Wise Young
06-30-2007, 11:24 AM
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0ODcmZmdi ZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNjAzMjcmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZU VFeXkz
Aid report has some hospitals worried sick
Saturday, June 30, 2007
By LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER
No hospitals were named, but a commission charged with helping to decide which needy hospitals should be saved caused concern Friday among some hospital executives.
The commission, appointed by Governor Corzine in January, issued a report explaining how it would identify which hospitals warrant state assistance. Hospitals that provide lots of "essential services" such as emergency care, treat large numbers of poor and uninsured people and are more fully occupied would fare better.
"This is not a 'hospital closure commission,' " said state Health Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs. "It's a commission that will guide policymakers ... No hospital has any cause to be concerned about anything yet."
But after reading the 87-page document from the New Jersey Commission on Rationalizing Healthcare Resources, Joseph Orlando, president of Barnert Hospital in Paterson, said, "How do you show a hospital administrator shedding a tear?"
The report seems biased in favor of large teaching hospitals with specialty care, Orlando said. "I'm concerned that community hospitals might get left out," he said. "There's very much a role in urban areas for community-level hospitals. We're easily accessible. That's what some people need and want."
Aid report has some hospitals worried sick
Saturday, June 30, 2007
By LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER
No hospitals were named, but a commission charged with helping to decide which needy hospitals should be saved caused concern Friday among some hospital executives.
The commission, appointed by Governor Corzine in January, issued a report explaining how it would identify which hospitals warrant state assistance. Hospitals that provide lots of "essential services" such as emergency care, treat large numbers of poor and uninsured people and are more fully occupied would fare better.
"This is not a 'hospital closure commission,' " said state Health Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs. "It's a commission that will guide policymakers ... No hospital has any cause to be concerned about anything yet."
But after reading the 87-page document from the New Jersey Commission on Rationalizing Healthcare Resources, Joseph Orlando, president of Barnert Hospital in Paterson, said, "How do you show a hospital administrator shedding a tear?"
The report seems biased in favor of large teaching hospitals with specialty care, Orlando said. "I'm concerned that community hospitals might get left out," he said. "There's very much a role in urban areas for community-level hospitals. We're easily accessible. That's what some people need and want."