(HOUSTON) – Riverside Hospital is in financial trouble and some community leaders are calling on elected officials and business leaders to take action to keep the nation’s oldest and only black hospital open.
Activist Quanell X led a press conference in front of the hospital, saying the substance abuse and mental health programs run by Riverside are critical to the African-American community, but because the federal government will not release millions of dollars of Medicare funds, it will soon be forced to close.
NEWS 92 FM’s Carolyn Campbell reports:
Medicare began withholding funds two years ago, after several former Riverside top administrators were charged in a $500 dollar Medicare scam.
Quanell X says the hospital and the community should not be punished for the wrongdoings of administrators.
The man currently running the hospital admits it is in deep financial trouble, but he insists Riverside is not closing.
William Hilliard says the hospital is undergoing extensive renovations as well as developing other self-supporting healthcare programs.
Nation’s Oldest Black Hospital May Close After Washington Cuts Funding was originally published on news92fm.com
