought to the state through President-elect
Obama's planned stimulus package. However, HANYS is asking healthcare agencies to adopt resolutions
Online Extras demanding that this money be used for its intended purpose.
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Contact Us can't let that happen."
Advertising HANYS will soon run television ads and email campaigns in support of restoring Medicaid reimbursement.
Classified It also plans today to open an additional Web site, www.helpyournursinghome.org, that will provide
Circulation figures on potential state funding losses to area nursing homes.
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2 of 2 1/22/2009 12:37 PM
Westchester Medical Center rightly opts for survival | lohud.com | The Jou... http://www.lohud.com/article/20090118/OPINION/901180317/1015/RSS08

SEARCH BY:
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Ed Walsh is a resident at
Westchester Medical Center rightly opts for survival The Taylor Care Center of
Westchester on the
campus of the
• JANUARY 18, 2009 Westchester Medical
Center in Valhalla. He
Read Comments(3) Recommend (6) Print this page E-mail this article Share comments Monday about
Text Size: Normal | Large | Larger the closing of the center.
(Stuart Bayer/The Journal
News)
Priorities. They never become clearer than in crisis, as we saw last week.
For the Westchester Medical Center, the crisis, and the priorities, are clear: Maintain the hospital's vaunted
mission but make cuts in staff and services, to account for an expected $70 million deficit largely brought on
by anticipated reductions in Medicaid reimbursement revenue. Priorities lead to very tough choices. At the
hospital they include layoffs, closing a long-serving nursing home and uprooting the sickest of patients. The
new economic challenges should serve as a reminder that the future of the hospital, which bounced back
from near financial ruin five years ago, will never be on certain footing.
As unpalatable and upsetting as the officials' recent choices are, they LEARN MORE
doubtless are the right ones, given the cards that have been dealt the Watch an Editorial Spotlight interview with Westchester Medical
medical center. That's something that Gov. David Paterson and other Center officials, including CEO Michael Israel. Go to
leaders have been criticized for, not making enough hard decisions in the www.LoHud.com/editorialspotlight, click the "on demand" button
and select the show from the list at the right.
face of economic disaster, instead relying on modest program cuts and
shying away from reducing the state work force in a significant way, while
waiting for an uncertain rescue from Congress and the incoming Obama
administration. Get breaking local news
as it happens from
The fallout from those decisions at the Valhalla-based medical center and phone number below:
teaching hospital serve notice: When the economy is this bad; when the
state and federal governments fail to adequately reimburse hospitals for the
services they provide the poorest of patients; when the governor proposes
cutting funding to hospitals and nursing homes some more; when people in
seven Lower Hudson Valley counties and places beyond regularly turn to the » Modify existing alerts
medical center for unique advanced care, but only one county, Westchester, » School closings,
supports it economically (about $13.5 million this year), the jig is up. And the delays and early
dismissal alerts
dance of doing the least harm begins.
Drastic Steps
Medical center officials on Monday unveiled an interim 2009 budget of $766

million. The highlight was a projected $40 million savings and 400-position
job cutback, due to shuttering the 110-bed Taylor Care Center. The center, a More Opinion Headlines
nursing home built in 1936, is a money-loser; it actually costs the medical Fears about poles became sad reality (5)
center about $10 million a year in red ink. Showcase history in Suffern renewal
Staying on corner, supporting troops (7)
Patients will be relocated, under oversight of the state Health Department, by
Anti-Semitism fears overblown (10)
April 1, officials say. About 20 patients on ventilators - including one who has
been at the center about 35 years - will be the most difficult to place. Some Fanatical leaders doom Palestinians (1)
have no families. Others do. Their families expressed shock over the closing
Latest Headlines
and possibility that their relatives could be moved. Their choices are 584
Opinion roundup: The Obama era begins (19)
certified ventilator beds in 11 counties scattered around Westchester, staff
writer Candice Ferrette reported. Video (2 min.): A.M. Report - Senate mulls Clinton,
Geithner; Iraq vet’s funeral; Nyack park facelift; Peekskill
coaching milestone
"Most of our residents here don't know anyone but the staff as their family,''
1 of 4 1/22/2009 12:36 PM
nurse Nancy Lupo said. "I think there should be public outrage over what we are doing to our senior citizens. Health blog: Find out if your peanut butter foods are safe;
check an FDA database
Teeth I really think this is horrible.''
The beat goes on for John Jay (1)
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Families should expect to see more such upheaval going forward. More Master Jung teaches more than taekwondo
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funding cutbacks are made. Nursing home and hospital systems expect to
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hospitals are beginning to close at a more rapid rate; at least a dozen closed
in the last months of 2008 alone. Others made sharp cuts in staff. The
Best-Teeth-Whiteni… Healthcare Association of New York State pulls no punches. It released a
report at the end of December whose title reflects the industry group's grim
outlook for New York: "Vital Signs Fading: Clear Indicators of a Collapsing
AARP Auto Hospital System.'' (Find it at www.hanys.org/communications/publications/)
Indeed, for fiscal 2009-10, Paterson has proposed eliminating $2.5 billion in
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Medical center President and CEO Michael Israel said the expected $70
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possible "mitigation" of Medicaid cuts by a new Obama administration. Yet
even as a potential bailout and additional federal Medicaid money is dangled
before New York by the likes of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., others
besides hospitals want it. They include Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano, who wants a portion
of any increase to go to counties, which in this state help pay for Medicaid; that would benefit county
taxpayers - but at what cost to facilities like the medical center? The Healthcare Association of New York
State has formed a coalition with other health groups asking the state Legislature to ensure that any new
Medicaid dollars go directly for Medicaid health-care services - and that means to providers like the
Westchester Medical Center.
A Journal News editorial
In Your Voice
hen3ry1158 wrote:
Vaunted mission my foot. How do they expect to accomplish anything when HMOs
start refusing to use them. Patients no longer pick their hospitals: HMOs do that.
My HMO just sent me a letter saying that WCMC is no longer on its list of hospitals
we can use. I don't suppose it has anything to do with WCMCs precarious financial
situation or the fact that it is not the best hospital to go to for treatment. My HMO is
what used to be PHS, now known as Health Net, and I'd love to know what
prompted them to remove WCMC.
1/19/2009 10:14:54 AM
lohudskeptic wrote:
2 of 4 1/22/2009 12:36 PM
when you begin "uprooting the sickest of patients" you are no longer fulfilling your
vaunted "mission".
many hudson valley hospitals have developed their own services or have affiliated
with other academic medical centers rather than deal with the dysfunction and
arr4ogance that have marked WMC.
it seems that rather than examine their relationships with their alleged "partners",
the leadership of the medical center have taken a page from detroit: make a
product people wont buy, then react with utter shock at their disloyalty, and finally
ask the government for a bailout.
mr. tullis is right...it is a complex problem, and there is no easy fix, but doing the
same thing the medical center has always done will yield the same results, namely
inefficiency and poor customer service.
privatize it now before it's too late.

1/18/2009 4:58:19 PM
integritymatters wrote:
Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Cutting back on overpaid managers in the bloated bureaucracy that is Westchester
Medical Center is not simplistic, it is taking an honest look at how a vital community
resource can be more efficiently run.
Closing the Taylor center is a drop in the bucket, but it is a drop that will hurt the
vulnerable people residing there, many of whom have already been made to feel
like a burden to society. I bet over 50% of them die within six months. The priority
seems to be cut care to those most unable to fight for themselves and lacking an
advocate.
WMC is the healthcare center of last resort for many, and overall they provide
pretty good care,but there is a huge amount of waste. If they eliminated the too
many managers, consultants, and held the high paid physicians accountable for
teaching and providing cost effective care, those in need of care would get it and
there would be money left over.
Because it is a teaching facility a patient is seen by a host of specialists, residents,
medical students,etc. and because there is no primary case manager, all these
teams do not communicate and the result is many unnecessary, duplicate, and
sometimes dangerous tests/procedures being ordered. The hospital receives a
capitated payment to care for this patient, and so all these excessive tests
immediately run them in the red. And the tests do not make the patient, (who often
gets lost in this expensive process), any better. Indeed, sometimes they get worse.
They get infected IV sites, pneumonia, kidney failure from too many wrong
medications or procedures, bedsores,etc. Patients are totally dehumanized by this
army of medical teachers and students who often do not know their name.
Expensive MRIs are ordered without a thought, adding millions to the cost of what
may be a very simple medical problem. MRIs and expensive tests are ordered to
find a diagnosis rather than confirm a diagnosis. Critical thinking and the basic skill
of listening to patients has been lost in all the technology. Medical students are
taught to depend on tests rather than the words and appearance of the ill human
being or their family before them.
And no one takes the time to discuss death, and ethical options for end of life care,
and so millions of dollars are spent treating people who cannot be cured in ICU.
Many ill people when presented with the truth in a compassionate and honest
manner, will opt out of the million dollar often painful treatment plan that physicians
love to order, and opt for caring, comfort and quality of life in a non-hospital setting
in which to finish their life.
How is it that organizations such as Doctors Without Borders can deliver high
quality, very cost effective care in warzones and third world countries for a fraction
of the cost and achieve better outcomes than institutions like the medical center?
Often the complexities of the patients are the same, but the difference is the focus
on the patient. Westchester Medical center is an out of control expensive machine.
A community panel should be established to oversee what happens to the patients
at the Taylor Center, the State health department has shown how grossly
incompetent they are in providing proper oversight. We all become old or ill, how
would we want to be treated when bedbound and dependent on others to meet our
basic needs.
1/18/2009 12:39:48 PM
3 of 4 1/22/2009 12:36 PM
Hospitals’ PR blitz to spread gloom - Crain's New York Business Page 1 of 2
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Hospitals’ PR blitz to spread gloom
Westchester Layoffs GNYHA and HANYS last week unveiled advocacy plans to
protect hospitals and other providers from what the two groups
Westchester Medical Center’s board approved an interim $766 see as Gov. David Paterson’s most damaging proposed
million budget that calls for closing its skilled nursing facility, the
budget cuts and taxes. Armed with the trade groups’ estimates
Taylor Care Center, on April 1. In addition, the medical center may of the cuts each hospital will face, hospital executives are
cut its workforce by up to 400 positions, including 190 at Taylor.
being asked to lobby the state Department of Health and
The moves will save $40 million, not enough to make up for the administration officials. The executives also are supposed to
$70 million in Medicaid and other reimbursement cuts WMC faces. paint a gloomy picture for legislators about the specific
Chief Executive Michael Israel said in a statement that WMC got negative effects of the proposed cuts on patients, jobs and
approval from the state Department of Health to close the nursing health services in their local communities.
home, which currently operates 100 beds. In 2007, under a Berger
commission mandate, Taylor cut capacity by 140 beds to 181 beds. GNYHA pegs the total budget hit before any federal stimulus
Last year, DOH approved an additional downsizing to 91 beds. money at $691.5 million in New York City alone, plus another
Even at a much-reduced capacity, Taylor continued to operate at a $64.4 million on Long Island and $81.6 million in northern
deficit. At WMC, more than 26% of executive and management Westchester.
positions are being eliminated, Mr. Israel said. There will be no cuts
in bedside nurses. The hospital presented voluntary resignation Downstate hospitals with the largest estimated hits include
packages for leaders in unions CSEA and NYSNA to consider for New York-Presbyterian ($41.4 million), St. Luke’s-Roosevelt
their members, he said. ($38.6 million), Bellevue ($36.8 million), Jacobi ($34.1 million),
Brookdale ($32.2 million), Beth Israel ($31.8 million) and
Westchester Medical Center ($31.1 million). The collective
Insurance Proposal impact on the Continuum Health Partners system, which
includes Beth Israel and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt, is an estimated
New Yorkers for Accessible Health Care and Health Care for All
$84.4 million.
New Yorkers are meeting with key health and insurance legislators
and staff in Albany today to discuss the governor’s proposal to
allow people aged 29 and younger to buy health insurance through
their families’ policies. The advocacy groups have supported the
At a Glance
concept of expanding coverage by extending a COBRA-like
WHO’S NEWS: Steven Siegelbaum was named chair of the neuroscience
insurance benefit to young people through their parents’ policies.
department of Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons. He
But the governor’s version seeks to “age rate” the dependents by
had served as vice chair of the department since it was formed in July
offering cheaper policies to younger people. Such age rating is not
2007.
allowed under New York’s community rating law, and the groups
are concerned the governor’s version of the plan will undermine
CLARIFICATION: Terry O’Brien will be chief executive of the Bon Secours
community rating.
Charity Health System, which includes Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern,
N.Y. The Jan. 6 Health Pulse reported he would be chief executive of Bon
Next Step Secours’ Good Samaritan.
In an effort to help with the onerous task of coordinating care for

family members who are chronically ill, the United Hospital Fund is
launching www.nextstepincare.org. It offers free guides and
checklists. Setting up the site is the first stage in a larger UHF
initiative called Next Step in Care, which will attempt to help
families navigate the often confusing landscape of hospitals,
nursing homes, home health agencies and patient advocacy
groups. According to UHF, an estimated 34 million Americans are
family caregivers, managing care for a chronically ill or disabled
person. The UHF has spent four years and $1.5 million so far on
the project, supported in part by grants from the Altman Foundation
and seven other groups.
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Health group cuts 15 workers :: PostStar.com Page 1 of 3
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Health group cuts 15 workers

Inter-Lakes network also downgrades six positions to part time
By Blake Jones
bjones@poststar.com
Updated: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 1:18 AM EST
Larger Text Smaller Text Print Email RSS
TICONDEROGA - Inter-Lakes Health in Ticonderoga laid off 15 full-time workers Monday and downgraded
another six positions to part-time, according to an announcement from the health care network.
Inter-Lakes cited "unprecedented financial challenges" and difficult economic conditions for the cuts,
including a proposed $250,000 reduction in state funding to the hospital.
IN THIS SECTION
"The worsening economy, lower health care reimbursements and the pending state budget cuts are
MORE HEADLINES BLOGS COLUMNS
resulting in significant decreases in our revenue, and forcing us to make some very difficult decisions,"
Inter-Lakes CEO Kevin Haughney said in a prepared statement. "These decisions were extremely difficult,
but absolutely necessary in order to help ensure the long-term survival of our organization and the Heating assistance resources
critically important services we provide to our community." Municipal Meetings
Whatever happens, Obama's victory was
Haughney, and Joan Grishkot, chairwoman of the Inter-Lakes board of directors, did not return The Post- historic
Star's calls for comment Monday. Man pleads guilty to reduced sex charge
Man sentenced in sex abuse case
Duties to change for public defender
Patrick Dowd, of Glens Falls firm Behan Communications, which handles public relations for Inter-Lakes,
Police: Man faked kidnapping for drug money
said there was no assistance or severance pay offered to the effected employees, who held clerical and
Health group cuts 15 workers
support positions.
Police: Teenager faces charges after cell-phone
pictures are discovered
Dowd said no positions directly involved in patient care were eliminated, though he declined to specify
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"Nothing is going to close; none of the services are going to shutter," Dowd said.
Inter-Lakes now employs 230 following the 6 percent staff reduction.

