County's doctors, hospitals unattainable for thousands (Houston, TX)

Home to the Texas Medical Center, Harris County boasts more than 60 hospitals, scores of specialty health clinics and more than 8,000 doctors.

But those are largely out of reach to the county's 800,000 residents with no health insurance. The federal government now recognizes 24 areas of the county -- up from 18 two years ago -- as lacking enough medical services available for its residents.

These uninsured largely turn to the region's emergency rooms for fevers, sprains and headaches that could be treated by a family doctor. As a result, overcrowding regularly forces the area's two Level 1 trauma centers to close their doors to new patients for hours at a time.

"It's everyone's problem," said Cathy Easter, vice president of operations for The Methodist Hospital. "We're going to have to look at this in a broader scope than, `Hey, the hospitals have a problem, the poor have a problem.' It continues to affect the business community."

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2586053

and stopped demanding/expecting "special incentives" in order to move into states, counties, cities, towns - this wouldn't be such an issue.

Until corporations start to take an active role in the well-being of the communities into which they are "invited", they will have no choice but to rely on a work force that is increasingly unhealthy and poorly educated and that is largely being created by their own machinations.

NO acknowledgement at all of what the affect is on those who need medical care and can't get it. To hell with the damned people, we MUST take care of the business community first, last, and always!

And notice there's also no acknowledgment at all of what those without insurance who do manage to get at least some care will have to go through once the hospital debt collectrolls get ahold of them. Not only are the uninsured charged far more for the same services than those with insurance, but hospitals and doctors also go after them much more aggressively for every last cent, even when (as is often the case) they don't have anything worth going after.

They'll slap liens on homes, garnish already meager wages, damage already strained credit, etc. THEY DON'T CARE. But oh well, golly gee, to hell with that, we MUST take care of that poor, downtrodden, neglected, abused, impoverished BUSINESS COMMUNITY first and foremost!

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh: :argh:

They're just pofolks, why would they need medical treatment. The poor don't deserve to live and the rich shouldn't have to use any of their money to help take care of the poor people's medical problems and don't you know that all poor people without insurance are lazy scum(just ask Bush he'll tell you).
ELECT KERRY 2004!!!!

It's far past time we started using our tax $ wisely & began universal healthcare.

Not pay workers what they deserve, not give decent benefits, outsource jobs, house offices offshore and pretend they're the HQ office to avoid paying taxes and then funneling the money back to their true HQ office in the US, CEO wants a few extra million in his billfold, and now they have the nerve to whine when more people go to hospitals that, thanks to a 1986 law, can't turn people away.

How long before the 1986 law is rescinded, I wonder... that'll take care of the business community.

But then the poor still "have a problem". Yeah, there is a problem. It's called the "business community", why haven't people grasped this simple concept by now?!

another example of what ISN'T being done to prepare the country for the next attack. What could, and should, have been done with $400 billion for the nation's emergency rooms?