Rep. Hunter offered the following concurrent resolution:
House Concurrent Resolution No. 16.
A concurrent resolution to memorialize the Congress of the United States to allocate federal funds to ensure the continued operation of Detroit Receiving Hospital.
Whereas, Among the many health care facilities across our state and nation facing grave financial difficulties, Detroit's Receiving Hospital stands out in its significance through the number of patients it serves, the variety of unique roles it plays, and the depth of its funding problems. The hospital, which treats 85,000 emergency room patients each year, provides millions of dollars of uncompensated care each month. This fact, along with the same factors impacting many aspects of health care, has brought Detroit Receiving Hospital to the brink of closure; and
Whereas, A key component of the Detroit Medical Center, Detroit Receiving Hospital is the city's only Level 1 adult trauma center and is unique in its capacity to provide a state of the art response to bioterrorism and chemical attacks. This facility is a leading teaching hospital in many areas of health care. Detroit Receiving Hospital, with its day-to-day experience in trauma care, is precisely the type of large-scale institution that is at the heart of our national response to the threats of terrorism facing our country; and
Whereas, The Congress of the United States recently enacted a measure that provides significant funding for hospital services in Los Angeles. This action was an appropriate acknowledgement of the importance of urban facilities to our nation at a time when providing health care to struggling people is clearly far beyond the capacity of our traditional approaches; and
Whereas, The care provided by large urban trauma centers and the medical education they offer are critical to the health of not only our cities, but our entire country; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to allocate federal funds to ensure the continued operation of Detroit Receiving Hospital; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.