It's really unfortunate that our local medical schools don't run their own hospitals. UCSF is a fantastic medical research institution that over the years has basically turned SF General Hospital into a satellite facility with the help and assistance of the SF Department of Health. It's a win for both -- as it's allowed SF to maintain a fantastic county hospital where patients have access to some of the best doctors in the country, on loan from UCSF. UCSF doctors get an opportunity to work with a much broader range of patients.
In Oakland, Highland Hospital, which is part of the county run system, benefits from marketing itself as a first-rate ER training facility. And makes a good share of its income off of that program. It also benefits from being in an enormously large county -- which isn't atypical for California -- that stretches way into the South Bay and has many different hospitals. Although Highland is the flagship hospital. And the Alameda County Medical Center has had financial troubles that SFGH has not. Although keeping it independent and nonprofit and county run has probably in the long run been a benefit for both systems -- especially when dealing with clients that do not have the financial means or insurance to pay.
Howard has a med school and a hospital. It's had problems. And GWU and Georgetown owned their hospitals outright, but then sold them off. (I think Georgetown did, I know that GWU did.) I remember back in the day at U Michigan, the University President (Harold Shapiro) said in retrospect that before he took the job, he should have done a lot of reading on health care and hospital administration. The UM Hospitals went through a big expansion back then, later created an HMO, which only recently was sold.
Georgetown's Hospital is owned by the same company that owns the Washington Hospital Center.
Admittedly, UCSF is a special case -- as it's part of the University of California system, but is entirely a medical school. you can't major in English at UCSF.
Stanford, though, owns its own hospital. And its doctor groups are a model for healthcare around the country. Similar, in someways, to the GWU Medical Faculty Associates.
Still I'd think that if we had more university-owned hospitals around here, we'd be better off. And great southeast might not be in so much trouble. I think overall. The quality of care and reputations at Georgetown and GW have suffered because they are owned outside of the campus.
I know that I go to JHU now for all my specialized care.
"Similar, in someways, to the GWU Medical Faculty Associates."
GW also had a health plan that was joined with its MFA of which I was a member many years ago. As soon as GW did its deal with it's new hospital, it closed the health plan and left us floundering.
I finally wound up at Kaiser, which took over the old Group Health Plan (where I started in 1981) when it caved. GW is farming out many of its med students to assist the doctors at Kaiser and I am not impressed.
IMHO, there is no healthcare in this country. It's all about medical services delivery and money--like everything else. You have to really educate yourself and advocate for yourself or you are going to wind up a victim of this crazy system.
Also, I was in Washington Hospital Center 4 years ago for a parathyroid operation and the place was a dump and a wreck. I was sharing a room with this poor woman who was having kidney failure and was hallucinating. Evety time I would finally start to nod off, she would start shouting or flailing around. I finally went out in the middle of the night, rolling my IV bottle, to the nurses' station and demanded to be put in another room. Thank God for morphine.
I had a long conversation with one of my nurses the next day and she explained that at WHC, all the money goes into the cardiac unit, not into the renal/gland area where I was. If you have an illness or problem in an area that has been gifted with funds, you're in much better circumstances.
"Similar, in someways, to the GWU Medical Faculty Associates."
GW also had a health plan that was joined with its MFA of which I was a member many years ago. As soon as GW did its deal with it's new hospital, it closed the health plan and left us floundering.
I finally wound up at Kaiser, which took over the old Group Health Plan (where I started in 1981) when it caved. GW is farming out many of its med students to assist the doctors at Kaiser and I am not impressed.
IMHO, there is no healthcare in this country. It's all about medical services delivery and money--like everything else. You have to really educate yourself and advocate for yourself or you are going to wind up a victim of this crazy system.
Also, I was in Washington Hospital Center 4 years ago for a parathyroid operation and the place was a dump and a wreck. I was sharing a room with this poor woman who was having kidney failure and was hallucinating. Evety time I would finally start to nod off, she would start shouting or flailing around. I finally went out in the middle of the night, rolling my IV bottle, to the nurses' station and demanded to be put in another room. Thank God for morphine.
I had a long conversation with one of my nurses the next day and she explained that at WHC, all the money goes into the cardiac unit, not into the renal/gland area where I was. If you have an illness or problem in an area that has been gifted with funds, you're in much better circumstances.
with the closing of so many hospitals in DC proper there will be a serious and dangerous lack of emergency care in the event of a big cataclysm like 911. It is shocking and absurd that the so-called "homeland security" doesn't step in and declare some of these places "security assetts" and use their funds to keep them open in the event of disaster. This city was once home to numerous hospitals of high quality.We are facing a real dilemma here in DC and no one is awake at the wheel.This is an instance where the feds could really do some good in DC itself. I guess that the suburban hospitals are their focus just like their idiotic BRAC plan for future suburban sprawl and OPEC support/ solidarity.Very sad indeed.
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