[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 90 (Thursday, July 13, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO ST. MICHAEL'S HOSPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2000

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, March 29, 2000, a day when 
the U.S. Congress was in session, I was present on behalf of the people 
of my district at a federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware 
before federal Judge Mary F. Walrath, to request the Judge's 
consideration of my constituents' heartfelt plea to help us save our 
community hospital. What follows is my testimony in open court--a 
tribute to St. Michael's Hospital.

       Your Honor, I thank your Honor for granting me the 
     privilege to humbly approach this court on behalf of the 
     community interests of the 570,000 people of the 10th 
     Congressional district in Cleveland, Ohio, a city which I 
     served as Mayor and now I represent Cleveland in the U.S. 
     Congress. For this matter is literally one of life and death 
     for my constituents because their access to full service 
     health care, emergency care (13,000 cases a year) surgical 
     care and acute medical care is at stake.
       St. Michael's Hospital, which was known as St. Alexis 
     Hospital, has been the heart and soul of an old Cleveland 
     neighborhood on the edge of the steel mills for 116 years.
       I know the hospital well. I lived in the neighborhood. I 
     worked there 36 years ago as an orderly, then as a surgical 
     technician. I learned long ago about the spirit of this 
     hospital--about its spiritual connection to the community, 
     about how it provides over 400 jobs, and protects 
     neighborhood health and neighborhood commerce. Our community 
     has a lot at stake here.
       St. Michael's has provided care, outstanding care for the 
     sick and the elderly, including my own mother and father, and 
     brothers and sisters, and myself.
       It provides care for the poor, the indigent, for people who 
     do not own cars, for people who are dependent on mass 
     transit, for a large elderly population who wait patiently 
     each month for their social security checks.
       St. Michael's staff is totally dedicated. Some of its 
     doctors still do house calls. St. Michael's has saved the 
     lives, and prolonged the quality of life of so many people 
     who I know and love and the lives of loved ones of many 
     people here in this courtroom.
       St. Michael's gives people hope. It has demonstrated true 
     charity. The people from my district who have traveled here 
     by bus including City Council representatives, are now 
     obligated by the
       Today, when I walk the streets of St. Michael's 
     neighborhoods, I see poverty reflected on people's faces, in 
     the walk, in their clothes. I know the people well, because 
     this is where I come from. This is my home. This is my heart.
       I know that for many people in the community this hospital 
     is the only institution in the neighborhood which enables the 
     people to rescue some quality from a hard life.
       And that is why I am here on a day when the U.S. House of 
     Representatives is in session--because I can and do speak on 
     behalf of 570,000 people and say that we plead for the wisdom 
     and mercy of this honorable court, in considering the 
     interests of the community. We respect that this honorable 
     court cannot solve all the problems which beset the American 
     health care system--indeed that is work for the institution I 
     am honored to serve, but the court can help give the 
     hospitals a fighting chance to survive, and in the process 
     give the humble people of our community one last chance for 
     the hospital to be saved. I ask your honor to please take 
     notice of the fact that:
       On the same day that PHS and Cleveland Clinic privately 
     applied to the Federal Trade Commission for Hart-Scott-Rodino 
     (antitrust) approval for the asset purchase agreement to 
     close St. Michael's and Mt. Sinai East--on that same day, PHS 
     publicly announced its intention to keep St. Michael's and 
     Mt. Sinai East open, not withstanding the closure of Mt. 
     Sinai University Circle.
       Your honor, the people who I represent are humble people, 
     many minorities, many from immigrant families. They take 
     things at face value. They have trouble understanding people 
     who say one thing and do another. They have faith in people, 
     in one another, and in this court.
       The truth is that notwithstanding the three year agreement 
     which PHS and Cleveland Clinic made with the Mayor of 
     Cleveland at St. Michael's:
       The adolescent ward was closed in the past three weeks;
       The detox unit was closed;
       The ambulance service has been stopped;
       The elective services have been stopped;
       That today the cardiac rehab unit is being closed;
       That women's center patients have to find other physicians. 
     PHS did this without the physicians' knowing;
       That one physician's patients received letters ``to get 
     another physician''--even though PHS never notified the 
     physician;
       All this has hurt our community. But St. Michael's Hospital 
     lives. It lives despite PHS billing hospitals for a computer 
     system which still does not work and PHS paying multi-million 
     dollar consultant fees that in and of themselves would cover 
     any deficits which may exist at St.
       We cannot expect this honorable court to solve the health 
     care problems of America--but it is a fact that on the entire 
     east side of Cleveland, as a result of the closing of Mt. 
     Sinai, University Circle; no level-one trauma center is 
     available. And throughout this process of closing hospitals 
     the community; doctors, nurses and Cleveland City Council 
     were not included in any talks. It is no wonder that the 
     Council voted 18-0 to formally oppose the sale and closure of 
     St. Michael's.
       Your honor, I want the court to know that I am sensitive to 
     PHS's position as a debtor in Bankruptcy proceedings and 
     understand that PHS must sell these hospitals. But it seems, 
     that to PHS, St. Michael's and Mt. Sinai are simply assets to 
     be unloaded, worth more to them closed than open. But to the 
     people in my district and in neighboring districts, these 
     represent community resources and access to health care.
       To Cleveland Clinic, St. Michael's and Mt. Sinai East 
     represent competition to be snuffed out. That is why 
     Cleveland clinic agreed to purchase these hospitals only 
     under the condition that PHS close them prior to purchase. 
     That's a cold and heartless decision to we who are committed 
     to providing access to health care for Cleveland area 
     residents. It is cruel and it is inexplicable that St. 
     Michael's, which provides 20 percent of its care to indigent 
     and Medicaid patients must close to make way for the 
     sprawling Cleveland Clinic which provides only 2.3 percent of 
     its care to charity patients.
       What makes it even harder to comprehend is that the asset 
     purchase agreement freezes out willing bidders, those who 
     would keep the hospitals open. Those who would keep St. 
     Michael's doing what it has always done for 116 years, 
     protecting the people's health care needs. That's all the 
     people I represent want--to keep hospitals open, to keep 
     access to health care.
       I join with the objectors to the Asset Purchase Agreement 
     in the request that this honorable court set aside the 
     agreement for a closed sale and open the bidding to provide a 
     clear, honest opportunity for our community hospitals to stay 
     open. Thank you, your honor.





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