Is Supervisor Gioia enabling?

The word is that Supervisor Gioia wants us to pony up another parcel tax for purpose of keeping the doors of Doctors Medical Center (DMC) open.  The reasons given for the latest "fiscal emergency" range from fall-out from the Federal sequestering, the siphoning of patients as a result of lucrative plans offered by competing hospitals, a decrease in patients, inadequate Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements, and failed attempts at forming partnerships with other healthcare providers.  I should add that last week, a friend's mother passed away at DMC, so the importance of this institution is not lost on me.  I've also waited, as Kaiser member, an entire day in the Kaiser Richmond ER to have my esophagus unblocked via endoscopy.  An entire day sitting in a tiny ER room with a blocked esophagus was torture.  The current Kaiser ER wait is much too long and will get longer if DMC closes.  After DMC received 3 serious administrative penalties in 2008, including one stemming from the death of a patient, as reported here,
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/facilities/Pages/APCountyContraCosta.aspx

it is clear to me that an underfunded hospital is not an option.  The excellent cancer treatment facility at DMC does not compensate for, nor does it excuse, poor delivery of care elsewhere in this hospital's program.  The quality of a hospital is defined by how it treats all patients.

The Contra Costa Times reports that our county is the 4th highest taxed county in California, with West County possibly being taxed higher than our county average.    Much of our property tax goes towards the West Contra Costa Unified School District.  After local politicians like Senator Hancock and our supervisors and city council members worked in concert with state politicians to first bleed the local taxpayer dry for purpose of supporting a district containing some of the neediest children, the state has finally done what it should have done long ago.  It is now funding schools according to student need.  At what point will we apply the same strategy to our public hospitals?

Currently, Governor Brown, by his inaction, is telling our local politicians to bleed us some more, just as they did with the never-ending school taxes.  The citizens of West County are being taken advantage because our politicians know we care about our kids and about those in need of quality health care.   We are compassionate.  Many of us are also in that middle class group (barely) that appears to be the piggy bank for local and Federal politicians. 

What we learned from previous parcel taxes for the WCCUSD is that these taxes fell way short of supporting a quality education for all of our children, not just those in need. The parcel tax solution was a failed bandaid that just fell off, revealing an unhealed wound.  What will we find when the current parcel tax bandaid on DMC falls off?  

For this reason, I call upon Supervisor Gioia to stand up to our Governor and tell him enough is enough, that before you fund a high speed railway system, you need to divert resources to DMC.    Many of these patients do not speak English, so their voice is compromised.   West County is shouldering the burden of caring for the neediest, and we do so proudly.  We will not give up on anyone.  Still, I do not even know if the current quality of DMC is acceptable as the state inspecting agencies do not perform follow-up visits, even after the administering of such serious penalties.  They only respond to complaints.  It is this population of patient that is least able to articulate concerns and-or complaints regarding their healthcare.   For this necessary institution, we need funding that is adequate and sustainable.  The fact that we still do not have this is a cause for alarm.  It signals that California is still failing at protecting the most vulnerable.  

I respect Supervisor Gioia's revolutionary sprit.  I just wish he would direct it at our leadership, not at the taxpayer.  Supervisor Gioia has a degree in law.  I'm guessing he is better able to weather such parcel taxes than many other West County taxpayers.