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According to Dowd, the layoffs are unrelated to the discharge of former Inter-Lakes CEO Roger Masse in
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December after five months on the job. The board of directors said then that Masse had failed to meet
faces aggravated DWI charge (6122)
objectives set out for him.
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Inter-Lakes said in a press release it will continue to monitor developments in the state budget MORNING UPDATE -- Police: Man charged after
negotiations, and will work to keep costs down while continuing to provide health care and emergency bar threats (5518)
medicine to Ticonderoga and the region. MORNING UPDATE -- 10 charged in underage
drinking party (5423)
Dr. John Rugge, chief executive of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, which operates 12 nonprofit Man charged with fabricating kidnapping to get
health centers in the southeastern Adirondacks, said servicing rural areas like Ticonderoga is always a money for drugs (3790)
challenge. As economy worsens, more local families resort
to emergency housing (3620)
While Hudson Headwaters does not offer as many services as Inter-Lakes, Rugge said Adirondack Lake Luzerne man arrested after allegedly
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patients, difficulty recruiting medical professionals, travel costs and chronic underreimbursement from Diocese reveals church closures (3343)
insurance companies. Fire rekindles overnight (3204)
"It makes it difficult for any health care provider to make to ends meet," Rugge said. VIDEO
Gov. David Paterson has proposed a pilot project that aims to close the gap between the cost of care in
the Adirondacks and insurance refunds.
Already, Rugge and other health care and insurance industry leaders are working to develop a common
set of standards for reimbursement in the region. But the project needs legislative approval to move out
of the planning stage.
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Health group cuts 15 workers :: PostStar.com Page 2 of 3
COMMENTS
Ed wrote on Jan 20, 2009 2:55 PM:
" So Interlakes Health lays off the new CEO because in five months he "didn't meet his goals." The
Chair of the Board and CEO won't speak but they have a paid mouthpiece.Could this effort mearly
be a political tool to scare the begeebers out of residents and force insurance companies to
expand reimbursements or the state to up grant money? Sniff. Sniff. Something doesn't smell
right in Ti and it isn't IP. "
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NYU selects Epic IT system - Crain's New York Business Page 1 of 2
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Wednesday, January 21, 2009

NYU selects Epic IT system
Click here to access Pulse Extra
NYU Langone Medical Center is purchasing a fully integrated
clinical and patient financial information system from Verona,
Victory’s Debt Wis.-based Epic Systems Corp., at a cost of $186.4 million for
The court overseeing the bankruptcy of Victory Memorial Hospital the equipment and installation.
scheduled a hearing for Jan. 29 on the hospital’s failure to make
NYU’s chief executive, Dr. Robert Grossman, envisions NYU
payments on its DASNY mortgage. The agency wants the court to
as a world-class integrated medical center. “Integrated is the
compel the closed Bay Ridge hospital to make a $1.7 million
important word,” says Paul Conocenti, NYU’s chief information
payment immediately so that DASNY can meet a $1 million bond
officer. “We have hundreds of [IT] systems pieced together,
payment due Feb. 1. Without Victory’s money, DASNY would be
which disables our ability to work together.”
forced to dip into its debt service reserve fund, jeopardizing the
marketability of future health bond issues. Victory hasn’t made a Epic will allow the exchange of patients’ clinical and financial
payment since August 2008. information across all settings: hospitals, ambulatory care
clinics, faculty practice doctors’ offices and even private
doctors’ offices. The system was chosen after an intense year
Top Docs Hype of strategic planning, a review by 400 doctors and an RFP.
Hospitals in New York eagerly await annual rankings of hospitals Some doctors favored other niche systems, but overall, Epic’s
and doctors to use in marketing their institutions. But consumers components had something for everyone.
aren’t buying the hype, according to a survey from The Melior
“It meant a cultural change in the way of thinking from ‘me’ to
Group, a Philadelphia market research firm. The study Top Docs
‘we.’ From that perspective, Epic got rave reviews,” says Mr.
Lists: Do Patients Really Believe the Hype? reports that 74% of the
Conocenti. “The work flow from one care setting to another
355 respondents in a Web poll agreed with the statement “I’m
was so powerful that people felt this is what it takes to
always skeptical about how those lists are put together.” Some
transform NYU.”
64% agreed that “there are so many Top Doctors lists today that I
don’t even believe them.” Instead, consumers said, the most In 2007, the hospital installed an inpatient system from
important reasons for selecting a specialist were whether the Eclipsys Corp., which will be enhanced but not replaced. NYU
physician had been recommended by a primary care doctor, and hopes to complete the first phase of installation—in ambulatory
whether the specialist was in the consumer’s health plan. Fully settings and at faculty practice doctors’ offices—by 2010. Once
84% of the respondents said they had never contacted a physician the state approves the project for the hospital setting, that
because he or she was on a Top Doctors list. rollout will take about 20 months.
Franchise Push
At a Glance
IKOR, a Kennett Square, Pa., company launched in 2000, is trying
to break into the New York market with franchises that serve the BUDGET BATTLES: HANYS launched www.helpyournursinghome.org, a
elderly and the disabled. The niche is creating and implementing companion Web site to www.helpyourhospital.org. The site protests the
plans that address clients’ medical, environmental, legal and impact of Gov. David Paterson’s proposed nursing home cuts, and it
financial issues. The company is targeting nurses, doctors, lawyers features a ZIP code search engine that informs visitors about nursing
with experience in elder law, and accountants who deal with family homes in their area that would lose funding under the governor’s budget.
financial issues as potential franchise owners. The franchises,
which sell for $53,790 to $84,630, do not provide health services PULSE EXTRA: This week’s edition shows the amounts of ER claims filed
directly. Their services include recommending health care facilities, to New York health plans compared with the Medicare fees for the
selecting home health care assistance, and suggesting services—one factor in insurers’ push for billing reforms.
modifications to help clients remain safely in their homes. They
also coordinate management of medications and facilitate
communications with providers. IKOR is marketing franchises for
22 territories in New York state and 11 in New Jersey, but it hasn’t
made any New York sales yet. It hopes to sell 10 territories in the
metro area by 2010.
ADVERTISEMENT
Report on the Capital Crisis:
Impact on Hospitals
January 2009
Background
• Hospitals primarily rely on borrowed money, philanthropy and

reserves to provide the capital required to update facilities and purchase
life-saving technologies to meet community needs.*
• Borrowed money (debt) primarily comes from bond offerings and loans from banks
and other financial institutions.
• Philanthropy refers to charitable donations received by hospitals from
organizations or individuals.
• Reserves refer to the savings hospitals build up over time by having a positive net
income and a return on invested money.
• Capital refers to the money used to fund investments in facilities and equipment.
• This report provides the results of the AHA Survey, “The Capital Crisis:
Survey of Impact on Hospitals.”
• Survey was sent to all non-federal hospital CEOs in late December 2008 via fax
and e-mail.
• Data was collected through January 6, 2009.
• A total of 639 responses were received.
• Sample is representative of the non-federal hospital field.
2
*Equity (selling an ownership share) is another less frequently used source of capital.
Survey Highlights
• Hospitals’ ability to borrow is severely constrained.

• 9 out of 10 hospitals are finding it harder or even impossible to access to tax-
exempt bonds – a critical source of borrowing for the majority of hospitals.
• Other important sources of debt such as banks and other financial institutions are
becoming more difficult to access as well.
• 9 out of 10 hospitals report that attracting charitable donations has
become harder.
• The broader effects of the economic slowdown play into hospital capital
decisions as uncertainty mounts, operating performance declines and the
value of reserves falls due to stock market and other investment woes.
• Nearly half of hospitals have put capital projects on hold and many have
even stopped projects already in process. Of those hospitals putting
projects on hold:
• 82% have put facilities projects on hold.
• 65% have put clinical technology projects on hold.
• 62% have put information technology projects on hold.
• Postponing capital projects affects a hospital’s ability to meet community
needs as well as move toward larger U.S. health care system goals such3
as improved quality, efficiency and coordination of care.
Tax-exempt bonds are a critical source of financing for
hospitals.
Percent of Hospitals by Importance of Various External Sources

of Capital to Hospitals
Tax-exempt Bonds 62% 11% 5% 22%
Banks/Financial
43% 29% 18% 10%
Services Companies
Philanthropy 35% 29% 23% 13%
Taxable Bonds 5% 5% 13% 77%
Equity/Venture Capital 6% 6% 10% 78%
Very Important Moderately Important Minimally Important Not Used 4

Many hospitals find it significantly more difficult or even
impossible to access tax-exempt bonds and other sources of
capital.
Percent of Hospitals* Finding Access to Various Types of Capital
More Difficult
Tax-exempt Bonds 12% 45% 31% 12%
3%
Banks/Financial 30% 44% 24%
Services Companies
1%
Philanthropy 41% 49% 9%
Taxable Bonds 22% 34% 26% 18%
Equity/Venture Capital 18% 32% 34% 16%
No Access Significantly Harder Somewhat Harder Same or Easier

5
*Excludes those hospitals indicating that they don’t use that source of capital
Nearly half of hospitals surveyed are postponing capital
projects and some even stopped those already in progress.
Percent of Hospitals Postponing Capital Projects

because of Economic Situation
Postponed Capital
Projects Planned
45%
to Start within 6
Months
Stopped Capital
Projects Already in 13%
Process
6
The highest percentage of hospitals are postponing facilities
projects, with clinical and information technology projects
close behind.
Percent of Hospitals by Type of Project Put on Hold

[Includes only those hospitals that indicated they had put projects on hold]
Upgrade/Modernize
Facility or Add New 82%
Capacity
Add Clinical
65%
Technology
Add Information
62%
Technology
7
A number of factors related to the current economic crisis
play a role in the decision to postpone capital projects.
Percent of Hospitals Indicating Key Factors as “Very” or “Somewhat

Important” in Decision to Put Projects on Hold
[Includes only hospitals that indicated they had put projects on hold]
Uncertainty about Future Economic

83% 13%
Conditions
Decline in Operating Performance 58% 26%
Usual Sources of Capital Unavailable 53% 30%
Decline in Value of Reserves 59% 17%
Interest Rates too High 27% 38%
Bond Rating Downgraded 18% 14%

8
Very Important Somewhat Important
Postponed facilities projects would respond to a variety of
community health service needs.
Percent of Hospitals Citing Services Affected by Facilities

Projects Put on Hold [Includes only those hospitals that indicated they had
put facilities projects on hold]
Inpatient
65%
Medical/Surgical
Outpatient Diagnostic 58%
Emergency or Urgent
43%
Care
Outpatient Surgical 40%
Other Outpatient 34%
Inpatient
Obstetrics/Gynecology
28%
Post-acute Care 17%
Inpatient Behavioral
Health
13%
Other 19% 9
Postponing facilities projects affects a hospital’s ability to
meet community needs and meet larger U.S. health care
system goals such as improved quality and efficiency.
Percent of Hospitals Citing Anticipated Benefits of Facilities
Projects Put on Hold [Includes only those hospitals that indicated they had
put facilities projects on hold]
Modernize or Update Facilities 89%
Increase Efficiency 70%
Meet Growing Demand for Services 68%
Improve Quality/Patient Safety 63%
Improve Accessibility for Patients 56%
Make New Services Available to Patients 44%
Add Jobs or Contribute to Economic

Growth
29%
Other 6% 10
Postponed clinical technology purchases were expected to ensure
equipment is up-to-date as well as improve quality and efficiency
for the majority of hospitals putting such projects on hold.
Percent of Hospitals Citing Anticipated Benefits of Clinical
Technology Purchases Put on Hold [Includes only those hospitals that
indicated they had put clinical technology purchases on hold]
Replace or Update Aging Equipment 87%
Make New Services Available to Patients 51%
Meet Growing Demand for Existing

Services
48%
Improve Accessibility for Patients 40%
Add Jobs or Contribute to Economic

Growth
18%
Other 11
2%
The expected benefits of delayed IT projects included improved
quality, efficiency and care coordination for the majority of
hospitals putting such projects on hold.
Percent of Hospitals Citing Anticipated Benefits of Information
Technology Projects Put on Hold [Includes only those hospitals that
indicated they had put information technology purchases on hold]
Automate Clinical Processes 82%
Replace or Update Existing IT 74%
Improve Care Coordination 59%
Automate Administrative Processes 50%
Provide Decision Support Tools 47%
Increase Patient Engagement 42%

Improve Accessibility for Patients (e.g.
Telemedicine) 28%
12
Other 3%
Half of hospitals with projects on hold would need at least
$10 million to complete them.
Approximate Dollar Amount of Capital that Would be Required to

Complete Projects that Have Been Postponed
[Percent of hospitals by amount of capital required*]
Under $1 Million
$50 Million or More
14% 17%
10% $25 to 49 Million
36%
$1-9 Million
23%
$10-24 Million
13
*Includes only hospitals that indicated they had put projects on hold. Dollar amounts reflect
total project costs not just the costs in the current year.
Projects put on hold represent the majority of the
capital budget for these hospitals.
Percent of Hospitals by Portion of Capital Budget Put On Hold

[Includes only those hospitals that indicated they had put capital projects on
hold]
Under 25% of Capital

Budget on Hold
13%
25% to 49% of
Capital Budget on 75% or More of
Hold 17% Capital Budget on
43%
Hold
27%
50% to 74% of
Capital Budget on
Hold
14
Bon Secours system starts laying off hospital workers - RecordOnline.com... http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090122/BIZ...
Bon Secours system starts laying off hospital workers

January 22, 2009
SUFFERN — Bon Secours Charity Health System has begun Print this Article Email this Article
laying off an unspecified number of workers. ShareThis Respond to this Article
The jobs are being eliminated as part of a "centralizing and consolidation of functions," said hospital
spokeswoman Deborah Marshall. Hospital officials would not say how many workers would be laid off.
"We have not made complete announcements to our staff as to what the new models will look like, so it's
really premature to talk about it in detail," Marshall said. "But there have been some minor changes to the
organization at this point."
People whose jobs have been eliminated have either been offered a severance package or another job in
the organization, Marshall said.
Christian Livermore
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Caritas’ future rests on bailout hopes - Crain's New York Business Page 1 of 2
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Friday, January 23, 2009

Caritas’ future rests on bailout hopes
LICH Land Caritas Healthcare Inc., a two-hospital system in Queens, is

notifying its 2,500 workers that it anticipates closing.
Continuum Health Partners quietly put up for sale this month
millions in real estate owned by Long Island College Hospital. The Mary Immaculate and St. John’s might be saved if politicians
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, real estate is one of the money-losing and state agencies can come up with enough cash to keep
hospital’s most valuable assets. It comprises multifamily them afloat. Supporters hope that Senate Majority Leader
townhouses used as residences and offices, two apartment Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat, can arrange a last-
buildings and a development site. Offered by Grubb & Ellis on an minute bailout by persuading the governor to release funds.
all-cash basis, the properties include 74, 76-78, 82 and 86 Amity
St., and 113 Congress St. Of those, 74 Amity is a 12-unit walk-up But on Wednesday, Caritas’ board of directors gave hospital
apartment house; the others are townhouses. Also for sale is 43 executives the go-ahead to close or file for bankruptcy, or both,
Columbia Place, a four-story, 11-unit walkup. The last is 385-389 if a rescue doesn’t come through. The two hospitals, which
Hicks St., a one-building site that can be developed to about have a total annual payroll of about $150 million, provide
23,000 square feet. Most of the buildings are vacant or will be by services to about 200,000 Queens residents every year.
July. The state faces enormous pressure to infuse cash into other
troubled hospitals. Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn
Docs vs. Insurers and North General Hospital in Manhattan also face millions in
losses and have been shadowed by bankruptcy rumors in
The president of the Medical Society of the State of New York recent months.
takes issue with the New York Health Plan Association data
presented in this week’s Pulse Extra. Dr. Michael Rosenberg calls It isn’t clear whether Mary Immaculate and St. John’s would
it “outrageous” that HPA highlighted “the relatively few examples of seek a Chapter 7 liquidation or a Chapter 11 restructuring if
supposed billing outliers when health plans have been utilizing” a they end up in bankruptcy. A filing could also delay a plan for
database by Ingenix, which the New York attorney general has said the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System to explore
manipulated data, to reimburse doctors. Dr. Rosenberg says: taking over the St. John’s site.
“Perhaps the health plans should look to address why some
Meanwhile, the hospitals’ management is working to finalize a
physicians—a relative few—choose to not participate with these closure plan under the guidance of the state Department of
plans in the first place. These factors include inappropriate care Health. The health care unions that work at the facilities expect
denials; time-consuming preauthorization hassles; and woefully to receive word shortly. The federal Worker Adjustment and
insufficient and delayed reimbursement.” He says that measures Retraining Notification Act requires employers to provide notice
sought by insurers “to impose a default reimbursement rate for 60 calendar days before mass layoffs.
patient care provided by noncontracted physicians would devastate
New York’s emergency care safety net by driving specialists away A spokesman for Caritas wouldn’t comment until a statement is
from providing on-call care in hospital ERs.” issued today.
Cobra Expenses At A Glance

