Hospital Monitor: Non Discrimination in Capital Investment Policies

LEADER IN CHURCH TIED TO ADVOCATE HEALTH CARE SAYS COMPANY SHOWS RACIAL BIAS, AS WEST SIDERS MARCH AGAINST BETHANY HOSPITAL CUTS

April 4, 2006—Already embroiled in controversy over its effort to close major services at Bethany Hospital, Advocate Health Care Tuesday faced charges of racial bias from a leader in a church with ties to the company.

Advocate’s spending policies have systematically favored hospitals serving mostly white affluent areas, while depriving facilities in mostly minority, inner-city neighborhoods, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ (UCC), the largest UCC congregation in the country. The UCC controls half of the seats on Advocate’s board of directors, and Wright is an influential voice within the church.

Named by Ebony Magazine as one of the top-15 black preachers in the country, Wright also served on the Board of the Directors for the hospital system that ultimately became Advocate Heath Care.

Advocate was formed in 1995 through the consolidation of health systems operated by the UCC and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). Since that time, the company has spent $605 million on capital improvements at its four suburban hospitals over the past decade, compared to only $47 million at its four city facilities, which serve mostly low-income minority populations, according to figures obtained from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.

Wright was the keynote speaker Tuesday during a community meeting held to rally opposition to the proposed elimination of Bethany’s OB/GYN unit, mental health program and substance abuse treatment – on top of its recent closure of the hospital’s full-service emergency room.

That proposal is currently pending with the IHFPB, which is scheduled to rule on the issue at its April 25th meeting in Springfield.

Tuesday’s rally was scheduled to commemorate the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, as community leaders seek to reaffirm the legendary civil rights leader’s commitment to racial justice. Prior to the rally, an alliance of community groups marched through the Lawndale neighborhood – embarking from the site where King lived 40 years ago – to raise awareness about the threats to Bethany Hospital.

According to Advocate, Bethany serves more than 70,000 West Side patients annually in neighborhoods plagued with health problems. Hospitalization rates on the West Side are twice the city average for mental illness and three times higher for substance abuse. Treatment for both those ailments would be eliminated at Bethany under Advocate’s plan. Meanwhile, in some West Side neighborhoods, the mortality rate from assault averaged 192 percent higher than the city-wide average.

Opposition to the Bethany cuts erupted in January when Advocate announced the plan – less than a year after it had publicly assured West Side leaders that it was committed to operating the facility. Those misrepresentations have brought strong condemnation from a City Council Committee and the Cook County Board. Religious leaders on the West Side have mounted a staunch campaign to save the hospital from the chopping block, turning out hundreds of local residents to rally against the closure at numerous public events.

Meanwhile, West Side residents have submitted more than 12,000 postcards to the IFHPB expressing their opposition to the proposed Bethany cutbacks.

Wright adds his stature to growing contingent of religious leaders who have railed against racial inequities in Advocate’s spending patterns.

< previous page

Hospital Accountability Project, Service Employees International Union
40 N. Wells, Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 541-9566

Home About Us Protocols for Agreement Protocol Partners About Advocate Resources FAQ Privacy Policy Site Map Contact