Help Save the Dolan Family Health Center

Help Us Save the Dolan Family Health Center

Contact Your State Legislator to Urge Them Not to Cut Health Center Funding

I’m writing to make you aware of a potentially dire situation faced by the Dolan Family Health Center and the 9,000 patients who call the Center their medical home. Last week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy announced that due to New York State budget cuts, the County is facing the loss of more than $20 million in State funding for its network of health centers. The Dolan Family Health Center, which has been owned and operated by Huntington Hospital since it opened its doors in 1995, relies on this funding for 39% of its operating budget. Those funds are now in jeopardy.

If you value the role our Center has played in keeping uninsured and medically indigent families in our community healthy for the past 16 years, I urge you to help us now by reaching out to your State legislator to voice your support. Please let your representative in Albany know that you join with the Dolan Center in encouraging the legislature and Governor Cuomo to work toward restoring the $20 million in funding cuts for Suffolk County’s clinics and to avoid re-classifying care for chronically ill adults as “optional.”

But we must act now! The State budget deadline is Friday, April 1.

Below is a suggested letter that you may wish to email to Senators Flanagan and Marcellino, and Representatives Conte and Raia. You may also consider calling their local offices to voice your opposition to these proposed cuts.

They may be reached at:

Senator Flanagan          This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it                 (631) 361-2154
Senator Marcellino       This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it                    (516) 922-1811
Assemblyman Conte     This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it                (631) 271-8025
Assemblyman Raia       This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it                  (631) 261-4151

Please share this information with your friends and colleagues who may be willing to help. Feel free to contact me if you would like further information on this situation. I hope that I and the 9,000 patients we serve can count on your to voice your opinion.

Sincerely,

Terence Smith
Administrator
Dolan Family Health Center

Sample Email Message for Your State Representative (email addresses above)

Dear …

As a New York State resident, I understand that there is a budget crisis in Albany and that the Suffolk County is facing its own financial woes. However, I oppose the current plan to reduce these budget deficits by making sweeping cuts to the Dolan Family Health Center and Suffolk County’s network of primary health clinics.

The harsh reality is that the Dolan Center cannot withstand or sustain the loss of 39% of its budget as is now threatened. A cut of this magnitude will inevitably force the Center to drastically change the scope of services that it provides to the community. This will impact on basic healthcare services for pregnant women, adults with diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and other chronic illness, and children.

Cutting primary and preventive care will only increase costs by forcing vulnerable patients to neglect their health until their conditions progress and emergency care is required. Caring for individuals in our already overcrowded emergency rooms costs six times more than the cost of a primary care visit, but more importantly, it jeopardizes the health of people who rely on the Dolan Center to see a doctor who can help them manage their blood sugar levels, monitor their high blood pressure, or prescribe their asthma medications.

Help Save the Dolan Family Health Center

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