Deal Keeps Greater Southeast Hospital Open, For Now

Workers at Greater Southeast Hospital - which avoided shutdown last week - are not quite ready to break out the Champagne. The potential closure of Greater Southeast was averted last week when the Specialty Hospitals of America agreed to a tentative purchase of the facility, reported Susan Levine in Thursday's Washington Post. "This is a step forward but we are looking at the details of the deal," 1199SEIU Interim Political Director Samuel Epps tells UNION CITY. "The workers at Greater Southeast have hung in with the hospital and done a tremendous job providing services to the community during this transition." 1199SEIU and the DC Nurses Association represent workers at the facility. The multi-million deal is expected to be finalized by November 1 but "could hinge on a contribution of as much as $27.5 million" from the DC government to cover the hospital's debt, Levine reported in the Post.