Draconian state Medicaid cuts brought more than 30 CIR members from Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Hospital out on a bitter cold afternoon to protest, many with white coats straining over their overcoats.

The “Put Patients First” rally in front of the Massachusetts State House on January 29th drew more than 800 people -- hospital employees, administrators, elected officials and patients. They gathered to protest clinic closures, staff cuts and the closing of important services at the two hospitals.

“At the Cambridge Health Alliance, we provide 270,000 primary care outpatient visits every year,” said Dr. Zarpash Babar, PGY 2 in Internal Medicine, who spoke on behalf of CIR. “Forty-two percent of our patients speak a language other than English, and we are the largest single provider of mental health care in the state of Massachusetts.

“Budget cuts to safety net hospitals like Cambridge and BMC leave patients without care, and it condemns many of the mentally ill to homelessness and prison,” said Dr. Babar.

Protesters demanded that Governor Deval Patrick designate funds from the federal economic recovery legislation to restore the cuts to BMC and Cambridge. Last fall, the governor unilaterally cut the Medicaid program, and 70% of those cuts were aimed at the state’s two most important safety net hospitals.

Also speaking at the rally was Dr. Thea James, a former CIR leader and now an emergency medicine attending at Boston Medical Center. She spoke about the history and role of safety net hospitals. The crowd also heard from a patient who benefited from the Birth Sisters program, which is now on the chopping block, and other health care workers who see the devastating effects of the recession and ongoing budget cuts every day.