|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
The doors to the St. George Health Center at 51 Stuyvesant Place have been closed for months, allegedly because the center is awaiting renovations. Last month there was serious concern that the facility would close permanently. The agency that runs the center, the NYC Health and Hospital Corporation (HHC), announced plans on May 3rd to shut down a total of 27 medical clinics that it runs throughout the city, including the St. George center. They cited high renovation costs, low reimbursement rates, and a huge operational debt as the reasons for seeking to close the centers.
"This is not the time to close health clinics," argues Debi Rose. "We have an estimated 18-22,000 uninsured or underinsured children on Staten Island, most of whom live on the North Shore. It just doesn’t make any sense to close an important, centrally-located center like this that serves our most vulnerable residents, our children. The North Shore has already suffered the loss of emergency services at Bayley Seton Hospital. We cannot afford the loss of another facility."
City-wide, advocates for children’s health care, like Debi Rose, wrote the Governor and State Health Commissioner and publicized the intended closures. On May 26th, she and Josephine Tucker of the Staten Island Branch of the New York Urban League held a joint press conference in front of the clinic’s locked doors. In response to the outcry assailing the intended closures, the City Council and the Mayor announced on June 7th that they have added $4 million to the budget to keep 20 clinics open.
"We’re not out of the woods yet," Rose warned. "Until I see the St. George Health Center’s doors wide open and reaching out to the children they should be serving, I won’t be satisfied."
"Not that there was really any race to open my headquarters before my opponents," joked candidate Debi Rose, "but I want you to know, as on many other fronts, we were first on this one, too."
"I am so pleased with the location, my neighbors, and the bright, cheerfulness of the space," she continued. "As soon as I saw how convenient it would be for my supporters to catch bus, train, or boat to get here, I knew this was going to be the right home for my campaign."
On May 13, the Staten Island Liberal Party chose Debi Rose to be their candidate for the North Shore City Council race. According to Party Chair Frank O’Callaghan, Debi was chosen for her progressive political positions, her excellent ideas, and her advocacy for a new North Shore school.
Senior Citizen Housing and Assisted Living: Debi Rose will work for affordable housing and assisted living for Senior Citizens so that they can continue to live in their communities. We need to create senior housing in our communities by adaptive reuse of existing buildings, such as Seaview Hospital and the Farm Colony. These facilities should provide affordable services for seniors including shared health aids, laundry and meal services.
Medical and Prescription Drug Coverage: We must prohibit HMOs from dropping existing Medicare coverage for Seniors. Seniors are unfairly squeezed by the increasing costs of prescription drugs. Debi Rose will work to keep prescription drugs affordable for Senior Citizens by supporting the expansion of programs such as the New York State Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage program (EPIC).
Affordable Long Term Care: Long term care including home health care and nursing home care must be made available to senior citizens without requiring them or their spouses to become impoverished. Affordable home care means that seniors will be able to age in place. Medicaid home care services should include safety monitoring as well as assistance with the activities of daily living. The city must find creative ways such as shared aids and assisted living to make home care affordable. Day care services should be available for Senior Citizens on Staten Island.
Patients' Bill of Rights: Debi Rose supports a strong patients' bill of rights. Patients should have rights whether they are covered by private or employee insurance, are enrolled in an HMO, receive care through Medicare or Medicaid or a Medicare or Medicaid HMO. A patients' bill of rights would ensure that everyone would get the health care they need by giving them the right to see a specialist, to appeal decisions made by their insurance carrier or HMO, to receive emergency room care, and to sue if they are unfairly denied coverage. We must hold HMOs and insurance companies accountable for denying or withholding necessary treatment. There must be government oversight of HMOs.
Affordable Health Care: Health care must be accessible and affordable for all workers and small business owners. Debi Rose supports extending the safety net of Medicaid to guarantee access to affordable health care for every child, expanding coverage to working families, including Medicaid to assist individuals moving from welfare to work. Debi Rose will work to ensure patients get the right medical treatment when they need it most by including eliminating co-payments and deductibles for mammographies and other cancer screenings. The St. George Health Center should be reopened as soon as possible.