KITCHEN: FUNDING CUTS TO HOSPITALS WILL HAVE MAJOR IMPACT

            PHILADELPHIA, July 13 — Proposed cuts in state funding to the Philadelphia region’s hospitals would have a grave impact on patient quality of care, said state Sen. Shirley Kitchen, following a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing today at City Hall in Philadelphia.

            The hearing focused on the impact of the proposed 2009-10 budget cuts to southeastern Pennsylvania hospitals and their patients. Hospital executives, physicians and local labor leaders described the dire consequences during the roundtable discussion with several Democratic senators.

            “We’ve heard about the dollar amounts that would be jeopardized with the budget cuts, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story,” Kitchen said. “Today, we learned exactly how these cuts would impact patient quality of care. Patients could be deprived of access to everything from cutting edge medical technology to proper lighting in the Operating Room.”

            In late June, The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania warned that there would be 13,000 statewide job losses — nearly 8,300 in the Philadelphia region alone — if hospitals lose $280 million in state funding and federal matching funds that Senate Republicans have proposed (Senate Bill 850) to help balance this year’s state budget.

            “These job losses will have a devastating impact on the patients who rely on these employees for care,” Kitchen said. “Even in this bad economy, we can’t afford to lose our nurses, who care so much for their patients, and the staff who ensure that hospitals run smoothly.”

            The Senate Republican budget proposal, which passed in May with unanimous opposition from the Senate Democrats, also calls for painful cuts to trauma units, OB/GYN units, burn centers and specialized treatment facilities.

            “Citizens rely on our hospitals to heal them, to deliver their babies and to be their lifeline in an emergency,” Kitchen said. “The General Assembly must take a close look at exactly how budget cuts will impact the health and well-being of the patients who use our hospitals every day.”

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