Posted on 11/22/2002 10:15:37 AM PST by Incorrigible
Friday, November 22, 2002
BY JEFF WHELAN
Star-Ledger Staff
[New Brunswick, NJ] -- Earlier this fall, Gov. James E. McGreevey waded into a bitter, highly charged dispute between two New Brunswick hospitals by hosting a private meeting with the major players at the governor's mansion in Princeton.
Metuchen Bishop Paul Bootkoski wanted McGreevey to halt a proposed state regulation allowing Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital to establish a regional perinatal center, which would care for high-risk pregnant women and very ill premature infants. Bootkoski argued the move would put a neighboring Roman Catholic institution, St. Peter's University Hospital, out of business.
"Bishop, I am a governor, not a king," McGreevey said, according to Harvey Holzberg, president and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson. Others at the meeting did not recall those exact words, but said the Governor refused to intervene. Ten days later, the state Department of Health and Senior Services adopted the regulation.
The bishop did not go away quietly. Instead, he mounted an extraordinary campaign to pressure McGreevey, at one point declaring, "We are at war with our Governor."
Bootkoski preached from the pulpit and urged parishioners to blitz lawmakers and newspapers with letters. He dispatched lawyers to sue the state, and he enlisted eight of the state's other bishops to write to McGreevey.
Reversing course, the Governor ordered the state attorney general three weeks ago to join St. Peter's in asking a state appeals court to block the regulation from taking effect. A ruling from the court is imminent. State officials could not cite another example in which an administration took legal action to prevent one its own policies from moving forward.
The Catholic Spirit, the Metuchen Diocese's newspaper, declared a "preliminary victory" in the fight to maintain what it termed "an essential pro-life resource." Unlike Robert Wood Johnson, St. Peter's Hospital does not perform abortions.
"I am very pleased that the Governor has revisited this issue, and I thank him for that," the bishop said this week.
Holzberg of Robert Wood Johnson said he was "shocked" by the turn of events.
"This was such a total 180," he said. "Of all the possible outcomes, we never thought of this. The Governor was pressured by the bishops and he acquiesced."
James Davy, McGreevey's chief of management and operations, denied politics was a factor. He said the Governor belatedly stepped in because the policy wasn't "as clear and concise and as comprehensively evaluated as it should have been.
"The Governor said we want to make sure we do this right. We don't want to do something that hurts any institution in any way," said Davy. "The right thing is to take a second look."
When the state published its proposed rule change in April, officials said it would upgrade the standards of children's hospitals throughout the state. They also said it was "essential" that all children's hospitals provide the full range of services offered by regional perinatal centers.
Holzberg said it was "ludicrous" to think the move would bankrupt St. Peter's.
But St. Peter's viewed it as a threat. The hospital has long been known for its regional perinatal center, which it considers its franchise. St. Peter's officials argue that allowing one just blocks away would rob them of patients and revenue and hurt medical care for babies.
They also expressed concern about political influence.
McGreevey's health commissioner, Clifford Lacy, previously served as chief of staff at Robert Wood Johnson. McGreevey this summer appointed Holzberg chairman of the board at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. St. Peter's, Robert Wood Johnson and roughly 200 other medical institutions around the state depend on their affiliations with UMDNJ. Holzberg is close friends and skiing partners with former Middlesex County Sen. John Lynch, McGreevey's political patron.
"If you wish, you can connect the dots," said William Harkins, the president of St. Peter's Hospital.
McGreevey administration officials noted that Lacy recused himself from the issue and denied politics played any role in the proposed regulations.
McGreevey declined to comment for this article, as did health department officials.
St. Peter's officials made their case to McGreevey's staff and met with high-ranking members of the front office over the summer. On Sept. 16, McGreevey invited Holzberg, the bishop and St. Peter's officials to the governor's mansion. Harkins, the St. Peter's president, said the hospital's position "was stated very clearly."
But after a public hearing, the state's Health Care Administration Board approved the regulations by a 9-to-1 vote on Sept. 19. A week later, the Health Department adopted the policy.
St. Peter's quickly filed a lawsuit and requested a stay from both the state and an appellate court to prevent the regulation from going forward.
The Health Department rejected the application, saying in a letter to St. Peter's attorneys that "the department takes its responsibilities in promulgating regulations seriously, and would not have proceeded to this point ... if there were any concerns about the scope of said rules."
The bishop then took his case to the public in an aggressive campaign that at times turned personal.
