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Governor Rendell: Unveiling Historic ‘Prescription for Pennsylvania’ at School of Nursing
January 23, 2007, Volume 53, No. 19

Mayor Ed Rendell

Governor Edward Rendell came to Penn’s School of Nursing last Thursday afternoon to speak about his ‘Prescription for Pennsylvania.’ He was joined by Rosemarie Greco and Susan Anderson—from his Office of Health Care Reform which he created to provide access to quality healthcare.

In her brief welcoming remarks, Penn Nursing Dean Afaf Meleis told the standing-room only crowd gathered in the Claire Fagin Hall that like Governor Edward G. Rendell, “we believe nurses are the answer!” Rosemarie Greco, director of the Office of Health Care Reform, said that Gov. Rendell’s plan for improving health care revolves around access, affordability and quality. Gov. Rendell acknowledged that “this is an inherently complex program” which would require 47 legislative changes to reduce the cost of providing health care and to expand access—not only in hospitals and doctors’ offices—in the most appropriate and cost-effective setting by the most clinically appropriate health care professional. He displayed a chart which showed the billions of dollars that he believed could be saved by eliminating hospital acquired infections, readmissions and errors and other inefficiencies. The governor said that one of the best ways to deal with the healthcare crisis was with nurses, nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants. He said that we have a healthcare crisis and “doing nothing is not an option.”

 

Almanac - January 23, 2007, Volume 53, No. 19