WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representatives Rodney Davis (R-IL-13) and Darin LaHood (R-IL-18) today, on a call with more than 30 CEOs of Illinois hospitals and leaders of the Illinois Health & Hospital Association and Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network, discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois and how hospitals are fighting the pandemic on the ground.
The bipartisan members of Congress thanked the hospital representatives for everything their hospitals and health workers have done so far to help Illinois patients. The Senators and Representatives pledged to continue to push for a direct and immediate infusion of funds for our hospitals, as well as policies to stabilize funding for rural hospitals, support the health care workforce, and increase the personal protective equipment, testing kit supplies, ventilators, and other medical resources health workers need. They also discussed how more than $2.6 billion in CARES Act grant funding, plus $4 billion in Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments, are being allocated to health providers across Illinois to address coronavirus-related expenditures and lost revenue.
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“I want to thank all of the hospital leaders and their staff for the heroic work they are doing on the front lines combatting this pandemic. I will continue to work on a bipartisan basis to bolster the health care workforce, expand our testing capacity, and provide direct assistance to hospitals throughout Illinois so they can stay on sound financial ground and continue serving their patients as we get through this national public health crisis,” Durbin said.
“First and foremost, I want to say how unbelievably grateful I am for all of the doctors, nurses, janitors, administrators and all hospital workers across Illinois,” Duckworth said. “Working in medicine has always been selfless, but right now, it’s courageous, too. I’ll keep working with Senator Durbin to make sure our front line health workers have the support and resources they deserve.”
“I appreciated the update from our local hospitals this morning and am thankful for the work their staff is doing every day,” said Davis. “Being in constant contact with our hospitals has allowed me to understand their needs and work with President Trump and Governor Pritzker to ensure hospitals have access to PPE and that updated testing guidelines are in place so our hospitals can now treat non-emergent patients. I look forward to continuing these open lines of communication to ensure our hospitals have what they need to treat patients and can continue to be some of our top job providers.”
“I am grateful to Illinois’ hospitals and frontline health care workers fighting COVID—19 every day. They are keeping our communities in central and west-central Illinois safe, and I will continue to work with my colleagues in Washington to ensure they get the resources they need,” said LaHood.
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