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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

Hospital Crisis - State Urged to Merge

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Tuesday, January 30, 2007   


Three state hospitals would be privatized, and many other hospitals would be closed, under a controversial plan proposed by the Berger Commission. But speaking today in Albany, Bill Scheuerman with United University Professions says there's a win-win solution -- merge some of the failing hospitals with SUNY teaching schools, to provide better health care and more opportunities for the state's future doctors.

"If we have to change governance, let's look at the private schools that are struggling and see if we can bring them into SUNY, increase our offerings of tertiary care, and do an even better job training doctors, particularly out in western New York."

The Berger Commission report recommended privatizing the state's teaching hospitals in Brooklyn, on Long Island and in Syracuse. Independent studies show those hospitals are well-run and Scheuerman believes privatizing them will reduce services and the quality of teaching at SUNY medical schools.

In Buffalo, SUNY has a medical school with no hospital, and Scheuerman thinks it would make sense to try to merge one of the troubled private hospitals in the area into the State University system.

"SUNY should be at the table in that restructuring and maybe we can pick up one of the weaker hospitals there, put some state funds into it and use it to train doctors, because we don't have a hospital even though we have a medical school."

The Berger Commission recommended merging Upstate Medical University with Crouse, a private hospital that's just coming out of bankruptcy. Scheuerman says Crouse should be merged into SUNY.

"It's actually cheaper to do this because you don't have to do buyouts of pensions and all those other things, to bring Crouse into the State University; it's probably a good idea fiscally, and in terms of patient services, a good idea to do that."

It's a very different direction than the one proposed by the Commission.


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Creedon Newell practices teaching construction skills in Wyoming's new career and technical educator bridge course, designed to encourage trades students and professionals to pursue a career in CTE teaching. (Photo by Rob Hill)

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