🚀 go-pugleaf

What these bright lights are not taking into account is a situation
where the nation will in the future, face a big emergency that will
require a lot of hospital beds in a hurry. It could be an epidemic or
war. In time of war, since the federal government has few beds left, the
civilan hospitals fill this need. What are they going to do? Create a
national emergency military nurse corps and draft us? While during
Vietnam I didn't march or protest, try this one and I will refuse. I
remember slogans like "Hell No We Won't Go!." 

But they made money as evidenced by the CEO of HealthSouth making over
$100 million in one year alone. He travels the country, and plays golf
with Newt Gingrich.  Watch for more Philadelphia type sellouts. It might
not be TENET next time, but another of their beloved cognates. This
sellout in Philly will ruin the jobs of staff at Jefferson, Einstein,
HUP, Cooper, Frankfort and others as they will be forced to adapt the
same predatory business practices to survive. The HMO's in the short
term will love it as they cut fees AGAIN.

But with re-engineering having permanently reduced our hospital bed
capacity, many nurses having left hospitals for good, etc, it will be a
sticky mess. Many more people just will not get medical care in any
national emergency. 

You can bet that for profits like TENET will continue to practice
canceled shifts with all the consistency of religious ferver. That is
why I left TENET. We didn't even have toilet paper available for our
patients as the par levls on the carts had been cut. Yet TENET was
stressing "productuion bonuses." Columbia HCA made the model, and I have
been told similar stories from nursing friends and RCP's who experienced
SETON, Health South and others. 

What really bothers me is how many staff grabbed the "production
bonuses" TENET paid, even utilizing the armoured truck TENET arranged to
have parked outside Brownsville Medical Center, Texas. They grabbed the
money without making the connection. Managed care had not yet made it
down there either.

When will we wake up? The coffe pot is on fire........
-- 
Mark Gaines BSN RN RRT
dansegypsy@earthlink.net
<http://home.earthlink.net/~dansegypsy/index.html>

"The road to tyranny, we must never forget, is the destruction of
the truth" President William Clinton 1995 from a speech at The
University Of Connecticut <G> <G> <G>


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