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SYRACUSE - Employees of Community General Hospital (CGH) will have more pension options if they become public employees through Upstate University Hospital's acquisition proposal, the acquirer says.
The newly adopted state budget contains two "key pieces" of legislation that Upstate officials believe "will help move" the acquisition process forward.
The legislation also provides the spending authority necessary for hospital operations if the acquisition is approved, which Upstate expects to happen sometime around July 1.
Upstate on March 24 announced it had filed a certificate of need with the New York State Department of Health, which started the formal review process.
Lawmakers approved a bill that enables Upstate to offer an additional retirement option to all CGH employees who will join the Upstate work force. The CGH employees who transition to state employment can either remain with the CGH pension plan, which Upstate would manage, or enroll in the "appropriate" state-retirement program option, according to Upstate.
The approved pension legislation reflects favorably on the acquisition process, Community General CEO Thomas Quinn said in a news release.
Community General employees are part of the upstate division of 1199SEIU, a union for health-care workers. It represents about 900 employees at Community General.
Ruth Heller, the union's area vice president, spoke during a January 20 community forum on the proposed merger at the Central New York...