Only 9% of laid-off workers signed up for Cobra health coverage in
2006, according to a report released today by the Commonwealth JERSEY HOSPITALS: The New Jersey Hospital Association launched
Fund. Unemployed workers would have needed a subsidy of about “Healthcare Matters,” a weekly blog at www.njha.com written by NJHA
75% to 85% of their Cobra premiums for contributions to remain at President Betsy Ryan. The association also named John Gribbin, president
the same level they paid when they were working, says the report of CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, N.J., chairman of the
Maintaining Health Insurance During a Recession: Likely Cobra board.
Eligibility. It concludes that lawmakers should consider temporarily
expanding Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility to the low-wage
unemployed and offering premium assistance.
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Rochester-area health systems cutting

budgets, jobs
JUSTINA WANG • STAFF WRITER • JANUARY 23, 2009
All three of the Rochester area's major

hospital groups are preparing for drastic
JOB CUTS
budget cuts this year that will eliminate jobs
Local hospitals are cutting their budgets in anticipation of state
and could also lead to layoffs at Rochester
funding losses.
General and Unity health systems.
Rochester General Health System plans to eliminate 240
jobs.
Officials at Rochester General announced Unity Health System plans to cut 30 to 50 jobs.
Wednesday a $24 million budget cut plan that
University of Rochester Medical Center plans to cut jobs but
includes eliminating 30 management positions has not determined how many.
and 210 other jobs. About 140 of the positions
were cut through attrition and elimination of RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
temporary staff and contract labor, said Chief University of Rochester
Executive Officer Mark Clement. Medicine
Nursing
The rest of the eliminated positions, which
Non-Profit
make up about 1.5 percent of the nearly
Medicaid
7,000-employee work force, come from every
area of the health system, including Rochester General Hospital, Newark-Wayne Community Hospital Health
and Hill Haven nursing home. Clement said most of the positions cut do not deal directly with patients, Powered by Topix.net
such as administrative assistants, hospitality workers and employees in the medical records department.
Two vice presidential positions also were eliminated.
The affected workers, who were notified Wednesday, will continue to work and be paid for the next 60 More News headlines
days and have been assigned a human resources coach to evaluate them for other open positions in the
Robotics programs gaining popularity among Rochester-
health system, Clement said. "Our hope is that for the front-line staff, we'll be able to place the vast, vast area students (3)
majority of them in other positions throughout the health system." Although many open positions were
Paterson taps Gillibrand for Senate seat vacated by Clinton
eliminated, Clement estimated that the health system has 200 to 500 vacant jobs for non-management
employees. Finding other internal management opportunities would be more challenging, Clement said.
City house fire displaces seven
Along with cutting jobs, budget reduction plans include cutting spending for consulting, traveling and Five departments respond to Bristol barn fire
catering services. Officials said they will also negotiate better prices with supply vendors and shift to less One injured in Shortsville crash
expensive alternatives. The cuts will not affect the hospital's planned expansion.
Latest headlines
Though Rochester General posted a 2 percent surplus in its $700 million budget in 2008, health system Water main breaks cause flooding, broken pavements
officials expect to take a big hit this year from dwindling investments, providing more charity care to the
Duffy won't ask N.Y. for more money for Rochester (16)
growing number of unemployed workers, and an anticipated $10 million reduction in state Medicaid
UR fined $56,700 for safety violation
payments.
Rochester-area schools get rid of products with peanut
"Doing nothing is not a responsible option," Clement said. "Frankly, we feel like we need to take steps butter (1)
today to control our destiny." Aquinas looks to repeat as cheerleading champion (2)
Along with Rochester General, the area's other health systems are also planning major cuts. Unity
Health System spokeswoman Maryalice Keller said the organization, which runs Unity Hospital and three
senior living centers, would eliminate 30 to 50 positions this year. Although officials hope to cut most of
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the jobs through attrition, layoffs are likely, Keller said.
The health system, which has about 5,300 employees and a $468 million budget, expects a $6 million
loss of state funding. The organization already made a round of budget reductions several months ago,
including eliminating some supplies, but now expects to take an even greater hit from the state's financial Continue
problems. T & C | Privacy | Cancel Alerts

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At the University of Rochester Medical Center, officials plan to cut $30 million this year from its $1.9 apply. To Opt-out text STOP to 4INFO (44636). For more information
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billion budget, including eliminating all overtime that's not required for patient care, placing a moratorium
on giving staff new job titles that come with raises, and implementing a stringent review process for
approving new positions and filling vacant jobs.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Goonan said they have not planned any layoffs and may instead
eliminate more open positions. Corvette Raffle to Benefit Lollipop Farm
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090123/NEWS01/901230342/1002/RSS01 1/23/2009
Rochester-area health systems cutting budgets, jobs | democratandchronicle.com | Democ... Page 2 of 3
Only 650 tickets available to win a 2007 Corvette Z-06.

But layoffs are possible in the near future, as teams of physicians, nurses and pharmacists at the www.9995cars.com
medical center study more ways to cut back.
Globe Life Insurance
"It's a possibility, hopefully just a possibility," said spokeswoman Teri D'Agostino. "But we're not looking $1 Buys $50,000 Life Insurance. No Medical Exam, No
Waiting Period
at any wide-scale layoffs right now."
InsuranceFor1Dollar.com
The financial outlook is even worse than when the medical center first announced the cuts in November, Logistics Online Training
and officials are anticipating a more than $30 million reduction this year in state Medicaid payments, Master Logistics, Procurement, Planning & More – 100%
Online.
Goonan said. www.USanFranOnline.com
William Van Slyke, a spokesman for the nonprofit hospital lobbying group Healthcare Association of New
York State, said hospitals around the state are all facing budget concerns.
At least five hospitals outside the area have announced layoffs, and two in New York City may close
because of financial problems.
Because much of the Wall Street collapse and state budget cuts have yet to take their full effect, "what
we're seeing is the first wave of what may be wave after wave of significant hospital reductions," Van
Slyke said. "It bodes poorly for the future."
JUWANG@DemocratandChronicle.com
In your voice
Newest first
rochesteral wrote:
The bean counters are jobs as well. They also spend money in the community.
Decent bean counters could save jobs, not just eliminate them.
1/23/2009 9:20:35 AM
coffeeready wrote:
$30million less in medicade payments? Again an example of how tax payer money is
stolen. Is that from less people qualifing, or real reform? Is the $30 million statewide
or just what the UofR will be not getting?
1/23/2009 9:18:23 AM
JWilliams2 wrote:
1grownup is right, some of those "bean counters" (which is layman's term for people
with the education and intellect to do more difficult tasks, btw!) got laid off as well.
1/23/2009 8:34:41 AM
dukedog53 wrote:
Hey, the only growing sectors of our anemic economy have been health care,
education and more generally the over bloated public sector. If we should start to see
reductions in public employees in this state, we will have confirmation that the
depression has begun.
1/23/2009 8:19:42 AM
1grownup wrote:
I'm sure that the "bean counters" are taking a hit, too.
1/23/2009 7:30:42 AM
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AMNews: Jan. 26, 2009. Cash-strapped hospitals laying off record numbe... http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/01/26/bisb0126.htm
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BUSINESS
Cash-strapped hospitals laying off record number

of workers
Employed physicians could see job losses or salary cuts if the recession
continues.
By Karen Caffarini, AMNews staff. Posted Jan. 26, 2009.
Increasing numbers of hospitals nationwide are instituting mass layoffs as they try to stay
solvent in what some administrators and consultants have called the most challenging time for
the industry in at least 40 years.
Some smaller hospitals have even laid off employed doctors or slashed physician pay, and
consultants warn that as the economy gets worse, more hospitals will likely follow.
Radical staffectomies The U.S. Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
Sampling of hospital layoffs that as of Nov. 30, 2008, 107 hospitals had reported mass
See related content
layoffs, defined as 50 or more unemployment claims filed
View in PDF
E-mail - Print - Write a letter against one company at one time. That was the highest
yearly number since the bureau began keeping these
statistics in 1995, surpassing the previous high of 100 mass
layoffs during 2003.
There were at least 10 incidents of mass layoffs every month for six months from June 2008
through November 2008. No previously recorded year had more than two straight months
with 10 or more layoffs.
These statistics don't include incidents of layoffs of fewer than 50 people at a time. The
American Hospital Assn. has no data on that, but a survey it conducted in October 2008 found
that 53% of the 736 hospitals responding were considering staff cutbacks due to financial
stress.
107 hospitals laid Hospital administrators say a combination of factors resulting

from the recession have caused an economic meltdown
off 50 or more unlike any they've seen.
employees in
Layoffs throughout the overall business community have
2008. swelled the number of uninsured patients at the same time
that cash-strapped states have slashed Medicare and
Medicaid reimbursements. A bear market has resulted in investment losses straining hospital
endowments and reserves. Donations are down. And skittish banks have made it more
difficult or more expensive to borrow or have frozen credit altogether.
Beyond layoffs, hospital administrators have instituted pay cuts, cut administrative personnel
and costs, slowed construction and delayed new equipment purchases. Some have closed
money-losing departments. Others have shut their doors.
Hospitals have said they are trying to avoid laying off doctors or other clinicians by trying to
work more closely with physicians and boost traffic. But consultants and recruiters wonder
how long this can last.
"As hospitals get less patients, they have less need for physician services. I don't see how
hospitals in these cases cannot cut back on physicians," said Rick Langosch, senior vice
1 of 4 2/24/2009 1:38 PM
president and chief financial officer of The Coker Group, a consulting firm for hospitals and
medical practices.
Some hospitals have already begun looking at physicians as a way to cut costs.
Faced with a $40 million deficit, Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., laid off 100
employees last fall. The state denied the hospital's request to close the obstetrics and pediatrics
departments, which would have brought 75 more layoffs, including six doctors. Beaumont
Hospitals in suburban Detroit said in November 2008 that it was asking its employed doctors
to take a 10% pay cut.
Langosch said he worked with a hospital in Alabama, which he declined to name, that recently
cut the number of its employed physicians from 17 to 12.
Physician recruiter Jon Soble, president of National Health Partners and Resources of
Deerfield Beach, Fla., said physician work-force shortages still create a demand, but some
hospitals are dropping out of the jobs pool. "There's a local hospital in Boca Raton that's in the
red. We don't recruit for them anymore. [And] there are others."
Feeling the pain
Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas laid off 57 employees, just less than 2% of
the total staff, last fall, said Dan Davidson, vice president of strategic marketing.
The Archdiocese of Boston's Caritas Christi Health Care is laying off 160 workers, or 1.2% of
its work force. In Minnesota's Twin Cities, four hospitals are laying off a total of about 1,160
workers, according to the Minnesota Hospital Assn. In Merrillville, Ind., the physician-owned
Pinnacle Hospital is laying off 21 workers, 12% of its 140 employees. That hospital has only
been open since mid-2007.
Boston Medical Center is cutting 130 full-time-equivalent workers -- 250 people -- with more
cuts likely, as it looks to trim $61.5 million from its $1 billion budget, said spokeswoman Ellen
Berlin. Berlin said there is no lack of patients at the main teaching hospital for Boston
University School of Medicine. But as a public hospital that provides care to the poor and
uninsured, drops in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements have hurt.
"It's a hard time for safety-net hospitals in Massachusetts. Budget cuts and Medicaid
reimbursement drops affect us more," Berlin said.
Those who have been in the hospital industry for decades say while there have been layoffs in
the past, nothing compares with the money problems hospitals face today.
"I've been at Beaumont since 1981 and in health care since the mid-1970s, and I have never
seen this type of challenge before. This is the first time in 40 years the hospital has lost money
for the year," said Mike Killian, vice president, marketing and public affairs, for Beaumont
Hospitals in suburban Detroit.
Killian said in the past, when the auto industry laid off workers, they were expected to be
called back, and their health insurance was continued during the interim. "Now when they're
laid off, there's no expectation that they'll be called back," he said. "They lose their insurance."
More people today are going on Medicaid when they lose their jobs, Langosch said, "but the
Medicaid dollars are not growing as quickly as the number of Medicaid patients."
Hospitals also carry a lot of floating debt. They are discovering, as they try to restructure that
debt, that their bond rating is going down, making interest rates climb higher, if refinancing is
even available.
Berlin and other health industry leaders are hoping to snare some of the government's
economic stimulus money. "Some of that money is supposed to go to the states, which have
some leeway in deciding how it is spent. Our state Legislature knows how important health
care reform is in Massachusetts," Berlin said.
Meanwhile, layoffs are expected to continue through this year as the nation's economy and
hospitals continue to struggle.
"Frankly, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel," Killian said.
2 of 4 2/24/2009 1:38 PM
The print version of this content appeared in the Feb. 2, 2009 issue of American Medical News.
Back to top.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Radical staffectomies
More hospitals had mass layoffs in 2008 than in any year since the U.S. Dept. of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics started keeping track in 1995. As of Nov. 30, 2008, 107 hospitals
had layoffs of more than 50 employees; December 2008 numbers are not yet available.
Jan. May Aug. Dec. Annual

1995 NA 11 6 10 69
1996 8 14 13 3 95
1997 9 10 4 * 75
1998 15 6 9 * 90
1999 11 4 8 6 83
2000 12 4 3 4 94
2001 5 4 7 5 53
2002 7 6 9 5 90
2003 4 13 6 7 100
2004 16 4 9 5 90
2005 11 6 5 5 97
2006 7 4 4 * 57
2007 5 4 6 * 67
2008 9 7 13 NA 107
* data did not meet bureau or state agency disclosure standards
Source: U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov/data)
Back to top.
Sampling of hospital layoffs
Hospitals across the country are laying off employees as they face deficits due to declining
reimbursement, fewer paying patients, investment losses and an inability to borrow.
Total Layoffs or
Hospital workforce positions cut Reason for layoffs
Beaumont Hospitals Royal Decline in reimbursements, fewer paying
Oak, Mich. 18,000 500 (2.7%) patients, inability to borrow
North Memorial Health Care
Robbinsdale, Minn. 5,000 380 (7.6%) Rising bad debt, lower reimbursement
Park Nicollet Health Services
St. Louis Park, Minn. 8,100 233 (2.9%) Rising bad debt, lower reimbursement
Boston Medical Center Boston 6,000 250 (1.2%) Lower Medicaid reimbursement
Caritas Christi Health Care
Boston 13,000 160 (1.2%) Financing put on hold
Carle Foundation Hospital
Urbana, Ill. 3,060 72 (2.4%) Lower reimbursements
Mercy Medical Center Nampa, High levels of uninsured, charity cases
Idaho 800 70 (8.8%) and bad debt
3 of 4 2/24/2009 1:38 PM
Sunrise Hospital and Medical Increase in uninsured payments, cut in

Center Las Vegas 3,000 57 (1.9%) Medicaid payments
Kona Community Hospital
Kona, Hawaii 500 55 (11.0%) Operating with a deficit
Kearney's Good Samaritan 50-100
Hospital Kearney, Neb 1,600 (3.1%-6.1%) Fewer patients
King's Daughter Medical
Center Jackson, Miss. 3,900 40 (1.0%) Rise in bad debt
Source: News articles, hospital Web sites
Back to top.
Copyright 2009 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
RELATED CONTENT You may also be interested in:

