Furloughs a matter of life or death on west campus
Gregory Royal Pratt
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: News
Media Credit: WikimediaDoctors take an oath to "do no harm." Are university policies following that?
For the university, furloughs are a way to save money while it waits for the state to pay its bills.
For some of the poorest people in Chicago, however, furloughs are a matter of life or death.
According to documents obtained by the Chicago Flame, there is a significant amount of opposition to the university's furlough policy on west campus. UIC's west campus is home to what is referred to as the "UIC health care enterprise," which encompasses the University of Illinois Medical Center and the Colleges of Applied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, and the School of Public Health.
Various deans and administrators from the University of Illinois Medical Center combined to send a memo to University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry last week outlining their concern that furloughs in the medical center will cost the university more money than it will save and damage its prestige. More importantly, they are concerned that furloughs will drastically hinder their ability to care for patients. In one particularly poignant passage, they write:
"Furloughing the faculty and staff in the health care enterprise who are essential to maintaining the delivery of clinical care will, ultimately, harm those who are most dependant upon it for their health and, in some cases, their lives; the underserved and high risk, medically fragile patients who frequently have no other recourse."
Their memo is divided into two sections: one titled "Patient Safety Impact" and one titled "Revenue Impact."
In the Patient Safety Impact portion of the memorandum, various administrators wrote about the effect that furloughs will have on patients. You can read the full memo online at ChicagoFlame.com.
The Pharmacy Department is concerned that it will not be able to complete admission medication histories or adequately provide discharge medication counseling and reconciliation to patients; they warn that their inability to provide these services could affect their reimbursement rates.
The College of Dentistry warns that faculty might not be able to supervise dentistry students who are doing their clinical education, thus impacting patient safety and possibly leading to the temporary closing of clinics.
The College of Medicine warns that furloughs will damage the college's ability to provide "continuity of care and our obligation to the safety and welfare of our patients" by affecting their emergency, anesthesia, radiology and labor and delivery services.
The "Revenue Impact" portion of the memo is also important to note.
The College of Medicine claims that it stands to lose $3.5 million as a result of the furloughs.
The Mile Square Health Center, a medical center affiliated with the UIC Medical Center, says it will lose 22 clinical sessions over the course of four furlough days, losing 176 patient visits at a rate of $177.00 per patient visit, costing a total of $31,152 in lost revenue. They also warn that furloughs might have a long-term impact in loss of newborns and Well Woman care.
The Center for Women's Health will lose $22,230 dollars, and is worried it will lose gynecology patients who will find non-UIMC providers to care for them in the future.
They also warn that furloughs increase their liability risk with the potential of millions of dollars being lost in lawsuits.
They are also worried about intangible losses, such as having their reputation damaged within the community and with residency students.
The Emergency Room warns that if "each physician is required to take one shift off per month, we will have to hire outside agency physicians to work in the ED to cover these shifts at a much higher cost to the College of Medicine, Hospital, and University."
Transplant Surgeons are worried that furloughs might cost them $162,000 in revenue due to work stoppages.
It should be noted that this is not a conclusive listing. You can read the memorandum here:
UIC Assessment of the Impact of Proposed Furloughs on the University of Illinois Medical Center
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For the university, furloughs are a way to save money while it waits for the state to pay its bills.
For some of the poorest people in Chicago, however, furloughs are a matter of life or death.
According to documents obtained by the Chicago Flame, there is a significant amount of opposition to the university's furlough policy on west campus. UIC's west campus is home to what is referred to as the "UIC health care enterprise," which encompasses the University of Illinois Medical Center and the Colleges of Applied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, and the School of Public Health.
Various deans and administrators from the University of Illinois Medical Center combined to send a memo to University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry last week outlining their concern that furloughs in the medical center will cost the university more money than it will save and damage its prestige. More importantly, they are concerned that furloughs will drastically hinder their ability to care for patients. In one particularly poignant passage, they write:
"Furloughing the faculty and staff in the health care enterprise who are essential to maintaining the delivery of clinical care will, ultimately, harm those who are most dependant upon it for their health and, in some cases, their lives; the underserved and high risk, medically fragile patients who frequently have no other recourse."
Their memo is divided into two sections: one titled "Patient Safety Impact" and one titled "Revenue Impact."
In the Patient Safety Impact portion of the memorandum, various administrators wrote about the effect that furloughs will have on patients. You can read the full memo online at ChicagoFlame.com.
The Pharmacy Department is concerned that it will not be able to complete admission medication histories or adequately provide discharge medication counseling and reconciliation to patients; they warn that their inability to provide these services could affect their reimbursement rates.
The College of Dentistry warns that faculty might not be able to supervise dentistry students who are doing their clinical education, thus impacting patient safety and possibly leading to the temporary closing of clinics.
The College of Medicine warns that furloughs will damage the college's ability to provide "continuity of care and our obligation to the safety and welfare of our patients" by affecting their emergency, anesthesia, radiology and labor and delivery services.
The "Revenue Impact" portion of the memo is also important to note.
The College of Medicine claims that it stands to lose $3.5 million as a result of the furloughs.
The Mile Square Health Center, a medical center affiliated with the UIC Medical Center, says it will lose 22 clinical sessions over the course of four furlough days, losing 176 patient visits at a rate of $177.00 per patient visit, costing a total of $31,152 in lost revenue. They also warn that furloughs might have a long-term impact in loss of newborns and Well Woman care.
The Center for Women's Health will lose $22,230 dollars, and is worried it will lose gynecology patients who will find non-UIMC providers to care for them in the future.
They also warn that furloughs increase their liability risk with the potential of millions of dollars being lost in lawsuits.
They are also worried about intangible losses, such as having their reputation damaged within the community and with residency students.
The Emergency Room warns that if "each physician is required to take one shift off per month, we will have to hire outside agency physicians to work in the ED to cover these shifts at a much higher cost to the College of Medicine, Hospital, and University."
Transplant Surgeons are worried that furloughs might cost them $162,000 in revenue due to work stoppages.
It should be noted that this is not a conclusive listing. You can read the memorandum here:
UIC Assessment of the Impact of Proposed Furloughs on the University of Illinois Medical Center
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Tommy
posted 2/08/10 @ 10:27 AM CST
Real clever caption under the picture. Another question I see.
Tommy
posted 2/08/10 @ 10:34 AM CST
Real clever caption for the picture. Another question I see.
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