Re-Open Methodist Hospital

Petition

What we want, need and deserve is a full service hospital, now! 

Hurricane Katrina took away all of our earthly possessions and left us without basic needs and necessities. We relied on our government leaders to provide the essential resources that would help in our recovery.  We believed our government and elected officials would be fair and equitable with the rebuilding of the Eastern New Orleans region. Then, and now we still believe in good government. We suffered a critical loss of Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) allocated for getting our community back on its feet at a time when some  leaders pushed to make our communities and neighborhoods green space (“Shrinking the City’s Footprint Movement”).  As a community, we decided we were not going to be green spaced and  forced out of our neighborhoods, but we would work hard and help each other to recover.  We came back to our homes and churches; we started bringing some of our small businesses back and started some new ones.  However, we didn’t count on economic sanctions getting in the way of our community-based efforts to rebuild. This lack of slow to no government support has resulted in us having no hospital, no library, no park, and no adequate staffing for emergency responders.

 We would never expect the Mayor to make a bad deal and spend 40 million dollars on property appraised for less.  However, we do expect that the Mayor negotiate  in good faith with Universal Health Services (UHS) to obtain an acceptable purchase price for Methodist Hospital.  The renovation of Methodist Hospital will be less costly and less time consuming than purchasing new land and  constructing a new hospital. Residents of the East New Orleans region should not be forced to  travel long distances, wasting critical time in traffic  in order to receive proper medical attention.

It appears our political representatives choose to ignore health care needs of families, the many seniors in special housing and nursing homes and the work force  traveling in and out of our community.  A full service hospital is a basic requirement to service the 80,000 plus people who currently reside in New Orleans East (NOE); that includes residents and workers in Gentilly, Lower and Upper Ninth Ward, the Lake Area, and parts of St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes.

Anyone who has experienced the need for medical attention, a family member, a senior citizen or a child, and it was not available should join us in signing this petition  to  send a message to city hall that we need full hospital services  in Eastern New Orleans.  The purpose of city government is to insure the health and welfare of its residents.  The Mayor should know that we have reached the end of our rope.  We are no longer willing to sit quietly, walk softly, or stand still while this area of New Orleans is ignored.  It's critical for the Mayor to meet with, talk with, and work with the East New Orleans community to reach an effective solution. 

We are mothers, fathers, grandparents, great grandparents and children.  We are construction workers, doctors, lawyers and city workers.  We are grass cutters, bus drivers, and first responders.  We are Human Beings!  So, we urge that Methodist hospital is RE-opened Now!