Comprehensive Care, Not Stigma: Community Meeting on Hospital Mergers

Thank you to everyone who showed up to last night’s community meeting on hospital mergers. You were part of this huge, awesome, supportive crowd:

Here’s what Slog said about the event (emphasis theirs):

This issue affects everyone: Women, people who love women, people who impregnate women, elderly individuals, people whose parents are elderly individuals, people who some day hope to be elderly individuals, and the LGBT community and their loved ones. Even religious hospital employees can be discriminated against can be legally fired for stupid reasons, thanks to a religious exemption loophole in our state’s antidiscrimination law.

In case you missed the meeting, we live-tweeted it! You can follow our tweets from the event — and other people’s — here, under #WAmergers. Here are a few highlights from the experts who spoke about pending mergers in our state, and what they’ll mean for patient access to care:

Shannon: “we do not have a right to say, ‘I don’t treat people like that.’ ” Objection =/= stigma. #WAmergers #TownHall

— NARAL Pro-Choice WA (@ProChoiceWA) October 31, 2013

Shannon: “informed consent requires that options be laid out for you” #WAmergers

— NARAL Pro-Choice WA (@ProChoiceWA) October 31, 2013

“We don’t interfere with conversations,” but they don’t say anything about interfering with procedures. #WAmergers #TownHall

— NARAL Pro-Choice WA (@ProChoiceWA) October 31, 2013

You can read them all here!