For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Lauren Stokes
734-712-4033
stokesle@trinity-health.org
Health Care Reform Town Hall Slated for Oct. 30
Business and health care leaders encourage community to discuss needed health care reform
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (October 22, 2008) – Health care reform is a popular topic today because Americans are feeling the strain of rising costs in a weakened economy. As Americans are being asked to pay more of their health care costs, they are wondering aloud if there might be a better way to deliver high-quality, high-value health care. The presidential candidates can’t escape these questions and our nation’s leaders are being challenged to sit down and work out solutions.
In an effort to bring perspective to this timely and relevant issue, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System is hosting a Town Hall event on Thursday, Oct. 30 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital’s Education Center in Ypsilanti. The timing leads directly into the November 4th general election, however the event will focus only on the issues of health care and not candidates. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the town hall will begin at 6 p.m. A reception will begin immediately after the town hall meeting.
Moderating this event is Paula Gardner, editor of the Ann Arbor Business Review. Panelists include Representative Kathy Angerer, chair of the State of Michigan’s health policy committee, Dr. Lakshmi Halasyamani, Saint Joseph Mercy Health System vice president of quality and system improvement, Dr. Brent Williams, medical director of the clinic at the Delonis Center in Ann Arbor and Ed Wolking from the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Among the many health system leaders in attendance will be Joe Swedish, president and CEO of Trinity Health and Garry Faja, president and CEO of Saint Joseph Mercy Health System.
“As a nation that has been to the moon and back, certainly we can find a way to reform health care in America. It's going to take important community dialogues like this one to build the necessary momentum for health care reform,” says Faja. “Health care reform will certainly not happen overnight, but if we work together, we can and will find a way. We are looking forward to a lively discussion with our esteemed panelists.”
Trinity Health and each of its ministry organizations, like Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, are working to keep health reform at the top of the priority list for all elected officials.
“Trinity Health is uniquely qualified to be a leader in health care reform discussions. We know that health care delivery in our nation can, and must, be improved,” explains Swedish. “We believe it must be reformed in a way that provides quality, affordable health coverage for all people in an efficient system of care. We are urging health care providers, business leaders, consumers, and elected officials to find a way to reform our nation’s health care system.”
Swedish adds, “The community’s engagement in these type of conversations can be a powerful tool for health care reform.”
For inquiries about the town hall, please contact the Saint Joseph Mercy Health System Office of Development at 734-712-4040. For more information about Trinity Health’s Find A Way initiative, please visit: http://www.trinity-health.org and click on health care reform.
About Saint Joseph Mercy Health System
Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, a member of Trinity Health, is a health care organization serving Washtenaw, Livingston, Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, western Wayne and southwestern Oakland counties. It includes 537-bed St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, St. Joseph Mercy Saline Hospital with 74 beds, St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell with136 beds and St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Livonia with 304 beds. Combined, the four hospitals are licensed for 1,051 beds, employ more than 8,400 individuals and have a medical staff of nearly 1,500 physicians.
Satellite sites include three Brighton facilities: Saint Joseph Mercy Woodland Health Center and Urgent Care, Saint Joseph Mercy Woodland Cancer Center; Saint Joseph Mercy Canton Health Center and Urgent Care; and Saint Joseph Mercy Maple Urgent Care in Ann Arbor.
For more information on health services offered at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, please visit www.sjmercyhealth.org.
About Trinity Health
Trinity Health is Michigan's leading health care provider and one of the state's largest employers, providing the full continuum of care for Michigan's residents, with 12 hospitals, nine nursing homes, 19 senior housing facilities, eight home health care agencies and four hospices serving 35 counties. More than 25,000 associates provide care to one in 11 Michigan residents. With a national headquarters in Novi, Trinity Health is an economic engine for the state with nearly $1.1 billion in payroll.
Trinity Health is a leader in quality and safety improvements with 90 percent of its clinical quality indicators above the mean. Trinity Health has pioneered a comprehensive health care IT initiative and has successfully launched electronic health record systems in 11 hospitals. Operationally, Trinity Health is reducing the cost of care through aggressive expense reduction, smarter purchasing and improvements in efficiency.
And as a Catholic-sponsored organization, Trinity Health is improving care for the poor and uninsured - spending nearly $142 million on programs for the poor and community outreach last year in Michigan.
Nationally, Trinity Health is the fourth-largest Catholic health care system with 44 acute-care hospitals, 379 outpatient facilities, 26 long-term care facilities, and numerous home health offices and hospice programs based in seven states. Employing 44,500 full-time staff, Trinity Health reported $6.3 billion in unrestricted revenue and $376.0 million in community benefits in fiscal year 2008. For more information about Trinity Health, visit www.trinity-health.org.