September 28th, 2011

Two more players in the conspiracy to rip apart Jackson have revealed themselves.

Janette Nunez, who works for HCA, and Eric Fresen have written the following Miami Herald Letter to the Editor, pushing to privatize Jackson even though 100 percent of those who attended recent town hall meetings were against the move.

You really have to ask…What is motivating them to push this issue when there is no community support and Miami Dade Commissioners have already decided to abandon the proposal?

Privatizing Jackson is unquestionably not best for patients. So what could motivating these politicians?

READ THE ARTICLE BELOW!

Jackson requires fundamental reform

The ongoing Jackson Health System saga has dominated headlines and budget line-items alike. Jackson is an important part of our community, and our leaders have a duty to ensure Jackson not only survives, but thrives amid its current challenges.

Recently, the Miami-Dade legislative delegation held a meeting with Jackson Health System’s CEO, Carlos Migoya, and Jackson’s new governing body, the Financial Recovery Board, to discuss the state of affairs. We can all agree that Jackson’s current structure isn’t conducive for its long-term survival. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to have this discussion now when our actions can positively affect the outcome, instead of waiting until this window of opportunity has closed and the health of our most vulnerable residents is at risk.

A few months ago, Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa worked hard to establish a task force that provided several recommendations for Jackson. It’s no easy feat to put together the industry’s best and brightest to provide strategic input for a system like Jackson. However, before meaningful decisions could be reached, discussions appear to have ceased. Those involved cited a lack of community outrage as their main argument for cutting off these vital conversations.

It’s our responsibility as forward-thinking, elected leaders to foresee future challenges and correct them. This is the perfect opportunity for fundamental reform to take place, before our community is put at risk from a suffering healthcare system. The community has, in fact, demanded change in many areas of county government, and we should heed that outcry and improve through thoughtful reform.

Many public hospitals around our country such as those in Tampa and Boston have been able to have similar discussions and move forward with systems that make sense. Let’s step up to this conquerable challenge and continue the discussion.

Jeanette Nunez, state representative, District 112, Miami

Erik Fresen, state representative, District 111, Miami



Your support for Jackson Health System has paid off, but we can’t let up yet!

The Miami Herald reports that County commissioners have backed off on their plans to privatize Jackson Health System in response to the huge backlash from the public at recent town hall meetings.

You showed up and you spoke out for our public health system. This news is directly linked to your activism!

Our fight to keep Jackson public is not over yet as state legislators are likely to take up the issue of privatization in the near future. Let’s keep the pressure on our elected officials to say NO to privatizing Jackson. Read the full article below:

Sponsor says push to make Jackson Health System a nonprofit is dead

By John Dorschner
jdorschner@MiamiHerald.com

The months-long push by 20 Miami-Dade County healthcare leaders to convert Jackson Health System into a nonprofit entity free of county control is dead, at least for now, the movement’s chief sponsor said Wednesday.
Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, whose efforts created a task force to study the idea, said neither the County Commission nor the public appear to have an appetite for changing the way the financially troubled public hospitals are governed.

“I don’t see the votes,” she said Wednesday.

She said she would advocate that the commission pass some of the task force’s secondary recommendations — such as heightened ethical standards for Jackson’s board — but not the leading provision to convert it into a nonprofit.

“We have heard from the community,” she said. “They... do not support privatizing. They have made that loud and clear.”

Her statement likely ends a process that began in August 2010 when a Miami-Dade grand jury called Jackson a “colossal mess” and recommended that a panel be formed to change its governing structure so county commissioners couldn’t meddle in its operations.

For months, commissioners balked at considering the proposal that they should relinquish control, but in January Sosa mustered enough support to win commission approval for a task force to study the issue, though some warned that the result would be much talk and no action.

The Jackson task force consisted of six hospital chief executives, University of Miami President Donna Shalala, grand jury prosecutor Susan Dechovitz and former State Rep. Juan C. Zapata, who was named chairman.

In May, 18 of its 20 members signed a report urging the commission set “an aggressive timetable” to establish a nonprofit with an independent board that was nimble and nonpolitical so tough decisions could be made at Jackson, which has lost more than $400 million the past three years.

The commission responded by setting up a series of town hall meetings, all of which were dominated by Jackson union members decrying the “privatizing” of the public hospitals. Sosa complained at the time that the unions were turning the meetings into “a circus” that prevented calm discussion.

