Protesters of hospital closing send Nordenberg a message

Tony Buba has a message for the chancellor: Keep UPMC Braddock from closing.

Buba was one of… Tony Buba has a message for the chancellor: Keep UPMC Braddock from closing.

Buba was one of about 50 people from the organization Save Our Community Hospitals who marched to Chancellor Mark Nordenberg’s house on Devonshire Street this weekend to give him a letter from Braddock community officials.

But their plan didn’t work out perfectly. A University spokesman told the gatherers Nordenberg wasn’t home at the time. He was traveling, Buba said.

So Braddock Council member Tina Doose, who was with the protesters, delivered the letter to a Pitt policeman at the door of Nordenberg’s home. The letter asks Nordenberg, a member of UPMC’s Board of Directors, to delay closing UPMC Braddock for 18 months. That would give the community time to find another organization to take over the hospital, according to the letter.

UPMC announced in mid-October that it planned to close its Braddock Hospital Jan. 31, this Sunday. A UPMC news release cited declining inpatient usage by the community and a lack of return on investment in the hospital.

UPMC lost $27 million over the past six years through Braddock Hospital and could lose far more if the hospital remained open, according to the release.

Paul Wood, vice president of public relations for UPMC, was not available for comment Monday. Vice Chancellor of Public Affairs Robert Hill did say in an e-mail, “We hope to have the information to respond on Tuesday.”