Daniel Freeman: Saving it’s Own Life - The Little Hospital That
Could
By Theresa
Hulme
The SOMH (Save Our Marina
Hospital) volunteers are taking on, once again, one of the largest hospital
chains and Fortune 500 companies in America.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation purchased the Daniel
Freeman Marina hospital from Catholic nuns a few years ago and transformed the
hospital from a community serving non-profit entity into a Wall Street star and
shareholder favorite. Though investors cash in handsomely on the
‘hospitals- for-profit’ fury that has hijacked U.S. healthcare, it
is the average American that ultimately pays the price with their health and
lives.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation is
the subject of investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and has been
recently exposed on 60 Minutes for criminal activities. These include but are
not limited to: performing unnecessary surgeries, recruiting patients,
Medicare fraud, illegal kickbacks to doctors, altering billing codes to bilk
insurance companies, etc. Eighty percent of heart surgeries performed at this
facility were unnecessary.
As
pharmaceutical corporations dominate the industry, the actual definition of
‘healthcare’ has sadly become a misnomer. Many people, even the
well-insured, are simply afraid of seeing a doctor. The industry profits when
people are ill. In America’s fast food, drug obsessed economy, our
capitalistic ‘healthcare’ system benefits from and actually helps to
create a sick and drug addicted society. Incidentally, the Bush
Administration/Republican party receives some of its largest donations from
pharmaceutical /drug corporations.
We
CAHRE has recently picked up support from LA mayor Jim Hahn. (With election
year coming up, he needs a feel-good, human relations issue) Wherever the
support comes from, however, We CAHRE needs it. Tenet is reported to be
planning to ‘donate’ the hospitals to an inside group of doctors and
CEO’s affiliated with Tenet and its local holdings. Some say that doctor
owned hospitals create conflicts of interest, especially considering
Tenet’s sordid history.
We
CAHRE is also getting help from Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, one of the
group’s biggest ally. The Councilwoman must realize how important
hospitals are to a community.
In the
bigger picture, the work of this local group of activists and volunteers will
reverberate nationally. The state of healthcare in America is a huge national
embarrassment, even in comparison to substantially less ‘developed’
nations.
In any case, most
Americans agree that the current system, or lack thereof, is in need of
Emergency Medical Treatment. We CAHRE is paving the way and pioneering efforts
to address vital quality-of-life issues. In the process of obtaining 501 (c) 3
status as a non-profit entity, financial support is critical.
Sought after nationally by reporters
and other community leaders experiencing a similar crisis, founder Julie Inouye
says, “The community must understand how important this is. This
hospital is for our region, we plan to turn it into a cutting-edge, model
facility. At this point, we need the community to step up and help us.
Nobody knows better what is right for a community than the people who live in
it. This is our opportunity to do something great.”
If the hospital becomes owned and
operated by We CAHRE, the non-profit status means that any profits generated
simply recycle back into the system. Donations from the community have come in
as low as $10. The estimated upfront cost for the hospitals is at about $10
million. For more information, to become a volunteer or donate to WE CAHRE,
visit www.somh.org or call 310-306-1487. Literally, a life or death issue
!
As pharmaceutical corporations
dominate the industry, the actual definition of ‘healthcare’ has
sadly become a misnomer. Many people, even the well-insured, are simply
afraid of seeing a doctor. The industry profits when people are ill. In
America’s fast food, drug obsessed economy, our capitalistic
‘healthcare’ system benefits from and actually helps to create a
sick and drug addicted society.
Incidentally, the Bush Administration/Republican party receives some of its
largest donations from pharmaceutical/drug
corporations.
We CAHRE has recently
picked up support from LA mayor Jim Hahn. (With election year coming up, he
needs a feel-good, human relations issue) Wherever the support comes from,
however, We CAHRE needs it. Tenet is reported to be planning to
‘donate’ the hospitals to an inside group of doctors and CEO’s
affiliated with Tenet and its local holdings. Some say that doctor owned
hospitals create conflicts of interest, especially considering Tenet’s
sordid history. We CAHRE is also getting help from Councilwoman Cindy
Miscikowski, one of the group’s biggest ally. The Councilwoman must
realize how important hospitals are to a community.
In the bigger picture, the work of
this local group of activists and volunteers will reverberate nationally. The
state of healthcare in America is a huge national embarrassment, even in
comparison to substantially less ‘developed’ nations. In any
case, most Americans agree that the current system, or lack thereof, is in need
of Emergency Medical Treatment. We CAHRE is paving the way and pioneering
efforts to address vital quality-of-life issues. In the process of obtaining
501 (c) 3 status as a non-profit entity, financial support is critical.
Sought after nationally by reporters
and other community leaders experiencing a similar crisis, founder Julie Inouye
says "The community must understand how important this is. This hospital is
for our region, we plan to turn it into a cutting-edge, model facility. At this
point, we need the community to step up and help us. Nobody knows better
what is right for a community than the people who live in it. This is our
opportunity to do something great." If the hospital becomes owned and operated
by We CAHRE, the non-profit status means that any profits generated simply
recycle back into the system.Donations from the community have come in as low as
$10. The estimated upfront cost for the hospitals is at about $10 million.
For more information, to become a
volunteer or donate to WE CAHRE, visit www.somh.org or call 310-306-1487.
Literally, a life or death issue !
Posted: Sat
- May 1, 2004 at 04:25 PM