Making the Case in Hartford

A group of 50 L+M employees joined hospital workers from across Connecticut at the State Capitol in Hartford yesterday to protest Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed cuts of $550 million to hospitals over two years. “We made the trek because in our hearts we know there are better ways to make cuts,” said Nicole Porter, nurse manager of L+M’s Emergency Department. “We can tolerate some things, like potholes in our roads, but cutting funds to the sick and dying just doesn’t feel right.” The governor’s budget is currently in the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, and L+M’s impassioned pleas to local lawmakers were well received. “We’re going to do everything in our power to restore the funding,” said Rep. Ernest Hewett of New London, who sits on the committee. The L+M group told lawmakers that care at the bedside will be adversely affected if the cuts go through, and those sentiments were echoed at a press conference held by the Connecticut Hospital Association. Paramedic Doug Dole said cuts to his department could stretch resources so thin that response time is affected, which could literally cost lives. Laura Harrington, RN, urged the committee to restore full funding to hospitals, saying that even half of the governor’s proposed cut is too deep. Chief Finance Officer Lou Inzana said the cuts “tug at the fabric of our community,” while Joan Regan, RN, said, “There are a lot of things in this state that, really, at the end of the day, we could do without. Healthcare is not one of them!”