The Prince George’s Hospital system is currently accepting bids from private health systems to take over the publicly-operated system. A change in ownership could negatively impact quality of care and result in a reduction of services available to patients. We want to ensure that residents continue to have access to a full range of service currently available.

The Prince George’s Hospital system includes Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Laurel Regional Hospital, the Bowie Health Campus and two nursing homes.

The ACLU-NCA has formed a coalition of community organizations to ensure that any private provider who buys the system will be obligated to provide the same types of medical services. The Keep our Care Coalition includes (list in formation; more are joining)

• ACLU of the National Capital Area (now ACLLU of the Nation's Capital)
• The Women's Law Center of Maryland--Prince George's
• MergerWatch--Prince George's
• American United for Separation of Church and State
• Equality Maryland
• NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland--Prince George's
• ACLU of Maryland

Two kinds of medical services are of particular concern:

· Indigent care. In order to lower costs and improve the system’s troubled financial situation, a private hospital system may alter existing Prince George’s County policies on free care for patients who are uninsured. That could mean restrictions on what services are provided to indigent patients and could change the rules about which patients are eligible for free care.

· A takeover by a religion-affiliated provider could lead to the elimination of healthcare services relied upon by residents of Prince George’s County. Many Catholic-affiliated hospital networks are run according to the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which places specific restrictions on the types of services offered.
What type of services could be affected?

In other locations, Catholic-affiliated hospitals have placed restrictions on

1) Counseling patients on the use of condoms to prevent the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections;
2) Access to family planning and abortion services and elective surgical sterilization procedures;
3) Providing emergency contraception;
4) Infertility treatments and some methods of testing for infertility;
5) Referrals to clinical trials that would require participants to take birth control;
6) Patients' ability to direct their end-of-life care.

At least one instance of a pharmacist refusing to provide contraception to a couple not yet married because his religion did not approve of sex before marriage has also been reported (the pharmacist's religion was not noted).

All these services are currently being provided. We need your help to make sure these services continue being available to Prince George's residents.

TOOLS TO PROTECT OUR CARE

NOW: SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION

To sign an Online Petition to be sent to the Prince George's Hospital Authority, the entity conducting the sale of the P.G. hospital sysem,
please click here.

Please tell your family, friends, colleagues in Prince George's about the online petition, and direct them to the website.

For Talking Points on the petition, please click here.

To print out a Petition (in English) that you can encourage others to sign, please click here.

For a Spanish language Petition please click here.

We have prepared a two-sided Color Flier, made so it will print back-to-back. This master original has two of the half-page fliers so two print on a regular letter-sized (8.5" by 11") sheet of paper. For side 1,please click here. For side 2, please click here.

For a One Sheet Hand-Out with a longer explanation and the 5 logos of the original coalition members, in black-and-white with two pages, which can be printed back-to-back, please click here.

For More Information, please contact
The ACLU of the Nation's Capital 
(202) 457-0800
Beverly on ext.121
 

NEXT STEPS, RESOURCES

TODAY: WRITE TO Defend Our Care

Send a letter voicing your concern to
Kenneth Glover, Chairman
Prince George's County Hospital Authority
PO Box 6779
Largo, MD 20792

Oct. 14: FORUM AND RALLY--Keep Our Care

Tuesday, October 14th, 6pm, Prince George’s Community College, 301 Largo Rd, Queen Anne Auditorium, for the Keep Our Care forum and rally to educate, motivate and activate. Show the decision-makers Prince George's residents do not want our care cut!

The forum was moderated by Jennifer Donolan from News Channel 7 and included panelists covering the issue of the sale itself and the impact on the community if there is a reduction in the services related to reproductive healthcare and HIV/AIDS. There were also representatives on hand and available to chat with audience members one on one about any special concerns, such as rape crises and compassionate care/end of life directives, among others. The program began with the forum, and ended with a rally.

For the Facebook entry (you'll have to log in) on the Keep Our Care Forum and Rally please click here. For the Facebook entry on the Keep Our Care Coalition please click here.For a video from a Hospital Authority hearing, posted on YouTube, please click here.