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Groups to Mobilize Community Against Proposed
Partnership with CHRISTUS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2008
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003

SANTA FE—A coalition of community organizations on Wednesday announced its opposition to the proposed partnership between St. Vincent Hospital and CHRISTUS Health after St. Vincent Hospital refused to share details of the partnership agreement, which they claim would protect family planning and end-of-life care at the hospital.

“Because of St. Vincent Hospital’s ongoing refusal to be transparent and to provide written, legally binding assurances to the community, we must oppose this partnership,” Diane Wood, director of the Northern Regional Office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The Southwest Women’s Law Center (SWWLC), another coalition member, agreed.

“The only promises that matter are those in the final contract between CHRISTUS, St. Vincent and SupportCo,” said SWWLC Executive Director, Jane Wishner. “Promises on a Web site, in a press release, at a public meeting or in a letter to advocates are not binding; what matters is what the parties agree to in writing with each other.”

Over the past month, the coalition – which includes the ACLU of New Mexico, Southwest Women’s Law Center, NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico, Compassion & Choices, New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Planned Parenthood of New Mexico, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Center, Equality New Mexico, The MergerWatch Project, and The National Women’s Law Center –  met with the St. Vincent Hospital Board of Directors, held a community meeting, and gathered nearly 700 signatures from concerned community members all in an effort to get St. Vincent Hospital to share its partnership agreement with the community.

The coalition formed over concerns that a partnership between St. Vincent Hospital and CHRISTUS, a Dallas-based Catholic health cooperation, would compromise family planning and end-of-life care at the Santa Fe hospital because they would be required to follow the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives. Hospital officials have repeatedly told coalition members that those services would be provided, but have refused to share the specifics.

“St. Vincent Hospital and CHRISTUS Health want us to trust them that family planning services will still be provided under the proposed partnership,” said Heather Brewer, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico, “but I am more comfortable trusting women, their families and their physicians to decide which health care options they want and need.”

Coalition partners now plan to undertake a public education campaign to increase public opposition to the partnership.

“We are now urging Northern New Mexicans to write letters to the board members of St. Vincent Hospital to voice their concerns,” Wood said.  “We will be working with the community to educative and build opposition to this merger.”

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Coalition Wants the Hospital to Make a Commitment to the Community that They Will Share Details of Partnership Agreement with the Public

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 29, 2008
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003

SANTA FE – In a letter sent to the St. Vincent Hospital Board of Directors on Wednesday, a coalition of community groups called on board members to tell the public by March 4th whether the hospital will share details of its proposed partnership agreement with Catholic-run CHRISTUS Health and how that partnership would affect the provision of family planning, reproductive health services, and end-of-life care at the hospital.

“We have recommended specific contractual language, have requested an opportunity to review the relevant documents, and have asked when the Board will be asked to approve the final agreement and have gotten no answers from St. Vincent.  The community has a right to know what healthcare will be available after this Partnership is finalized.”  Jane Wishner, Executive Director of the Southwest Women’s Law Center, who signed the letter with the ACLU of New Mexico, submitted to the St. Vincent Board on Wednesday.

The coalition of community groups last week held a town hall meeting at which more than 100 people expressed their concerns about the partnership. On Tuesday, coalition group leaders met with the board and presented them with a petition signed by more than 500 community members calling on the hospital to share the details of the partnership agreement.

“We’re asking St. Vincent, as a community hospital, to make a commitment to the community they serve that they will be open and transparent and that they will share the details of the partnership agreement with the public so that everyone can be sure that quality family planning, reproductive health services, and end-of-life care will be available at St. Vincent Hospital,” said Heather Brewer Executive Director of NARAL Pro Choice New Mexico. “We’re not saying this is a bad deal. We’re saying we need it in writing.”

Members of the coalition include: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, Southwest Women’s Law Center, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist – New Mexico Section, Compassion & Choices, Equality New Mexico, NARAL Pro-Choice New Mexico, Planned Parenthood of New Mexico, Inc., New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, and The MergerWatch Project.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2007
CONTACT: Whitney Potter (505) 266 5915 ext. 1003 Cell (505) 507 9898

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Questions surrounding recent immigration sweeps in Santa Fe motivated the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico to request all records surrounding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in New Mexico.  A February 28th story in the Santa Fe New Mexican indicated that ICE may have entered immigrant homes illegally. Immigrant rights groups received complaints about racial profiling, local police involvement in ICE operations, and constitutional violations.

“In its zeal to hunt down people who were living and working in Santa Fe,” ACLU Executive Director Peter Simonson said, “ICE may have over stepped the bounds of law and good judgment.  The FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request that we are submitting today will help us understand how the raids were organized and what safeguards were put in place to ensure that civil rights were respected.  Once we have that information in hand, we can determine whether or not our further action is warranted.”

The Santa Fe sweeps appear to have been part of a nationwide strategy dubbed “Operation Return to Sender” that produced raids and raised alarm in other cities around the country.  Last week the ACLU of Northern California sought records from ICE after abusive practices in San Francisco and nearby areas were reported extensively in the press, including illegal entries, conducting round-ups near schools, and leaving minor children unattended upon parents’ arrest.

Simonson said, “Nationwide, the ICE raids exhibit a pattern of recklessness and disregard, not just for basic civil rights, but also for the fundamental welfare of families that are broken apart by these operations.  The ACLU isn’t disputing whether or not ICE can enforce immigration laws, we just want to make sure that they are doing it in a fair and humane way.”

The ACLU is requesting expedited processing of the FOIA request in order to head off possible civil rights problems in future raids.

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