For Immediate Release March 7, 2003

EpandMedia Fights Health Care Budget Cuts in Albany; Directs Material for Agency Squier Knapp Dunn-Produced Film Commissioned by the Health Association of New York State (HANYS).

EpandMedia’s Len Epand directed material for a video for the Health Care Association of New York State (HANYS) in response to a recent proposal of immense cuts in the State’s medical budget. Commissioned by Washington D.C. agency Squier Knapp Dunn Communications, who combined Epand’s footage with material shot upstate into a 12-minute program, EpandMedia conducted interviews and filmed hospital emergency rooms, real patients, and even new biological and nuclear terror decontamination facilities at several major hospitals to illustrate the critical importance of continued funding.

Interviews with Doctors and Administrators from St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Center and Harlem Hospital Center, as well as with Dr. Benjamin Chu, CEO of the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation, served to demonstrate the impact of such budget cuts on the city’s ability to maintain essential health and emergency services.

The video was shown in Albany, NY at the March 12 Advocacy Day meeting of HANYS in order to energize members and bolster their rallying cry against the proposed $1.1 billion in cuts to the state’s medical system. HANYS is also using the video to lobby Albany lawmakers.

Doctors from Harlem Hospital explained that they were already functioning in conditions distressed from previous cuts of the last decade, and that these new cuts will have severe ramifications for the communities they serve. Additionally, Dr. Richard Westfall of St. Vincent’s stressed that at a time when hospitals are the first line of defense against terrorism cutting resources now will dangerously impair their ability to prepare for a biological or chemical attack.

For more information, please contact EpandMedia by phone (212.354.8188) or via email (info@epandmedia.com).