State Senator Donald E. Williams, Jr.
July 19, 2009
Emergency Physicians and Patients Fear On-Going Budget Stalemate Could Hurt LIFE STAR
Stop-gap measures that keep LIFE STAR flying could end within weeks if budget crisis continues
Coventry resident George Swanson speaks about how the LIFE STAR emergency helicopter literally saved his life during a heart attack. Mr. Swanson spoke during a news conference in Hartford about the need to preserve state funding for the LIFE STAR emergency helicopter which the governor has cut in her budget proposals. (August 19, 2009)
If Connecticut’s budget impasse isn’t solved soon, the stop-gap measures keeping the LIFE STAR medical transport program in operation could be affected. That was the message from emergency room physicians at a news conference on Wednesday at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford. The doctors were joined by Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams (D-Brooklyn) and a Coventry man who credits LIFE STAR with saving his life.
Gov. Rell has eliminated all state funding for LIFE STAR in her budget allotments for the months of July and August. Hartford Hospital has absorbed the costs in order to maintain the program but this stop-gap measure is not sustainable, especially when the hospital’s next fiscal year begins on October 1st.
“Gov. Rell’s decision to eliminate all state funding for the program has put LIFE STAR on life support,” said Senator Williams. “If there is no budget agreement soon, and Gov. Rell continues to deny state funding for LIFE STAR, public safety could suffer. Democrats believe LIFE STAR is an example of a core government service that should be supported, even if it means asking the state’s wealthiest residents to pay a little more.”
Gov. Rell’s decision to zero out state funding for LIFE STAR is consistent with her proposed budget, which eliminates the $1.39 million subsidy the state provides to Hartford Hospital to operate the LIFE STAR program, which includes a helicopter at Backus and one at Hartford Hospital. LIFE STAR is the only licensed air medical transport program in Connecticut.
“In the science of emergency medical treatment there is irrefutable evidence that response time dictates the impact of catastrophic injury; less elapsed time yields better outcomes, that’s all there is to it,” Senator Stillman said. “The LIFE STAR program routinely saves lives and must never be considered an extravagance, because the next accident victim to be transported could be a loved one of yours or mine.”
“The Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians does not believe that transportation to life saving specialists with the speed and quality that LIFE STAR provides is expendable,” said Dr. Greg Shangold, President-elect of the Connecticut College of Emergency Physicians. “Furthermore, Connecticut does not have an alternative mechanism for critical care transport. Many patients require this level of care and it is incumbent on the transferring physician to advocate for our patients 100 percent of the time.”
According to officials with the LIFE STAR program, LIFE STAR is available to all emergency/critical care patients within a 150-mile radius surrounding the two bases. Nearly 500 of LIFE STAR’s 1,400 annual patient transports originate from Backus Hospital in Norwich. Since its inception, the LIFE STAR helicopter has landed in every Connecticut town and at every hospital.
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Senator Williams’ |
Listing of Senator Williams’ recent press releases and a Press Kit with official head shots and bio. |
Press Aide Derek Slap |
