Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Noble Hospital, Stanley D. Strzempko, MD, welcomes Congressman Richard E. Neal, left, during a visit to the hospital yesterday. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
Congressman Richard E. Neal, front center left, and Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Noble Hospital, Stanley D. Strzempko, MD, front center right, pose for a photo with the Noble Hospital Board of Directors yesterday. (Photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
By HOPE E. TREMBLAY
Staff writer
WESTFIELD – U.S. Representative Richard Neal toured Westfield yesterday. The Whip City, along with Chicopee and Holyoke, will be included in the new district Neal hopes to represent next year.
Districts across the commonwealth were realigned and the newly reconfigured 1st Massachusetts District seat will include all of Hampden County and Berkshire County, and parts of Franklin County and Hampshire County.
Neal visited Noble Hospital and Barnes Airport, attended a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, and met with Mayor Daniel Knapik.
Medicare was the main topic of discussion at Noble Hospital, where Neal made his very first visit yesterday morning.
Neal told members oft he Noble Hospital Board of Trustees that hospitals have become the largest employers across the country, especially in small to mid-size communities like Westfield. He said Medicare has been looked upon as a club of sorts for people turning 65.
“It’s the closest we’ve ever come to universal healthcare in the United States,” said Neal.
Neal supported a Medicare wage index amendment to healthcare laws, legislation that was co-sponsored by Sen. John F. Kerry, and the new index was adopted last summer. The Associated Press reported that six other states come out ahead, in terms of Medicare reimbursements, but none did as well as Massachusetts.
Dr. Stanley Strzempko, Noble’s vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer, stressed to Neal that the Medicare wage index is crucial.
“It is important to this hospital and it has been really important for all hospitals,” said Strzempko.
Strzempko touted the merits of the hospital, which has a surgical center, hospital-based out clinics, 97 licensed beds, a rehabilitation center, psychiatric center and treats 30,000 emergency room patients annually.
“And the doctors and medical staff are very involved in the community,” he added.
Neal said Massachusetts has the best hospitals in the world and some of the best doctors in the world, attracting patients globally. In western Massachusetts alone, community hospitals such as Noble, Wing Memorial, Mercy Medical Center and Baystate Medical Center treat millions and employ thousands.
“Every morning between Worcester and Springfield – the bookends of my district – 24,000 people get up and go to work at Baystate and UMass Medical Centers,” said Neal. “Add the community hospitals, and tha’s another 10,000 people.”
Neal told the trustees they “will never have an argument from me about helping with healthcare.”
While Neal said there is a bit of a learning curve with the new cities in his district, his work has often benefited the region and he is very familiar with Westfield and its needs.
Strzempko said Neal understands the “big picture” of Medicare and healthcare, which is very positive for the city.
Neal said communities often revolve around a good, small hospital. He said Noble is reaching out to Westfield, has forged a relationship with Westfield State University’s new nursing program and is very involved in the city at large.
“Westfield has always been in Springfield’s SMA,” said Neal. “With the consolidation of Hampden County in the district for the first time, that is great news for me.”
Hope Tremblay can be reached at [email protected]
