New CEO for Alameda County Medical Center

The Alameda County Medical Center has had problems over the years finding and keeping strong leaders who serve the center well. Dr. Roger Peeks, a long-time member of Highland's medical staff, has been interim CEO since Mike Wall left in 2000. Wall had previously run a private hospital and did not appear to have the Medical Center's mission of serving the poor at heart; he was lured away by more money after serving as CEO for only one year.
 
The ACMC Board of Trustees announced on May 28th that Kenneth B. Cohen will become the CEO of the Medical Center on June 25th. Cohen has been at the Riverside County (Southern California) public health system for 15 years, most recently as CEO of its regional Medical Center. In 1989 he was named one of the "Top 25 Turnaround Executives" by Health Week magazine for his part in restoring that system's finances to health.
 
The Riverside County public health system has many of the same problems we face here: Their medical buildings are old and must be retrofitted or replaced due to state legislation before 2008; the public and private health care systems are competing for the same Medi-Cal patients' dollars and; they have a large uninsured population that have only the county system to rely on for health care.
 
The ACMC needs a mission-driven, committed leader who has lots of knowledge about effectively leading large institutions (it has 3,000 employees and a $320 million budget for 2002) and is a strong advocate for the medical center at county budget time. We hope Mr. Cohen brings these traits to the job.

Community health centers in dire need of financial support

The Alameda Health Consortium, directed by Ralph Silber, is an association of 10 non-profit community health centers that provide primary health care services to indigent residents of the county. Many of the health center patients also receive services at the Alameda County Medical Center. The 10 health center corporations operate 30 clinic sites, which provide approximately 400,000 patient visits annually to people of all ages. A few of the clinics target specific ethnic groups, one targets the elderly, and all serve mostly people of color and the working poor as well as unemployed and uninsured persons.
 
The community health centers work to provide quality health care that will improve the health status of the communities they serve. These clinics are (under) funded by a combination of state, federal and county monies. Many of the buildings the clinics are housed in are woefully inadequate: too small, too old, and impossible to equip properly due to these constraints. If these capital needs were met, an additional 110,000 patients could be seen yearly.
 
Other budget problems are:

• Fast-rising pharmacy costs—40% of clinic's indigent care funding was spent on pharmacy this fiscal year;
• An increase average of 28.5% in health insurance premium rates, reducing funds available to provide indigent care;
• Skyrocketing energy costs;
• Increased numbers of older patients with more expensive health care needs; and
• Serving a population that is at higher risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma without adequate funding for chronic disease management.

We can't allow our health infrastructure to whither away from neglect.. Even if single payer national health insurance becomes a reality, the people who need it most would best be served by community clinics in their own neighborhoods, staffed by people who speak their languages and reflect their cultural backgrounds.
 
Come to our June meeting to learn more about these important providers of health care in our county and how we can support them to serve the uninsured more adequately.

Vote Health chair on Senate's patients' bill of rights

Vote Health chair Nancy M. Friedman was quoted by the Institute for Public Accuracy in its June 19, 2001 news release on Senate consideration of a patients' bill of rights:
 
"We can't get excited about tweaking the regulation of HMOs—it's a bit like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Health care in this country is in grave crisis, with the regular cutbacks and closings of county health care 'safety nets.' Growing numbers of uninsured and under-insured rely on emergency rooms for their health care needs, and treatment of illness places a huge financial burden on people that takes them years to recover from. The most fundamental patient right is access to care, but until we have a government-sponsored single payer health care fund, this is a right denied to millions in the wealthiest country on the planet."

Spotlight on Members

Gracie Johnson (center) receives award from House Speaker Robert Hertzberg and Assemblymember Wilma Chan.

Gracie Johnson has been faithfully attending Vote Health meetings for years, and it turns out we are just one of many causes she believes passionately in. For her work with the Oakland League of Women Voters, Home Alert, St. Paschal's Catholic Church, the Newsletter Task Force, and Bananas Child Care Referral Center, Gracie has won state recognition as "Woman of the Year" for the 16th Assembly District represented by Assemblymember Wilma Chan. We are honored by her dedication to Vote Health, and congratulate her for her well-deserved award!

Update on charity care

Charity care is defined as health services offered by hospitals to patients unable to pay. At this time, private, non-profit hospitals in Alameda County only give 1% free care, despite receiving large tax write-offs due to their non-profit status. This results in most of the burden falling on the Alameda County Medical Center. The goal is to reach the national average of 3% of local private hospital care going to patients who are uninsured or underinsured.
 
SEIU Local 250, Vote Health and others are working on a proposal to be considered by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors that is modeled on an ordinance being considered in San Francisco. It requires hospitals to report on the number of patients that receive charity care each year and describe their age, sex, race and the outcome—that is, whether they were referred to another facility. The hospitals are also required to notify patients about their policies on charity care and post them prominently in several languages. We'll keep our readers posted as this develops further.

Aroner proposes bill to alleviate pain

EVERYBODY IN , NOBODY OUT

State Assemblymember Dion Aroner, representing San Pablo south to Emeryville, has proposed AB 487, Medical Professionals: Conduct, which encourages doctors to prescribe enough pain killers for patients suffering severe, chronic and intractable pain.
 
This bill is in response to complaints from patients and their families, who find that their doctors are hesitant to prescribe enough pain medicine when patients are in severe pain and/or dying. This is because pain management can require the use of opiates, and doctors fear being questioned by the state licensing board about the quantities they prescribe. The San Francisco Chronicle recently ran a series about this issue, highlighting a case of a daughter suing her father's physician for not prescribing enough pain medication when he was dying.
 
This is an important bill to support. For more information on where it is in the legislative system and whom to write to, contact the Office of Assemblywoman Aroner at 540-3660.