|
|
|
|
The Business of Health Care Report
As this week marks National Public
Health Week, I'd like to emphasize the value of public hospitals to our community. Known as "open-door providers," public
hospitals and health systems - such as Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and John Peter
Smith Hospital in Fort Worth - care for all patients, including the uninsured. Their focused
expertise help maintain a balance of health care services for the entire community by providing
primary care and essential specialty services such as trauma care, burn care and neonatal
intensive care. The numbers tell the story: More than
200,000 emergency care patients are treated each year in Dallas and Fort Worth public
hospitals - many of them uninsured. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,
about 25 percent of the country's population is not covered by health insurance. In Texas,
the uninsured rate is higher than the national average. But, despite their inability to pay, the
uninsured in North Texas are able to receive some of the best care in the country. For
example, Parkland recently was listed among U.S. News and World Report's 100 Best
Hospitals for the 10th straight year, and its neonatal intensive care unit cares for more
critically ill infants than any other hospital in the country. John Peter Smith Hospital is home to
the largest family practice residency program in the United States. The residency programs
at both hospitals train doctors not only for North Texas, but for the rest of Texas and
throughout the country. All public hospitals should be applauded
for maintaining a level of excellence in caring for their patients and for serving as a safety
net for the entire health care system. They are essential elements of a healthy community. For Texas Health Resources
and its family of hospitals - Harris Methodist Hospitals, Presbyterian
Healthcare System and Arlington Memorial Hospital - I'm CEO
Doug Hawthorne
with "The Business of Health Care Report" on NewsRadio 1080 KRLD.
©
2004 Texas Health Resources |
I'm Doug Hawthorne, President and CEO of Texas Health Resources, with
"The Business of Health Care Report" on 