Milwaukee council committee calls on Ascension Wisconsin to reverse cuts, invest in hospitals in poor areas
Sarah Volpenhein
A committee of the Milwaukee Common Council on Friday urged the troubled health system Ascension Wisconsin to reverse cuts in services at its Milwaukee hospitals, in a resolution that council members signaled was only a "first step" in promoting health care services for low-income Milwaukeeans.
The resolution was approved by the council's Public Safety and Health Committee, which earlier in the year heard testimony from members of the union that represents health care workers at Ascension St. Francis Hospital on Milwaukee's south side about cuts to services and unit closures at the hospital over the last several years.
The resolution calls on Ascension Wisconsin, one of the state's largest health systems, to restore reduced services at its Milwaukee hospitals and to fully restore the labor and delivery unit at St. Francis Hospital, which was the only such unit on Milwaukee's south side until it was abruptly closed in late December.
More:Ascension St. Francis workers worry for hospital's future, as units close, beds dwindle
The closure of the labor and delivery unit set off protests by workers at the hospital and union members and raised concerns about the hospital's broader future.
The resolution approved by the committee, which is chaired by Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa, also calls on Ascension Wisconsin to establish a one-year moratorium on any downsizing or service reductions at Milwaukee health care sites.
"Ascension Wisconsin is urged to work with community leaders, elected officials and other local stakeholders to find alternatives to service reductions and ways of preserving healthcare services for Milwaukee residents, particularly in economically distressed areas of the city," the resolution reads.
"This is not just a wakeup call for St. Francis," said. Ald. Scott Spiker.
Last week, Ascension Wisconsin announced several of its top executives, including chief executive Bernie Sherry, were leaving, after some of its Milwaukee hospitals came under fire for cutting services and for staffing shortages that doctors and others said were threatening patient care. Sherry has overseen the Wisconsin market for Ascension Health, the national nonprofit health system, since 2016.
Reporting by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel found that physicians were leaving Ascension Wisconsin "in droves" last year and that one of its premier hospitals, Columbia St. Mary's Hospital on Milwaukee's east side, has struggled to keep staffing at proper levels. Nurses reported being assigned more patients than they considered realistic, or even safe, and were at times slow to answer call lights. Patients needing help reported being left unattended or waiting for long hours in the emergency department.
No one from Ascension Wisconsin was present at Friday's committee meeting, though the health system sent a four-page written statement, part of which was read aloud. Zamarripa said the health system had at least four weeks' notice of Friday's meeting, but that Ascension representatives declined to attend.
The statement focused largely on the decision to close St. Francis' labor and delivery unit and in explanation, pointed to the declining number of deliveries performed at the hospital and the recent departure of its last obstetrician employed to deliver babies.
"Given the relative non-use of labor and delivery services at St. Francis and the ability to transition expectant mothers to other nearby Ascension Wisconsin hospitals for the deliveries of their babies, we determined the best and safest course was to relocate labor and delivery to our other sites of care in the community," such as Columbia St. Mary's, said the statement, signed by Reginald Newson, chief advocacy officer for Ascension Wisconsin.
Ascension executives met privately with aldermen earlier this year
Ald. Scott Spiker, whose district includes St. Francis Hospital, and two other council members attended a private meeting with Ascension representatives, including Newson, earlier this year, he said, to have a candid discussion about the closure of the labor and delivery unit and other concerns.
Spiker said the meeting did not ease his concerns about the future existence of St. Francis Hospital, which health care workers say has dwindled in size.
Spiker pointed as a warning to the attempt by Ascension Wisconsin to severely limit services at St. Joseph hospital on the city's north side in 2018, a plan that the health system ultimately abandoned.
"This requires severe vigilance and not just at St. Francis. At St. Joe's, Columbia St. Mary's (Hospital) on the east side," Spiker said. "Because what could happen is you keep the pretty shell outside in place and you hollow out inside. That can happen without drawing attention if we're not vigilant."
The resolution will go before the full Common Council for a vote in April.