For Immediate Release: May 3, 2005

For More Information Contact:

Tony J. Gregory

Vice President, Legislative Affairs

West Virginia Hospital Association

304/344-9744

Fax: 304/344-9745

tgregory@wvha.org

NATIONAL HOSPITAL WEEK RECOGNIZED MAY 8-14, 2005

CHARLESTON, WV – National Hospital Week will be recognized across America the week of May 8-14. The Week is sponsored nationally by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and recognized locally by the West Virginia Hospital Association (WVHA). During the Week, West Virginia’s 72 hospitals and health systems each year commemorate the importance of their workforce and celebrate commitment to their communities. This year’s theme is A Calling to Care, and will be a time to express appreciation for the people, facilities and technologies that make healthcare possible in communities all across West Virginia. National Hospital Week organizers put the focus on the faces of healthcare this week, selecting the people-centered slogan.

“Helping others is a calling,” said Steven Summer, President and CEO of the WVHA.

“The more than 36,000 compassionate caregivers working in hospitals statewide answer that call and they are making a difference in communities all across the state. Healthcare provides a unique opportunity to bring help and hope to those in need, especially the elderly, poor, disabled and children who rely on the state’s Medicaid program for their healthcare needs.”

Summer noted, “National Hospital Week comes at a time when the state has decided to move forward with a fiscal year 2006 budget that funds Medicaid at a level less than required to maintain the same level of services currently being provided by the program. As a result of approximately $30 million in under funding, the state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) is considering cuts to programs and services offered by Medicaid that will cause lasting damage not only to hospitals but also to patient care, local communities

and the state’s economy and would have serious repercussions – directly and indirectly – for all West Virginians.”

Summer added that as a result of potential cuts, working but poor West Virginians who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance will have reduced access to healthcare; local and state economies will suffer and all West Virginians will feel the impact in the form of higher health insurance premiums and reduced access to healthcare. Moreover, cuts merely shift the cost of care to private employers and ultimately create more uninsured people.

“While cutting $30 million in state funding may be good fiscal policy, the fact that it will cut more than $120 million in actual services provided by the program raises question about whether it is good social policy,” said Summer. “Simply cutting provider payments to hospitals, for example, does not represent a rational approach towards effective management of the Medicaid program nor a reasonable method of dealing with the increasing cost to the state of the Medicaid budget. Moreover, putting this burden on providers and Medicaid recipients at this time leaves little opportunity to develop a thoughtful plan of action.”

“Healthcare in West Virginia is evolving and our hospitals are committed to being part of the progress to keep West Virginia “Open for Business.” As we all work to put the state on the path of meaningful and thoughtful reform, during National Hospital Week and every week for that matter, we should not lose sight of the more than 36,000 compassionate caregivers celebrating new life and restoring hope and health in hospitals -- the largest component of our state’s healthcare system.”

National Hospital Week began in 1921 when a magazine editor suggested that more information about hospitals might alleviate public fears about them. National Hospital Week became official when Calvin Coolidge issued a presidential proclamation in the late 1920s. Since that time, the AHA and its affiliated state hospital associations have carried on the tradition of recognizing hospital employees for one special week each year. National Hospital Week has since become the nation’s largest annual healthcare event, recognizing the work of hospitals and promoting greater awareness in the community through public tours, activities and educational programs.

The WVHA, an association for hospitals and health systems, is a not-for-profit statewide organization representing 72 acute and specialty hospitals and health systems across the continuum of care. The WVHA supports its members in achieving a strong, healthy West Virginia by providing leadership in healthcare advocacy, education, information and technical assistance, and by being a catalyst for effective change through collaboration, consensus building and a focus on desired outcomes.