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AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION - HOUSE OF DELEGATESResolution: 425 (As Amended) (I-00) Introduced by: Medical Society of the District of Columbia
Referred to: Reference Committee D Whereas, DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers constitute a vital health care facility in serving the underserved, uninsured and indigent in our nation’s capital; and Whereas, A lack of city funding will likely result in a forced closure of DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers in the next few months; and Whereas, DC General Hospital is the ONLY non-profit hospital in the southeastern quadrant of Washington, DC; and Whereas, Our American Medical Association, in its commitment to the elimination of racial disparities in health care, sees DC General Hospital (with its delivery of ~98,000 clinic visits, ~52,000 Emergency Department Visits and ~9,000 admissions) as an essential provider in delivering care that addresses racial disparities in health care in Washington, DC; and Whereas, The closure or major downsizing of DC General Hospital is likely to result in a major bottlenecking and overcrowding in the ICUs and emergency departments of the other hospitals of Washington, DC; and Whereas, The new CEO of DC General and its affiliated community health centers has developed a plan for addressing both the hospital/clinics’ financial concerns and the need to build a new hospital with city, federal and private dollars; and Whereas, The staff and management of the DC General Hospital have proven to their detractors that, despite city neglect, they are a first class health care delivery team with their (November 30) Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations national accreditation (preliminary) score of 94%; and Whereas, The city’s congressionally mandated "Control Board" may assume control over the hospital to begin downsizing in the next few weeks; and Whereas, The Board of Directors for DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers are having what may be their last board meeting to address the future of this health care institution on Saturday, December 9; therefore be it RESOLVED, That our AMA send a letter calling upon the Mayor of Washington, DC, the City Council, the city’s "Control Board" and the city’s congressional oversight committees to develop the city, federal and private resources needed to sustain DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers until a new facility can be developed for more cost-effective delivery of health care to the underserved of our nation’s capital; and be it further RESOLVED, That our AMA Board of Trustees report on the effects of closing safety-net hospitals as well as the fate of DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers at the 2001 Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. Received: 12/2/00 Reference Committee Report (excerpt) Testimony overwhelmingly supported AMA involvement in the plight of DC General Hospital. It indicated that, while it is a unique situation, the District of Columbia experience exemplifies a truly national problem, particularly as it reflects the availability of and access to health care for the underserved in this country. Thus, your Reference Committee believes that a report on public hospitals and the medical safety net for the underserved, including DC General Hospital, would be appropriate…. Press Release – Public Benefit Corporation - Wednesday, December 06, 2000Late last week, at the 2001 Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA), the DC Delegation to the AMA House of Delegates reported on the events surrounding the threatened closure of DC General Hospital. At the urging of physician delegates from across the country, the DC Delegation presented a resolution for consideration by the AMA. The full House of Delegates voted that the issue was ‘timely", and the resolution was sent to the Reference Committee on Public Health for a special panel to hear testimony. The Reference Committee heard testimony about how city officials are looking to ‘balance the budget’ at the expense of the hospital and its most vulnerable patients. Physicians and medical students from across the nation testified in support of seeing the right thing done by DC General… I will read from the Reference Committees own report: "… Testimony overwhelmingly supported AMA involvement in the plight of DC General Hospital. It indicated that, while it is a unique situation, the District of Columbia experience exemplifies a truly national problem, particularly as it reflects the availability of access to health care for the underserved in this country. Thus, your reference committee believes that a report on public hospitals and the medical safety-net for the underserved, including DC General, would be appropriate…" On Wednesday, December 6, 2000, the House of Delegates of American Medical Association (AMA) voted to approve a resolution that reads as follows: "…Be it RESOLVED, [the AMA House of Delegates directed that] our AMA send letter calling upon the Mayor of Washington DC, The City Council, the city’s "Control Board" and the City’s congressional oversight committees to develop the city, federal and private resources needed to sustain DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers until a new facility can be developed for more cost-effective delivery of health care to the underserved of our nation’s capital; and be it further RESOLVED, The our AMA Board of Trustees report on the effects of closing safety-net hospitals, as well as the fate of DC General Hospital and its affiliated community health centers, at the 2001 Interim Meeting of the [AMA] House of Delegates…" And thus eyes from all across the country now turn to watch how the nation’s capital will treat its public hospital…
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