Forum Post: Nurses seek justice at Sutter
Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 9, 2012, 12:50 p.m. EST by GirlFriday
(17435)
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Sutter's aggressive emphasis on money has helped it make more than $4 billion in profits since 2005. According to a Modern Healthcare survey, Sutter has the highest net patient revenue per employee among U.S. hospital chains. Sutter's Sacramento facility landed on Forbes list of America's Most Profitable Hospitals.
THESE PROFITS come at a steep cost to patients. Sutter is trying to circumvent California's landmark 2004 patient-staffing ratio law by counting charge nurses who oversee care in an area towards the ratio of nurses providing actual direct patient care on the hospital floor.
The not-for-profit charade is a defining feature of California's health care industry, according to a report from the union's research department:
Not-for-profit tax breaks for well-known California hospitals--including Cedars Sinai, Kaiser Permanente and Stanford University--dwarf the level of charity care provided. Overall, the 196 hospitals surveyed received $3.3 billion in 2010 state and federal tax exemptions and spent only $1.4 billion on charity care--a gap of $1.8 billion. Three-quarters of the hospitals got more dollars in tax breaks than they spent on charity care.
Read the entire article here
It's about time to do a smack down on those "tax breaks".
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I agree. Now, because there is no extra cash in it for the pharmaceutical industry there is a shortage of meds.
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You're right there is cash in it. But, they don't want to because it isn't enough cash.
Ya. I mean it's ok if you want to take your meds to a third world country and test it on them but don't make a move that might actually benefit.
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"and are not included in Cornell's promise to provide medicine"
Like that.
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Ya.
That is written so well that all I can do is agree.
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In the healthcare 'industry', the charity fig leaf has long been used and abused to enable fat corporate profits and extravagant boardroom pay and 'for profit' healthcare is an enormous scam and also a huge embarrassment. Every other advanced developed country has healthcare for all but somehow we can't manage it despite being the most powerful and richest country in history. You will notice that I said 'developed' and not 'civilised' because we are obviously still trying to work on that! Now like corporations everywhere they want to exploit the workforce too. Thank you for this important post and article.
Greed is a killer - a killer of working wage ( living wage ) a killer of jobs ( less staff more moola for the top end ) a killer of people ( no money no care ).
I mean consider - 40 some odd trillion dollars hidden off shore? HOARDED
The manifest purpose of economy is the concentration of wealth for the enrichment of the few. The usuries of finance, like the percentage inevitably made by a casino on aggregate play, makes the enrichment of the few and the impoverishment of the many inevitable. It's like Einstein said, "the most powerful force in the universe!" What we need in common we must do in common, on a non profit basis. For profit medicine and the FIRE are more dangerous to life than all the tyrants and terrorists since the beginning of civilization.
We must reinvent our economy, complete with non profit medicine, which works for the patients and the practitioners instead of the investors and managers.
Read 'How Does That Work' at: https://www.createspace.com/3852916
The intent of the system is to, Bleed Us Dry.
They ( TPTB ) have done an excellent job of that - so I wonder what their plan is when everyone has been bled dry? Do they have a party with MSM coverage and yell and scream and dance and cry " We Won We Won" - only to wake up sometime after the party with a nasty hangover and ask themselves " NOW WHAT ? WE HAVE IT ALL EVERY SINGLE LAST DROP - THERE IS NOTHING COMING IN ANYMORE - WTF ? "
hospital are taking tax breaks and not spending that money on extended care
Ya. This is also a state thang when it comes to taxes but many of these hospitals do not pay taxes because of the alleged charity. So, if you are paying property taxes then you are picking up the tab for these hospitals that seem to grow larger every time you turn around. Then they have their little secret ways of determining what constitutes "charity". Non profit operating as for profit.
Yep - a long hard look oughta be taken at mega charities like the Red Cross. All charities really - and a mandate ought to be made - that for every dollar in donations made - like 85 or 90% has to go out in aid.
Red Cross has had so many problems for so many years that I have no idea how they manage to even exist at this point.
Yes, I would like to see charities do that. But, they can't because of the overhead. So, why do they get money from the government at all? I mean wasn't the big deal, charities do it better? Not so much.
Private charities used to be the standard of good help for those in need. TODAY ? Not so much. Although there are still some good SMALL local charities.
LOL. I almost agree with you. Except I think that they didn't change, I did.
We all change - you seem to have done OK - as far as I can tell from here anyway. {:-])
lol.
Hey - check this out I just saw it.
http://occupywallst.org/article/we-got-occupy-sandy/
I saw it but that isn't charity. It's mutual aid.
That is the community getting it done.
Yep.
See it all the time out this way too - clean-up and what not after tornadoes or other really bad storms snow and/or rain.
Hey - check this out I just saw it.
http://occupywallst.org/article/we-got-occupy-sandy/
A week in ICU today is about 100k; but I think this might be a two sided coin - the patient will financially suffer either way.
Good post GirlFriday.
Corporations have destroyed medical. Costs are often extreme, and quality often low. When insurance pays, it actually pays a small fraction of retail, but insurance cost is based on retail. Corporations making extreme income, big pay for CEO, and they don't care if people suffer and die.
As a RN myself I admit bias but I believe nurses are the backbone of healthcare.