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Charge No StudyPHOENIX, Page Thirteenof Local NeedsMethodist Hospital has beencriticized lor its failure to do aserious study of the health needs ofthe communities it serves and itsfailure to give any consideration toalternative health deliverysystems in a report issued thisweek by the Pratt Center forCommunity and EnvironmentalDevelopment. The Pratt Report,written at the request of the ParkSlope Health Task Force, alsourges Local Planning Board No. 6not to approve the closing of SixthSt. while there is still no approvalof Methodist Hospital%u2019s physicalexpansion plans by the StateDepartment of Health.%u201c The Local Planning Boardwould be abdicating its responsibility and relinquishing whateverleverage it has if, at this point intime, it approved the closing ofSixth St. We advocate that thehospital be denied the right to closeSixth St., pending greaterelaboration of the hospital%u2019s plansand the development of a comM ethodist Hospitalprehensive health program forPark Slope %u2014 South BrooklynCommunity,%u201d the report stated.The report noted that the community needed a %u201cfunctioning andhealthy hospital in the area%u201d and%u201ca quality professional staff.%u201d %u201cWeare not, and have not been, opposed to the expansion ofMethodist Hospital. What we areopposed to is the manner in whichit has decided to expand and thefact that its expansion is based onrhetoric and not on substantiveevaluation of alternatives or of thehealth needs of the community.%u201dThe report states that there hasbeen no investigation of thedecentralization of ambulatoryfacilities, i.e. the location of walkin, comprehensive health servicecenters in the areas of highesthealth needs. %u201c If ambulatoryservices were decentralized andoff site, additional space could beprovided so that the hospital wouldoe able to expand its facilities for\conforming beds (old beds)without having to remove low-costlousing from the market, closeSixth St., or undertake excessiveconstruction,%u201d it said.There has been no analysis of theexisting health resources in thecommunity %u2014 other hospitals, drugcenters, mental health clinics %u2014and their relationship toMethodist%u2019s expansion plans, thereport charged, and there has beenno specification of the healthservices to be improved or theirrelationship to community healthneeds demonstrated.The report indicates that the useof private funding with its higherinterest rates for MethodistHospital%u2019s expansion will raisepatient costs even higher and placean excessive burden on the healthconsumer.The report also questions %u201cwhy103 staff residences will be constructed on .site (at a rental inexcess of $100 per room) whenthose residences could be locatedelsewhere in the neighborhood atlower costs.%u201dThe Health and Hospital Planning Council has rejected an increase in the number of acute carebeds at Methodist Hospital thereport alleges, and opposes theconstruction of extended careContinued on P a g e 14Neglect Of Area ProblemsPushes MDs From MethodistInformation accumulated over the past year indicates that Methodist Hospital%u2019s u n re s p o n s iv e n e s s to community health problems is the leading cause why many of its physicians leave the institution.The hospital%u2019s failure to pursue meaningful community health programs was cited by several MD%u2019s who left the staff of the hospital.Most well-known among these men is Dr. Martin Hoffman, the former Head of the Department of Medicine who, at last year%u2019s 'Community Health Care Conference criticized the hospital%u2019s failure to relate to Park Slope%u2019s %u201c psychesocial\addiction, alcoholism and other problems related to being peer or being subject to undue emotional strain.In addition, the resignations of a senior hematologist, a senior cardiologist and a senior psychiatrist were also cited as examples of men who leftbecause of the hospital%u2019s uncoordinated and unsystematic approach to health care.%u201c T h e h o s p i t a l %u2019 s statements that it can%u2019t attract top-quality staff because it lacks on-site staff housing are pure bunk. This is a poor excuse covering up the fact that Methodist wishes to become a major teaching hospital of over 1,000 beds,%u201d said Task Force Co-Chairman Bob Furman.Furman cited the Park Slope com munity's continuing demands for neighborhood health centers, alcoholism and addiction programs, senior citizens programs, as a new priority for Methodist that could put Methodist in the top rank of community hospitals.The Park Slope Health Task Force wiii meet Thursday, April 5th, at 7:30 p.m. at the Ethical Culture Society, 2nd St. & Prospect Park West.DISCOUNT CENTER345 Jay St.68 M y rtle Ave.TR 5-5176TR 5 -2 2 5 9House of a MillionitemsSALE ON ALLR . CLATEX INTERIORFLATbyV %u2022 %u25a0 #gal.WHITE & COLORS