The New York State Public Higher Education Conference Board has joined its higher education allies in rejecting the Berger Commission’s report that proposes the merger and privatization of SUNY hospitals in Syracuse, Brooklyn and Stony Brook.
Conference board Co-chair Carl McCall, right, expresses the group’s strong opposition to the Berger Commission report, as UUP President Bill Scheuerman listens in.
In a statement released in early December, the conference board — co-chaired by former state comptroller H. Carl McCall and Roscoe Brown, director of CUNY’s Center for Urban Education Policy — called on the state Legislature to reject the report, noting that the commission’s proposal to merge and privatize the SUNY hospitals would be “detrimental†to the public health service these hospitals provide.
“The SUNY hospitals provide important and critical care to all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay,†McCall said. “If the proposed privatization becomes reality, it will jeopardize the SUNY hospitals’ mission of accessible and affordable health education.â€
The board believes that “rational and meaningful†dialogue — and not a rushed, all-or-nothing plan — is necessary, especially with the health care of thousands of New Yorkers at stake.
The conference board is a nonpartisan coalition of advocates for public higher education throughout the state. It is made up of representatives from CUNY and SUNY senior and community colleges, student and faculty groups, unions and others. Since its inception, the members have advocated for higher education by testifying before state officials and blitzing lawmakers with Capital District-area advertising campaigns.
— Karen L. Mattison