2ND
DISTRICT
STATE CAPITOL
LANSING, MICHIGAN
48913
PHONE: (617) 373-1983
FAX; (617)
373-5997
INTERNET ADDRESS:
lemmons@house.state.mi.us |
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
STATE OF MICHIGAN
LAMAR LEMMONS |
COMMITTEES:
DEMOCRATIC
VICE-CHAIR
BANKING AND CASINO OVERSIGHT
COMMERCE
HEALTH POLICY
REDISTRICTING AND ELECTIONS |
April
4, 2001
vvww.housedems.com |
Contact:
Rep. LaMar Lemmons, III
Phone: (517) 373-1983
(313) 372-8571 |
REPRESENTATIVE LAMAR LEMMONS,
III FLIES TO WASHINGTON TO SUPPORT D.C. GENERAL HOSPITAL, FACED WITH
CLOSING DESPITE THE NEEDS OF THE POOR
"The closing of this
hospital is tantamount to imposing a death sentence on poor people,"
says Rep. Lemmons.
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today,
Representative LaMar Lemmons, III (D-Detroit) flew to Washington,
D.C. to join the
Supporters of D.C.
General Hospital, which is being sold to the Doctors Community
Healthcare Corporation (DCHC) and its services privatized. It is
estimated that D.C. General
provides important medical care to 135,000 indigent residents of the
District of Columbia, who cannot afford medical care anywhere else.
"Closing this hospital denies these
people health dare,
which is ,tantamount to imposing a
death sentence on them,"
stated Rep. LaMar
Lemmons, III.
The people who are affected
by this closing are mainly the poor who have no medical insurance.
D. C. General Hospital offers the indigent of Southeast Washington
Level 3 neonatal intensive care-service
(for high-risk pregnancies and babies born weighing less than 2.5
pounds). The Hospital also provides the
only feasible medical services for 60% of au uninsured poor in
the city (comprising about 50,000-100,000
needy people). D.C. General has 53,000 emergency-room visits a
years, at a time when the District's total hospital bad capacity has
diminished by 2,700 beds since 1995.
"Every American
citizen has as inherent right to quality health
care;" Rep.
Lemmons said. "Good health care should not be offered to only
the rich sad the privileged. Good government and a diverse
democratic society demand that an institution like D.C. General
Hospital, which provides such a crucial, life-sustaining service to
the District of Columbia's indigent and vulnerable, be kept open to
continue its good works. At a time when there is such a demand for
D.C. General's services, it is unconscionable to sell the hospital
and replace it with for-profit clinics. This represents a pervasive
war on the poor and vulnerable of our society being fought
throughout this country. That's why I am flying to Washington to
join my voice to other right-minded people who want to stop this
travesty."
In Washington, Rep. Lemmons
will be presenting a letter written in support of the Hospital by
the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus. He will be joining with
Congressman John Conyers, the. Congressional
Black Caucus Health
Braintrust, sad other like-minded people in presenting a
unified voice to
urge a more humane, caring stance toward
the poor and
vulnerable of our country.
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STATE
OF MICHIGAN
House of Representatives
91st Legislature
REGULAR SESSION OF 2001
Reps. Hardman, Hale,
Quarles, Rison, Clark, Stallworth, Kilpatrick, Thomas, Murphy,
Williams, Lipsey, McConico, Waters, Daniels, Phillips, Garza,
Reeves, Lemmons, Bernero, Jacobs, Sheltrown, Gieleghem, Adamini,
Rich Brown, Rivet, Kolb, Neumann, Dennis, Jamnick, Schauer,
Lockwood, Minore, Hansen, Bogardus and Clarke offered the following
concurrent resolution:
House Concurrent Resolution
No. 27.
A concurrent resolution to
memorialize the Congress of the United States to keep D.C. General
Hospital open as a public institution.
Whereas, Without swift
action, D.C. General Hospital in our nation's capital will close as
a public entity very soon. This move has generated opposition from
many observers in Washington and elsewhere, including prominent
medical organizations; and
Whereas, D.C. General
Hospital is noted for providing life-saving services to the city's
poor. The hospital stands as a symbol of the struggles and
commitment of America's urban hospitals; and
Whereas, Concerns over the
possible closing of D.C. General Hospital have been expressed across
the country. Many city health officials and policymakers see this
venerable institution, which was opened in 1806, as representing the
nation's commitment to providing appropriate health care services to
population groups that include many patients who are minorities and
many who are poor and uninsured. The thought of this hospital--which
serves as a safety net for thousands with nowhere else to
turn--shutting its doors is most disturbing to those dedicated to
America's inner cities; and
Whereas, How a country
treats its disadvantaged people is a significant reflection on the
country's character and priorities. This is why so many people in
other parts of the nation, including Detroit and other cities in
Michigan, feel Congress should take actions to halt the closing of
D.C. General Hospital as a public entity;
now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to keep D.C.
General Hospital open as a public institution;
and be it further Resolved,
That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of
the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional
delegation.
The concurrent resolution
was referred to the Committee on Health Policy.
