Financial woes jeopardize area hospitals [Los Angeles]

Los Angeles Times ^ | September 23, 2007 | Daniel Costello and Susannah Rosenblatt

[John Jorsett]

Nearly two dozen private hospitals in Los Angeles and Orange counties, accounting for up to 15% of beds in the region, are in dire financial straits and in danger of bankruptcy or closure, according to hospital administrators, industry experts and state data.

The troublesome development follows the closure of community clinics and hospitals in recent years that has left the healthcare system seriously overburdened.

If even a few other hospitals close or reduce costly critical-care services, it could mean longer ambulance rides to hospitals, additional delays in emergency rooms and less access to care, especially for poor and uninsured people.

Among the hospitals in poor financial health, according to industry analysts, are Downey Regional Medical Center, Centinela Freeman Health System in Inglewood, Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, Century City Doctors Hospital and four Orange County hospitals owned by Santa Ana-based Integrated Healthcare Holdings Inc. including Chapman Medical Center in Orange and Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, one of three trauma centers in the county.

In interviews, senior executives at Centinela and Downey said they were considering closing their emergency rooms. Downey's chief operating officer, Rob Fuller, added that his hospital could close entirely as early as next year if its financial picture didn't improve soon.

The financial woes result from a multitude of developments:

* An increasing load of uninsured and low-income patients has resulted from overcrowding and the shutdown of public facilities. The number of uninsured patients visiting private hospitals, particularly in poor areas, has increased by one-third in Los Angeles County since 2002. California's Medi-Cal program for the poor reimburses hospitals at one of the lowest rates in the country.

[szweig]

Let’s get the government involved. Then everything will be OK!!!

[John Jorsett]

Interesting how the article manages to avoid the term “illegal alien” entirely. “Poor and uninsured” figures prominently, however.

This is why the leftists up in Sacramento are moving to bring universal coverage to California. That’s the only way to get the rest of us to pay for the illegals.

[FormerACLUmember]

I think it is a wonderful thing that California is providing free medical care for the entire population of oil-rich Mexico.

Forbes now reports that the world’s richest man is a Mexican dude. And hey, why not? They don’t pay any taxes for health care for the peons. Just send them to California, Texas or NY to the Emergency Rooms.

[freekitty]

What’s good ol Arnie going to do about that?

[Thermalseeker]

,i>Just send them to California, Texas or NY to the Emergency Rooms.

Don't forget to mention Tennessee! Can't swing a dead cat around here anymore without hitting an illegal (or being hit by a car driven by a drunk illegal)

If they come here, not only will they get free health care, but we'll even give 'em a drivers license, too, if they can produce a phone bill or an electric bill to "prove" they are here legally.....

[FreePaul]

...uninsured and low-income patients...

I wonder if any of those are people who shouldn't be in this country? Maybe most of them? We are not allowed to even discuss the problem. We must only try to cure the symptoms.

[BigFinn]

For a close up view of the problem, just go to any Emergency Room still open in California and you'll see why. Pretty soon there won't be any open. Then what'll we do?

Better learn to treat yourself. Reminds me of that commercial where the guy is going to perform his own operation with help over the telephone...

[Cowboy Bob]

How could this be? The Government says that Illegals are a financial benefit to the country. /sarc

[Republic Rocker]

A copy of my letter to the editor......., the good people of California deserve better.......,

Mr. Costello,

How can you write such an article on the state of our hospitals and not ONCE mention the burden of treating a MASSIVE influx of ILLEGAL immigrants. You are dishonest in your article and your paper even more so in its slanted news on a daily basis. When you guys get REAL maybe things will change.

Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx ( ex LAT’s subscriber )

[A_Tradition_Continues]

Can't swing a dead cat around here anymore without hitting an illegal (or being hit by a car driven by a drunk illegal)

Who do you think ran over that dead cat?

[Tennessee Nana]

Can you say..

“Illegal aliens use ER’s as regular doctors/medical care for non-emergencies like the sniffles, etc”?

[AuntB]

The medical care for illegal aliens is destroying the healthcare of all of us.

Parkland Memorial: 70% of the women who gave birth at Parkland were illegals

Parkland is also home to the second busiest maternity ward in the country with almost 16,000 new babies arriving each year. (That’s almost 44 per day every day) A recent patient survey indicated that 70 percent of the women who gave birth at Parkland in the first three months of 2006 were illegal immigrants. That’s 11,200 anchor babies born every year just in Dallas. —

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1851609/posts

[Uncle Hal]

Can you spell the word ILLEGAL.

[AuntB]

This one didn’t make it to the hospital. Why should this child be a US citizen?

http://news.google.com/news? hl=en&ned=us&q=%22rio+grande%22&btnG=Search+News

[snip] Some women are in labor more than 24 hours, while others have their babies before they can make it to the hospital.

So it was on Sept. 7, when the Brownsville Fire Department transported a husband and wife, who had just given birth, to Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville. The parents, names unknown, were discharged the following day along with their newborn baby boy.

This couple didn’t travel from home to the hospital, but from the banks of the Rio Grande.

[TASMANIANRED]

The Dominos tumble.

[Navy Patriot]

This is getting sore fast.

It could be really ripe just before the next election. CA will probably have an economic downturn and taxes may motivate voting, but then never underestimate the stupidity of the California dopesmoker.

[Cyropaedia]

Forbes now reports that the world’s richest man is a Mexican dude.

That guy would be Carlos Slim of TELMEX. The poor guy only averages around 27 million a day.

I think Antonio Villaraigosa should hit him up for a donation...

[Travis McGee]

Interesting fact: Mexicans have not opened up one hospital in Los Angeles. Leaches and parasites come to mind.

[FormerACLUmember]

In effect, Fat Boy Slim sends his employees to LA for free medical care. Keeps the profit margins high.