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Nov 27, 2009 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Protestors Rally Downtown For Braddock Hospital
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
People opposed to the proposed closing of UPMC Braddock hospital continued to voice their anger today.
Nearly three dozen protesters gathered outside the UPMC headquarters downtown, saying they want to keep the conversation going about the proposed closing of the hospital in Braddock.
UPMC announced plans to close the facility back in October, leaving the community with no hospital and eliminating about 650 jobs.
Protesters say health department statistics indicate occupancy at the hospital last year was about 72 percent, which is higher than six other hospitals in the county.
However, they claim UPMC executives are determined to follow through with their plan.
"They have made no offer to help us repurpose the building, they have done nothing in terms of showing any kind of real concern with leaving this giant white elephant in the community, not even to mention the access to healthcare that our residents will be facing at this point," Braddock Mayor John Fetterman said.
The protesters complained that the UPMC is also making plans to build a large hospital in Monroeville, where there already is a hospital.
They are asking executives and others to join in to make plans to keep the hospital open or find a viable alternative use of the building, which is about 300,000 square feet.
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