By Hayden MitmanTimes Staff Writer

Last week, just moments before he would deliver this year’s budget proposal to City Council, Mayor Michael Nutter stepped into a meeting room adjacent to the Council Chamber. A group of maybe 15 Philadelphia residents, mostly neighborhood block captains, quietly mingled there. These few representatives of the city’s populace spoke in hushed voices about their reverence for City Hall and the excitement of being at the budget event. As he awaited the mayor’s arrival, Gregory Betancourt, a volunteer who organizes neighborhood cleanups for the Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, sat quietly reading a prepared copy of the

mayor’s proposal. Earlier this year, on Feb. 5, Nutter had visited Betancourt’s Juniata home to discuss

the city’s budget issues with gathered residents. “He was very nice,” said Betancourt. “We held a small community meeting and talked about the budget.” As he entered the room, Nutter smiled as he shook hands and thanked everyone for attending his recent series of town hall-style public meetings and for providing input to the budget plan. “Your input was invaluable, and you’ll see it in the budget,” Nutter told them. “You really influenced the budget.” With a nod, the mayor received the first short, polite round of applause that he would receive that morning. He then headed into Council chambers to a welcoming cheer, followed by a burst of jeers from protesters gathered in the balcony.

By Patrick WaltersAssociated Press Writer

Investigators are trying to determine if a firefighter charged with the latest suspicious fires in an arson-plagued Philadelphia suburb could be responsible for any other unsolved blazes. Robert Tracey Jr., 37, of Coatesville, was charged Monday with lighting two small trash fires a few blocks apart in Coatesville on Friday. The fires caused no injuries or significant damage. Tracey volunteered at the city’s West End Fire Company for nearly 25 years, eventually attaining the unpaid position of assistant fire chief. He left that post last month to become a paid firefighter with the Coatesville Fire Department. He was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail. An attorney who has represented him before did not immediately return a telephone message left Tuesday by The Associated Press. “No words are sufficient at conveying the anger, frustration and disappointment that the officers and members of the West End Fire Company feel regarding these allegations,” the company’s assistant chief, Robert Pacana, said in a statement. “Should Mr. Tracey be found guilty of these charges in a court of law, he will have betrayed not only the trust of Company, but also the sacred trust of the community that he served.”

Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are looking for any possible links between Tracey and other unsolved fires, according to assistant special agent Tom Stankiewicz. He said authorities seized clothing and lighters from Tracey’s home, but were awaiting further tests. “Obviously, we did look into his background,” Stankiewicz said Tuesday, adding that neighbors spotted Tracey fleeing from the scene over the weekend. “We’re trying to ascertain the motive.” Tracey’s mother was forced out of her home by a fire in December, but Coatesville spokeswoman Kristin Geiger said she didn’t know why he would be angry with the city. “Arson itself is a difficult crime to understand,” Geiger said. “Our firefighters are just as hurt as our citizens.”

By Hayden MitmanTimes Staff Writer

Temple University Health System on Monday announced its intention to shutter Northeastern Hospital in Port Richmond by June 30. Long rumored to be facing the ax, the hospital has served the community for more than 100 years and with the closure as many as 800 employees could lose their jobs. In an announcement to employees at a town-hall meeting at around 1 p.m., TUHS said the hospital will cease all in-patient services and become a “multi-specialty ambulatory care center” that will continue to employ about 50 members of its current staff of nearly 850 employees. Once restructured, the new care center born from the closure of the hospital will focus on prenatal and family health. It will offer non-emergency walk-in care and provide outpatient services such as cancer care, cardiac care, digestive disease care, orthopedics and occupational health. Full radiology services and lab work will be available on site. “In plain English, they’re saying it’s going to become doctors offices,” said Jerry Silberman, staff coordinator for the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP). According to Silberman, the restructuring could leave thousands of patients in the lurch when emergency care is needed and will leave hundreds without jobs. “Optimistically, six-hundred people will lose their jobs,” said Silberman. “There will be fifty left (at the new care center) and two-hundred can apply for positions throughout the (Temple University Health) system. But there’s no guarantee that any of them will be able to keep their jobs.” John Buckley, CEO of Northeastern Hospital, said the number of employees to be laid off was unknown. He claimed that the restructuring is an unfortunate occurrence brought on by a stagnant economy and a high percentage of Medicaid recipients utilizing Northeastern’s services. “It’s multi-faceted,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. “The challenge is that Medicaid provides a low percentage of revenue based on the costs incurred to provide health services.” Buckley said that for many years Northeastern Hospital was challenged by what he called a “financial class mix” that included a high level of patients reliant on Medicaid in relation to hospital patients with personal health care insurance. Statewide, Buckley claimed, the average hospital population of patients using Medicaid is about 4 to 6

percent. At Northeastern, he said, it is 53 percent. “Last fiscal year we lost $6.6 million,” said Buckley. “This year it will probably be greater than $15 million.” However, Silberman complained that as a public service facing mounting losses, Northeastern Hospital should have contacted elected officials in Harrisburg and alerted them of the possible closure due to a continued loss of funds. “Why didn’t they ask for funding? At no time have they approached the state or federal government to ask for funding to keep the hospital open,” Silberman said, noting that his organization heard rumblings of a possible closure in December. “They did nothing for the past few months except lay low and wait and hope we would just go away.” Buckley disagreed, saying that the hospital had requested funding. In fact, he said, several years ago the hospital received a grant from the state, but when they applied the next year for the grant, “it was cut in half, then the next year, it was gone. “Unfortunately, we’ve come to realize that the model

