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Governor Jane Swift was the keynote speaker at the Medical Staff Annual Meeting on December 3 in the Bornstein Amphitheater. The visit marked her first public trip back to 75 Francis Street since her historic delivery of twin daughters at BWH in May. Swift commended BWH as one of the “jewels in the crown of the Massachusetts health care system,” and explained that there is “nothing like a twin pregnancy to make you appreciate good health care.” According to Swift, her experience as a BWH patient influenced her view on the critical issues that drive the provision of health care in the Commonwealth.
In her formal presentation, Swift talked about the work of the State’s Health Care Task Force. She went on to discuss Massachusetts’ status on bioterrorism and disaster preparedness and her multi-year financing plan for health care. Her remarks also touched upon the State’s priority of financing those citizens who cannot afford their own health care and the critical shortage of nurses in the context of the State’s efforts to attract individuals to the health care profession.
Swift also entertained questions from the physicians in the audience that focused on issues such as administrative simplification to cut health care costs, patient privacy and HIPAA, Medicaid, federal resources related to bioterrorism preparedness in the Commonwealth and public health funding cuts in light of other State funding priorities.