Task force member Steven Marcus, president of the Health Foundation of South Florida, complained the town halls were “completely geared to support the union point of view.” He noted two of the meetings were at Jackson North, “where employees had to just walk in to the auditorium,” rather than located in places more accessible to the general public.

Union leader Martha Baker and others raised questions about whether a nonprofit could continue to receive county tax money and have sovereign immunity to protect its employees from malpractice lawsuits, as the present public entity has.

After a North Miami-Dade town hall in July, Commissioner Sally Heyman said she did not believe she and colleagues had meddled in Jackson affairs: “I just don’t see it.”

Many other commissioners agreed with her.

Commissioner Joe Martinez deflated some of the criticism of the grand jury report in May by pushing through a new, smaller governing board of seven members and in July requiring a two-thirds vote of the county commission to overturn decisions of the Jackson board. On Wednesday, Zapata, the task force chair, said he agreed with Sosa that the nonprofit push had no chance now. “The votes aren’t there. At the end of the day, it was a healthy exercise... It would have taken some serious political courage to implement all of the recommendations.”

He commended Sosa for “at least starting the conversation.” With healthcare reform and stiff competition from other hospitals, many changes are ahead for Jackson, he noted, adding that support to change Jackson into a nonprofit may revive at some point.

Sosa said late Wednesday that she’s willing to push the nonprofit concept in the future. “My door is open, and I’m coming back if Jackson does not improve. I am in a wait-and-see mode.”

Sosa’s pronouncement Wednesday came several hours after two Republican Miami-Dade state legislators told Jackson’s governing board that it should pursue changes in governance. “I feel very strongly we need to have that governance structure discussion on the table,” said Rep. Jeanette Nuñez.

“If we wait for the county to kick-start that conversation, we’ll be sitting here until we’re 100 years old,” said Rep. Erik Fresen. “Let’s force them into that conversation.”

September 15, 2011

About 50 community leaders met on Sept. 13^th to form the new Save Jackson Community Task Force, a coalition dedicated to finding solutions to preserving Jackson Health System and ensuring that our health care institution doesn’t cut services and remains in the public’s hands.

Elected officials, labor leaders, human rights advocates, healthcare professionals, educators, political activists and pastors were among the diverse group who came together to discuss ideas and methods to garner community support for our Save Jackson campaign.

One of the biggest concerns among the group was that information regarding the ongoing efforts to privatize Jackson is not being communicated enough to the general public. Task force members agreed to share information about our Save Jackson campaign among their own networks and set up meetings where community members can learn more about our campaign.

Here’s a recap of some topics discussed at the meeting:

• Providing more grassroots education.
• Connecting with voters and ensure they are educated on privatization efforts that will ultimately cut servces to the public.
• Hosting interfaith meetings and developing strategies among various groups
• Reaching out to the business community.

The task force is off to a great start! We will keep you posted as the group progresses.



After eight town hall meetings throughout Miami Dade County, feedback from the public is clear: not ONE person is asking commissioners to privatize Jackson Health System.

“Not a single person at these town hall meetings has asked you to change Jackson from public to private,”Martha Baker, RN, representing the nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals at Jackson Health System,  told Commissioner Bruno Barreiro during the final town hall meeting on Aug. 17th. “Fall back on what the people want you to do and you can’t go wrong. We need you to be accountable.”

Residents shared their stories of how Jackson changed their lives due to the quality care they received there – despite not having health insurance.

Anna Kleinholtz said her son almost lost his fingers in a motor scooter accident, but because of Jackson he was able to receive the care he needed and now has full use of his hand. The accident happened while she was between jobs and without health insurance.

“People are very fearful, very concerned about Jackson becoming private,” she said. “Most people I know in the community think that as soon as you privatize Jackson, all kinds of restrictions will come into effect. You’ll look at Jackson as a business as opposed to helping the community.”

Commissioner Barreiro said he will continue to study the final report presented by the Hospital Governance Taskforce, which recommended privatizing Jackson, but said the hospital’s current model is not sustainable. “Costs continue to go up and the funding is not there,” he said. “Something has to change. Either we make it a 100 percent public as another county department or we have a separate governing body deal with it. The current model is not working.”

Baker, the sole dissenting opinion on the Hospital Governance Task Force, said governance is not the source of Jackson’s problems. “We agree Jackson needs to be run better,” she said. “But it’s the operational efficiencies that need to be improved. Keep the public hospital of 92 years in the public’s hands."

Community members and Jackson employees voiced their concerns about proposed changes to Jackson’s governance structure, which could ultimately cut care for patients.

