WASHINGTON, DC- Following the announcement that the board of Shriners Hospitals for Children will consider a proposal to close six hospitals at its upcoming national convention, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today sent a letter to Ralph Semb, the board chairman, asking him to work collaboratively to prevent the closure of the Shriners Hospital for Children in Erie.
“As you know, for over 80 years, the Erie Shriners Hospital for Children has provided excellent medical care free-of-charge to children in a region stretching from Michigan to Pennsylvania,” wrote Senator Casey. “I commend the Shriners for this history of commitment to our children’s well-being. However, I am concerned that closure of the Erie facility will jeopardize essential medical care for children who need it, but who cannot otherwise afford it.”
Senator Casey went on to recognize that the current economic downturn contributed to the proposal to close the six hospitals. He wrote, “I appreciate the fiscal challenges that today’s economic climate presents. Yet I would like to offer my office’s continued assistance in exploring alternative solutions to closing the Erie facility.”
Also in the letter, Senator Casey pledges to work closely with his colleagues in the Senate from neighboring states whose constituents would be affected by the potential closure of the Erie Shriners Hospital for Children.
The Erie Shriners Hospital is a completely free hospital for children under the age of 18. The Hospital, which opened in 1927, is a part of a national system of 22 hospitals. The Erie facility specializes in orthopedic care. Erie-area residents are not the only ones who benefit from the care received at the hospital. The region that the hospital covers expands as far west as Detroit, as far south as West Virginia, and east towards State College. Currently, the Erie Hospital has 130 beds and employs 132. The hospital typically treats between 4,500 and 5,000 children yearly for orthopedic care. In 2008 the hospital had 728 inpatient discharges and 11,401 outpatient encounters.
Full text of the letter is below.
Dear Chairman Semb,
It is my understanding that delegates to the upcoming Shriners National Convention will consider a proposal to close six of the Shriners Hospitals for Children, including one in Erie, Pennsylvania. The purpose of this letter is to request that you keep the doors of the Erie Shriners Hospital open and to offer my office’s assistance in helping make that possible.
As you know, for over 80 years, the Erie Shriners Hospital for Children has provided excellent medical care free-of-charge to children in a region stretching from Michigan to Pennsylvania. I commend the Shriners for this history of commitment to our children’s well-being. However, I am concerned that closure of the Erie facility will jeopardize essential medical care for children who need it, but who cannot otherwise afford it.
My staff has been in contact several times with the Erie Shriners’ administrators, who state that this difficult decision results from the realities of the current economic downtown. I appreciate the fiscal challenges that today’s economic climate presents. Yet I would like to offer my office’s continued assistance in exploring alternative solutions to closing the Erie facility. In the coming days, I will also be reaching out to my Senate colleagues in neighboring states whose constituents will be affected by this decision. As part of that process, I would like to expand the discussions we have had with Erie Shriners officials to include officials at your international headquarters to explore what steps we can take to keep the Erie Shriners Hospital open. I would also request that you put off any final decision at your July convention to allow adequate time for discussion of alternatives.
If you would like to discuss the matter further, please have your staff contact my northwest Pennsylvania Field Representative, Kyle Hannon, at (814) 874-5080. Thank you for all that the Shriners have done for children for generations and for your consideration of this request to help continue that tradition in Erie.
Sincerely,
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator
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