Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Cook County GOP on Stroger's Hospital

From a Cook County GOP Press Release via It's My Mind,

One has only to take a day trip to John Stroger Hospital and its neighbor Rush Hospital to witness first hand how unequal these two separate facilities really are. While Rush services the predominantly white clientele in North Chicago, Stroger Hospital cares mostly for Chicago's black residents. Countless newspaper stories have chronicled how Democratic patronage has led to gross mismanagement at Stroger Hospital; patients stomped to death by security, babies dying in the waiting room, impossibly long pharmacy lines, and the discouragement patients face while waiting hours at the emergency room. A recent study found that 40% of emergency room patients wait six or more hours before being seen by an attending physician. Twenty percent of patients wait 12 hours or more for an available bed for overnight or follow up treatment.

Complaints like these are seldom heard at Rush. These two facilities are clear examples of 'separate but unequal.' And while the reasons for the disparities are complex, the most obvious (and easily solved) is the odious patronage system that pervades Stroger Hospital. As long as Democratic County President John Stroger continues to use Stroger Hospital as a job factory for his political allies, reform is likely to be slow. The facts are clear, John Stroger gives county jobs not to the most qualified, but to the most politically loyal. This tendency of his to reward friends at the expense of his constituents is a key reason why African Americans struggle to receive timely health care.

11 comments:

Anonymous,  8:07 AM  

So, this means the Cook County Republican Party believes in health care for the poor? C'mon.

Demand for these services by those who can't afford them is what drives the situation at Stroger. Not even Claypool or Peraica would argue that doctors and nurses and pharmacists and technicians are politically hired.

Also, if the Republicans crib from the Claypool web site, they should at least get their hospitals straight...

So hard to be credible when talking about an issue Republicans really don't care about.

Cal Skinner 8:15 AM  

If the Cook County Democrats wanted equal service, they could have just closed the old Cook County Hospital and sent the patients to empty beds within its sight.

That's right. There were more empty beds within walking distance than the new Cook County Hospital contains.

And, why isn't Stroger proud enough of the name of the new hospital to use it in his television ad?

fedup dem 9:49 AM  

You are quite correct about the political patronage that infests the John Stroger Hospital and Work Place for Patronage Cronies. This would explain why the 49th Ward Democrats, under Committeeman David Fagus (who has an administrative job there) voted to endorse Stroger while just across Howard Street Evanston Democrats voted 90%-7% for Forrest Claypool.

In fairness though, I must state that Fagus must be doing a better job doing whatever he does at the hospital than he does as Committeeman of the 49th Ward (which consistantly produces the lowest vote totals of any North Side ward). After all, some of the patients at Stroger Hospital are still breathing!

RANDALL SHERMAN
Secretary/Treasurer, Illinois Committee for Honest Government
Chicago

Anonymous,  10:24 AM  

Remember the recent Federal superceding indictments against Siemens Medical regarding equipment for Stroger Hospital?

Well, the Feds haven't forgotten....and they are still digging away. There's deals to be cut.....

Bill Baar 10:29 AM  

nice point anon 10:24... I had forgotten Siemens already.

Anonymous,  2:31 PM  

Anon 8:07 You said "So, this means the Cook County Republican Party believes in health care for the poor? C'mon."

No, you c'mon. Of course the Cook County Republican Party believes in health care for the poor.

That is just silly small minded lies. Stop drinking Cindy Sheehan juice and put your head where there's some sunlight.

Republicans are not enemies of the poor. They just believe welfare creates poverty, which has been proven time and again.

Anonymous,  2:37 PM  

Its patronage, not demand that kills Stroger Hospital. Ineffective government at its self-serving worst. BTW, doesn't anyone else think its strange that the hospital is named after an active politician?

Skeeter 6:40 PM  

Anonymous said...
Anon 8:07 You said "So, this means the Cook County Republican Party believes in health care for the poor? C'mon."

No, you c'mon. Of course the Cook County Republican Party believes in health care for the poor.

That is just silly small minded lies. Stop drinking Cindy Sheehan juice and put your head where there's some sunlight.

Republicans are not enemies of the poor. They just believe welfare creates poverty, which has been proven time and again."

Skeeter' Response:
Talk about the juice. To have the internally inconsisent post that you made, you must be on something far stronger.

Let me get this right: Republicans think welfare makes poor people worse off (you ignore the fact that welfare was cut under President Clinton and expanded under President Bush, but I digress) and then you claim that Republicans would be a better job of running a public hospital?

Looks like SOMEBODY started drinking early today.

Anonymous,  8:57 PM  

I forget, is Tony Peraica an R or a D this week?

No one cares. The Cook Co. GOP is more irrelevent than ever.

Anonymous,  11:20 PM  

Tony Peraica has better ideas for Health Care than Stroger or Claypool.

Anonymous,  2:24 PM  

"No one cares. The Cook Co. GOP is more irrelevent than ever."

Than why are you speaking about them?

  © Blogger template The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP