Wishard Health Services has outlined a plan to build a new Wishard Hospital on the campus of IUPUI. The current facility, built over the last 100 years, is outdated, inefficient and does not meet the demands of the current patient volume seen.
In order to build a new facility, Wishard Health Services, through the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County and because it is a public hospital, must gain approval for the bond issuance to finance the project.
Marion County taxpayers will vote on the referendum on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Below is a copy of the letter Indiana Blood Center read at the Sept. 22 public hearing and distributed as a letter to the editor of media outlets in Marion County.
Wishard’s leadership – through Matt Gutwein and Dr. Lisa Harris – claims their role in Indiana is singular, vast and indispensable. At Indiana Blood Center, we agree.
From the regional health systems in Indianapolis to the critical access hospitals in rural Indiana, Indiana Blood Center is a hospital partner in the delivery of care to thousands of Hoosier patients. We see the need and we know the demand on the state’s healthcare industry.
Our role as stewards of the state’s blood supply gives us a unique perspective, one that sees the countless, great and subtle, small and mighty ways in which Wishard Health Services positively impacts Indiana. In fact, 50 years ago, Wishard was one of the five Marion County institutions responsible for creating a local, independent blood center and what is now Indiana Blood Center. Just as the blood supply is a community resource, so is Wishard.
The state’s largest safety-net health care system with one of the only two Level-1 trauma centers, Wishard ensures care for those devastated by a critical emergency and for thousands of other central Indiana patients who would otherwise go without medical and health services. Wishard’s strength and vitality also allows the other hospitals, health centers and community clinics around the state to continue to serve patients in their home communities. Through education and research initiatives and partnerships, Wishard helps to prepare highly-trained physicians and providers in an environment that promotes innovation and values discovery.
We applaud Wishard Health Services for addressing the facility issue now and for outlining such a comprehensive plan for improving their future. Indiana Blood Center too is a vital link in Indiana’s healthcare infrastructure. Nationally recognized as a leader in our industry, as is Wishard in theirs, we know the role of funding our own advancements in technology, facilities improvement and operational efficiencies.
Indiana Blood Center supports Wishard Health Services’ initiative to open a new, modern and efficient facility on the IUPUI campus and encourages others who are committed to accessible, quality, affordable health care in Indiana to do the same.
Respectfully,
|
Gregory N. Larkin, M.D.
Chairman of the Board
Indiana Blood Center |
Byron B. Buhner
President/CEO
Indiana Blood Center |
As printed on Monday, September 28, 2009, as a My View columns in The Indianapolis Star, page A11.
Learn more at www.wishardfacts.org.
Or, stop by any metro area Indiana Blood Center donation center to pick up informational materials on the need for a new Wishard Hospital.