Seattle Children's Hospital Will Need to Reduce Patient Care Says CEO Tom Hansen

Seemingly eager to continue to shift Seattle Children's priorities away from quality patient care toward his personal research interests, CEO Tom Hansen was quoted in the Seattle Times on December 5:

"Cuts in Medicaid impact our choices and what we can do for everybody," said Hansen, noting that Children's serves four states. "Loss of income could mean reducing services, leading to longer waiting times for major surgeries. And it means that in ranking spending, investments such as those for new diagnostic procedures are impacted," Hansen said.

Let’s remember that in his Seattle Times editorial on November 18 he scarcely mentioned patient care, instead emphasizing his interest in more research. And now that the government may reduce payments to Seattle Children's Hospital, where are the cuts coming from? Patient care. I am appalled that he threatens our children with longer wait times for major surgeries as a political tactic to ensure funding for the Hospital.

He of course does not mention that another potential source of funds would be to reduce expenditures on his new research focus to ensure that our children actually get the care they need today.

If you as a parent are, or are not, outraged by this management attitude at Seattle Children's Hospital, please contact me. Patient care is deteriorating and this is how the CEO is responding -- Give me money or I'll reduce patient care even more.