El Dorado Hospital to become elderly health-care center

arizona daily [red] star ^ | 05.26.2006 | Jane Erikson

[Tucson_AZ]

Spin: to become baby boomer care center.

"Reaction to the announcement ranged from enthusiastic to skeptical, with questions raised about the ability of other hospitals to handle the 16,000 emergency patients El Dorado sees each year."

[BurbankKarl]

Oh please.

[a02001]

Sorry Dane,
Its much easier to blame the trial lawyers than Jose. Two separate costly problems. I'm sure you would be offended if a law was passed that prevented the trial lawyers from suing on behalf of " Jose". The simple fact of the matter is that "illegals" do put a drain on the safety net. How much more are you volunteering to pay to insure "Jose" gets a free lunch at the medical smorgasbord? Like all typical liberals, you expect the rest of us to pay for your compassion.

With regards to your Tag-- Get Real, the Berlin wall was built to keep people in not to keep people out. But as a liberal, all walls are the same right?

[randog]

With the nation's 78 million baby boomers beginning to enter their retirement years, health-care organizations around the country are looking for ways to meet their growing needs sponge-up as much SS and MediCare money as they can before it runs dry, said Richard Rodriguez, TMC's chief medical officer.

More good times courtesy of the "me" generation.

[AmusedBystander]

Perhaps if you were sober, you could have seen some.

Perhaps you are a troll who has no redeeming values.

[siznartuf]

The ILLEGAL immigrant -- A present from Mexico to The United States -- care of our complacent leaders -- is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

[angkor]

If you look at the reader comments attached to that news article, it's pretty obvious that the ER at El Dorado was in a complete shambles.

Although there are only four accounts, they are all firsthand experience, and describe waits of 3 to 8 hours without triage. One guy says he "felt like a stranger in my own country."

I ran across a related TMC press release from 2001, describing a $5 million loss on ER services provided that year.

The cause of all this is pretty clear: indigent illegal aliens who do not pay their bills, and can only be "served" in an ER.

[CindyDawg]

Ers are abused by Americans too. Why wait at doctors offices and pay fees when you can go to the emergency for free, with clinic problems?

[angkor]

I sat in an ER with my wife for several hours in Tucson on Friday night and I didn't see one illegal in the waiting room

YOU were in the waiting room. THEY were in triage.

[Texas_Jarhead]

I've had the unfortunate pleasure of visiting two different ERs in the Houston area over the last 24 months. One was a very large chain hospital and the other a smaller community hospital. Both visits left me upset and bewildered. The clear super-majority of the "patients" in both ERs were hispanic. Most of which did not speak English. Both ERs appeared to employ translators though some employees were clearly bilingual. Two things struck me about the other patients: they seemed rather inconsiderate towards the others in the ER and many did not appear to have emergency conditions.

Only during one instance did I actually arrive at the ER with my family member but I can tell you that we had to wait longer that we should had to for a bed to become available. Some of the ER personnel were more than willing to express their negative opinions about the situation but after a few of their comments I had to ask them not to talk about it because I was so hot at the thought of my loved one waiting in pain for a bed because of what was most likely an ER full of illegals.

[AmusedBystander]

YOU were in the waiting room. THEY were in triage.

All triage patients had to pass right by me. So no, another incorrect assumption by a person with preconceived notions.

[sono]

Failing that, the total of unpaid reimbursement for healthcare and other social services for the illegals should be deducted from any foreign aid package for the country of origin.

[FreePaul]

They should give a big round of thanks to one of their US senators.

[FlyVet]

Not to worry, next year Tucsonans will pass another bond proposal to fund another trauma center. Tucson showed how much it loves its Socialist Utopian Bond Proposals a few weeks ago, let's have another!

[discostu]

It's not spin at all. They aren't closing just the emergency room, it's going to stop being a hospital entirely. Makes sense, with TMC and El Dorado and St Joseph's all within close distance of each other (ED and SJ are only a mile apart) the area is over covered. ED is the hospital every forgets is there, and if you've ever had a relative stay there you wish they'd forgotten, never been impressed by the place.

[MeanWestTexan]

Perhaps.

But generally DU trolls go by the name "amused," "casual," "bystander," "observer," or some equally faux-superior moniker.

For such individualists, they sure are predictable.

[discostu]

This isn't caused by illegals. It's a small hospital surrounded by other much larger hospitals, one of which owns the hospital in question, and the owners decided to make it not a hospital anymore.

[Racehorse]

All triage patients had to pass right by me. So no, another incorrect assumption by a person with preconceived notions.

I'm not joining the burn fest.  Serious question.

How did you know who was legal and who was not?  There must have been some telling sign, or the absence of one, for you to be so certain.

[AmusedBystander]

But generally DU trolls go by the name "amused," "casual," "bystander," "observer," or some equally faux-superior moniker.

It generally does amuse me to read posts by people like you. It reminds me why I don't like Howard Dean's or Jesse Jackson's politics. However, personal attacks from the likes of you are not helpful to discuss important topics. You notice that the title was changed from the original post didn't you? I wonder why?

When real observations are made that don't fit into your agenda, you attack someone. I would gladly trade a thousand illegals for one of you anyday.

[AmusedBystander]

How did you know who was legal and who was not? There must have been some telling sign, or the absence of one, for you to be so certain.

Well generally here on FR it is assumed that they are Mexicans.

However, you are right. You can not tell just by looking at someone. Especially here in Tucson where a good number of American citizens are from a hispanic background. The easiest way in my observation came from the fact that nearly everyone was white or black with a few of the hispanics there speaking the King's English as well as me with no accent.

But I have spent a considerable amount of time in ERs in many states and I know lots of good ol' white people who use the ER and never pay their bills. Ask any bankruptcy attorney about how many of their white clients have unpaid medical bills. It's up there with credit cards.

[Texas_Jarhead]

"Well generally here on FR it is assumed that they are Mexicans."

Are you insinuating that this is somehow a false assumption? That the majority of illegals are not in fact mexican?

Off topic question - Do you support S.2611?