Budget drops Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh funding

Christopher Gessner, president of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, is mystified and upset by state budgeting practices. He can't understand why his hospital is set to lose all $445,000 of its state funding in Gov. Ed Rendell's new budget, while a similar medical facility, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, is only losing $44,000. "We'll be taking a direct hit," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I'm puzzled. This is frustrating. All we want is parity with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We don't have it right now."