December, 08 2016, 11:00am EDT
Belhaven Mayor Adam O'Neal to Hold "Governor, Save Our Hospital!" Press Conference
Belhaven Mayor Adam O'Neal will be joined on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m. outside the Governor's Mansion by residents of the Belhaven area and NC NAACP members who want to tell their stories of the hardships endured since Pungo District Hospital closed in 2014. The group will include family members of people who have died as a result of lack of access to care.
RALEIGH
Belhaven Mayor Adam O'Neal will be joined on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m. outside the Governor's Mansion by residents of the Belhaven area and NC NAACP members who want to tell their stories of the hardships endured since Pungo District Hospital closed in 2014. The group will include family members of people who have died as a result of lack of access to care.
The Save Our Hospital Coalition is encouraging members of the media to help tell these stories, in an effort to draw attention to the impact of the closure of the hospital and to the current efforts to demolish it.
According to a report in the Greenville Daily Reflector on Nov. 29, Beaufort County Superior Court Judge Cy Grant issued the order to stop demolition of the building, along with an order for a court hearing to be held on or before Dec. 8 for a preliminary injunction.
The mayor told supporters at a rally held on Nov. 27 that the judge issued the order after eight members of Pantego Creek LLC alleged that they were either not informed or misinformed by the managers of the non-profit concerning financial details that they believe influenced the decisions of many of the members who voted for demolition.
O'Neal said members of Pantego Creek LLC have asserted that the pro-hospital group has never presented a business plan, but at a rally in Belhaven on Dec. 3, the Mayor presented a copy of the plan and offered copies, upon request, to anyone who doubted its existence or validity.
"Pantego Creek LLC is pressing to tear down the historical, critical access hospital that was the first Hill-Burton hospital in the United States," O'Neal said.
Congress passed the Hill-Burton Act in 1946. It gave hospitals and other health facilities grants and loans for construction and modernization. In return, recipients of the funds agreed to provide a reasonable volume of services to people who were unable to pay, and make their services available to everyone in the area. School children in the Belhaven area raised the first $15,000 and a farmer matched their donation
Click here to watch this event live.
WHO: Belhaven Mayor Adam O'Neal, the NC NAACP and the Forward Together Moral Movement
WHAT: "Governor, Save Our Hospital!" Press Conference
WHEN: Thursday, December 8, 2016 at 1:30 pm
WHERE: 200 N Blount St, Raleigh, NC 27601
Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
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