current
press releases
and media alerts
Cutting Medicaid Rates:
Poor Policy, Poor Math
Humboldt Park Urges the General Assembly to Reject Proposed
Medicaid Cuts
Humboldt Park’s community leaders,
social service providers, community residents and others will
come together and call on our state’s General Assembly to reject
Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. A press
conference organized by the
Greater Humboldt Park Community of Wellness, a grass-roots
community-based health coalition, took place at the Norwegian
American Hospital Professional Building, 5th-floor conference
room, 1044 North Francisco Avenue, on March 10 at 11 a.m.
This press conference was in response to the widely-felt concern
that Governor Quinn’s proposed $552 million Medicaid cut to
hospitals, nursing homes and other providers
will have a devastating impact on the
well-being of hundreds of thousands Illinoisans and on the
financial stability of many hospitals across the state,
especially Norwegian American Hospital.
Norwegian has been serving the community areas of Humboldt Park,
West Town, Austin and Logan Square for over 115 years. These
communities are home to mostly African-American, Puerto Rican
and Mexican residents who are uninsured or underinsured. As a
result, Norwegian provides a large share of non-reimbursable
charity care. Furthermore, these communities have been found by
public health researchers to have higher rates of asthma,
diabetes, obesity and HIV/AIDS when compared to city and
national rates. Cuts to Medicaid would devastate Norwegian and,
ultimately, negatively impact the already dire health status of
the communities it serves.
Community, safety-net hospitals, like Norwegian, not only
provide culturally and linguistically appropriate accessible
services, but are also vital economic engines for their
communities, providing living-wage employment to local
residents who in return invest their individual incomes in
purchasing goods and services in the communities they live and
work in.
The state should consider the long-lasting negative effects of
imposing Medicaid rate cuts on hospitals and the health care
system. Hospitals are vital components of communities, providing
essential services, including stability, care and employment to
residents. All residents of Illinois should be able confidently
to rely on local hospitals at all times to meet their needs.
Norwegian American Hospital
and Operation Walk Chicago
Join Forces to Provide
Free Joint Replacements
On March 12 and March 13, 2011,
Norwegian American Hospital and
Operation Walk Chicago will perform hip and knee replacement
surgeries on 8 uninsured Chicagoans who suffer intractable pain
and disability from advanced arthritis. This pilot program, a
collaboration between Norwegian American Hospital,
Operation
Walk, and scores of volunteers and donors, is the first
of its kind, providing life-changing surgery free of charge and
establishing a program to meet the orthopedic needs of Chicago’s
uninsured. Through this project, Chicago--the city of “Big
Shoulders”--boldly attempts to tackle a national problem,
finding a way to provide expensive, state-of-the-art medical
care for the uninsured.
Recent studies suggest more than 1.2 million Illinoisans are
without health care insurance, 600,000 of whom live in Chicago.
The recession has hit Chicago’s working poor hard; many struggle
in hourly or part-time jobs with no health benefits. Hip or knee
replacement is beyond their reach--a single surgery costs more
than $50,000 in the United States. Operation Walk Chicago,
through donations and the hard work of volunteers, can perform a
joint replacement for a fraction of that amount.
“Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the United
States,” said S. David Stulberg, M.D., Co-Director of Operation
Walk Chicago and universally recognized as one of the world’s
top Orthopaedic surgeons. “The intractable pain from this
condition limits even the most basic activities, such as
walking, dressing or climbing stairs, and joint pain is the
leading cause of missed days from work.”
Hip and knee replacement surgery in the United States is one of
the most cost-effective and quality-of-life enhancing procedures
in medicine. Using the latest technology, patients can recover
rapidly. Within a couple of days of surgery, patients can walk
again, free of disabling arthritic pain. Thus, as a result of
these difficult economic times, many who suffer from disabling
arthritic pain are needlessly suffering because they are unable
to afford surgery that cures their condition.
“Hip and knee replacements can be miraculous procedures,
transforming the lives of disabled patients and their families,”
said Victoria Brander, M.D., Co-Director of Operation Walk
Chicago and a board certified physiatrist. “There is no reason
that patients in poor communities should suffer when we have the
ability to treat them. Together, Operation Walk Chicago and
Norwegian American Hospital are working to help those in need in
our own backyard.”
“I am very happy that Norwegian American Hospital has the
opportunity to participate in such a humanitarian initiative to
improve the health of the most disadvantaged individuals in our
society, said José R. Sánchez, President and CEO of Norwegian
American Hospital. “I commend those who have made it their
personal commitment and invested their time to make this event a
reality. Operation Walk is a tremendous benefit to our
community. Without this program, those individuals receiving the
service may never have had the opportunity to once again be
healthy.”
See Also: Norwegian American Hospital
and Operation Walk Chicago
Media Kit
Norwegian American Hospital
A Higher Commitment
NAH Featured in Inside Healthcare Article
"Offering premier healthcare in disadvantaged communities is
achievable, says José Sánchez, and Chicago’ Norwegian American
Hospital is one hospital proving that to be true.
Sánchez, on the job as president and CEO since October, believes
the hospital’s level of care and opportunities for continued
improvement make it a model for similar community-based
healthcare providers nationwide."
Norwegian American Hospital
Hires Chicago's Only Latino Hospital CEO
Sánchez Named President and
CEO
Norwegian American Hospital
announces the appointment of José R. Sánchez as its new
President and Chief Executive Officer and Chicago’s only Latino
hospital CEO. Sánchez joins the hospital’s executive team with a
30-plus year career as a health care executive and a wealth of
knowledge of the health care industry.
As the President and CEO of Norwegian American, Sánchez is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of services provided to more
than 112,000 patients annually. Among his first
priorities
is to lead the management executive team to critically assess
and refine the quality of all systems, structures and services
that are currently in place. Sánchez is committed to pursuing
collaborative and innovative solutions to combat the health care
challenges of the communities the hospital serves: Humboldt
Park, West Town, Wicker Park,Logan Square and Austin.
Before joining Norwegian American Hospital, Sánchez was the
Senior Vice President of the Generations +/Northern Manhattan
Health Network, one of the largest health care networks in the
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. As its Chief
Executive Officer, he was responsible for the network’s two
acute care hospitals, three large ambulatory centers and close
to 20 community-based health centers located in Manhattan and
the Bronx.
“During the interview process, José Sánchez clearly demonstrated
his drive to achieve excellence and exceed
goals,” said Marta Cerda, Norwegian American Hospital Board of
Trustees Member and CEO Search Committee Chair. “He has a proven
track record of having all hospitals under his watch
successfully undergo Joint Commission accreditation, each with
scores above national trends. Norwegian needs a leader like José
to help us reach our goals for the growth of our hospital.”
Sánchez is the architect of the Urban Health Conference, an
annual national forum in existence since 2001 that brings
together more than 300 health care providers to focus on the
disparities in health care for minority populations and
strategies to eliminate them. In addition, he serves as Chairman
of the East Harlem Business Capital Corporation Board of
Directors, which provides microlending and business development
services for community businesses. In October 2009, he was named
among the “Most Influential Latinos” in the United States by
Hispanic Business Magazine, a New York Times Co. syndicated
publication.
Sánchez has been a licensed social worker since 1979. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the City College of
New York and a Master of Social Work from Adelphi University. In
2002, he was conferred an honorary doctorate degree from the New
York College of Podiatric Medicine. This honor recognized his
measurable accomplishments and steadfast commitment to improving
the health status of the
poorest and most disadvantaged populations in New York City.
To arrange an interview with Mr. Sánchez, please contact
Elizabeth Pedersen at 773-292-5943 or 312-350-9461.