“I’m very concerned with our ability to provide the same standard of care for everyone in the community,” said Dr. David Woolsey, who has worked at Jackson for the past 25 years. “We wouldn’t be able to do what we do now as a private hospital. The community is hurting and a lot of people depend on Jackson for care.”

He said as a public entity, Jackson’s nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals work as “public servants.” “We move mountains for patients,” he said. “You can’t get that from a private, non-profit contract.”

Jackson currently provides $700 million in charity care, but only receives $350 million in public funding. Woolsey said a private, non-profit hospital is only concerned with the “bottom line” and would have no obligation to provide care beyond what it receives in public funding – as Jackson does now.

“Who will provide the other $350 million in care?” Woolsey asked. “Where will my patients go?”

At the meeting, Sosa suggested that Jackson employees were mainly concerned about the hospital’s future because of their paychecks. “I see you’re facing a real problem. This is your bread-and-butter … your livelihood.”

President Martha Baker, RN, called Sosa’s comments “insulting.” “We can get jobs anywhere,” Baker said. “We care about Jackson because we love our hospital and we love our patients.”

Debra Diaz, CRNA, said, “I’m not worried about my pay check or my retirement. I’m worried about my patients. My colleagues and I give our heart and soul to the Jackson community.”

Baker, the sole dissenting member on the 20-member task force, said the task force’s recommendations were dangerous for Jackson’s future because it gives too much power to an unknown board that could make devastating changes to our hospital – with no public accountability.

“We are giving away the keys to Jackson,” she said. “They could have the power to close Jackson South, close Jackson North, cut services – and with no public input. We should be working toward a primary-care driven model that is more cost-efficient – without giving away the keys.”

Aug. 16th, 2011

At the Aug. 15 town hall meeting hosted by Commissioner Jean Monestime, he pledged his support of Jackson Health System. “My priority is to keep the hospital’s mission the same,” he said. “I’m not in support of privatizing Jackson.

At the meeting, President Martha Baker, RN, who was the sole dissenting member on the Hospital Governance Taskforce that recommended privatizing Jackson, said our safety-net hospital should be fixed operationally and that there is no need to change the hospital’s governance structure.

Community members have been attending the townhall meetings urging elected officials to keep Jackson public!

Community members packed a Jackson North auditorium to hear about the Hospital Governance Taskforce’s recommendation to privatize Jackson during an Aug. 3rd townhall meeting hosted by Commissioner Sally Heyman. Nearly all spoke out against the task force’s recommendations.

“How will our community have some kind of guarantee that they’ll receive the level of care they are receiving now?” Minerva Albright, RN, a Jackson employee, asked taskforce members after they presented their recommendations to change Jackson’s governance structure. Albright pointed out that Jackson currently gives out about $700 million in charity care each year and those services may be jeopardized if Jackson is taken out of the public’s hands.

President Martha Baker, RN, the sole dissenting member on the 20-member Hospital Governance Task Force established by Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, drew attention to one crucial recommendation (#15). It states that Jackson’s proposed new governing board would have the authority to make several decisions that could drastically alter Jackson, but without any public input, including:

• Making decisions regarding growth or reduction of medical services
• Developing and establishing policies
• Establishing by-laws
• and more…

To see the Task Force’s 18 recommendations, click here.

“How can we have any accountability?” Baker said. “The public will have nothing to do with it.”

Task Force member Steven Marcus, who is President and CEO of the Health Foundation of South Florida, supported the recommendations and said Jackson’s “governance is in shambles.”

Baker countered that Jackson’s operations must be fixed – not its governance structure. “Governance and operations are two separate things,” she said.

Community-based physician Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger said that privatizing Jackson could mean risking his patients’ lives. He said Jackson is special because “there is no white, black, rich or poor” as far patients, he said. “Only care for people who need it.”

Dr. Wollschlaeger said many of his patients are good, hardworking people who can’t afford healthcare. When his patients are suffering from liver or breast cancer, he knows he can send them to Jackson to receive the care they need.

“Jackson is an option that I need as a community-based physician,” he said. “If you privatize Jackson, it will be a death blow for people in need. This is our lifeline to care. What will I tell my patients, go home and die?”

