THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408020228
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Health services for the poor is a major tenet behind the call for national health care reform. Norfolk Community Hospital should be congratulated on providing this needed service. For more than 70 years NCH has been administering quality health care, providing a wide array of diagnostic and surgical health services to the people of Hampton Roads, with special concern of the economically disadvantaged.
Recently, an article in The Virginian-Pilot commented on financial problems of the hospital. I would like to focus on the benefits NCH offers the community. Aside from the numerous special medical services offered at NCH, the hospital recently opened a 20-bed in-patient mental health unit for adults and is planning to open a 15-bed mental health unit for children and adolescents very soon.
The adult unit is operating at full capacity and is bringing in revenue for the hospital. As a provider of mental health services in Norfolk, I highly value Norfolk Community Hospital's contributions to mental health care as well as all other medical services it provides.
I hope that the community recognizes and values NCH's unique position - providing a wide array of medical services to those who need them and who often cannot afford the most basic medical care.
Harry W. Bleh, Executive Director
Norfolk Community Services Board by CNB