May 28, 2003 By Jenny Susa 4 min read

BROWNSVILLE – In an effort to keep Brownsville General Hospital open for years to come, Brownsville Mayor Norma Ryan is working with the hospital’s board of directors and staff to hold a series of town meetings. Ryan said the focus of the meeting will be on the hospital, so that local residents can learn what plans hospital authorities have, as well as express their needs.

“As mayor, I feel it is very important for local residents to know what we have in our community,” said Ryan.

At one such meeting on Tuesday, Ryan and Karen L. Dei Cas, interim CEO and public relations director for the hospital, talked about changes and additions at the hospital that would help to improve the facility and its services.

Dei Cas noted that, until recently, the hospital only had access to part-time anesthesiologists from other hospitals. She said the hospital now employs a full-time anesthesiologist from the Pittsburgh area, who is Dr. F. Salari.

Dei Cas also said the hospital board and staff has expanded other services, such as orthopedics and pediatrics. Laurel Pediatrics of Uniontown has now extended its services into Brownsville at the hospital.

“I know that none of our doctors would have come here, if this was not a good hospital,” said office manager Lois Petrazzi.

Dei Cas said that to improve the hospital’s finances, they will no longer be under the management of Quorum Health Resources Inc.

“Starting May 31, we’ll be on our own, managing the facility internally,” said Dei Cas, adding that this was one way to help cut costs.

She also informed the public that the hospital has a contract to provide health care for the new prison, and said the hospital is making preparations for bio-terrorism.

“We are well on our way with bio-terrorism preparation, because we want to be ready in case anything should happen,” said Dei Cas.

She also added that the hospital has recently been promoting its out-patient services and its emergency room, because officials feel they can provide “good service with less waiting time.”

Dei Cas and board members said the bottom line was that, although finances are getting low, the hospital is not going to close in the near future, but it needs business to stay open and keep providing good service.

Ryan said she hoped that people would tell others from surrounding areas to come to Brownsville General Hospital, and it seemed the local residents who attended the meeting did not need convincing. Many talked about good experiences they had at the hospital, saying they had the best nurses and doctors, free parking, an exceptionally clean facility and very little wait time.

Local residents Andrew and Mildred Basista recalled times that the hospital had treated them during serious health complications and said that they believed they would not be here today if they hadn’t been able to go there.

“If anyone has a question about coming here, they should know that it is a wonderful hospital. My husband and I received the best of care,” said Mildred Basista. “And if there is anything they can’t take care of here, they certainly will send you to the best hospital that they can.”

John Evans of Career Link also commented on the facility and questioned the board about the wellness center.

“I’ve been coming here for a number of years and the hospital has never looked better,” said Evans.

“It’s very clean and organized. I also think you have a great wellness center that could be a goldmine for the hospital, and I wondered if the board would consider expanding on it or extending the hours.”

Ryan said the board would like to expand on the wellness center whenever possible.

“We’re very proud to have those services here,” said Ryan. “So often we don’t appreciate what we have on our own doorstep. It is something the hospital would like to expand on.”

Board member Don Redman addressed the public after hearing several of their comments.

“We can not afford to lose this hospital,” said Redman.

“We have good doctors and good employees here, and as a board we work well together to save this hospital.

“However, we can’t work magic. We need patients to keep this hospital running.”

He urged residents to tell people in surrounding boroughs and townships of the good service they have received at the hospital.

“We’re on our way up and we are making changes that will save this hospital money, but we need people to come here so that we can continue to provide good health care for you.”