July 29, 2011
Several community members spoke out at a townhall meeting hosted by Commissioner Audrey Edmonson at Joseph Caleb Center on July 28th. After county officials presented recommendations from the Hospital Governance Taskforce, members spoke to Edmonson about the need to keep Jackson a public hospital that can serve the needs of Miami-Dade County residents, as it has for the past 92 years. "I'm speaking on behalf of my patients," said Jackson employee Maggie Pena, BSW. "Keep Jackson as their home, the way it is right now, so they can get the care that they need."

July 18, 2011

Miami Dade County Commissioners will be hosting town hall meetings in their districts to discuss the future of Jackson Health System!

Come to the meetings and invite your neighbors! Our community needs to show support for our public hospital! 

These events are part of a series of meetings throughout Miami-Dade’s 13 districts where commissioners will be hearing from Commissioner Rebeca Sosa’s Hospital Governance Taskforce and their recommendation to PRIVATIZE JACKSON. For a list of upcoming meetings, click here!

June 16, 2011
Economist J. Antonio Villamil, a former U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, presented a research report today on governance options for Jackson Health System.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REPORT.
“There is no governance structure that directly determines the effectiveness of a healthy system,” according to his report. “There can be no rush to judgment when implementing changes to best assure Jackson’s survival and long-term
viability.”

The governance structure of Jackson has been vigorously debated recently and is an issue soon to come before the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. 

READ MORE...

3/5/11 -- As we celebrate Nurse/Hospital Week, what better time to show our support for Jackson Health System? Join us on Friday, May 6th, for “Hands Around Jackson,” where we as a community will join hands to form a circle of solidarity around Jackson Memorial Hospital. SEIU Local 1991 will be providing lunch to show appreciation for the nurses, doctors and other healthcare  professionals who make Jackson truly special with the excellent healthcare we deliver each day. Read More

4/25/11

The event will feature mayoral candidates, elected officials and community leaders who will discuss issues facing Jackson Health System and answer questions about possible solutions for saving our ailing public hospital.

For more information, click here!

April 14, 2011
Carlos Migoya was picked Wednesday night to become the next chief executive of the financially troubled Jackson Health System. Read More

4/13/11

Three finalists will be interviewed by Jackson Health System's governing board on Wednesday to become head of our public hospital. 

Read more here.

4/12/11
Our Save Jackson Campaign was presented to the Miami Springs City Council during their meeting on Tuesday, April 12th. Several Jackson employees attended the meeting wearing Save Jackson t-shirts! 

4/8/11
Our Save Jackson volunteers attended the annual Springs River Festival on April 8th to April 10th in Miami Springs. More than 500 Save Jackson pledge cards were collected during the event as we continue to build community support for our campaign! 

4/6/11

We are urging our political and community leaders to declare their support for Jackson by signing the "Five Point Pledge." The list of names continue to grow as we build our "Save Jackson Honor Roll." To see the complete list of leaders who have signed the Five-Point Pledge, click here. 

Jackson’s nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals have offered to sacrifice $36 million more of their income on top of the $106 million they gave last year as long as there is a guarantee the money will be spent directly on patient care. Titled the Public Protection Plan, the proposal presented to Jackson’s management at the bargaining table today requires that the financial sacrifice from Jackson’s healthcare workers be used to benefit patients, while at the same time assure Jackson becomes efficient and sustainable. 

“We are giving our hard earned dollars to patients, not politicians,” said Martha Baker, RN, the president and chief negotiator for SEIU Local 1991.  “We gave $106 million last year and what has changed?  We are taking money from our families to save Jackson, but we are no longer going let our money be used to cover up inefficient operations.  Quality patient care equals efficient patient care.  Our patients must come first!”

The Public Protection Plan calls for using the $36 million to:

1. Open clinics in underserved areas (to provide better patient care and cut down on more costly ER visits
2. Reduce ER wait times
3. Reduce clinic wait times
4. Keep Ryder Trauma Center open
5. Require a fair Annual Operating Agreement with the University of Miami
6. Keep the Burn Center open
7. Keep Emergency Room open

…and more

If the money is used to cover up bureaucratic mistakes or mismanagement, the Public Protection Plan calls for it to get returned to the nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals.

Additionally, the union proposal calls for the return of the money to the healthcare givers if Jackson Health System is taken away from the public and given to a private corporation or if a new governance scheme is put in place that allows Jackson to operate outside the Florida Sunshine laws, without full transparency.

“This is a novel approach.  We are willing to help Jackson, but with strings attached.  Our sacrifice must help build a sustainable system and must protect patient care,” said Baker.

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT YOUR COMMISSIONER!
TELL THEM TO KEEP JACKSON PUBLIC!