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April 10, 2010

RICHMOND
Advocates who lobbied Gov. Bob McDonnell for state dollars to lessen the impact of budget cuts on Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters apparently were persuasive.  Among the amendments McDonnell will propose to Virginia's budget is one that restores $1.8 million in state funding to the Norfolk pediatric hospital.

The two-year spending plan approved by the General Assembly last month contained hundreds of millions in cuts to health and human service programs, including reductions to Medicaid reimbursement payments.

Officials have said that action would have hit CHKD particularly hard because more than half of its patient visits are paid for by Medicaid, a higher proportion than at other state hospitals.

The restored funding also will enable the hospital to receive federal Medicaid matching dollars. Between those two sources, CHKD should have funding officials feared would be lost during the biennial budget cycle that begins July 1.

"The Children's Hospital does amazing work for Virginia children in desperate need of medical care," the governor said in a statement that alluded to his familiarity with the facility as a former Virginia Beach resident. "So many families and children have been touched by the life-saving work done on a daily basis by the medical professionals at the Children's Hospital."

Among those who lobbied for the funds to be restored was state Sen. Ralph Northam, a Norfolk Democrat and pediatric neurologist who admits patients to CHKD.

"I'm very grateful to the governor that he's listened to us and is helping us," Northam said Friday.

Also making the case for restored funding was Del. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk, who said McDonnell's decision recognizes "the uniqueness of CHKD and the impact the cuts would have on them and their ability to provide services."

In a statement that acknowledged Jones and Northam, CHKD President and CEO Jim Dahling expressed appreciation for McDonnell's awareness of "how important these funds are to the health of Virginia's children."

The proposed CHKD budget amendment is the first that has been announced by the governor's office.

McDonnell is expected to send down all his budget amendments and vetoes by Tuesday.

The General Assembly is scheduled to consider his actions when it reconvenes April 21.

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com