https://www.saveburdettbirthcenter.com - Save Burdett Birth Center Coalition website
https://www.change.org/p/save-burdett-birth-center?source_location=search - Petition
James McDonald, Commissioner of Health - james.mcdonald@health.ny.gov
Megan Baldwin, Office of Commissioner - megan.baldwin@health.ny.gov
Ursula Bauer, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Public Health - Ursula.bauer@health.ny.gov
John Morley, Director, Office of Primary Care and Health Systems Management john.morley@health.ny.gov
Jennifer Treacy, Deputy Director, Office of Primary Care and Health Systems Management Jennifer.treacy@health.ny.gov
Johanne Morne, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Health Equity and Human Rights Johanne.morne@health.ny.gov
Marilyn Kacica, Medical Director, Division of Family Health, Center for Community Health Marilyn.kacica@health.ny.gov
Khalil Alshaer, Office of Health Insurance Programs Khalil.alshaer@health.ny.gov
Douglas Fish, Medical Director, Office of Health Insurance Programs douglas.fish@health.ny.gov
Dear NYS Health Official –
I am writing to ask that that you do whatever is in your power to SAVE BURDETT BIRTH
CENTER in Troy NY. Burdett Birth Center provides essential Maternity Care to the community
through a Midwife-led, OB collaborative model of care. This model of care has is statistically
proven to produce the best outcomes for moms and babies. I am deeply concerned about the
negative effects this potential closure would have on the birthing people of Rensselaer County
and beyond.
If this egregious closure is allowed, it will leave the already-drastically-underserved city of Troy
and the hundreds of thousands of rural residents in the surrounding area without an acute
maternity care facility. This will be a disaster for public health and it’s, yet another glaring
example of how profit-driven healthcare is destroying communities. This is not a Rensselaer
County issue – it is a Capital Region and, truly, statewide, and nationwide issue of
corporatization of health care at the cost of evidence-based, intervention-reducing and
cesarean-reducing maternity care. BBC’s Cesarean Section rate is 15% entirely and 8.9%
Midwife Group (Capital Region Midwifery). Punishing Burdett Birth Center because they are
practicing OB collaborative, midwifery-led care, which happens to not produce the money from
surgeries and procedures, is in direct opposition to New York State’s initiative to improve care
for underserved communities, of which Rensselaer, Albany and Troy are all included statistically.
While Burdett Birth Center is available to all members of the community, 51% of its patients are
receiving Medicaid and this closure will absolutely affect BIPOC and working class families
negatively and disproportionately.
I am urging you to do everything in your power to STOP THE CLOSURE of this vital birth center
and protect the people in our community. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dear [Congress member’s name],
I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding the proposed closure of Burdett Birth Center in our community. As you may be aware, this birth center has been providing essential prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care to our community for many years.
However, the decision to close the birth center has left us with no other options for affordable, high-quality birth care. It is problematic that mothers and babies will now have to travel long distances to another facility, which can be difficult for many families.
Closing this birth center will not only cause undue inconvenience but also will put the health and safety of mothers and babies at risk. It is unacceptable to remove a critical resource from a community that is already underserved.
I am urging you as our representative to do everything in your power to prevent the closure of this vital birth center promptly. I also hope that you will support us in finding feasible methods to ensure continued access to high-quality birth care in our region.
Thank you for your consideration and for fighting for the health and well-being of our community.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]