I’m not getting all this fuss to stop a sugar tax that we all know is a good idea. Mayor Nutter’s proposal to tax sweet drinks is a progressive response to both a fiscal and a health problem. I understand the jobs issue is a concern, but people will continue to want their sugar fix. Manufacturers and bottlers are not going out of business anytime soon. Come on… one thing we know from cigarettes is that people will pay for their vices. The bigger issue is that the average consumer is unaware of just how much sugar they are ingesting everyday. In fact, thanks to the “low-fat” craze of the early 90’s, there is a misperception that sugar is okay that fat is not. Not exactly.

In Camden, the great work of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers has been highlighted in the media for its ability to create cooperatives among the City’s healthcare leaders. One of their many projects concern diabetes and its impact on area residents. The Camden Citywide Diabetes Collaborative aims to improve the coordination of care for persons with diabetes. This includes improving self-care. Self-care includes education and that means reminding people that those sports drinks will not make you an athlete and massive, super-sized sodas is not a bargain in the end. At Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, where I work, we have been working with Dr. Jeff Brenner on this and other Coalition activities. We helped develop abillboard  (oll216_billboard_lo FINAL)that resided in the heart of Camden, on Federal Street, to bring attention to the issue. The Board, donated by PNC Bank, is just a step. But over here in Philadelphia, where I live, I’m a little disheartened by the reluctance of City Council to champion a cause that will certainly help to relieve the perfect storm of fiscal difficulties our city is facing.

But I also have a selfish reason to support the sweet drink tax. I give you Exhibit A: a typical clean up from the trash that makes its way to my house. Notice the soda bottles, coffee stirrers, cupcake wrappers, etc. I live on the unfortunate side of my block. That is the side that captures all of the trash that blows up on a windy day. I also live on the path between two schools. Exhibit B gives you an idea of what the kids are eating these days. I don’t mind sweeping my pavement, but it is depressing to see the amount of trash kids (and grownups) are eating and tossing. I cannot help but see the relationship between mental and physical health, between the well-being of an individual and the well-being of a community. I don’t think a tax on sugar is going to stop this overnight, but it might cause a few to stop and consider what they are putting into their body. It’s a start.

Dear Lourdes Supporter:

At the State House in Trenton, Catholic Health East New Jersey recently cast a spotlight on the Faces of the Uninsured.  With the support of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Joseph F. Vitale, we hosted a photo exhibit that profiled some of our patients who struggle to maintain their health without medical coverage.  We did so to emphasize the vital importance of the partnership that must be sustained between health-care providers and the State if we are to continue delivering the care our patients need, regardless of their ability to pay.

The portraits of our patients should look familiar to all New Jerseyans.  They are our neighbors, our friends, our family members.  They hail from all over our state, facing cancer, diabetes, and other serious illnesses with no health insurance.  We called upon our state legislators to remember these faces and all who have lost their jobs and health insurance in this economic downturn.

With our Franciscan roots, the hospitals of Catholic Health East New Jersey have always been committed to delivering the best in compassionate care, with a special focus on those in greatest need.  However, we cannot do it alone.

We are the state’s largest faith-based hospital system, and our mission touches many, many lives.  This year, our hospitals will report more than 50,000 admissions, 155,000 emergency department visits, and 400,000 outpatient and same-day procedures.  And together we will provide more than $86.2 million in charity care services, providing top-quality care to many people who do not have medical coverage and who — because of age or income — do not qualify for government programs.

But statistics are impersonal.  They can tell you the scope of an issue — they can’t show you its face.  Take a few minutes to look closely at the Faces on the Uninsured — portraits that capture the dignity of each individual.  

We cannot let a woman whose breast cancer has returned die because she lost her job and health insurance.  We cannot turn away young people with juvenile diabetes because they work as freelancers and have no medical coverage.  And we cannot let a lack of health coverage prevent a young athlete with a fractured ankle from receiving the expert treatment that will allow her to compete again.

The reality, of course, is that our continued ability to pursue our charitable mission remains largely dependent on our collaborative partnership with the State.

Our role in this partnership is to develop and implement innovative, cost-effective ways to provide the care New Jerseyans need and deserve.  And our hospitals are doing just that — in Newark, Trenton, Willingboro, and Camden.  For example, you can see that commitment in our new PACE programs — Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly; in our efforts to promote the efficiency and convenience of tele-medicine; and in our participation in a coalition to address the needs of diabetics in Greater Camden.

The State’s role in this health-care partnership is an essential one.  Faith-based or secular, New Jersey hospitals all depend on the State to support our delivery of top-quality care by adequately funding Medicaid, medical education, charity care, and other programs that help ensure access to care for all in need. 

On behalf of the men, women, and children we serve, we urge our legislators and Governor Corzine to recognize the tremendous importance of upholding the State’s end of the partnership.  

Will hospitals receive the support they need to continue delivering care to every New Jerseyan, regardless of his or her ability to pay?  We are counting on our partners in Trenton to remember the Faces of the Uninsured when they answer that question.

A Message from Alexander J. Hatala, President and CEO, Lourdes Health System.

Dear Lourdes Supporter:

I recently had the opportunity to provide testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on the Governor’s proposed budget and its impact on our hospitals and services in Camden and Burlington counties.  I do not envy the Governor and the members of the Legislature who are faced with the very difficult task of cutting hundreds of millions in spending from our state budget.

In fact, recognizing the extraordinary and dire fiscal times in which we now find ourselves, I have volunteered my time and resources by joining Governor Jon Corzine’s “Financial Restructuring and Debt Reduction Steering Committee.”  I believe that until New Jersey gets its fiscal house in order and restores certainty and reliability to the state budget; non-profits such as Lourdes Health System will continue to be at the mercy of the fiscal roller coaster that has become the norm and which threatens programs from year to year.  I further believe that nothing does more damage to the programs and services of well-intentioned non-profits and the citizens we serve than the “on-again, off-again” fiscal spigot that has come to epitomize Trenton.

This year’s state budget cuts proposed by the Governor have the potential to inflict pain and suffering on a great number of our citizens.  In no arena is that possibility more evident than in the budget cuts proposed for the state’s hospitals.  The cuts to charity care, which provides partial state reimbursement for medical services delivered to the working poor who are without health insurance, will be particularly difficult for Lourdes and many of our struggling state hospitals to absorb.

In my testimony, I asked Legislators to consider rewriting the state’s charity care formula to restore a measure of fairness in the distribution of these limited funds. Under the current charity care formula, some hospitals, designated as so-called “Safety Net Hospitals,” in urban areas receive 96 cents for every dollar of charity care they dispense.  Others, in the very same city and often just blocks away, get a little more than 40 cents for treating the very same patients.  Lourdes is in the latter category.

In rewriting the Charity Care formula, I recommended to Legislators that they create “Safety Net Zones” rather than Safety Net facilities, as called for in the current formula. I asked them not to favor hospitals which are in direct competition with one another by arbitrarily creating a state designation for one and not the others.  In short, I said they should “protect the patient rather than the facility.”

Now we at Lourdes need your help to get our message across to all legislators!  In the days and weeks ahead we will be asking you to join our “Protect the Patient Campaign” and contact key legislators to let them know that you support our effort to create new “Safety Net Zones” in an updated charity care formula.  I know that you will take the time to make this important new campaign a success.

Please check this page often for instructions on how you can help.