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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 11, 2004

WITH RECOMMENDATION ON VA HOSPITAL TO BE RELEASED THIS WEEK, SCHUMER MAKES FINAL PITCH FOR 50 PSYCHIATRIC BEDS

At CARES meeting last month, Commission discussed plan to keep Canandaigua VA facility open, but move 50 beds to Batavia and/or Buffalo facilities; Plan is "likely" to be the final recommendation sent to VA Secretary this week

Schumer praises apparent plan to keep the facility open, but says moving 50 inpatient psychiatric beds could be costly and unnecessary

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today praised the CARES Commission for indicating that it will likely keep the Canandaigua VA hospital open but urged VA Secretary Anthony Principi to reject a plan expected to be adopted by the Commission that would move 50 inpatient psychiatric beds to the Batavia and/or Buffalo VA facilities. Schumer said that moving the beds to another facility could be costly and unnecessary.

"The community really turned this thing around and it looks like the facility is likely going to stay open. I am grateful to the CARES Commission and Secretary Principi for listening to the outpouring of support. But until we know that the 50 psychiatric beds will stay here, the glass is 3/4 full," Schumer said. "Those beds are critical to the Canandaigua hospital because so many veterans in the area came to rely on these services. And moving them is unnecessary since we have the room and staff for them right here in Canandaigua."

CARES discussed its plan to keep the facility open while moving 50 beds at a meeting last month in Washington, DC. The Commission said it is likely that this plan will be the final recommendation it sends to VA Secretary Anthony Principi this Friday. The Commission also discussed adding a multi-specialty outpatient facility to the hospital and plans to work with the Canandaigua community on how to deal with excess space at the site of the hospital. After the commission issues its plan, it will be up to the Secretary to either accept or reject it.

Schumer, who led a massive lobbying campaign with the rest of the delegation and community to keep the hospital open, said that moving the beds to another facility could result in unnecessary additional costs because it could require hiring and training new staff there, while adequate room exists at the Canandaigua facility.

"The discussions to keep the Canandaigua VA hospital open are very heartening and I thank you for your sincere interest in the input of our community. I now hope you will reconsider any plan to transfer psychiatric beds to another facility," Schumer wrote today in a letter to VA Secretary Anthony Principi. "The facility in Canandaigua is renowned for its high level of quality health care, and has plenty of space and personnel to accommodate the beds. Moving them would be both unnecessary and potentially costly."

Earlier this year, CARES released its Draft National Plan which recommended closing the 70 year-old Canandaigua veteran's hospital, and sending roughly 200 inpatients and thousands of outpatients to more distant VA hospitals in Bath, Batavia, Buffalo, and Syracuse. Currently, the hospital administers medical services to an enrolled population of 25,000 area veterans in Canandaigua each year and cares for about 200 severely ill inpatients. In addition, the hospital employs an estimated 800 workers and is one of Ontario County's largest employers.

In response, Schumer mounted a furious lobbying campaign to keep the hospital open. He arranged an in-person Congressional delegation visit with VA Secretary Anthony Principi in Washington, called him regularly to lobby him, and convinced him to come to Canandaigua to see the hospital in person. At a public hearing at the facility in October, Schumer presented the CARES commission with a petition signed by about 80,000 New Yorkers concerned about the planned closing.

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