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Michigan Legislative Black
Caucus
PO BOX 30014, LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909
March 28, 2001
Honorable Joe Knollenberg
2349 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
We the members of The
Michigan Legislative Black Caucus am writing you regarding a matter
of urgency, the planned closing of D.C. General. To close the
District of Columbia's only public hospital and thus deny medical
care to the 135,000 indigent residents who live there is clearly an
egregious act with direr medical consequences.
As is generally the case,
fiscal management or mismanagement has been cited as the reason for
closing this venerable medical facility, which has served the
residents of the District of Columbia since 1806.
However, the fact still
remains that only D.C. General Hospital offers these medical
amenities to Southeast Washington:
-
Level 3 neonatal
intensive care capability. (This meant that the hospital can
take care of high-risk pregnancies, sad babies born weighing
less than 2.5 pounds.)
-
D.C. General services
60% of all uninsured
people is the entire city (about 100,000).
-
D.C.
General has 53,000 emergency room visits a year and the
District's total hospital bed capacity has diminished (2,700
beds) since 1995.
We
fervently believe that everyone has inherent right to quality health
care in this country. Moreover, the access to health cart should not
be a privilege of the rich and well to do. Hence, D.C. General
Hospital must be kept open and restored to its full operational
capability to serve the population of Washington, D.C.
As
Subcommittee Chairman on Washington, D.C., we respectfully request
that you vote in favor of keeping the doors of D.C. General Hospital
open to the public.
Thank
you for your time and attention is this matter.
Sincerely
yours,
Artina Tinsley Hardman
Chair, Michigan Legislative Black Caucus
Cc: Hon.
John Conyers
Hon. Eddie Bernice-Johnson
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton
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1340 City-County Building, Detroit,
Michigan 48228
(313) 774-1251 FAX: (313) 224-4095
April 9, 2001
Honorable Joe Knollenberg
2349 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman
Knollenberg:
Ac President of the Detroit
City Council, l would like to express my concern over the matter of
the closing of D.C. General Hospital in Washington, DC:. With this
being the only public hospital in this area, it would hamper
residents who are dependent upon medical and emergency care.
Even though management
concerns were the reason for the closing, this hospital has served
many citizens since its inception many years ago. However, there is
definitely a need for a medical facility that needs to be present in
the care for indigent individuals.
I truly believe that
everyone is entitled to have access to quality health cars,
particularly children who arc at risk. Many individuals arc less
fortunate and are not able to obtain insurance, or are working and
can't afford to keep their health insurance active.
There has to be a way to
supplement this hospital financially, so that it can continue to
help patients that would suffer if it closed. Once again, l
respectfully request that you vote in favor of keeping D.C. General
Hospital open.
Sincerely,
Gil Hill
President
cc: Congressman John Conyers
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THE "MIGHTY"
15th Congressional District Democratic Organization
P.O. Box 315 - Wayne, Michigan 48184
April 5, 200!
The Honorable Joe Knollenberg
2349 Rayburn Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Knollenberg:
The members of the 130' Congressional
District Democratic Organization are writing you concerning the
planned closing of D.C. General. At our general membership meeting
on April 4, 2001, they unanimously adopted a resolution in support
of keeping D.C. General Hospital open and continuing the public
funding of the facility.
As chairman of the D.C. Subcommittee on
Appropriations, we respectfully request that you vote in favor of
keeping the D.C. General Hospital open to the public.
Thank you for considering this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Carol Larkin, Chair
13th Congressional District Democratic Org.
pc: Hon. John Conyers
Hon. Lynn Rivers
RESOLUTION TO SAVE DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA HOSPITAL
WHEREAS in an informal
meeting held with constituents on Thursday, March 22, D.C.
Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton revealed that Oklahoma
Republican Rep. Ernest Istook, Jr., of the House Committee on
Appropriations, had threatened to jail Mayor Anthony Williams, and
members of the Washington, D.C. City Council, for keeping D.C.
General Hospital, the District's only public hospital open through a
set of operating loans. Istook allegedly made the threat !n the
summer of 2000, while he was chair of the D.C. subcommittee of the
Appropriations Committee, which has power over the D.C. budget and;
WHEREAS the 11th
Congressional Representative Joe Knollenberg now chairs the D.C.
House Subcommittee on Appropriations, we are calling on Congressmen
Knollenberg to reject the policies of his predecessor regarding D.C.
General Hospital. If Congressman Knollenberg does not reject the
actions that Congressman Istook made, then he must condone this
action and is also guilty of such action, and;
WHEREAS IF Congressman
Knollenberg does not provide the funds necessary to maintain the
full service hospital to the public, then he is guilty of murder by
his pen like those whom they convicted at the Nuremberg trials after
World War II for crimes against humanity and;
WHEREAS every medical
official in the D.C. area has testified that any plan by the House
Appropriations Subcommittee and the D.C. Financial Control Board is
not sufficient in providing necessary health care to the district's
needy;
MAY IT HEREBY BE RESOLVED
that the only solution to maintain sufficient health care to all
residents of the District of Columbia is to continue to publicly
fund D.C. General Hospital and keep it open to the public.
Carol S. Larkin, Chair 13th Congressional
District Democratic Organization
April 4, 2001 |