Posted on 08/23/2008 8:51:36 PM PDT by STARWISE
Sen. Barack Obama's wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don't have private insurance -- primarily poor, black people -- to other health care facilities.
Michelle Obama -- currently on unpaid leave from her $317,000-a-year job as a vice president of the prestigious hospital -- helped create the program, which aims to find neighborhood doctors for low-income people who were flooding the emergency room for basic treatment.
Hospital officials say such patients hinder their ability to focus on more critically ill patients in need of specialized care, such as cancer treatment and organ transplants.
Obama's top political strategist, David Axelrod, co-owns the firm, ASK Public Strategies, that was hired by the hospital last year to sell the program -- called the Urban Health Initiative -- to the community as a better alternative for poor patients.
Obama's wife and Valerie Jarrett, an Obama friend and adviser who chairs the medical center's board, backed the Axelrod firm's hiring, hospital officials said.
Another Obama adviser and close friend, Dr. Eric Whitaker, took over the Urban Health Initiative when he was hired at U. of C. in October 2007.
Whitaker previously had been director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. Obama has said he recommended Whitaker for the state job, giving his name to Tony Rezko, who helped Gov. Blagojevich assemble his Cabinet.
Rezko, a former fund-raiser for Obama and Blagojevich, was convicted in June on federal corruption charges tied to state deals.
Medical center officials and Obama's presidential campaign staff say the Urban Health Initiative -- along with a three-year-old companion program called the South Side Health Collaborative -- will dramatically improve health care for thousands of South Side residents.
They say that, rather than having to wait hours at U. of C.'s emergency room, those patients get seen sooner and at less expense at neighborhood clinics and other hospitals. U. of C. even offers them a ride on a shuttle bus to other centers and sometimes provides the doctors at those facilities.
"Senator Obama sees community health centers as a vital part of efforts to invest in prevention and reduce costs," said Ben LaBolt, an Obama spokesman.
But the Urban Health Initiative has critics, including South Side residents and medical professionals.
"I've heard complaints from a handful of constituents, but I've also had calls from people in the health care profession complaining," said Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, whose 4th Ward is just north of the hospital.
"The medical professionals who have come to me are accusing the university of dumping patients on its neighboring institutions. ... Whether it's being implemented in the way that's in the best interest of the patient, I can't tell you."
More at link
Gotcha ... I’ve heard the stories as my son is an ER doc. But my question is, as spelled out below, if a teaching hospital has a reputation for specialty diseases/procedures, can they arbitrarily turn away critically ill patients who don’t fall under their specific specialities?
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“In the past, we opened our doors and saw whoever came,” Whitaker said Friday. “We would see a patient who had general pneumonia, and if we needed to see a patient who needed a liver transplant, that liver transplant patient couldn’t get in the door.”
And rather than dump patients on other health care facilities, Whitaker said the initiative actually is improving their bottom lines.
“We were taking general patients away from Mercy Hospital, Michael Reese, and they were financially at risk,” Whitaker said. “We harmed other hospitals without knowing we harmed other hospitals.”
At the same time, the Urban Health Initiative is improving the university’s finances. Fewer poor patients are showing up at the U. of C. emergency room for basic medical treatment and are no longer admitted to the hospital. That frees beds for transplants, cancer care and other more-profitable medical procedures that the university prides itself on.”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1122691,CST-NWS-hosp23.article
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So, I’m taking it that the above seems to be a sensible arrangement? Having been in ER’s several times myself, they obviously take the sickest first, so the docs explanation above doesn’t really sound logical. It does seem that the receiving hospitals could be thrust into financial and staff crisis as a result of this arrangement.
;)
The Obama’s definition of Change is to make slumlord pals like Resko richer and the organisations that they work for richer, at the expense of the poor.
I work weekends at a private healthcare clinic that treats mostly TennCare patients. When parents complain about the 1-2 hour wait on Sunday afternoon, I remind them that the local pediatric ER would be MUCH longer...and I don't think ringworm is an emergency.
and I don’t think ringworm is an emergency.
```
Sure isn’t.
Sen. Barack Obama's wife and three close advisers have been involved with a program at the University of Chicago Medical Center that steers patients who don't have private insurance -- primarily poor, black people -- to other health care facilities. Michelle Obama -- currently on unpaid leave from her $317,000-a-year job as a vice president of the prestigious hospital -- helped create the program, which aims to find neighborhood doctors for low-income people who were flooding the emergency room for basic treatment.$317K?
I could understand if this was late at night or on the weekend, but this was at 10:00am on a Monday morning.
For the first time in my life I can say I’m proud of the Chicago SunTimes.
Hospital officials say such patients hinder their ability to focus on more critically ill patients in need of specialized care, such as cancer treatment and organ transplants.
They're doing cancer treatments and organ transplants in the emergency room? Good grief.
And the same people will line the streets to take a picture of her and him and vote as well....
Sen. B. Hussein Obama (D-Chicago Machine)
yitbos
This hospital may prove quite the treasure trove of damning info if people research it enough. Pork city.
This won’t go over well for the phony Obamas.
>>”Sick people being bussed?”<<
If the bus were full someone would have to sit in the back seats. Wouldn’t that open up another Rosa Park’s situation?
Someone needs to draw up a big flow chart of the incestuous relationships the Obamas' have with UofC, the hospital and Marxist supporters and business partners.
Instead, because she knows the angles and understands rent-seeking, her first instinct is to game the system to get an exception for her employer at the expense of everyone else.
(I almost said "because she's a liberal" but that is not correct, many so called "conservative" business owners would not hesitate to do the same)
It's RACIST!
Found another article where CMS and community is addressed:
Rules for community call
Although CMS does not plan to preapprove hospitals' formal community call arrangements, it will investigate complaints of EMTALA violations. To pass muster, community call plans must:
- Include a clear delineation of on-call coverage responsibilities among participating hospitals.
- Define the specific geographic area.
- Be signed by an appropriate representative of each participating hospital.
- Ensure that local and regional EMS system protocols formally include information on community call arrangements.
- Include a statement specifying that even a hospital not designated as on-call will provide a screening exam and stabilizing treatment within its capacity, and follow EMTALA rules on transfers.
- Undergo an annual reassessment by the participating hospitals.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
American Medical News June 16, 2008
It has a HUGH Emergency Room with a Triage Section, which all Trauma Centers have. And I KNOW gun shot victims used to be taken there as it was always in the news.
I don't know if Michelle's group had anything to do with the 'delisting' to save money (99.99% of gang bangers don't have Blue Cross), but this sure seems an odd coincidence.
And for sure I wouldn't want to get caught in a gun battle in Barry's neighborhood now - the closest Trauma Center in Chi. is the County Hospital (Stroger Hosp) over NINE (9) 'losing blood fast' miles away.
I’m sorry about the wait. That’s very frustrating, when you or your child is in worse condition than people who go ahead.
The child with strep throat was an appropriate patient for Fast Track, quick assessment, education, prescription, in and out. Maybe a nurse-practitioner treating the patients.
Your child was waiting for the X-ray and a radiologist to view the images. The radiologist could have been busy looking at images of in-hospital patients with serious conditions. Does your local ER have its own Xray room or share with the rest of the hospital? The wait is a matter of which the hospital’s resources are freed up and available.
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