Low Medicare, Medicaid pay rates impact private costs Jan. 5
Economy sends physicians to hospitals for help Dec. 15, 2008
California doctors sue to block Medicaid cuts June 9, 2008
4 of 4 2/24/2009 1:38 PM
State help for hospitals not likely: Caritas > YourNabe.com > Maspeth > ... http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/01/28/maspeth/ridgewood_ledge...
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State help for hospitals not likely: Caritas

Mary Immaculate, St. John’s Queens Hospital workers told they could be out by Feb. 14
By Howard Koplowitz and Stephen Stirling

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:31 PM EST
Comment (No comments posted.) Email To a Friend
Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Caritas

Health Care Inc. sent a letter to the more than
2,500 employees of St. John’s Hospital and St.
Mary Immaculate Hospital this week informing
them that they could be permanently out of work
as early as Feb. 14.
In the letter Caritas Chief Executive Operator John

Kastanis painted a bleak picture, saying it does
not appear the company will be able to obtain
enough state aid to stave off filing for Chapter 7
liquidation proceedings before Thursday.
“Despite our best efforts, it appears that we have

be unable to obtain the necessary financing to
forestall a shutdown of operations,” Kastanis said.
“Specifically, the state Department of Health
recently advised management that it does not
have sufficient funds to continue to subsidize
Caritas’ operations.”
Scores of people, including Corona resident Jean J.D., a lab technician at St. John’s
Hospital, rally outside the Elmhurst facility. Photo by Christina Santucci The letter goes on to say that in the event of a
bankruptcy filing following a meeting of the board
of directors on Jan. 29, all employees of both hospitals would be terminated between Feb. 14 and Feb. 29.
Before the letter arrived, more than 200 doctors, patients and community
ADVERTISEMENT
leaders pitched a passionate plea for help outside St. John’s Hospital
Saturday just days after its operator’s board of directors gave the parent
company the authority to file for bankruptcy if it cannot find additional
funding by Thursday.
“What’s the old saying? If you don’t have your health,” City Councilman
Tony Avella (D−Bayside) started, before being joined by a throng of
supporters, “you don’t have anything!”
Avella was one of nearly a dozen elected officials who attended the event,
geared toward rallying support for St. John’s and Mary Immaculate
hospitals, which will be forced to file for bankruptcy and close if
emergency funding is not found in the next week.
1 of 4 1/29/2009 10:11 AM
State help for hospitals not likely: Caritas > YourNabe.com > Maspeth > ... http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/01/28/maspeth/ridgewood_ledge...
On Jan. 21, the board of directors of Caritas Health Care, the entity that
owns St. John’s Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital, voted to
give the company the power to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if
it cannot find funding to keep the two hospitals open by the end of the
month.
“Recognizing the serious, far−reaching consequences of these actions,

the board voted to take these measures reluctantly only after exhaustively
examining all other options and determining that sufficient funds likely will
not be available to present a viable alternative,” Caritas said in a
statement.
The board also approved a draft closure plan of the two hospitals for the
state Health Department to look over.
Saturday’s lively rally went on for several hours outside the hospital, at
90−02 Queens Blvd., closing off traffic on two lanes of the busy borough
throughway as protesters waved signs at passing cars chanting “Keep us
open.”
City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson said Queens, already reeling from the recent closure of Parkway Hospital in
Forest Hills, cannot afford to lose another hospital.
“It’s not just about dollars and cents, it’s about people,” Thompson said. “We are here to say no, you cannot close this hospital. The
only way we can accomplish this is to make sure we stand together.”
Dr. John Dento, who is in charge of St. John’s’ residency program, said the shuttering of the hospital would send a ripple effect
throughout the borough.
“The people we train here, who provide care here, when they leave they often stay in the area and practice,” Dento said. “If the
hospital closes, the entire area will suffer.”
As he left the rally, Thompson said he would approve a rumored takeover by North Shore−LIJ Hospital, but said the state needs to
step in to prop up the hospitals until then.
“If these hospitals close, it’s just going to push the hospital bed situation in Queens beyond its breaking point,” he said. “These kind
of deals take time. There’s got to be some funding for this somewhere and the state needs to step up and find it.”
The Caritas board is expected to meet again this Thursday and cautioned that there has not yet been a bankruptcy filing.
Caritas acknowledged that it was “engaged in constructive, ongoing discussions” with the North Shore−Long Island Jewish Health
System, with which it has an agreement to exclusively negotiate a deal to either sell either or both hospitals and provide transition
services.
A similar rally has been planned outside of Mary Immaculate Hospital Saturday at 11 a.m.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.
Gillibrand drops in on Queens Port Authority, pols divided over geese
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2 of 4 1/29/2009 10:11 AM
Caritas closure could leave med students hanging - Crain's New York Business Page 1 of 2
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Thursday, January 29, 2009

Caritas closure could leave med students
hanging
LICH Info Jammed
The prospect that Caritas Healthcare will shutter Mary
The executive committee of the medical staff at Long Island
Immaculate and St. John’s Queens hospitals is sending
College Hospital says that Continuum Health Partners has refused
medical students training there into a panic. In a blog for
its request to inform the local community that the hospital has not
students at Caribbean-based medical schools, the posts reflect
shut obstetrics or pediatrics. Continuum, LICH’s parent, wants to
the students’ frustration.
shut the departments to help the finances of the ailing hospital, but
the Department of Health has ordered they remain open because “Wow, that’s not good news. … While I agree MIH or St.
the community needs them. Dr. Arnold Licht, president of the John’s aren’t the best rotations, it is always better to have
medical staff, says that Continuum would not give the doctors its more options and slots than none at all,” writes one blogger.
database of patients and residents so the doctors could send a
letter at their own expense. “They refused to send a letter, saying Another posts: “I am doing rotations at St. John’s currently. A
it’s not a closed issue yet,” he says. Continuum says it is promoting St. John’s resident told me that family medicine [students
the hospitals’ services through local media. were] just informed that they are going to have to find another
hospital to finish their residency because the family medicine
program is being shut down in Caritas in two weeks! This is
Didgeridoo Therapy freaking me out because I have just a family practice rotation
left to do before I graduate ... and family is a tough rotation to
Inspired by Swiss researchers who found that people with sleep
get in NY.”
apnea improved after learning to play the Australian Aboriginal
instrument called the didgeridoo, an NYU research team has Another blogger posts a communication from the American
launched a 10-patient study. Getting a melody out of the 6-foot- University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, which says it
long eucalyptus-wood pipe requires sustained heavy breathing, “is working to arrange alternative schedules for all students
which could strengthen the muscles in the airway. But Montefiore who have been scheduled for core rotations. … Students will
Medical Center’s Dr. Michael Thorpy, the New Zealand-born head receive credit for any weeks completed in a rotation, including
of that system’s sleep disorders clinic, is reserving judgment. He clerkships that are terminated in mid-rotation. For students
has tried to play the instrument himself. “It’s hard to blow it right. who have secured electives at Caritas for later dates in the
But I don’t know why it would work for apnea. There are lots of spring, summer and fall, we would suggest that elective
athletes who are very fit and muscular, and they have sleep requests be made at other rotation sites.”
apnea.” Still, he says, the usual therapy of using a pressurized
breathing device at night “isn’t fun. I’m all for anything new that
would help.” At a Glance
Medical Appointment Roundup CONFERENCE: The Association for Healthcare Risk Management of New
York, the local chapter of the American Society for Healthcare Risk
Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers named Dr. Akram Boutros Management, is holding a conference on Feb. 10, from 8 a.m. to noon, at
interim chief medical officer. He was formerly executive vice Mount Sinai Medical Center. The topic is “mental health and the law.” For
president and chief administrative officer for St. Francis Heart information and fees, see www.ahrmny.com.
Center in Roslyn, L.I., and chief operating officer of South Nassau
Communities Hospital in Oceanside. He will serve on a consultancy SMALL BUSINESS: Insurers are taking notice of the small business
basis. ... NYU Langone Medical Center named Dr. Michele Pagano market with relatively low-cost, robust plans. See the story at
deputy director of the NYU Cancer Institute. A professor of crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz.
oncology and a biotech researcher with a focus on enzymes’ role in
cell growth, he will help shape the center’s efforts to get new
therapies to patients quickly. ... New York Hospital Queens has a
new chairman of its heart surgery program. Dr. Samuel Lang,
chairman of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, rejoined
NYHQ after serving for 10 years as section chief of cardiothoracic
surgery at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers.
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North Medical laying off 50 workers - NewsChannel 9 WSYR Page 1 of 1
North Medical laying off 50 workers
Last Update: 1/30 4:49 pm
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – North Medical announced 50

workers from its facilities in Fayetteville and Liverpool were
laid off. The company says its part of a larger plan to
reorganize operations.
In a press release, the company said approximately 50

clinical and support positions were affected across five
practice areas. "Patient care remains the practice’s single
highest priority. This reorganization is necessary to ensure
that our services remain at the high level of quality our
patients have come to expect," said Dr. John Merola, President and CEO.
The layoffs include clinical and administrative workers, such as nurses and receptionists. No
one at the physician level was let go, but everyone remaining on staff, including doctors, are
having their salaries cut by five percent.
North Medical says they anticipate a slowing of business. The company says it is looking for
ways to become more efficient and flexible in today’s healthcare environment.
The company said it would make resources available to affected employees to help them
secure new employment or return to school.
Copyright 2009 Newport Television LLC All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/North-Medical-laying-off-50-workers/h5R0ckAFs... 2/3/2009
Local officials try to save hospital http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2009/01/30/2009-01-30_l...
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Local officials try to save hospital DISCUSS EMAIL PRINT SHARE
BY JOHN LAUINGER Today's Top Picks

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, January 30th 2009, 4:00 AM Gotti goon: I bedded
Junior Gotti's sister
As state and local officials attempted to save two Queens hospitals from bankruptcy
Before he became a mob rat,
Thursday, a Queens company said it had offered as much as $150 million to buy the
Gambino associate John Alite
ailing facilities.
says he was a horndog who had
The board of directors of Caritas Health Care - which runs St. John's Queens a secret affair.
Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica - held a closed-door
meeting to consider filing for Chapter 11 protection. Obama to face the nation,
rip into GOP
Caritas spokesman Craig Horowitz said an announcement would be made today. It's not the State of the Union, but
President Obama's first
Board member Vincent Arcuri said bankruptcy is "possible" for the two hospitals,
prime-time speech to the nation
which serve a combined 200,000 patients a year.
tonight sure will look like one.
Prior to the board meeting, company officials huddled at Queens Borough Hall with
several elected officials, including state Senate Majority Leader Malcom Smith (D-St. Celebs' cure for winter:
Sexy beach vacations
Albans).
The great escape: Stars fly south
Smith spokesman Austin Shafran said officials were trying to hammer out a deal "that for the winter.
would allow the hospitals to continue to serve their communities."
Following the meeting, however, Smith said the Caritas board intends to file for
bankruptcy. Post owner Murdoch
Last week, the Caritas board announced it would file for bankruptcy unless 'sorry' for cartoon
alternative sources of funding could be found. The New York Post issued a
second, more contrite apology
It blamed its desperate situation on "unexpected financial difficulties" due to the Tuesday for a controversial
recession. cartoon.
The closings could mean pink slips for as many as 2,500 health care workers. Infomercial Hall of Fame:
St. John's Queens and Mary Immaculate have been plagued by red ink in recent Sham-Wow to the
years. Caritas bought the two hospitals in late 2006 from St. Vincent's Catholic Snuggie
Medical Centers, which itself filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005. Check out the very worst of very
bad TV infomercials.
Caritas paid $41.5 million for the two hospitals. But in the last two years, Caritas has
received $50 million in state loans, said state Health Department spokeswoman
Claudia Hutton.
In the midst of the frantic negotiations, the Daily News learned that Queens-based
Capitol Health Management Inc. had offered $80 million last year to buy the two
ailing hospitals. A company spokesman revealed the offer had recently been upped
to as much as $150 million.
Capitol, which runs an outpatient facility at the old Parkway Hospital, offered to keep
all three facilities open.
"We have private equity dollars to save all three hospitals," said Capitol spokesman
Fred Stewart. NEWSLETTER SIGNUP
But Stewart said after the Borough Hall powwow, that the deal was now "off the Get the latest Updates.
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Caritas previously considered selling the two hospitals to North Shore-LIJ Health
System, which hoped to build a 400-bed hospital near St. John's Queens - a
proposal that relied heavily on public financing.
That plan appears to have been torpedoed by the recession, which has made public
funding scarce, said North Shore spokesman Terry Lynam.
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Article can be found at http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090203/FREE/902039976/1120&category=FREE
Caritas Healthcare pleads for state aid

By Barbara Benson
Published: February 3, 2009 - 12:19 pm
The Paterson Administration and the New York State Department of Health have indicated to the state Legislature that they are not keen
to spend millions of dollars to save Caritas Healthcare, a two-hospital system in Queens.
The state’s position means that if local Queens politicians want to save Caritas, they will have to come up with the money to do so. A
decision must be made quickly, as Caritas’ board of directors warned Monday that it needed to secure funding by mid-week to avoid
closure.
Sen. Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat, has been a key figure in trying to broker a deal to find funding for Mary
Immaculate and St. John’s Queens hospitals, which together form Caritas. So far, no deal has been struck, and time is running out.
“We believe progress has been made over the past week in our efforts to secure funding to stabilize Caritas's finances and develop a
longer-term plan for St. John's and Mary Immaculate Hospitals,” said a Caritas spokesman in a statement issued yesterday. “However,
at this time, no tangible plan has been developed and no adequate source of funding has been identified that would allow St. John’s and
Mary Immaculate to continue operating.”
From the state’s point of view, the Queens hospitals are essential to the community, but they are not financially viable. The state is
reluctant to pour more money into the facilities, and at this point is willing to let one or both of the hospitals close. That position, however,
is complicated by a bit of bad timing: February is a busy time for hospitals because of flu season. As well, Caritas’ losses have recently
have slowed.
Caritas’ board is pressing for immediate action. “To avert a precipitous closure…necessary funding must be secured within the next 48
hours to ensure, at the very least, a safe and orderly closure of the facilities; without immediate bridge funding of approximately $6
million from the State, it may not be possible to continue to operate safely,” according to the statement.
Caritas said it needed the $6 million to meet Friday’s payroll, as well as $30 million in debtor-in-possession funding regardless of what
solution—including bankruptcy—was chosen. The hospitals would file for bankruptcy this week if necessary, added Caritas.
“We ask that whatever plan the State endorses be adequately funded, and realistic in its timing,” pleaded Caritas yesterday. “We are
appealing for immediate, decisive action by our elected officials and the New York State Department of Health to address this critical
situation.”
Entire contents © 2009
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090203/FREE/902039976/11... 2/3/2009
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bailout Related Articles Related Topics

BY JOHN LAUINGER Workers recieving unemployment benefits jumps to
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER all-time high
Wednesday, February 4th 2009, 2:28 AM L.I's Fortunoff's Hewlett to help out bridal
customers stiffed by bankrupt 20-store Fortunoff
Two Queens hospitals facing bankruptcy need state aid to meet payrolls this week -
chain
but the Paterson administration has reportedly refused to bail out the ailing facilities.
Hospital shutdowns could disrupt med students'
Embattled hospital operator Caritas Health Care, Inc. - which runs St. John's Queens training
Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica - has asked the state Bank of America CEO subpoenaed by Cuomo
to ante up $36 million in rescue funding before Friday. Where are they now? Rolando Blackman
Caritas, which has been considering filing for bankruptcy protection, needs a $6 Voice of the People for Feb. 22, 2009
million loan to meet payrolls on Friday, said company spokesman Craig Horowitz.
Without the immediate shot in the arm, "it may not be possible to continue to operate
safely," Caritas said in a statement.
Today's Top Picks
The hospitals serve a combined 200,000 patients each year and employ about 2,500
medical professionals. Gotti goon: I bedded
Junior Gotti's sister
The Caritas board of trustees is expected to meet today and could file for bankruptcy
at any time. The board is mulling whether to shutter the hospitals or to reorganize Before he became a mob rat,
under Chapter 11 protection. Gambino associate John Alite
says he was a horndog who had
Regardless of which option is selected, Caritas also needs about $30 million in a secret affair.
so-called debtor-in-possession financing, Horowitz said.
Obama to face the nation,
The $30 million is needed to "ensure, at the very least, a safe and orderly closure of rip into GOP
the facilities," Caritas said in a statement on Monday. It also appealed for "immediate, It's not the State of the Union, but
decisive action" from Albany. President Obama's first
"We ask that whatever plan the state endorses be adequately funded, and realistic in prime-time speech to the nation
its timing," the statement read. tonight sure will look like one.
The Paterson administration and state Health Department officials recently told the Celebs' cure for winter:
Legislature that it does not want to fork over millions to rescue the two hospitals, Sexy beach vacations
Crain's New York Business reported on its Web site Tuesday. The great escape: Stars fly south
for the winter.
A Paterson spokesman deferred to the Health Department when asked to comment
on the Crain's report.
Health Department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton said the state already has given Post owner Murdoch
Caritas $50 million in loans. The latest installment - a total of $6 million - was paid 'sorry' for cartoon
out on Jan. 29. The New York Post issued a
Caritas, which paid $41 million to buy the hospitals in 2006, has yet to be asked to second, more contrite apology
pay back the loans, Hutton added. Tuesday for a controversial
cartoon.
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Study: Medical facilities defer projects - Orlando Business Journal: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2009/02/02/daily34.html?ana...

