• Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

newsMilwaukee NNSMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University

You are here: Home / Community Voices / Save services at St. Joseph’s Hospital

Save services at St. Joseph’s Hospital

April 11, 2018 by George Hinton, Social Development Commission 2 Comments

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

(Photo by Sue Vliet)

George Hinton, chief executive officer of the Milwaukee-based Social Development Commission, writes that Ascension Wisconsin’s plan to cut medical services at St. Joseph’s Hospital will harm people who need health care the most.

As CEO of Milwaukee County’s community action agency, an advocate for people living in poverty, I cannot sit in silence as nonprofit health care systems like Ascension Wisconsin abandon people who need health care the most.

Last week, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article revealed Ascension Wisconsin’s plan to cut critical medical services at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Sherman Park. Now, there is additional reason for concern. Ald. Bob Donovan announced that Ascension Wisconsin may downsize services at St. Francis Hospital on the city’s South Side.

This action will hurt people who experience poverty and anyone else looking for health care in the impacted communities.

Ascension Wisconsin’s reduction of medical service will affect all Milwaukee residents. Health care cuts with no collaboration among other health care systems could create a crisis in our community.

If other systems follow Ascension Wisconsin’s lead, restrict access to patients or eliminate beds, we could see patients sitting in hallways, waiting for beds as a worse-case scenario.

We recognize the fact that it is challenging to provide health care for people unable to fully pay for services. However, hospital systems strategically select the communities they serve. Profitable services are often placed in affluent communities where people do have the right insurance to pay for service. In other words, hospitals move where the money is. This flexibility also gives systems the ability to support hospitals in lower-income areas.

There is an obligation to support basic health care needs with inpatient and outpatient services.

Not-for-profit hospital systems are obligated to provide appropriate safety nets for all populations in the community.

This is the true spirit of a not-for-profit organization. They don’t pay taxes.

Every move like this undermines stability in our communities. In addition to a lack of health care, this action frequently comes with job cuts — many are family-sustaining jobs.

All health care systems that make money from our community must think carefully about how they treat those with fewer resources.

Since we don’t have socialized health care in this country, this is everyone’s responsibility.

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Community Voices

Avatar

About George Hinton, Social Development Commission

Comments

  1. AvatarFrank Martinelli says

    April 11, 2018 at 7:08 pm

    Thank you to George Hinton and to SDC for taking leadership on this critical issue. Neighborhoods without accessible quality healthcare are not sustainable. If ever there was a time for advocacy on the part of community based nonprofits serving children and families in Milwaukee, this is it! Engaging in advocacy IS NOT mission drift – in this instance, it’s a powerful way to advance the missions of any nonprofit organization committed to the well-being of children and families and the strengthening of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods. And the law is very clear on this: advocacy is an allowable activity for tax exempt nonprofits. Let’s hope that they join the effort that SDC has begun!

    Reply
  2. AvatarAnonymous says

    April 12, 2018 at 6:11 pm

    This closure makes me so sad and plain angry. People in this community will DIE because of the changes. It takes a long time to transfer critically ill patients to other Milwaukee hospitals to receive the care they need. So as they close all medical services people will be impacted. Furthermore, patents will die alone because of this. It takes at least 40 minutes from St. Joe’s on the bus to get to surrounding hospitals, this will greatly impact how family will be able to visit their loved ones. Ascension’s mission is published on their website as follows ” Mission
    Rooted in the loving ministry of Jesus as healer, we commit ourselves to serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Our Catholic health ministry is dedicated to spiritually-centered, holistic care which sustains and improves the health of individuals and communities. We are advocates for a compassionate and just society through our actions and our words”. This move is directly in discord with their mission and their first value which is “Service of the poor: Generosity of spirit, especially for persons most in need”. I don’t believe anyone making these decisions can say that they are following anything except the money trail.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Top Stories

Advertisement

How To …

What you need to know now about mail-in voting in Wisconsin

6 helpful tips on mail-in voting to ensure that your vote is counted and your voice is heard in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election this November.

More "How To" articles

Advertisement

Recommended Reading

A Vaccine Reality Check

The Atlantic

UWM study on the state of Black Milwaukee describes the city as ‘the epitome of a 21st century racial regime’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland

The New York Times

These mayors want to fight Covid-19 and the recession with one big idea: A guaranteed income

Vox

The World John Lewis Helped Create

The Atlantic

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Videos
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect Radio

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Internship opportunities
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in