Hey all,
Meeting about the Proposed CHI Takeover of Virginia Mason
This is an online meeting 5 - 6:30 pm today (Monday): join us, and tell a friend!
Catholic beliefs can curb basic health care rights such as end of life choices and reproductive health care. And CHI's response to the covid crisis has been abysmal. Register to join here and you will get a link to join by email. This is a BINKI meeting. BINKI is Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap Indivisible. We hold meetings 5-6:30 every Monday about Progressive issues. More meeting recordings here. More below:
Guest Speakers: Senator Emily Randall, Leah Rutman and Marc Auerbach
CHI Franciscan and Virginia Mason are in the process of merging but this will actually be a takeover of VM by CHI. Catholic medical groups are required to adhere to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (“ERDs”). CHI Franciscan will enforce ERDs strictly once they have taken over Virginia Mason, putting the medical needs of our community second to the ERDs. This proposed merger will result in more than 50% of all hospital beds in the state being under the control of a Catholic medical group. Residents of Washington have a right to access health care in which the religious beliefs of one group are not forced on everyone else.
Bio: Emily Randall, Senator from the 26th District
Sen. Emily Randall was born and raised on the Kitsap Peninsula in a hardworking union family. As a community organizer and advocate for health care and education, she is focused on putting the people of the 26th District first. She was elected to the state Senate in November 2018. Emily is now the chair of the Senate Higher Education & Workforce Development Committee and vice chair of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee. She also serves on the Senate Transportation Committee.
Bio: Leah Rutman
Leah Rutman is the health care & liberty counsel at the ACLU of Washington. In that role she works to ensure everyone in Washington state has access to health care, including reproductive health care, end-of-life care, and LGBTQ+ related care. Her work has a significant focus on the intersection of religion with health care access. Prior to joining the ACLU in 2013, Leah practiced commercial litigation at an international law firm and worked and volunteered at various human rights organizations. Leah is a graduate of McGill University and Columbia University School of Law. Outside of work, Leah can be found exploring Seattle beaches and hikes, and spending time with her kids.
Bio: Marc Auerbach
Marc Auerbach is a Campaigns Director at UFCW 21, a 46,000-member union, composed primarily of health care and grocery workers. He was formerly a bus driver at King County Metro and a member of the ATU 587 (transit union) executive board. UFCW 21 represents the workers at CHI Harrison Medical Center and some other CHI facilities. Our union is committed to the struggle for economic, political and social justice in our workplaces and in our communities – and that includes holding non-profit hospital systems accountable to their mission of providing quality and affordable health care for all.
There is still time to fight this merger. Join BINKI and guests and find out more.
Reasons why CHI should not be allowed to become a monopoly:
• Catholic medical groups are required to adhere to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (“ERDs”) and CHI Franciscan will enforce them strictly, once they have taken over Virginia Mason, putting the medical needs of our community second to the ERDs. Patients will be referred for denied services outside the CHI Franciscan network. Referral outside of the CHI network is impractical in actual implementation for a variety of reasons, many of which stem from insurance restrictions.
• If this merger goes through, residents of Kitsap County have extremely limited access to healthcare from secular providers. It's important to note that it's more than abortion and end of life services at risk. Catholic medical groups also refuse to provide birth control, tubal ligation, vasectomies, in vitro fertilization, and other reproductive services. They also discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community by refusing to provide certain medical services to them such as gender reassignment. This is based on the Ethical Religious Directives created by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to govern Catholic health facilities.
• The CHI Franciscan’s response to the COVID outbreak at their recently acquired St Michael’s Hospital in Bremerton is abysmal. They failed to notify and test staff and patients in a timely fashion. Their dependence on Kitsap County Emergency Services and the Kitsap Health District for personnel and necessary supplies, which hospital staff has been asking for since March, represents poor management and a lack of concern for patient welfare.
• CHI’s takeover of our community hospital and renaming to St.Michaels,leaves Kitsap residents with no choice for health care in an emergency. “Free Enterprise” in the health care world has resulted in a lack of competition and has actually limited the options for quality care.
• A Virginia Mason/CHI merger will result in more than 50% of all hospital beds in the state being under the control of a Catholic medical group. How does this not qualify as being a monopoly, particularly in the Greater Seattle area.
• Residents of Washington have a right to access health care in which the religious beliefs of one group are not forced on everyone else. Please share these concerns with the Offices of the State Attorney General, local/state elected officials, the Federal Trade Commission and ACLU-WA.
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You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: Oct 5, 2020 05:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/.../tZMocuirrT8jH9SKtUL...
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
#resist!
Holly and Kathy
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