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Thursday, February 5, 2009
Study: Medical facilities defer projects

Orlando Business Journal
Related News Medical facilities will face increased difficulty obtaining credit at
Baptist, Methodist
favorable terms to fund capital expenditures in 2009 due to the
invest in robotic ongoing US economic crisis, according to a recent study.
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Stryker pie Many facilities also relied on investment portfolio returns to fund
capital equipment expenditures, and many saw those returns
reduced in 2008, said Tiffanie Demone, senior analyst at MRG.
Facilities have been forced to freeze capital expenditure budgets, she said, and with credit
expected to remain tight and financial markets staying low until 2010, some facilities will
defer construction and renovation of integrated operating rooms.
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Health reform still alive in NY - Crain's New York Business http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090205/PULSE/902049962/1005
The Reporters:
Gale Scott: (212) 210-0746
Today's News Thursday, February 05, 2009

Health reform still alive in NY
Medicaid plan shutdown?
The deficit reform plan passed on Tuesday did not tackle the ambitious
Officials at the New York-Presbyterian Community Health Plan, a Medicaid health reforms on the state Department of Health’s agenda. It included no
managed care plan affiliated with New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill steep cuts to health care spending, which means that the reforms will
Cornell Medical Center, have asked for state permission to withdraw from resurface in the debate over the Executive Budget.
the market as of March 31. The decision comes as the health plan continues
to suffer losses, a New York-Presbyterian spokeswoman says. She would The package passed yesterday “reflected only a portion of the Executive
neither quantify the losses nor comment on whether the health plan Budget, just the amount needed to close the current fiscal year in balance,”
searched for a buyer before it decided to cease operations. The plan’s says a spokesman for the state Division of the Budget. “There remains a
closure would result in layoffs of about 279 people. New York-Presbyterian $13 billion budget gap for next year, and the governor's proposals are being
provides employees to the plan under a contract agreement. Those workers reviewed and evaluated by the Legislature.”
will be offered outplacement services and will be able to apply for vacant
positions at the hospital. The health plan, which is a corporation separate The DRP “does not contain the punishing health care cuts and taxes included
from New York-Presbyterian, was formed in 1995. Last month, the plan had in the governor's proposed DRP,” says a GNYHA spokesman. But since
total membership of 108,435, including Medicaid enrollment of 92,673 and more cuts are on the horizon, its controversial ad campaign with 1199 SEIU
Family Health Plus membership of 15,762. That compares with year-earlier will continue.
membership of 101,970—with 84,793 people in Medicaid and 17,177 in
Among the DRP’s provider cuts are the elimination of the 2008 Medicaid
FHP. The state Department of Health has authority over the state’s
trend factor reconciliation. This measure, which saves the state $69.9
Medicaid managed care plans. A DOH spokeswoman says it is “too
million, was agreed to during the Legislature’s special session in August.
premature” to comment “at this time.” Medicaid managed care plans have
The DRP also includes a $9 million cut to public hospitals, along with a $4.2
struggled financially for years.
million cut to nursing home workforce recruitment and retention grants.
Delaying nursing home rebasing for four months saves the state $22 million.
Lenox Hill layoffs
Lenox Hill Hospital is laying off 45 employees, or 1.5% of its workforce,
citing the state and national economic crises as well as government cuts to At a Glance
health care spending. The layoffs will be completed by the second week of
February. No nurses will be included in the staff cuts. Separately, the SMOKING TAX: The federal tax increase on cigarettes is rising 62 cents, to a
Manhattan hospital says it has not yet replaced Terry O’Brien, who last total of $1.01, as a result of a late amendment to the SCHIP bill signed yesterday
week left his post as executive vice president and chief operating officer. by President Barack Obama. That brings the approximate price of a pack of
The hospital is not actively recruiting to fill Mr. O’Brien’s position. His duties cigarettes in New York state to $7.50, effective April 1. The American Cancer
are being handled by the chief financial officer, Michael Breslin, and the vice Society’s New York office estimates that the increased cost will prompt 41,000
president of operations, Philip Rosenthal. New Yorkers to quit smoking.
Third Ingenix settlement

The $70 million pot to fund the creation of an entity to replace discredited
Ingenix has grown by $535,000 (see Pulse, Jan. 14). State Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo announced that Schenectady-based MVP Health
Care agreed to pay that amount as part of a settlement to resolve charges
that its use of faulty Ingenix data cheated consumers and physicians. His
spokeswoman says he will announce by the end of the month which New
York state-based university will get the $70.5 million. Consumer groups and
the Medical Society of the State of New York praised the latest settlement
yesterday. The AG also announced that he is filing a suit against Capital
District Physicians' Health Plan to compel it to stop using Ingenix. The intent-
to-sue notice is available at www.oag.state.ny.us.
ADVERTISEMENT
1 of 1 3/18/2009 4:18 PM
Hospitals in a pinch: Demand rises as costs are cut - Progress - syracuse.com http://www.syracuse.com/progress/index.ssf/2009/02/hospitals_in_a_pin...
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Hospitals in a pinch: Demand rises as
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Monday February 09, 2009, 1:15 PM
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In University Hospital's emergency department, you don't need a stethoscope • Thats the key k
to detect the symptoms of the ailing economy. by taxmeagain
03/03/2009
10:11 p.m. ET
More people are coming in without health insurance because of job layoffs
• Long Live NPG by
and business failures. On a recent night in the ED, Dr. David Smith, president organgeade
of SUNY Upstate Medical University, said he met a 37-year-old who lost his 03/03/2009
Progress 2009:
health insurance after getting laid off from Lehman Brothers and a North 8:18 p.m. ET
Personal Breeze Air
Purifier System Country dairy farmer forced to drop his health insurance because he could
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not make ends meet.
Economic Dev.
"Main Street is showing up without coverage, later in the process and often • MDA 300 Block
sicker," Smith said. and more by
DRDestiny
University Hospital provided 20 percent more charity care in 2008 than it did 03/04/2009
in 2007. 12:09 p.m. ET
Progress 2009: • AIG, Another 30
Revonate Manufacturing of Billion! by
Liverpool It and other hospitals may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg. They anticipate jstdrivnby
more people will be seeking care in their already crowded EDs as 03/02/2009
More P-S Video unemployment grows and more people lose health insurance. 8:55 p.m. ET
• Creative class
ALL VIDEO » Hospital EDs are the community's major health care "safety net" providers blog by abc246
because they must serve patients regardless of their ability to pay. For 02/26/2009
PROGRESS PHOTOS outpatient care, the main safety net provider is the Syracuse Community 9:01 a.m. ET
Health Center, which operates four full-service clinics in the city, one on the
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Onondaga Nation and another in LaFayette.
Destiny USA
As they cope with the growing strain on the safety net, Central New York • All Virgin
1 of 3 3/4/2009 3:43 PM
hospitals are girding for funding cuts of about $18 million in Gov. David Megastores in...
Paterson's proposed budget. by kleenex
03/03/2009
7:29 p.m. ET
Hospitals are responding by cutting costs and -- in some instances -- jobs.
• Mall wants
They're re-evaluating programs and tweaking their systems to move patients Manilow music...
faster and eliminate ED bottlenecks. by kleenex
03/03/2009
"The ED door is the single biggest point where we get patients," said Ron 5:48 p.m. ET
Progress 2009 Lagoe of the Hospital Executive Council, a Syracuse hospital planning agency. • is Ciambro Arch
"We're all in a pinch." GC too? by
ALL PHOTOS » TruthSerrum
03/03/2009
Of all the hospitals in Syracuse, Crouse has the largest share -- 22 percent -- 3:44 p.m. ET
of Medicaid patients. Medicaid is the government program that pays for
health care for the poor and disabled. MORE »
ALL FORUMS »
The high Medicaid caseload is a major reason Crouse stands to lose $5.76
ADVERTISEMENT million in the proposed state budget -- more than any hospital in the region.
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satisfied customers! Click
To tighten its belt, Crouse recently eliminated 33 positions, 25 of which were Top Stories
now. vacant. Two individuals were laid off and the remaining six moved into other • Ex-AIG chief
jobs at the hospital. claims insurance
• Step Up and Make a
difference for yourself giant cheated
him 3/2/2009, 8:43
One of Crouse's biggest challenges is getting uninsured patients who were
p.m. EST
admitted through the ED out of the hospital when they are ready to go home.
• National Guard
That's because many of these people don't have regular primary care doctors goes green to
in the community to provide follow-up care. conserve energy,
cost 2/20/2009, 7:02
"You can't send someone home who just had pneumonia without a safe plan a.m. EST
of follow-up," said Dr. Paul J. Kronenberg, Crouse's president and CEO. MORE NEWS »
Crouse tries to make arrangements for follow-up care for these patients at the
Syracuse Community Health Center and other clinics.
But the Syracuse Community Health Center is swamped, too, said Dr. Ruben
Cowart, the center's president and CEO. It has seen a 46 percent increase in
uninsured patients since 2005.
Patients seeking care at the center's walk-in center at 819 S. Salina St.
sometimes face waits of 2Â½ hours or more.
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"We cannot meet all of the demand all of the time within the time frame the
individuals would desire to be seen," Cowart said.
He expects the situation to get worse as the economy skids.
In addition to the insured, there's also a growing number of people who are
"underinsured," said Tom Dennison, a Syracuse University professor and
health care expert. The underinsured are people in high-deductible health
insurance plans that require them to pay the first $1,000 or more of their
medical expenses out of pocket before insurance kicks in. Older people losing
retiree coverage also fall into the underinsured category.
"When you look at big corporate bankruptcies, one of the first things they
walk away from is retiree coverage," Dennison said.
That leaves retirees without supplemental insurance to pay for costly

deductibles and co-pays not covered by Medicare, the federal health
insurance program for people over 65 and the disabled.
At the same time, more uninsured and underinsured patients are showing up
in EDs, some hospitals are seeing fewer patients coming in for more
profitable elective procedures.
St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, for example, has seen a
downturn in orthopedic, ear nose and throat, eye and plastic surgery, said Ted
Pasinski, the hospital's president.
St. Joe's is not planning layoffs, but it has been eliminating some jobs as they
become vacant, Pasinski said. It's also cutting costs by renegotiating contracts
for supplies, maintenance and other services.
Pasinski said many of the safety net programs St. Joe's provides -- like it's
psychiatric emergency room -- are important, yet unprofitable services no one
else in the community provides.
"Those are the areas that could be impacted if we are not reimbursed
appropriately," he said.
Hospitals hope to get some financial relief from the proposed federal
2 of 3 3/4/2009 3:43 PM
economic stimulus package. The version passed by the House contains $87
billion in additional federal Medicaid money for the states. By some estimates
New York could get $12 billion of that. Hospitals say the money is sorely
needed because states are cutting Medicaid spending at the same time the
economic downturn is increasing enrollment in the program.
SUNY Upstate has imposed a partial hiring freeze and cut spending on travel,
supplies and other services to cope with a $7.5 million cut in state funding.
It operates many costly money-losing specialty programs such as a burn unit

and trauma services.
At the same time, more uninsured people are showing up in its ED, University
is seeing more patients from outlying areas coming in on weekends with
broken bones and other conditions that require specialty services no longer
provided by their local hospitals on weekends.
"How can we continue to do all these things for the region?" asked Smith,
Upstate's president. "Our state support is declining, yet they want you to be
the Salvation Army."
James T. Mulder can be reached at 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com.
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Utica has 30 days to appeal ambulance decision - Utica, NY - The Observ... http://www.uticaod.com/homepage/x682886246/Utica-has-30-days-to-ap...
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Accent on Excellence 2008
F.X. Matt Brewery special report
Utica has 30 days to appeal ambulance decision James Schoolcraft Sherman: Utica's vice president
By BRYON ACKERMAN Oneida Indian Nation archived coverage
Observer-Dispatch
Power-line controversy archived coverage
Posted Feb 11, 2009 @ 05:10 PM
Last update Feb 11, 2009 @ 05:14 PM Teen All-Stars 2008
UTICA — The city of Utica has 30 days to appeal a Chester Gillette

decision made Tuesday night that there is no need for the
From Faraway Lands
city to continue operating its ambulance service, state
Hinckley Reservoir report
officials said today.
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Members of the Midstate Regional Emergency Medical Hope House
Services Council voted Tuesday night to deny the city's
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application for a certificate of need that would have allowed
Wynton Marsalis
it to continue responding to medical calls with ambulances,
as it has since 2005. Two members of the council
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abstained, one refused to vote and others were not in
Healthy Living
attendance.
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Utica Mayor David Roefaro said today that the city will appeal the decision right away. He said he believes the state Coupon Clipper
decision will be different than the one made Tuesday night.
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The appeal would be filed with the state Bureau of Emergency Medical Services of the state Department of Health, Living Here
DOH spokeswoman Beth Goldberg said. At that time, the Bureau of EMS would decide on whether to allow Utica to O-D Contests
continue to operate its service while the process moves forward, she said.
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An administrative law judge would submit a recommendation on the city’s appeal to the state Emergency Medical Top Things To Do
Services Council, which then would vote on whether to uphold the regional decision, Goldberg said. Text Me O-D
If the state council agrees with the regional council, Utica can then file an Article 78 appeal in state court, she said. At
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that time, the Bureau of EMS would again decide whether Utica can operate the service while the appeal process
occurs, she said. Find whatever you're looking for
with Totally Local Yellow Pages
Utica officials have said their ambulance service provides a continuity of care that can’t be supplied when a private
ambulance responds. The service also generates an average of about $540,000 in profit per year for the city, Utica Find...
officials have said.
Utica, NY
But some members of the regional council said Wednesday that they voted against the certificate of need because
Utica failed to prove that a need exists for the city ambulance service. They said their vote was only about whether a
need existed - not whether the Utica Fire Department does a good job or whether the revenue is good for the city. Search provided by Premier Guide
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appeal and cost the taxpayers more money, but the answer will still be the same, NO NEED. Woman charged in connection with check fraud
wenewell Little Falls man charged with contempt, harassment
2 weeks ago
Report Abuse Hamilton Central School closing early
They will appeal and use our tax money till they are dipping into the reserve as they already said there will be a need to do. The
1 of 3 2/24/2009 2:04 PM
Mental health unit closing at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital - recordonline... http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090211/N...
Mental health unit closing at St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital

