Coalition to save DC General Hospital Takes its Case to Court
by Chris Strohm

June 2001
Volume 38, No. 5

The fight to save the district's only public hospital continues as a court case moves forward and organizers call for a series of protests and events.

The struggle to save DC General Hospital is taking a new turn, as residents and groups gear up for an emergency court date in which they hope to win an injunction to stop the hospital from being privatized. Despite some corporate press accounts, the fight to save DC General is still on and a coalition of workers, community groups, clergy, council members and anti-corporate globalization activists remain committed as ever to saving the hospital from being closed.

"We still got momentum, we still got a shot," said Vanessa Dixon, an organizer with the Health Care Now Coalition and union representative at DC General. "I mean, this is the biggest thing in DC."

The law firm of LeBoeuf, Lam, Greene & MacRae, LLP, will present its case for an injunction June 8 in federal district court to stop the privatization.

Lawyer Carl Messineo says the legal team is seeking groups to participate in filing an amicus brief with the court. The Health Care Now Coalition is already on board and other groups are being sought that fall into the categories of doing community, healthcare, education and democracy work, Messineo said. He added that they want a decision from the court as soon as possible because "every day of delay means less hospital left."

The transition to privatize DC General has already begun, as the hospital has stopped admitting patients from the emergency room and will phase out in-patient services at the end of May. Some employees have also received notice that they will be terminated.

The DC financial control board, which is an unelected body established by Congress six years ago, decided at the end of April to transfer all services at DC General to a private healthcare corporation. That decision was made over the loud objections of the coalition and despite a unanimous vote by the elected DC Council to reject the privatization plan.The legal team will argue in court that the control board's charter does not give it the authority to legislate, Messineo said.

The plan to privatize DC General has also been firmly opposed by patients, doctors, nurses and a majority of DC residents, the coalition says. The American Medical Association, Medical Society of DC, American Public Health Association, National Association of Public Hospitals, National Medical Association and DC Nurses Association - all support DC General as a safety net hospital.

DC General is the only hospital in the district that treats a majority of underinsured and uninsured residents for free. Coalition members also point out that the private healthcare corporation that has taken over DC General is in financial turmoil.

The coalition protested the control board when it met to sign the privatization contract. So many people showed up to protest that the four members of the control board actually ran out of their meeting to a nearby library, where they signed the privatization contract in a basement room before the coalition could regroup and get there. When coalition members got to the library, the police kept them from entering. One woman had her leg crushed as police closed the doors on her. She demanded to be taken to DC General, where she was treated for a fractured foot and nerve damage.

Coalition members are now discussing whether they should pursue further legal action against the control board for violating the Sunshine Law, which states that public officials must hold meetings in the public light.

The coalition is also organizing a series of actions to build publicity and support for the court case. The following events are planned:

-- Protests will be held every Thursday evening in front of the home of Del. Eleanor Norton Holmes, who is the district's nonvoting representative in Congress.

-- A rally will be held in front of the federal district courthouse on Friday, June 8.

-- Coalition and community meetings will also continue each week.

Arturo Griffiths, who is part of the coalition and a member of the DC Statehood Green Party, said people need to organize in order to have an ongoing mobilization for justice in DC because there will be more struggles in the future. "This is more than just DC General," he said. "We want to build for a fight in the city."

Chris Strohm's article may also be found on the website of DC Indymedia, www.dc.indymedia.org.