Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Having read that with current legal stuff 13% of hospitals could be closing, what will happen? I'm not looking to debate why they are closing. Google it. Just, what about all the people who rely on them for care?:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 This is the first I've heard about it. The hospital here is TERRIBLE, so I can't see how it would change things much around here, but it is a source of jobs, and a last resort for true emergencies... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 This is the first I've heard about it. The hospital here is TERRIBLE, so I can't see how it would change things much around here, but it is a source of jobs, and a last resort for true emergencies... I'm really concerned that a lot of the hospitals are more rural ones and then care access requires REALLY driving a long way, which isn't good in an emergency... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 (edited) I'm really concerned that a lot of the hospitals are more rural ones and then care access requires REALLY driving a long way, which isn't good in an emergency... Yes, I work in a rural nursing home, located a few blocks from the only hospital within an hour or so. If it were to close, it would be disastrous for us. I can't imagine we'd be able to stay open. Our residents are, by definition, too unstable to be that far from higher level medical care. (I have no reason to believe it's going to close, and would be rather surprised if it did - it's situated where it is for a reason. But it would be horrible for my family if it did, both from a medical care perspective and because it would demolish the job opportunities in the area for me.) Edited March 7, 2012 by ocelotmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 Yes, I work in a rural nursing home, located a few blocks from the only hospital within an hour or so. If it were to close, it would be disastrous for us. I can't imagine we'd be able to stay open. Our residents are, by definition, too unstable to be that far from higher level medical care. That's exactly the kind of stuff I'm worried about. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in Austin Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 I assume that number is the number of Catholic hospitals, and the assumption that they would all rather close than follow HHS mandates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 I assume that number is the number of Catholic hospitals, and the assumption that they would all rather close than follow HHS mandates? That's the current declaration, yes. Can we please stay away from that side of it and instead on what would/will happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 My guess is that many of these hospitals would likely be sold to hospital corporations -- the current owners are going to need to recoup some of their investment, and do have to look at the jobs and the community needing medical care -- so I think that while that number of hospitals may be affected, the number that would actually close would be smaller, though the change in ownership may still cause a lower standard of care in some cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 That's the current declaration, yes. Can we please stay away from that side of it and instead on what would/will happen? I think some would close, but most would not. There would likely be incentives on part of those communities and states that lose hospitals to draw new medical organizations in. Some hospitals might have someone in the state step in and continue operations as a non-profit community hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 My guess is that many of these hospitals would likely be sold to hospital corporations -- the current owners are going to need to recoup some of their investment, and do have to look at the jobs and the community needing medical care -- so I think that while that number of hospitals may be affected, the number that would actually close would be smaller, though the change in ownership may still cause a lower standard of care in some cases. I think some would close, but most would not. There would likely be incentives on part of those communities and states that lose hospitals to draw new medical organizations in. Some hospitals might have someone in the state step in and continue operations as a non-profit community hospital. I hope something like that would happen, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 This is really scary! We already have an hour and a half drive for a halfway decent hospital (notice I didn't say a good hospital :glare:) The 'hospital' here in town is a couple rooms on the end of the nursing home :001_huh: :confused: with NO regular staff. Just the nursing home nurses. There is not even a doctor there unless somebody goes then he gets paged. If you are 'hospitalized' you are in a nursing home room. Dead serious. This really scares me :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted March 7, 2012 Author Share Posted March 7, 2012 This is really scary! We already have an hour and a half drive for a halfway decent hospital (notice I didn't say a good hospital :glare:) The 'hospital' here in town is a couple rooms on the end of the nursing home :001_huh: :confused: with NO regular staff. Just the nursing home nurses. There is not even a doctor there unless somebody goes then he gets paged. If you are 'hospitalized' you are in a nursing home room. Dead serious. This really scares me :001_huh: Yikes! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterflymommy Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 A Catholic hospital near me was sold to a corporation. It changed its name (no longer St. ------) but still has a big statue of Jesus in the lobby. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 My guess is that many of these hospitals would likely be sold to hospital corporations -- the current owners are going to need to recoup some of their investment, and do have to look at the jobs and the community needing medical care -- so I think that while that number of hospitals may be affected, the number that would actually close would be smaller, though the change in ownership may still cause a lower standard of care in some cases. I think some would close, but most would not. There would likely be incentives on part of those communities and states that lose hospitals to draw new medical organizations in. Some hospitals might have someone in the state step in and continue operations as a non-profit community hospital. I've been following this pretty closely, too. I've heard some of the same things. We may be imagining boarded-up windows and sick people out on sidewalks but that's not how it will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocelotmom Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 (edited) This is really scary! We already have an hour and a half drive for a halfway decent hospital (notice I didn't say a good hospital :glare:) The 'hospital' here in town is a couple rooms on the end of the nursing home :001_huh: :confused: with NO regular staff. Just the nursing home nurses. There is not even a doctor there unless somebody goes then he gets paged. If you are 'hospitalized' you are in a nursing home room. Dead serious. This really scares me :001_huh: Eh, the "no doctor" part is the only part that would scare me, assuming there is adequate medical equipment and staff numbers. Nursing home nurses have the same training as hospital nurses, and presumably the nurses in this situation have the training to stabilize someone for transport and so on. The main hurdle we face at my nursing home is that we don't have the equipment and meds available at a hospital, not that we aren't capable of using them if we had them. I think some would close, but most would not. There would likely be incentives on part of those communities and states that lose hospitals to draw new medical organizations in. Some hospitals might have someone in the state step in and continue operations as a non-profit community hospital. That would be my thought, too. My original post assumed it had to do with financial issues, as my quick google didn't turn up anything Catholic-related (I'm beginning to worry that Google's search-profiling business might be screwing up my results). My local hospital is not religiously-based, and if it did close for religious reasons, I can't imagine that it wouldn't be taken over by a non-religious corporation. Edited March 8, 2012 by ocelotmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Those hospitals will likely not actually close, but rather they will be bought out by bigger hospitals. That has been happening around here, and now we have very little choice and the prices are going up at a very fast pace without competiton. We now drive an hour for specialists to a city with a lot of competition and thus lower prices for the same services. It stinks, but that is the reality. Monopolies are everywhere, and healthcare is no different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 This article explains the issue. http://www.uscatholic.org/blog/2012/03/are-catholic-hospitals-and-universities-really-danger-closing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 I wouldn't worry too much about it. There are already 20 states, including huge ones like California, Illinois, and New York, in which the law mandates that employers - including Catholic hospitals and universities, but not parishes or churches - are required to provide their employees with insurance coverage that includes contraception. Those states haven't seen a massive withdrawal of Catholic services. They haven't even really seen protests. It's not clear to me why this has suddenly become a firestorm now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 It's not clear to me why this has suddenly become a firestorm now. Rivka, Rivka, first baffled and now befuddeled: national politics. You have to think of Lily Tomlin's line: no matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivka Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Rivka, Rivka, first baffled and now befuddeled: national politics. You have to think of Lily Tomlin's line: no matter how cynical I get, I just can't keep up. Sometimes - perhaps often, between now and November - "It's not clear to me why..." is best parsed as, "If I speculated about why, I'd be banned." :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Sometimes - perhaps often, between now and November - "It's not clear to me why..." is best parsed as, "If I speculated about why, I'd be banned." :tongue_smilie: Maybe I'm getting jaded. Or maybe I just have my eyes a little more open, but man, what a long, smelly trail of diarrhea this primary is becoming .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.