By Christian Livermore
Print this Article Email this Article
Posted: February 11, 2009 - 2:00 AM
ShareThis
CORNWALL — St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital expects to
discontinue inpatient admissions to its mental health unit on March 1. The Mental Health Services Council
approved the closure Friday.
The hospital announced plans in September to close the unit, citing an operating loss. The unit treats more
than 500 patients a year and employs 18 full-time and 14 part-time workers, as well as additional
per-diem workers when needed.
Hospital officials expect all patients to be ready for discharge, and the unit to be completely closed, by
March 31.
clivermore@th-record.com
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Two hospitals in Queens Borough of New Just Got $37,383.
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The hospitals are set to close entirely Britain: Unemployment mounts to 2 • Chinese netizen discussion
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China's urban unemployment rate • Miley Cyrus' sexy photos
2,500 people out of work. cause controversy
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With the worsening of the economic Brazilian president concerned over denounces CNN host's
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situation in the United States, an
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including doctors and teachers, have or ease unemployment

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On Jan. 30, New York Mayor Michael
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Bloomberg proposed a new budget for
Format Article
the fiscal year starting on July 1 that
includes heavy cuts in city jobs. The plan calls for a reduction of almost 23,000jobs
through layoffs and attrition. About 15,000 employees would be laid off, including
14,000 Education Department employees.
Media reports quoted Bloomberg as saying recently that the city is projected to lose
nearly 300,000 jobs through 2010.
1 of 3 2/24/2009 2:09 PM
According to a UBS bank report published recently, with job losses accelerating in
financial services and more spillover impact still to come, unemployment may
approach the previous peak of 10.5 percent recorded in 1976.
As a matter of fact, many signs seen everywhere in the state indicate the
employment situation is deteriorating with each passing day.
As early as the beginning of this year, the State of New York's computer system
that processes its unemployment insurance claims crashed under tidal waves of
demand on the afternoon of Jan. 5 and for several hours the next day,
overwhelmed by online and phone traffic from thousands of jobless workers.
Leo Rosales, a state Department of Labor spokesman, said the system buckled
under the workload as up to 10,000 people per hour attempted to file new claims or
check on their existing claims.
At the state labor office in TriBeCa, a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York,
the recently unemployed said they were "pulling out all the stops" to try to find a
new job.
"A year ago, I thought I was sort of untouchable," said unemployed lighting designer
Timothy Greeson. "I was making good money. But it can happen so quickly."
"Those that might have applied or come to this office per week may have been 600.
Now, it's 2,600," said Barbara Ulrich of the New York State Department of Labor.
Worsening employment situation has become a hot topic among New Yorkers. As
for the mayor, it's not just a hot topic. He has to act so as to check the deteriorating
trend.
During his recent radio show, Mayor Bloomberg said he does have a plan to put
some New Yorkers back to work.
"We're gonna get 20,000 people jobs through the Department of Small Business
Services," said the mayor. "We combined it a number of years ago with an
educational unit the city had. They used to place 500 people a year. Last year we
placed 17,000. This year, in spite of everything, we think we will get 20,000 people
jobs. It's not nothing, it's seven percent of the people that we think will lose their
jobs, but it's something."
Bloomberg said on Jan. 15 in his annual State of the City speech that the recession
would be "plenty bad," but he promised there will be no return to the dark days of
the 1990s when New York was world-famous for violence, vandalism and dirt.
Bloomberg, who has won the chance to run for a third term later this year, also
announced a plan that he said would create 400,000jobs in the next six years in the
nation's largest metropolis.
The measures include infrastructure projects, tax code changes and support for
small businesses.
Helping the unemployed is also a top priority for New York State Governor David A.
Paterson, who on Tuesday announced an agreement with legislative leaders,
2 of 3 2/24/2009 2:09 PM
which will guarantee the availability of unemployment benefits to 420,000

out-of-work New Yorkers in the face of a dramatic increase in benefit claims.
Unemployment claims in New York State have more than doubled to an average of
25,000 per week in January and February 2009, compared to an average of 12,000
to 13,000 during the previous two years. Currently, more than 420,000 individuals
are receiving unemployment benefits, up from 175,000 a year ago, which
represents a 140 percent increase.
New York Assembly Speaker Silver said: "From Wall Street to Main Street there
has been a dramatic increase in the number of New Yorkers losing their jobs. The
action we are taking today is an important step towards ensuring that households
affected by our nation's economic crisis continue receiving the help they so
desperately need."
According to a U.S. Labor Department report published on Friday, unemployment

rate in January rose to 7.6 percent. The report depicted a deepening recession that
is now among the swiftest in history. The economy has lost 3.6 million jobs since
the recession started in December 2007, half of those losses in the past three
months. The tally of lost jobs for the January period was 598,000.
Source: Xinhua
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BY JOHN LAUINGER Browns WR Stallworth hits, kills pedestrian
Tuesday, March 3rd 2009, 10:19 AM Voice of the People for March 16, 2009
Budget woes cut health care for illegal immigrants
Emergency room doctors at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center used to notice that
patient volume followed a pattern each week - starting with a big uptick on Mondays No more tents for nabe's volunteer 1st responders
and Tuesdays. Fed funds will help float LIC hosp, clinics
Responding to ambulance emergency
"And then it would sort of correct itself during the course of the week," said Dr.
Geoffrey Doughlin, the hospital's chairman of emergency medicine.
But ever since two neighboring hospitals - Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica and
St. John's Queens in Elmhurst - filed for bankruptcy in early February, that pattern Today's Top Picks
has been thrown out of whack.
Actress Natasha
"The problem is that, in the last couple of weeks, it's not really correcting during the
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course of the week," Doughlin said. ski accident
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hospitals prepared to shut down, volume at Jamaica Hospital's ER began "trending Neeson, was seriously injured in
upward in a very significant fashion," Doughlin said. a skiing accident.
And things may get worse. Mary Immaculate and St. John's Queens were closed AIG's biggest PIG netted
Sunday as part of the bankruptcy plan for embattled hospital operator Caritas Health $315 MILLION
Care. Cop's kid from Brooklyn took
Mary Immaculate used to have a trauma center. That means Jamaica Hospital, which home hundreds of millions after
also has a trauma center, will be forced to pick up much of the slack. racking up billions in losses.
In early January, before the Caritas bankruptcy, Jamaica Hospital's ER averaged no

more than about 350 patients a day, but now the number is approaching 400, Octomom, you MUST be
Doughlin said. kid-ding!
Nadya Suleman kicked back with
"There is never a minute to relax. There is no down time," he said. "The problem is a visit to Disneyland and a nail
that everything gets stressed a little bit more. You have to work faster and still try to salon. Her babies? They're still in
give every patient the right kind of care, not make mistakes. It stresses every part of the hospital.
the system."
Imus' inspiration: Stars
In an attempt to compensate for the 400 beds lost at the Caritas hospitals, the state who've beat cancer
Health Department recently spread $14.3 million between seven neighboring Don Imus can draw inspiration
hospitals to pay for upgrades to inpatient and ER capacity. from these stars who have fought
Jamaica Hospital and its affiliate, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, got $4.5 million. cancer, and won.
The former is expanding its ER, adding four intensive care beds and 40 inpatient
beds. Flushing Hospital will add 21 inpatient beds.
Chimp mauling vic's NEWSLETTER SIGNUP
North Shore-LIJ Health System got $3.5 million for upgrades at Forest Hills Hospital family to file $50M suit
and Franklin Hospital in Valley Stream. At the Forest Hills ER, which has seen The family of a woman whose Get the latest Updates.
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additional 12,800 patients annually, said spokesman Terry Lynam. chimpanzee plans to sue the SIGN UP NOW
primate's owner for $50 million.
Both Forest Hills and Jamaica Hospitals are hiring staff to cope with the influx of new
patients, but the state aid covers only capital costs to increase capacity, Jamaica
Hospital spokesman Ole Pedersen said.
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1 of 2 3/17/2009 2:36 PM
Monroe County hospital execs oppose cuts to state funding | democratandc... http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2009...
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Monroe County hospital execs oppose cuts to

state funding
JIM STINSON • STAFF WRITER • FEBRUARY 17, 2009
Chief executives from Rochester's three largest health systems came out against further cuts to their state
funding on Monday, suggesting capital improvements would be delayed and more layoffs of hospital staff
BY THE NUMBERS
could result.
Unity Health System
2009 revenues: $460 million.
The warnings come only weeks after the hospitals eliminated dozens of
Projected state cuts: $6.6 million.
positions and laid off a number of staffers in the first reverberations of the University of Rochester Medical Center
state budget crisis. 2009 revenues: $1.2 billion
Projected state cuts: $31 million.
On Monday morning, the leaders of Rochester General Health System, Unity Rochester General Health System
Health System and the University of Rochester Medical Center said the 2009 revenues: $800 million.
Rochester region's 17 hospitals could lose $62 million in 2009 if cuts go Projected state cuts: $10 million.
through, with another $37 million yanked from nursing homes. Area nursing homes would see state Medicaid cuts of $37 million,
the hospital leaders noted.
Mark Clement, head of Rochester General, said his health system expects to
The Secrets to Successful handle $40 million in uncompensated care in 2009, a charitable effort which
eBay Selling could be threatened by state budget cuts.
Bradford Berk, president of URMC, said state funding cuts could lead to staff
cuts.
URMC has already eliminated 34 staff positions — with some of those

staffers being assigned new roles — and 41 unfilled positions since a $30 Canon Powershot Canon EOS 350D Nikon Coolpix P80
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In January, Unity laid off 18 staffers and eliminated 37 vacant positions. 8 sellers, 3 sellers, 6 sellers,
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Rochester General announced a plan last month that would eliminate 30 $314.40 $299.00 $279.00
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management positions and 210 other jobs through attrition and cutting
temporary and contract workers.
State budget cuts could also threaten Rochester's population of doctors,

which is aging and needs trained physicians to replace retiring doctors. That
would mean fewer doctors for an area already underserved, Berk said. More News headlines
Arena convicted of lesser charge for running down man with
"It will be a crisis we are stuck with for years to come," said Berk.
car
Money Saving Auto Another issue is capacity, said Timothy McCormick, Unity president. The FBI probes case of workers accused of cheating taxpayers
Insurance Discounts You Rochester area is mostly served by three major health systems which have Seniors here get restitution for health-policy overlap
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consolidated, he said. Toddler nearly drowns in Rochester swimming pool
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While that consolidation has led to efficiencies, it also means the systems
have few vacancies, and close to 99 percent occupancy most of the year. Latest headlines
Last year, the hospitals each received state approval for expansions and renovations to ease the occupancy
Buffalo Bills RB Lynch to address media this afternoon
crunch.
Maple producers prepare for two weekends of visitors
Tutor accused of inappropriate behavior with student
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Geneseo
1 | 2 Next Page Carestream Health gains more customers for its
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READ REACTIONS TO THIS STORY Enter your phone number:
Bored wrote:
Retired doctors, who are they kidding a lot of doctors are leaving the area
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voluntarily because of the health insurance companies, they are definately too young
to retire, but are fed up with the system. I agree with you GwapoDodong, I don't apply. To Opt-out text STOP to 4INFO (44636). For more
believe that they can afford to care for the uninsured people that go out and do information text HELP to 4INFO (44636). Contact your carrier for
stupid things, if these people have no health insurance, oh well too bad, go find more details.
another hospital that will take stupid morons shooting one another, or have them
pay up front before services are rendered, that would alleviate a lot of this.
2/17/2009 8:20:29 AM
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2/17/2009 6:23:35 AM
GwapoDodong wrote:
I think if hospitals made the uninsured people who show up at the area hospitals
with gunshot, stab wounds, etc. and are uncooperative with authorities as to who
their attacker was, it would make a significant impact on their budget decifits.
2/17/2009 6:19:49 AM
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3 of 3 3/18/2009 4:26 PM
HealthNow cuts back on staff : Local Business : The Buffalo News http://www.buffalonews.com/businesstoday/localbusiness/story/574874.html
The Buffalo News : Business Today

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Make us your homepage!
Home > Business > Local Business
02/10/09 06:38 AM
INSURANCE
HealthNow cuts back on staff

By Jonathan Epstein
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
Story tools:
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HealthNow New York has cut about 17 jobs as the health insurer realigns how it operates, tightens its focus on
employers and members, and strengthens its competitive posture.
The cuts represent just 1.3 percent of the company’s 1,300 employees in Buffalo and less than 1 percent of its
2,300 overall workers. All the affected people are in Western New York, and officials said more cuts are
possible, in small numbers over time, as the company’s actions make some jobs unnecessary.
However, CEO Alphonso O’Neill-White says that the job cuts are not about across-the-board reductions
designed strictly to save money. Instead, he said, they result from the company’s efforts to not only survive but
position itself to take market share as the company and the industry face radical changes.
In particular, he noted that the Buffalo-based parent of BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York is
confronting not only the ongoing challenges of its aging marketplace, but also the global recession, the state’s
budget crisis, and the potential for significant health-care reform at the federal level.
“We’re basically facing almost the perfect storm in health care right now,” he said. “The net result is going to
be a dramatically changed marketplace.”
HealthNow has already been transforming its business model and culture to be more attentive to employer and
member needs. The company revamped its service structure, trimmed retiree health costs, and modernized its
pension. It’s also been taking steps to lower its operating expenses and run more efficiently, and is pushing the
use of technology, both internally and for customers.
But O’Neill-White said it’s now speeding up those changes so it’s not left behind. Insurers are already operating
with lower revenues and tighter profit margins, and he said that will continue, if not worsen.
The crises and potential for reform are already creating demand for new and different types of products, he
said, in particular with the likely expansion of government programs to cover more of the 45.7 million uninsured
nationwide, including 2.66 million in New York, according to the U. S. Census Bureau.
1 of 2 2/24/2009 2:01 PM
HealthNow cuts back on staff : Local Business : The Buffalo News http://www.buffalonews.com/businesstoday/localbusiness/story/574874.html
In response, HealthNow merged two of its four business units, combining its “major groups” and
“administrative services only” divisions into a single large group unit.
It also created two new business areas, one to streamline the company’s operations so it runs more efficiently
and one to better manage medical expenses for members. Currently, medical expenses comprise 90 cents of
every dollar of revenue.
And since 80 percent of its members are in age groups that tend to prefer electronic self-help and online tools,
the company is leveraging technology to focus more on Web services. “That’s where the market is going and
we’ve got to be there,” O’Neill-White said.
jepstein@buffnews.com
© 2009 The Buffalo News. The information you receive online from The Buffalo News is protected by the
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2 of 2 2/24/2009 2:01 PM
Job cuts expected after Amsterdam hospitals merge - The Business Revie... http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/03/02/daily34.html?ana...

