Congratulations, Illinois taxpayers! You just bought Carmi a hospital
CARMI—Our governor Pat Quinn was just bursting his buttons Saturday, 08.28.10, with pride over someone(s) at the state level managing to obtain $3 million in “capital funding” to “restore and open the now-shuttered Carmi Hospital.”
Quinn right off the bat on his presser noted how many “jobs” this was going to bring to the area (approximately 160 in medical and support staff, and 21 construction jobs).
He then took note of the Phoenix Foundation, who will be responsible for administrating the grant. The Phoenix Foundation is the group that grabbed the reins about a year after the hospital, which was floundering badly under terrible mismanagement for years, closed in 2005. At least Quinn gave them credit for trying.
The whole thing came as somewhat of a surprise; there hadn’t been any news that anyone was even seeking to secure a grant for the hospital. But there it is.
However, while the hospital may reopen and all those jobs will be created as a result, what remains unsaid is that the medical providers in the area that previously worked at the hospital are still in the area. And according to what we were hearing in 2005 and actually in all the years in between, that’s exactly what the problem is. A lot of people simply don’t like a lot of the doctors. We won’t name any here, but the complaints we’ve heard about them over the past five years have been atrocious. So maybe Quinn’s staff is monitoring this website and someone will get the message to him: unless you bring in some different providers, you’re going to have much of the same problems that were present when the place was going down the tubes to begin with.
Some other problems remain with this matter, namely, illegals, who use local emergency rooms like they’re a clinic, and who, when they get tobacco poisoning in the terbakky fields locally, throng the hospitals en masse and overwhelm them. While we looked into it in 2005-06, we could never find solid evidence that local ‘migrant workers’ were converging on Carmi’s hospital and running up bills that of course they (nor their handlers, the local subsidy-sucking farmers who hire them) would never pay (just like they never showed up in court after being arrested and charged with various crimes). However, the suspicion is there: that Carmi’s hospital went under just like thousands of others did in the middle of the first decade of the millennium, due to overwhelming numbers of people who couldn’t pay for services rendered….and those people were by and large illegals. We know White County is lousy with them.
Here’s Quinn’s presser:
http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=8810
He apparently stopped in Carmi over the weekend. He was probably amazed to find that the town didn’t have a population of 16,000, like the press release says it does (are there even 16,000 people in White County? We’ll have to ePodunk it to see, but that sounds about right). Nevertheless, it’s good to have at least an emergency facility in the town, as up to this point folks have had to travel across the river to Indiana, up to Mt. Carmel (which is just a band aid station these days), over to Fairfield or down to McLeansboro or Eldorado.
We’ll see how it turns out…and whether or not $3 mil is enough to do it.
Short URL: http://www.disclosurenewsonline.com/?p=4359
Posted by Chris Beavers
on Aug 29 2010. Filed under White.
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lets see, it was closed because of (not enough business) before, but with our 3 mil in tax money the (not for profit) group can make it happen?!?!?!?
nothing like obamanomics!
The Phoenix foundation? So there is going to be a lot of duct tape used in rebuilding this hospital.
I wonder how long re-opening that hospital will last with just $3,000,000? Especially when nobody pays up for the services rendered.
A hospital that has been closed for 5 years–without utilities? That no doubt would be out of date even if all the equipment was still in place. And three million is going to clean it up, spuce it up, and keep it running until they start receiving public aid funds for services. How far behind is the state in paying for medical services now? How many facilities are closing because of unpaid earned benefits? How can Quinn justify dumping 3 million in White County? The contractors and engineers will reap all benefits.
Yep, Gayle, you appear to have it figured out. That’s exactly my sentiments on the matter too. All these small town hospitals are barely holding on. Looks like a political gig for votes to me. Hope people are stupid enough to think $3,000,000 is going to open up that hospital and all will be well. Maybe I’m being a pessimist here, but I don’t think so.
Hope Quinn is stupid enough to think there are 16,000 people in Carmi and that he can count on EVERY SINGLE vote…lol…it’d be great if he lost by 10,600 votes…
oops…I mean “aren’t stupid enough”
I’m so glad you reported on this 3 Million That is supposed to open Carmi hospital. Three Million will barely open the doors! Inspection after inspection will have to be done. Joint Commission will have to be notified as well as Medicare and Medicaid. New contracts will have to be signed and of course, a new Management company will have to be hired which will take up a great deal of that 3 Million! A hospital is not like a store, you can’t just open the doors and say “we’re open for business”!! Up to date equipment will hve to be purchased, staff hired, physicians hired or contracted, etc. I can’t understand who thought $3 Million would be enough!
I would say to your last statement: someone who wanted to look $3 million better to their buddies… This is a Pat Quinn play for votes. After he loses, he isn’t going to care that the hospital isn’t up and functioning $3 million later.
I despise for anyone to insult my intelligence, but especially a politician, if they start waving a few measley bucks around with the attitude that it should do the trick to fool the public. When I read about the $3,000,000…I started to laugh, knowing darn well that it wasn’t a drop in the bucket as to how much it would really take to open that hospital. I thought Quinn had made pretty good progress toward beating himself in the upcoming election after he picked Sheila Simon as a running mate. I mean, she couldn’t even win an election for mayor of Carbondale. DUH. Didn’t that tell him anything? As far as I’m concerned he’s just given southern Illinois another reason not to be for him. It looks as if Quinn thinks we’re all STUPID down here. Well, maybe he ought to think again. Or else enroll in “winning elections 101″. He could stand a few lessons.
Could this be part of the Stimulus money given to Illinois? Don’t quote me on the figures because I heard them and didn’t write them down but there was supposedly like $388 million given to Illinois and after Chicago and the counties that border it got their share, there was like $33 million left over for down-state Illinois, this may be part of it.
$355 million for Chicago and surrounding counties and $33 million for the rest of the State. Yeah. That sounds about right for our Illinois politics…don’t you think? Hasn’t it always been that way?
(Phoenix foundation) Now that ive thought about it, ISNT THAT WHO McGYVER WORKS FOR!?!?
We cant go wrong now, Pat has Mac on our side!!
Nay Sayers need to think about somethings.
1. Phoenix Foundation opened the nursing home that e1 said could and would never be opened. They are open and people that I have spoken too are very happy with what they see happening and the patients that live at that facility seem happy and the ones that I have spoken too are happy to be there.
2. Should Carmi and White county not get any of the money that is being given out? It has been a known fact that the Phoenix Foundation was working with the state to reopen the hospital.
3. You talk about Doctors. Let’s see, one is dead, one is no longer able to practice medicine and another is in the court house news.
4. Has anyone spoke to anyone in the know, who can tell you about other doctors who are willing to help when the hospital reopens. That is something Phoenix is well aware of. The fact, that people will have to trust before they will be behind the new hospital. IN OTHER WORDS, USE THE NEW HOSPITAL.
Hard to imagine a hospital in Carmi IL employing 160 people. Anyway, it will be nice if the hospital opens.
Who is the doctor that is dead?
phoenix nursing home Ha Ha Ha