McGreevey's wife Dina suffered pregnancy complications earlier this year and gave birth to their daughter at St. Peter's Hospital. In a homily to 600 parishioners at the Immaculate Conception Church in Clinton, the bishop said St. Peter's had "saved the lives of Gov. James McGreevey's wife and child just a few months ago. Now we are at war with our Governor."
Speaking from the pulpit in churches throughout the diocese, Bootkoski said it was a matter of conscience for Catholics to rally behind St. Peter's Hospital. He charged that "this move by Robert Wood Johnson and Gov. McGreevey is nothing less than trying to get us out of health care."
During another homily at St. Charles Borromeo in Skillman on Oct. 12, Bootkoski said Catholics represent 42 percent of the population in the counties of the diocese, while less than 3 percent of the area is Jewish. In an interview, Bootkoski said he cited those numbers because he feels there is too often a "malaise" among Catholics on issues that affect them and or their faith.
"We as Catholics can take an example from our Jewish brothers and sisters. When they see something wrong, they speak up, they unite, which I respect them for," he said. "Catholic health care is very important to our church."
Holzberg, who is Jewish, criticized what he described as the bishop's "alarmist rhetoric." He said, "I don't quite understand how this became a religious issue."
On Oct. 24, eight of the state's Roman Catholic bishops wrote a letter to McGreevey, lobbying him to repeal the regulation. The Governor is Catholic and attended a Catholic grammar school, high school, college and law school. He started out his political career campaigning in churches in Middlesex County as an anti-abortion candidate. But he later changed his abortion stance, and was subsequently banned from addressing congregations in the diocese. Those close to him said the move hurt him deeply.
Less than a week after the bishops wrote McGreevey, he ordered the Attorney General's Office to file a motion in appellate court supporting the hospital's application for a stay. To explain the about-face, the Attorney General's Office cited "additional information" in an affidavit by Sheryl Slonim, a St. Peter's Hospital vice president. In an interview this week, Slonim said she provided no new information in her affidavit.
McGreevey's action has created fissures among his closest advisers. One senior administration official said Lynch went "apoplectic" when he learned of the flip-flop. Holzberg, formerly a close ally of McGreevey's, recently sent a letter to Robert Wood Johnson's 5,200 employees and staff, charging the Governor gave in to pressure from the bishop.
The bishop said he is praying the state sticks by its decision. He said "the people have really rallied in a good sense."
He added: "I stand up for my principles. But I far from think that I'm a bully."
Jeff Whelan covers the Governor's office. He can be reached at jwhelan@starledger.com or (609) 989-0379.
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
"Bishop, I am a governor, not a king," McGreevey said "But I'm working on it!"
Please notify me via Freepmail if you would like to be added to or removed from the Catholic Discussion Ping list.
The title of this thread conjures up some rather interesting images, I must say.....
Recently, we went to the NICU reunion for "graduates." I was so happy to be able to bring my four-year-old to see the people who helped make sure she could be the happy and healthy person she is now.
Please support St. Peter's. For once, McGreevey should do the right thing.
I was surprised it took 10 posts to find someone who hit the nail on the head. Typically, hospitals in the same area work to provide complementary specialty services to their communities. The reason? As you said, costs. Specialty services like trauma centers, birthing centers, cancer centers, etc. by definition draw from a smaller "customer" base. Except for the largest metropolitan areas, one hospital providing a large-scale specialty is enough. If they start competing, it is a very real possibility that one may falter, causing a decrease in the level of care to the community as a whole.
But he later changed his abortion stance, and was subsequently banned from addressing congregations in the diocese. Those close to him said the move hurt him deeply.
He may have been "banned from addressing congregations," (which lay people in the Catholic Church are not supposed to do anyway in most circumstances), but he still gets a hero's welcome from any shanty "Irish Catholic" group that wants to host him in a Catholic church.
BTW, a jackass like McGreevey is never "hurt deeply" by anything, especially if it is the result of a calculated political move.
In SE Wisconsin, that's not the precise order of things.
What really happens is that the hospitals simply raise their rates to cover the costs, regardless of the 'empty space.'
We have a hospital chain up here which has embarked on a (now 15-year-old) expansion kick--I honestly think the CEO thinks that being McDonald's --one on every corner-- is the best way to capture the market.
Since this has begun, health insurance rates have gone straight up.
There are other factors which have driven the cost of health care: lawyers, better technology, and a peculiar-to-Wisconsin problem with Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements, not to mention pharmaceutical costs.
But duplication of facility and equipment has NOT led (yet) to a deterioration in service quality. Rather, it has led to increased cost.
How dare you say such a thing. It should say ...but he still gets a hero's welcome from any shanty-Irish "Catholic" group that wants to host him in a Catholic church...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.