Jackson Scare Tactics Buy Time, Not Solutions
Commissioners to vote on Jackson's latest restructuring proposal on Thursday
Getty Images
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - FEBRUARY 20: Nurse Chris Welch (L) of Lubbock, Texas, holds a flashlight for Surgical Assistant Seddy Dure of Hollywood, Florida, and Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Christopher Doumas of the Jersey Shore Medical Center while the work to help save a Hatian earthquake victim's leg at the Project MediShare field hospital on the grounds of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport February 20, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. More than a month after a 7.0 earthquake devistated Haiti, Project MediShare is coordinating hundreds of doctors, nurses and other medical professionals to aid the vicitims. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Seddy Dure;Christopher Doumas;Chris Welch
One thing is clear, if the world comes to an end, Jackson North and South hospitals will likely be closed for business.
That's the only piece of CEO Dr. Eneida Roldan's financial relief plan that appeared to be a true statement.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade county commissioners heard more specifics on a revised plan that wasn't quite as gloomy as Roldan's idea of closing hospitals and firing 4,500 employees to operate the health care provider's books in the black.
Commissioners were skeptical of the new numbers, which dealt with restructuring and laying off 650 workers, mainly because they were so drastically different from the first proposal of cuts to fix a $229 million deficit in the nation's third largest public hospital.
"Jackson Health System will not run out of cash this fiscal year," Roldan told commissioners. "Second, Jackson will not jeopardize the county's finances and bond rating. Third, Jackson North and South will stay open for now."
It's called the "Jackson Sustainability" Plan, but it the hospital system won't be sustained for long without more permanent solutions.
Jackson's about-face from the gloom and doom scenario caused one commissioner to walk out of the meeting in disgust.
"We have unreliable information," Commissioner Natacha Seijas said. "I have trouble believing it now. This commission must make difficult choices. We risk taking the responsibility for something that could mean the collapsed public hospital, which I know the board does not want."
For the past month, Roldan and the rest of Jackson were claiming the organization was about a month away from running out of cash to pay its employees or for supplies. That news caused medical suppliers to demand for their payments upfront or risk them not sending supplies and medicine to the hospitals.
Roldan said Tuesday her plan was a worst case scenario. In medical journals, that might be called a scare tactic.
Commissioners are expected to vote on a plan that would likely include a county loan on Thursday.
Posted Tuesday, Mar 16, 2010 - 6:27 PM EST
