Possible Closing of St. Vincent's In Manhattan - Slow Ending of Charity Care in USA?

[DoGoodThenGo]

posted an news article a few weeks back on the possible closure of saint vincent's hospital in manhattan, new york, the last remaining catholic hospital in the borough, and at first thought the following should be an update to that story, however as this article speaks to a larger problem felt it deserves a "non-news" conversation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/nyregion/03vincents.html

in short the fate of svmc mirrors the state of many other religious and or charity hospitals in the united states, who must balance their mission of offering care for *all* persons, including the poor/those whom cannot pay, with the very harsh financial reality of running a hospital in today's market place.

providing charity care is all well and good, but that does not pay the bills. in the old days at least catholic hospitals were staffed by nuns whom in theory were not paid directly (dedicated servants), thus kept one of the major expenses for any hospital, nurses down. today, though religious orders may still own the hospitals they founded, nearly all nursing care is done by lay professional nurses, as is totally all the staff. this means paying wages and offering benefits comparable to the local market.

in an area such as new york city, where hospitals are engaged in a seemingly nuclear arms race to build new wings and floors dedicated to all manner of treatments and diseases, "poorer" hospitals often lack the resources to compete. this in turns leads potential patients and doctors (whose patient admissions are the real gravy) to look elsewhere.

there was a time when many "old school" catholics would only go to a hospital run by the church, but that has changed. indeed there are certain myths regarding care at catholic hospitals, especially in the areas of l&d and ob/gyn that cause many of any faith to choose other institutions.

guess my question is can the charity care model of delivering health care survive with the current usa system, or is it doomed to morph more into a for profit service and either scale back or eliminate care for the poor?

dgtg

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

Sorry to hear this news, really this is shameful!

If only healthcare were thought of as a basic right (as the Catholics view it) rather than big business profiteering from illness and woe (multiplied by insurance industry middlemen, non healthcare practitioners) we'd be better off. Just look at Canada! Canadians aren't complaining one iota.

Single payer is the best solution IMHO, similar to having the fire department put out the fires at no direct cost to the citizen as now stands, and the police officer apprehend the criminal at no direct cost to the citizen, and the library renting out materials at no cost to each and every citizen. We assume that this single payer will cost us more, but I regret to say, if you look at the numbers this ain't true. And I'm a fiscal CONSERVATIVE!

[tiddles]

As one who comes from a country where healthcare is a basic human right, it is extremely painful to pay $1000 a month for health insurance for my family.

[DogWmn]

This is happening all over. Here in GA, Grady Hospital in downtown ATL is in the news frequently with threats of closing down. Now they have a new head bigwhig who is starting to turn away patients and closing down services such as dialysis.

I'm with CaLLaCoDe, single payer is the way to go. The USA is the last hold out for this type of system because of scare tactics payed for by the bloated insurance and pharmacy companies who are inherently evil because it's their fiduciary responsibility to make money off of sick people.

[us2uk4u]

Guess my question is can the charity care model of delivering health care survive with the current USA system, or is it doomed to morph more into a for profit service and either scale back or eliminate care for the poor?

DGTG

I am going to get in trouble for saying this but a hospital is built on a profit service model. It's a business, period. As with any other businesses it's fine to do some pro bono work but at the end of the month your financial spread sheet needs to come in the black, not red. And if the hospital has investors? Forget it. I am not sure if anyone has noticed but some textbooks refer to patients as CLIENTS, as in business customers.

Hospitals, in many cases, do not get financially compensated for the charity care they provide. In one example the former president of St John's Hospital in Queens NY (which has since closed and was also owned by the St. VIncent's Health Network) said that for every $1 they spend they only get $0.60 back.

I am pretty sure St. Vincent will close. I am very saddened by the fact that thousands of people will now be unemployed, including 4 nurse friends of mine. I am not sure what the fix here is.

But I do know that a year from now I won't be surprise to see a NY Post headline printing that a new Co-op tower will be erected at the former St. Vincent's site - where a 1 BR will cost you $1 mil.

[CaLLaCoDe, BSN, RN]

I have a sense we will see more hospitals going belly up; the trend will get worse not better. Because people are losing work and with that the uninsured will skyrocket exponentially. The independently insured will be paying more for premiums. No one really can afford to keep the present system as it stands.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

There was a time when many "old school" Catholics would only go to a hospital run by the Church, but that has changed. Indeed there are certain myths regarding care at Catholic hospitals, especially in the areas of L&D and OB/GYN that cause many of any faith to choose other institutions.

Which myths regarding care?