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Thursday, March 5, 2009, 2:07pm EST
Job cuts expected after Amsterdam

hospitals merge
The Business Review (Albany) - by Barbara Pinckney
Related News The merger of two Amsterdam, N.Y. hospitals will result in job
Health Care: Hospitals
losses, but just how many is not yet known.
fret over likely
Medicaid cuts and the St. Mary’s Hospital and Amsterdam Memorial Healthcare
uninsured, as Wall
Street blowout cuts
have been in talks for about two years, and a formal acquisition
into investment agreement is expected to be signed in the coming weeks. St. Mary’s,
income the larger of the two hospitals, would be the survivor. Search for Jobs powered by onTargetJobs
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DeLuke Amsterdam Memorial employs 495 people, and a WARN notice filed
View Albany Jobs - 3393 jobs today
Achievement Award - with the state lists all of them as being part of a plant closure.
James Reed However, Victor Giulianelli, president and CEO of St. Mary’s, said
State injects $20M into the hospital expects to retain 80 percent to 85 percent of those
Amsterdam hospitals’ people. This means between 75 and 100 people would lose their
merger talks
jobs.
Stimulus package
provision would save
upstate teaching “When it becomes necessary to make staffing changes, these
hospitals $4.8 million decisions will not be taken lightly,” Giulianelli said.
St. Mary’s employs about 900 people. Small

Business
In October, the two hospitals received $20 million from the state Health Department to Center
assist in their merger plans. Their combination was not mandated by the Berger Successful profiles,
funding news and advice
Commission, the state panel that told Ellis Hospital and the former St. Clare’s Hospital related to small business
in Schenectady to merge. But their merger is a result of the same economic forces—low
Visit the Small
reimbursement and too much competition in a small city. Business Center
About a dozen people lost their jobs, some voluntarily, when Ellis and St. Clare’s merged
last spring. Sales &
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1 of 3 3/5/2009 4:01 PM
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Friday, March 6, 2009
RPCI, Batavia hospital reduce staff

Business First of Buffalo - by Tracey Drury
Related News Facing about $34 million in funding cuts and new fees, Roswell
Former Batavia
Park Cancer Institute has slashed 27 research jobs.
hospital site coming
back The jobs were previously funded through the public benefit
Researchers weigh corporation operations side of the institution. Dr. Donald Trump,
science on stim CEO at the downtown cancer facility, said the cuts were part of a
Kansas Bioscience strategic realignment that seeks to as much as possible align research
Authority gives $26M jobs with funding from research grants and contracts.
to KU Medical Center
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RPCI research focuses “We’re facing the same storm everybody else is,” he said. Search
on vaccines that raise
alarms View Buffalo Jobs - 3431 jobs today
Roswell Park began modeling different scenarios months ago on how
$27M sent to WNY it could trim revenues as part of the strategic planning process. That
hospitals, nursing
homes process resulted in 60 different modifications facility-wide, including Small
eliminating certain job functions, including some at the senior Business
management level, and not filling vacant positions. Center
Trump said the organization’s state allocation will see a reduction of $14.7 million in the funding news and advice
new state budget. Additionally, taxes and fees on inpatient revenues and other services related to small business
will tally nearly $6 million; while labor costs resulting from a recent contract Visit the Small
Business Center
renegotiation go into effect April 1, resulting in $14 million more in step increases and
adjustments.
Sales &
“We knew this was going to be a challenging time several months ago. The only silver Marketing
lining in this whole storm cloud is that two years ago we began this strategic planning Sponsored by Hoovers®
process,” he said. “This is a process that has permeated the whole institute. It has not
focused on any one segment.” get powerful sales tools to
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Those individuals cut will have the opportunity to compete for any new positions created Visit the Sales &
as Roswell lands new contracts and research grants. Marketing Center
“We are not ceasing hiring at the institute, but we are focusing our hiring particularly in
areas where new grant dollars are available,” he said. “These are individuals who have
Commercial
some experience. I would certainly hope some of these folks would be able to compete
Real Estate
successfully for some of these jobs in the future.” latest news from within the
Founded in 1898, Roswell Park is a National Cancer Institute-designated industry
comprehensive cancer center. The organization employs more than 3,300, including 256 Visit Commercial Real
Estate
physicians and scientists.
Another area hospital, United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia, said it has Beating the
eliminated three management positions and 27 support staff. Several of the positons were Recession
vacant. The cuts, hospital officials said, were done to “effectively cope with the impact of
News, analysis and ideas
1 of 3 3/17/2009 2:47 PM
RPCI, Batavia hospital reduce staff - Business First of Buffalo: http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/03/02/daily62.html?ana...
reduced reimbursements from governmental payers and the effects of the declining stock that defy the odds and the
times
market.
Visit our Beating the
Recession page
United Memorial employs 770 workers.
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Credit markets stall Albany Med expansion - The Business Review (Albany): http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/03/02/daily47.html?ana...

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Albany > News > Industries > Commercial Real Estate Subscribe to The Business Review
Friday, March 6, 2009
Credit markets stall Albany Med expansion

The Business Review (Albany) - by Adam Sichko
Related News Albany Medical Center’s $360 million expansion plan remains
Health Focus: Medical
delayed in the stagnant credit market, and it’s unclear that
imaging faces construction will begin this year, as initially planned.
uncertain year as
hospitals cut back;
sector once seen as
The expansion is the largest in the 170-year-old history of the
recession proof academic health sciences center. The project obtained required state
Health Care: GE’s
approval in December 2008, but construction has still not started,
digital X-ray center will said spokesman Greg McGarry.
mean 100 new jobs at Search for Jobs powered by onTargetJobs
$65K a year
“We’re going to wait for more favorable rates from the banks,” Search
Northeast Health McGarry said. “It’s not an opportune time to be borrowing.
reaches $1.25M View Albany Jobs - 3753 jobs today
settlement with nurses
“There’s been no decision on when it’ll start. Three months, six
Hospital alliance
sparks talks on
months, nine months—we don’t know,” he added. Small
insurance payment Business
reform Officials have said they plan to raise about $50 million through a Center
capital campaign and issue bonds to cover the remaining $310
million cost. Construction was initially scheduled to begin sometime funding news and advice
later this year, ending in 2012. related to small business
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Albany Med plans to issue bonds through the state Dormitory Authority, and conditions Business Center
aren’t favorable for that right now, McGarry said. Albany Med also submitted an
application to receive money from the federal stimulus, but any funding received would Sales &
cover just a portion of total project costs, he added. Marketing
“It’ll get done and it’ll happen, but probably not on the timetable we’d originally planned,”
McGarry said. Research companies and
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The planned six-story complex will include a neonatal intensive care unit, 20 operating
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rooms, recovery rooms, expanded adult intensive care beds and additional general Marketing Center
medical/surgical beds.
Admissions to Albany Med have risen by more than 27 percent over the past several Commercial
years—from 24,300 in 2001 to 31,000 in 2007. Officials expect annual admissions to top Real Estate
40,000 a year by the time the project is completed. Stay up to date on the
“It’s not being canceled. It’s very much needed,” McGarry said. “The growth patterns industry
we’ve seen in the past several years are real, and we need to accommodate more patients.” Visit Commercial Real
Estate
Albany Med employs roughly 7,000 people.
Beating the
asichko@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6818 Recession
1 of 3 3/17/2009 2:49 PM
News 10 Now | 24 Hour Local News | TOP STORIES | Hospitals face maj... http://news10now.com/default.aspx?ArID=135194
news 10 the web

Search News 10
10:29 am 32º F Tuesday, March 10, 2009

TOP STORIES
ALL NEWS Hospitals face major cuts
Updated: 03/10/2009 06:41 AM
WEATHER By: Mariah Sparks
VIDEO STORIES
STORY LINKS SOUTHERN TIER, N.Y. -- These
SPORTS
hospital CEOs agree they have a
long road ahead of them, trying to
POLITICS
run their small facilities with less
CAPITAL TONIGHT state funding.
HEALTH "When you start to see the
FEATURES economic climate in the community
and the country, you can realize in a
COOKING AT HOME
small rural facility how challenging it
SPECIAL COVERAGE
can be," said Mary LaRowe, St.
TRAFFIC James Mercy Health CEO.
CLOSINGS
BUSINESS At stake in the proposed state budget, millions in Medicaid funding,
needed for critical services like emergency rooms and healthcare
IN YOUR
programs. The biggest impact though is staffing.
NEIGHBORHOOD
IN OUR COMMUNITY Jones Memorial Hospital CEO Eva Benedict had to lay off one
ABOUT US employee and cut the work hours of more than 100 others.
CONTACT US
"It was very, very difficult to tell employees that their take home pay
E-ALERTS
will be less than it has been," said Jones Memorial Hospital CEO Eva
SEARCH
Benedict.
JOBS
Collecting Medical
But it's a dismal reality these heads are facing. According to the
Debt?
Healthcare Association of New York State, Strong Memorial Hospital
We can help! Affordable
stands to lose about $25 million, Arnot Ogden Medical Center almost
sotware for collecting
$3 million, St. Joseph's of Elmira almost $2 million, along with SUNY
medical debts.
Upstate Medical University losing close to $1.5 million and Corning www.columbiaultimate.com/managemed
Hospital Noyes Memorial Hospital losing just over $1 million each.
Hospital Employee
While some hospitals across the region are restructuring to avoid Health
cuts, officials at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville say they already Top Tips for OSHA,
cut 20 workers last Thursday and more cuts may be on the way. JCAHO Compliance CDC
Guidelines - Start Free
"Our goal is not to and to control our costs as much as we can but I Trial
can't guarantee that," said Noyes Memorial Hospital CEO Jim Wissler. www.AHCpub.com
Find Hospital
With many of these hospitals serving as their areas major employer,
Executives
officials say the economic impact may be seen well beyond the
We have candidates
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some of the organizations in the state to survive,” said Wissler.
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 "I Look 15 Years
Health care officials say if their hospitals lay off workers, it will Younger"
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1 of 2 3/10/2009 10:29 AM
Westchester hospitals press Albany for Medicaid funds | lohud.com | The ... http://lohud.com/article/20090313/NEWS02/903130349/-1/SPORTS
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Westchester hospitals press Albany for Medicaid funds Medicine
Nursing
BY CANDICE FERRETTE Paper
THE JOURNAL NEWS • MARCH 13, 2009
David Paterson
US Governors
Text Size: Normal | Large | Larger Albany International CorpDE
HARRISON - Hospital officials and advocates have a clear message for Albany: Spend federal health-care
Medicaid
money on health care.
Health
Lower Hudson Valley hospital executives joined other health-care and business advocates in criticizing the Healthcare Industry
governor's plan to siphon money earmarked for Medicaid from the federal stimulus package toward removing Powered by Topix.net
about $1.3 billion in other taxes, such as those on iTunes and soda.
"No one is saying we need more money. All we are saying is please don't cut us again," said
Angela Skretta, vice president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association, speaking as it happens from
yesterday to members of the Editorial Board of The Journal News. LoHud.com. Enter your
phone number below:
No one knows exactly how much money local hospitals will get, but hospital officials say they fear that after
two rounds of budget cuts last year, any further reduction in revenue will have a negative impact on patient
care.
Patient programs may have to close, or the hospitals might not have money to upgrade equipment and
information technology. » School closings,
delays and early
dismissal alerts
The hospital industry is one of the region's largest employers, and cuts to its budget could mean layoffs or
problems staying competitive in attracting good doctors and nurses, officials said.
But $12 billion in Medicaid stimulus money is headed to New York in the coming months. Gov. David
Paterson said this week that the money doesn't have to be used for Medicaid relief.
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One-quarter of the health-care money from the federal stimulus package could restore health-care cuts in the Artery Clearing Secret
Hugh Downs reports on
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Medicaid is the health insurance program for the poor, jointly funded by the states and the federal
blood pressure by as much as
government . Hospital officials say they should get more Medicaid money because they are going to take
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care of more uninsured and unemployed patients who are unable to pay.
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The hospital, in downtown White Plains, spent about $8.5 million in unpaid care, or charity care, in the past whiter... Learn more
year, Schandler said.
Many of the uninsured patients are immigrants who are not in the country legally, and reforms to the state's
health-care system must address the immigration issue, Schandler said. More News Headlines
Rockland jury deadlocked on rape charges, convicts man of
While Schandler and others said they agreed with the governor's initiative to fund preventive care, it shouldn't
misdemeanor (2)
be at the expense of acute, in-patient hospital care, they said.
New Hampshire penalizes mortgage co. run by Sleepy
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"I had 24 people spending the night in my emergency room last night because we didn't have space in the
hospital for them," Schandler said. Restaurant, car struck in exchange of gunshots (6)
1 of 3 3/18/2009 1:46 PM
Westchester hospitals press Albany for Medicaid funds | lohud.com | The ... http://lohud.com/article/20090313/NEWS02/903130349/-1/SPORTS
Some patients stay in the hospital even after their in-patient treatment is complete, said John Federspiel, 2 Mamaroneck men accused of robbing teen seeking ride
(11)
chief executive of Hudson Valley Hospital Center in Cortlandt.
Police blotter
Federspiel said Hudson Valley saw a dramatic rise in charity care, up to about $9 million last year.
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"We are looking to merely stay whole here," Federspiel said. Former Yankee Aaron Boone to have open heart surgery
(1)
State lawmakers such as Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, and Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, Armstrong undergoes surprise doping test
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"We are going to continue to protect the hospital and all of Westchester's hospitals, and I think we are making
progress," Brodsky said in a telephone conversation yesterday.
Some area hospitals have already trimmed expenses.
In a separate interview, officials at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla said uncertainty in Albany has
prevented them from putting together a final budget for 2009.
To help close a projected $60 million loss, the hospital is shuttering its 110-bed Taylor Care Center nursing
home. There are nine residents at the nursing home, but officials think they will be placed in other nursing
homes before the April 1 deadline to close, hospital President Michael Israel said.
Israel also announced in January that he would need to eliminate 400 staff positions. Since then, about 100
medical center employees took a voluntary resignation package. More than 50 registered nurses from the
Taylor center will fill job vacancies in the main hospital.
If the state budget doesn't fall in favor of hospitals, Israel said, the next round will be more painful.
"Let's say we're still $20 million in the red. What do we do? Now it gets even harder to cut."
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government start regulating the salaries paid to hospital presidents, CEO's and AARP.TheHartford.com
other "administrators" who are not the ones providing care to the patients.
3/15/2009 10:03:17 AM
chuckells wrote:
If they dont make cuts now ,they will have to do it next year when there is no
"stimulus" money.
3/13/2009 7:24:06 AM
2 of 3 3/18/2009 1:46 PM
Protesters seek to save jobs of laid-off Roswell researchers : Local Business : The Buffalo... Page 1 of 2
The Buffalo News : Business Today

