N.C. Senate OKs 2 treatment centers

[surfermaw]

N.C. Senate OKs 2 treatment centers

Chapel Hill and ECU would get projects critics say state can't afford

SHARIF DURHAMS

Raleigh Bureau


RALEIGH - The N.C. Senate approved a new cancer center at UNC Chapel Hill and a stroke center at East Carolina University on Tuesday that could transform the kind of treatment and research done in North Carolina.

Critics, however, warn the projects could help put the state in dangerous debt.

The Senate's overwhelming support for $240 million in projects with a 47-2 vote could help UNC Charlotte, which wants to build a new $35 million center for analyzing genetic data. It's not included yet, but House Democratic Co-Speaker Jim Black of Matthews indicated he wouldn't sign off on the projects without the UNCC center. Senators will take a formal final vote today. The House, which also must approve the projects, may begin debating the issue next week.

"This proposal is to make North Carolina a national leader in health care and research," said Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe. "I think it's important for us to realize this is not just about statistics and mortality rates. It's about the people behind these statistics."

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http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/politics/8700017.htm

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1. or is it about insurance and pharmaceutical companies?

"This proposal is to make North Carolina a national leader in health care and research," said Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe. "I think it's important for us to realize this is not just about statistics and mortality rates. It's about the people behind these statistics."