It is obvious that either R. Bruce Dold has never been in Cook County Hospital or that the Tribune’s benefit package is too good.
In his ill-informed column of Sept. 5 (Op-Ed), Mr. Dold only looks at the financial aspects of the new County Hospital. Has he ever lived through the wait to see a doctor at Fantus Clinic? Has he ever had to face trying to get medical care with neither insurance nor public assistance? Has any member of Mr. Dold’s family ever been badly enough injured to need the trauma services at Cook County? Has he ever even talked to the patients who ended up at County because they had nowhere else to go. Obviously not.
I have been in all of the above situations. Had there been no Cook County Hospital, I would not be here today.
As far as daily census goes, when the government is done with the destruction of Medicaid and public assistance, the daily census at Cook County will go up. No question. And the private hospitals that Dold claims are competing for Medicaid patients will once again be looking for places to dump the patients who cannot afford to support their extravagances. Add to this the education that Cook County Hospital provides for interns, residents, fellows and their patients, and one can realize that the cost of a new Cook County Hospital is negligible when compared to the loss of life and dignity of the poor. Indigent people are entitled to exactly the same level of care as their wealthy counterparts.