Monday, March 16, 2009
Home > Business > Local Business
Updated: 03/14/09 09:01 AM
Protesters seek to save jobs of laid-off Roswell

researchers
By Matthew Spina
News Staff Reporter
Story tools:
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A few dozen employees protested Friday outside Roswell Park Cancer Institute in an attempt to save the jobs of
up to 27 research workers. The nation’s first cancer hospital laid off the research employees to adjust for the drop
in state aid expected in the coming fiscal year. The hospital saw a $34 million gap it had to close.
One of the laid-off workers, research scientist Cheri Frank, said the targeted employees were escorted from the
building and placed on administrative leave until their final day, later this month.
The Public Employees Federation wants to call public attention to what they see as Roswell Park’s unfair
decision: The institute retained a layer of managers who average $250,000 a year in salary, yet dismissed lower-
level workers, earning some $60,000 a year, when federal stimulus money targeted for cancer research could save
their jobs.
“It’s a bizarre twist, and that’s what we are complaining about,” said Kenneth Brynien, president of the Public
Employees Federation in New York, which represents some 1,200 of Roswell Park’s more than 3,000 employees.
Brynien said the union plans other actions at Roswell Park and will gather when Dr. Donald L. Trump, the
president and chief executive officer, delivers his annual speech on the state of the facility.
The federation said that by laying off some of the research staff, Roswell Park has reneged on its core mission.
“The administration at Roswell is putting cancer research on the back burner,” said Kevin Hintz, the federation’s
Buffalo-area coordinator. “The layoffs send a strong message they are turning their backs on cancer patients
hopeful for a cure.”
Trump said the gap-closing measures have rippled through every corner of the cancer institute and led to
eliminating $2.5 million in pay and support for leadership personnel.
“The worst decision I have had to make here in my two years as president is the decision to eliminate people’s
jobs,” Trump said. But he said he could not assume federal stimulus dollars for cancer research will automatically
flow to Roswell Park since researchers nationally will compete for them.
Should Roswell Park get research grants, those laid-off researchers can be hired back if they have the skills the
research requires, he said.
Trump said that despite the union’s message, Roswell Park has not abandoned its mission.
http://www.buffalonews.com/businesstoday/localbusiness/story/607445.html 3/16/2009
Protesters seek to save jobs of laid-off Roswell researchers : Local Business : The Buffalo... Page 2 of 2
“We’ve never had a stronger commitment to our research program. We have added 1,000 jobs in the last 10 years.
Our research portfolio has grown tenfold,” he said.
mspina@buffnews.com
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Brooklyn Hospital Lays Off 240 - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17hospital.html
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240 Laid Off at Brooklyn Hospital
By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS Politics E-Mail
Published: March 16, 2009
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A hospital in central Brooklyn laid off 240 doctors, nurses and other PRINT
workers on Monday, signaling growing financial weakness in the REPRINTS See Sample | Privacy Policy
hospital industry. SHARE
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Officials at the hospital, Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Teeth Whitening Exposed!
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downturn has not spared the community served by Brookdale
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530 hospital beds, a nursing home and clinics, expected to be able to continue to
operate.
Ken Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said that the
Brookdale layoffs, which followed the closing last month of two hospitals in Queens — MOST POPULAR
St. John’s Queens Hospital and Mary Immaculate Hospital, both run by Caritas Health E-MAILED BLOGGED SEARCHED
Care Inc. — was an ill omen for New York City hospitals. He estimated that 2,700 1. An Outbreak of Autism, or a Statistical Fluke?
health care jobs were being eliminated, and said that Gov. David A. Paterson’s proposed 2. Basics: In One Ear and Out the Other
budget would cost $1 billion in Medicaid cuts and new taxes (including $32 million at 3. The Pleasure Principle
Brookdale). 4. Treatment for Peanut Allergies Shows Promise
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“The health care system is in extremely fragile condition,” Mr. Raske said. “Facing the Secrecy Is Vanishing
budget that’s being proposed in Albany, this will be the first of a chain car reaction.” 6. Seattle Paper Shifts Entirely to the Web
7. Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?
George Gresham, president of 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East, which
8. State Colleges Also Face Cuts in Ambitions
represents 3,400 workers at Brookdale, including 178 of those who received layoff 9. Paul Krugman: A Continent Adrift
notices, echoed Mr. Raske’s concern, saying: “Hospitals are hanging by a thread.” 10. Nicholas D. Kristof: Pathogens in Our Pork
In their statement, Brookdale officials complained that the hospital had been hurt in Go to Complete List »
payment disputes with insurance and managed care companies. The hospital says that
insurers have a history of often denying payment for necessary medical treatment,
leaving the hospital to absorb the costs.
nytimes.com/realestate
The hospital also said it had been hurt by rising drug, energy and malpractice costs.
A version of this article appeared in print on March 17, 2009, on page

1 of 2 3/17/2009 1:50 PM
Meeting to discuss future Fulton healthcare options - NewsChannel 9 WSYR http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Meeting-to-discuss-future-Fulto...
Meeting to discuss future Fulton healthcare options
Last Update: 9:51 am
Lee Memorial To Lose Hospital Status 1/29/09

Lee Memorial to lose hospital status 1/29/09
Fulton (WSYR-TV) - People living in the city of Fulton will get a

chance to discuss the changes being made to Fulton hospital.
Oswego Health is holding a town hall meeting tonight at 7pm.
Lee Memorial will cease its inpatient services on Friday, April 10 and
will close its emergency room and all outpatient services on April
26.
Oswego Health will operate the urgent care center in Fulton.
People looking for information about the urgent care center that Oswego Health plans to open are
invited to attend the town hall meeting at 7 pm at the Fulton Municipal Building’s second floor
courtroom.
Oswego Health says they are making arrangements for any patients who may be currently
hospitalized at Lee Memorial on April 10 to be transferred to Oswego Hospital or an appropriate
healthcare facility.
For more information, call 349-5500.
Fulton Hospital announces inpatient closing date
Fulton (WSYR-TV) - Lee Memorial Hospital announced its inpatient

services will end no later than April 10 and that its emergency room
and outpatient services will close on April 26.
The dates were agreed upon between Lee Memorial and the NYS
Department of Health, the hospital said in a press release.
“We realize that the uncertainty of the past weeks and months have
been extremely difficult for our employees,” said Dennis Casey,
executive director at Lee Memorial.
“Our goal is to provide as much support as possible to employees as they prepare for their next
steps.”
The hospital says it will be working with physicians to coordinate patient care during the transition
period. All patient appointments and procedures will go on as scheduled.
Oswego Health planning for takeover
1 of 2 3/18/2009 1:13 PM
Meeting to discuss future Fulton healthcare options - NewsChannel 9 WSYR http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Meeting-to-discuss-future-Fulto...
As the Fulton community learns today that A.L. Lee Memorial will
cease its inpatient services on Friday, April 10 and will close its
emergency room and all outpatient services on April 26, Oswego
Health says it is continuing preparations to open an urgent care
center in Fulton.
People looking for information about the urgent care center that
Oswego Health plans to open are invited to a town hall meeting at 7
pm Wednesday, March 18 at the Fulton Municipal Building’s
second floor courtroom.
Oswego Health says they are making arrangements for any patients who may be currently
hospitalized at Lee Memorial on April 10 to be transferred to Oswego Hospital or an appropriate
healthcare facility.
After Lee Memorial Hospital ceases operations, physicians and other medical professionals at
Oswego Health’s urgent care center will treat acute but non-life threatening illnesses or injuries.
Urgent care physicians typically treat conditions such as sprains, strains, ear infections, coughs and
congestion, rashes and other minor illnesses or injuries.
For more information, call 349-5500.
CONTINUED: Oswego Hospital to run urgent care in Fulton

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Next >
2 of 2 3/18/2009 1:13 PM
New York’s Public Hospital System to Cut Jobs and Programs - NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/nyregion/20hhc.html?ref=nyregion
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He warned that he would probably announce further job and service cuts in a month or
two. The hospitals face a looming $316 million budget shortfall for the coming fiscal Go to Complete List »
year, which begins in July, and the current plan would save $105 million.
“This is only the first round; we’re only dealing with one-third of the problem,” he said.
“We do anticipate that there will be additional cost-containment measures.”
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Speaking at a subdued news conference in the hospital system’s Manhattan

headquarters near City Hall, Mr. Aviles said that the cuts would come at the expense of
some of the city’s most vulnerable patients, the poor and uninsured, who he predicted
would have a harder time finding the medical care they need. He said the system had
been stressed by more uninsured patients, who numbered 450,000 at the end of last
1 of 3 3/20/2009 4:00 PM
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year, an 8 percent rise from the previous year. The rise in the number of people without
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Speaking for the governor on Thursday, Richard F. Daines, the state health
commissioner, said that the use of federal stimulus money was still being negotiated,
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The move was, perhaps, not surprising in the current recessionary climate, which has
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While the number of the jobs being eliminated is far smaller than the thousands of job
cuts made at the hospitals in the 1990s, Mr. Aviles said there was less fat in the system
now. He regretted having to retrench even as the public hospital system has been
nationally recognized for the quality of its care, just over a decade after being so reviled
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Mental health programs and community clinics will be hit especially hard, Mr. Aviles
said, explaining that it does not make financial sense to cut hospital beds, which bring
in revenue; clinics generally lose money. Mr. Aviles said patients would be directed to
other clinics, though they might be less convenient.
Slated for closing are mental health programs at four Brooklyn schools — Public School
90, Public School 225, Public School 328 and Intermediate School 96 — that serve a
total of 200 students. The community clinics being shuttered are Highbridge Health
Center in the Bronx; Sunnyside Medical Center and Springfield Gardens Medical Center
in Queens; and Sheepshead Bay Clinic in Brooklyn.
Along with the programs for children, a mental health day-treatment program for 300
adults at Harlem Hospital Center and another serving 80 adolescents at Lincoln
Medical and Mental Health Center will be closed, officials said.
Of the 400 jobs being cut, 200 are layoffs, including about 13 doctors as well as
managers, nurses, social workers and support staff. The other 200 will be absorbed
through attrition by July. The system has 39,000 employees. Most of the job losses will
come in the programs that are being cut.
A version of this article appeared in print on March 20, 2009, on page

2 of 3 3/20/2009 4:00 PM
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The University of Rochester Medical Center

puts expansion on hold
JUSTINA WANG • STAFF WRITER • MARCH 20, 2009
Print this page E-mail this article Share

The University of Rochester Medical Center's plans for a six-story hospital expansion that was expected to
alleviate overcrowding in the area's emergency rooms has been put on hold indefinitely, and construction on
a 150,000-square-foot research building will wait until state funding comes through.
The building plans were part of what was billed as

the medical center's costliest-ever expansion
project, which called for $500 million in
construction, new hires and upgraded technology.
Medical center officials said the project could be
paid for with state funding, private grants,
donations, royalties from the HPV vaccine and
taking on a manageable amount of debt.
But faced with an "economic emergency," UR

President Joel Seligman said Thursday that the
university would no longer be able to borrow the
$250 million needed for construction, and instead
would seek a loan of $80 million to $90 million this
year.
Most detrimentally, that means the $262 million

hospital-bed expansion project will likely not begin as planned this year, despite an "occupancy crisis in
Rochester," Seligman said. The project is still in the university's long-term plans.
"It continues to be one of the highest capital project priorities of the medical center by far," said the medical
center's Chief Financial Officer Michael Goonan. "But until the credit market eases and the economy
improves, which is anybody's guess at this point in time, I can't give a timeline."
The project, dubbed PRISM for Pediatric Replacement and Imaging Sciences Modernization, was first
unveiled in 2007 as a cornerstone of the medical center's five-year strategic plan to raise its national
reputation. The plans called for a six-story Strong Memorial Hospital tower with 123 beds for adults and
children, and space for radiology, intensive care and emergency care. Construction was supposed to begin
this year and last through 2013, when the L-shaped tower would open just west of the emergency and
radiology departments.
Goonan said medical center officials were now developing plans for a smaller-scale project, but the design
and construction timeline hinge on an uncertain economy. For now, Strong has tried to create more bed
capacity by opening up different units, reducing the length of patient stays, and sending some programs to
Highland Hospital, Goonan said.
The University of Rochester Medical Center is cutting back on

1 | 2 Next Page
expansion plans because of tight money due to the recession.
(SHAWN DOWD staff photographer)
1 of 3 3/20/2009 4:03 PM
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UR plans on 'tightening belt' with layoffs,

spending cuts
BENNETT J. LOUDON • STAFF WRITER • MARCH 20, 2009
The University of Rochester, the area's largest employer and considered a bright spot in an otherwise
gloomy local economy, has laid off 40 workers, left 93 positions vacant, frozen salaries, cut spending and put
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$435 million in capital projects on hold because of the deepening recession. The University of Rochester Medical Center puts expansion on
hold
Joel Seligman, president of the institution that
includes Strong Memorial and Highland hospitals, RELATED NEWS FROM THE WEB
the Eastman School of Music and Memorial Art University of Rochester
Gallery, called the moves "belt-tightening," but CIO News
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"I don't feel any pleasure whatsoever when

someone loses a job. Nonetheless, I'm comforted
by the success the university has had so far in More News headlines
keeping the number as low as it has," Seligman
said. RenSquare bus terminal will require $2M subsidy per year
(16)
"We are not in crisis. This is not an emergency. UR plans on 'tightening belt' with layoffs, spending cuts
We are taking wise steps that are appropriate, (7)
given reduced resources. We are going to get RIT hockey players named second-team All-Americans
through a tough patch but we're going to come out Snow heralds start of spring
fine on the other side," he said. Man hospitalized after Linwood Place stabbing (19)
Sandy Parker, president and chief executive officer of the Rochester Business Alliance, said Seligman "is Latest headlines
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Largely because of expected cuts in state Medicaid funding at the University of Rochester Medical Center, County Court
spending there and at the School of Medicine and Dentistry will be reduced about $40 million. The 40 laid off
Frontier orders furloughs for nonunion employees (1)
workers include 36 at the Medical Center. UR employs about 19,400 people.
"It is possible a few more jobs will result in layoffs in the Medical Center, but we're dealing with less than 10,"
Seligman said.
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He noted that school officials are awaiting a new state budget that is officially due by April 1 and could affect
funding.
"If there are unpleasant surprises, it could have implications for jobs. As of the moment, we think we have
anticipated the probable outcome of the state budget process," Seligman said.
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Westchester Medical Center cuts 100 more jobs Medicine
BY GERALD MCKINSTRY Healthcare Industry
THE JOURNAL NEWS • MARCH 20, 2009
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Westchester Medical Center cuts 100 more jobs | lohud.com | The Journal... http://www.lohud.com/article/20090320/NEWS02/903200350/-1/rss01
Westchester Medical Center is axing another 100 jobs to help offset budget gaps from state cuts to health
care .
The job cuts result from declining Medicaid funds and other reimbursements from the state that are forcing
the hospital to "downsize some programs and reduce staff" this year, Kara Bennorth, a hospital
spokeswoman, said in a written statement.
"The current economic situation is impacting every hospital in the nation and
Westchester Medical Center's prime responsibility is to protect its core
mission and provide the highest quality care to those in our region who need
us the most," Bennorth said.
The union jobs include social workers, professional staff and technical
positions represented by Civil Service Employees Association Unit 9201.
Those affected have been notified during the past few weeks, and that
continued yesterday, Bennorth said. The cuts are effective March 31.
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The hospital's board in January said it was closing the Taylor Care Center
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nursing home as part of a plan to cut spending by $40 million.
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The Taylor center had lost $10 million a year, hospital officials maintained.
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for You? voluntary resignation package, Bennorth said fewer than 125 people actually
would be laid off.
The hospital is not offering severance in this round of layoffs as it did with
the voluntary resignations, said Artie Alfreds, president of the hospital's Civil
Service Employees Association.
"It's terribly sad, that's all I can say," Alfreds said.
The Secret to Getting The medical center is among Westchester County's largest employers, with
Highly Discounted Cruise nearly 4,000 workers.
Tickets
Advertising provided by: The quasi public-private hospital has a budget of more than $700 million. It's
ARALifestyle.com had three straight years of profitable operations, Bennorth said.
Reach Gerald McKinstry at gmckinst@lohud.com or 914-696-8285.
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Mercy Hospital is shutting down its cardiac rehabilitation program at the Mercy Ambulatory Care Center in
Orchard Park, citing declining enrollment and low reimbursement rates from insurers.
Patients are being notified that the outpatient program will end May 8, the Catholic Health System announced.
The closing affects 10 positions, including six nurses who will be offered transfers to other positions at Mercy.
Known as the MACC, the Mercy Ambulatory Care Center is located at 3669 Southwestern Blvd.
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Albany Med implements hiring freeze, leaving 125 positions vacant - The... http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2009/04/06/daily9.html?ana=...
Monday, April 6, 2009, 2:57pm EDT | Modified: Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 4:41pm
Albany Med implements hiring freeze,

leaving 125 positions vacant
The Business Review (Albany) - by Barbara Pinckney
Related News The health care cuts contained in the state

Stimulus benefits in
budget, coupled with the down economy, has
limbo as business, prompted Albany Medical Center to make
labor butt heads on
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Jeffrey Stone taxes. This year, the impact will be about $1.8 is eliminating 125 jobs
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Greg McGarry, spokesman for Albany Med, said the hospital had View Larger
adopted its annual budget, late last year, with the knowledge that it Small
may need to be revisited once the state budget was finalized. A contingency plan, Business
reflecting the cuts as well as lower-than expected patient volume, was adopted by the Center
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and the economy. These include eliminating 3 percent merit raises, originally set to take Visit the Small
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effect this fall; implementing a hiring freeze for all but “mission critical” positions;
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