The House budget restored funding and added language preserving beds at Tewksbury Hospital, but the Senate Ways and Means budget does not provide the full funding to maintain current beds, staff and services and does not include specific protective language. Without this funding and the protective language there is nothing to stop the Baker Administration from moving ahead with eliminating beds, staff and services.
Senator Barbara L’Italien (D-Andover) has filed an amendment to restore $1.8M in funding to the Tewksbury Hospital line item and to include protective language.
What can you do to help?
· Contact your State Senator. You can find contact information here: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/MyElectionInfo.aspx
· Urge your State Representative to support Senator Barbara L’Italien’s Amendment #753 to prevent any reduction in services at Tewksbury Hospital.
If this protective language is not included:
· There will be an additional burden on the patients and their families
· The quality of care will be diminished
· It will result in higher costs. The beds slated for closure by Governor Baker are geriatric beds, which means that these patients would most likely be transferred to nursing homes- at a much higher cost.
· Patients will have nowhere to go. For some of these patients, nursing homes would not even be an option due to the patient’s complex medical needs or significant mental health needs.
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