we have for Northeastern is not fiscally sound. We would need to go after significant government support year after year after year,” Buckley added. “And, in discussions I’ve had with elected officials, I’ve come to believe that it wouldn’t happen. ”Yet, state Rep. John Taylor (R-177th dist.) said he was “shocked” when he learned of the closure. In fact, he said he has been in discussions with fellow Rep. Michael O’Brien (D-175th dist.) as well as state Sens. Larry Farnese (D-1st dist.) and Michael Stack (D-5th dist.) and Gov. Ed Rendell to determine how the government can halt the closure. “The problem is that they haven’t asked us for anything,” said Taylor. “How can we respond if they haven’t asked? This is a little bit of a snap decision. There are a lot of lives at stake, so we’re not going to let this happen without so much as a peep.” In fact, Farnese balked at Buckley’s contention that the main reason for the hospital’s closure was bleeding revenue caused by a high level of patients who use Medicaid at Northeastern.

“That’s just not a good answer. Through (President Barack Obama’s stimulus package) there will be an increase in Medicaid. He’s made his own case for staying open,” Farnese said. “They need to halt and wait to see how the stimulus package will help Medicaid. I think it’s a strong reason to hold off on this idea of closure.” But Buckley said that finances at the hospital are in such bad shape that with employee salaries and related costs, the hospital can’t afford to wait to see what funding the stimulus package could provide. “One of the greatest difficulties we’ve had is the decision to close the emergency room. Our first choice would obviously be not to close it. But it just isn’t financially viable,” said Buckley. “Our cash position is such that we don’t have anything left. We don’t have time to wait (for stimulus funding.)” With the closure imminent, financial worries may weigh heavy in the minds of those who work at the hospital. But, even with the impending layoffs of between 600 and 800 employees, Maureen Hope, a Fishtown resident who has worked at the hospital for seven years, said she is more concerned about what will happen to the thousands of residents in Kensington, Fishtown, Bridesburg and Juniata who count on the hospital’s services. “People are going to die,” said Hope. “This will just be horrible for the neighborhood. We save so many lives here and it will just be devastating.” Elected officials vowed that Northeastern

Hospital will not close without a fight. According to Taylor, the state government will work to negotiate with hospital representatives to try to save Northeastern. “They can’t close and not even give us the opportunity to help,” said Taylor. “We’re going to meet with (hospital representatives). And if they will not come here, we’ll go there. We will meet with them whether they want us to or not.” Buckley said he would be happy to meet with elected officials. “Absolutely we can meet. We are open to any and all discussions about the hospital,” said Buckley. “But we have to have fiscal responsibility.” •• On Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m., PASNAP will hold a town-hall meeting to discuss the closure. It will be at the Samuel Recreation Center, 3549 Gaul St. in Port Richmond. The public is invited to share thoughts and solutions to the closure. Reporter Hayden Mitman can be reached at 215-354-3124 or hmitman@phillynews.com

Temple University to Close Hospital in Port Richmond

Fire Department Investigates String of Coatesville Arsons

With the citizens of Coatesville concerned for their safety, the fire department leads investigation in charges

surrounding suspected fire fighters

Continues on Page A4

By Kathy MathesonAssociated Press Writer

Researchers may have discovered a mass grave for nearly five dozen 19th century Irish immigrants who died of cholera weeks after coming to Pennsylvania to build a railroad. Historians at Immaculata University have known for years about the 57 immigrants who died in August 1832, but could not find the actual grave. Human bones discovered last week near the suburban Philadelphia university may at last reveal their final resting place … and possibly allow researchers to identify the remains and repatriate them. “We feel a kinship with these men,” said Immaculata history professor William Watson. “Righting an injustice has led us to this point.” The woodsy site where the bones were found is known as “Duffy’s Cut.” It is

named after Philip Duffy, the man who hired the immigrants from Donegal, Tyrone and Derry to help build the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad.

Years of combing the several acres of rough terrain in Duffy’s Cut had so far yielded about 2,000 artifacts, including pipes, buttons and forks. Then on Friday, researchers using ground-penetrating radar unearthed pieces of two skulls along with dozens of other bone fragments and teeth. The findings were announced Tuesday. Research led Watson to conclude many of the Irish workers died of cholera, an acute intestinal infection caused by contaminated food or water that typically had a mortality rate of 40 percent to 60 percent. Watson believes some of the workers may have been murdered because of their illness or ethnicity. There was general prejudice against Irish Catholics, tension between residents and the transient workers, and a great fear of cholera … especially among the affluent classes, Watson said.

Immigrant Graves from the 19th Century Found Along Pennsylvania RailroadGraves found of nearly five dozen Irish immigrant workers who died from cholera in the 19th

century while constructing the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Immaculata University professor,William Watson, displays human remains, found March 24, that were collected from a mass Irish immigrant grave. Continues on Page A7

Mayor Nutter Holds Meeting to Discuss this Year’s Budget with Local Residents

Continues on Page A7

Charles Thompson sifts through debri after his house was set afire on March 9, 2009 in the string of Coatesville arsons

Matt, Rourke, The Associated Press

Gary Hunter, from Olney area, showed at the mayor’s budget meeting as an advo-cate for better wages for shelter workers and securyt, after losing his jobdue at the Eliza Shirley Shelter due to recent cuts.

The Temple Times

Matt, Rourke, The Associated Press

Dr. Allen Steinbach, director on the Northeastern Hospital Intensive Care Unit, on March 24, comments to reporters about the potentially devastating effects of closing the hospital.

Jenny Swigoda, The Star

A1April 5, 2009 The Daily Gazette