To the editors:
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Since Mr. Hansen took over as chief executive, Cook County Hospital has been without a heart surgery program, not an insignificant problem for a patient population with one of the highest incidences of heart diseases, heart valve infections and chest trauma in the Midwest. (We have already had an abortive cooperative cardiac surgery venture with one hospital and are in the middle of a second expensive cooperative agreement.) The hospital no longer has any inpatient psychiatric services and virtually no liaison with any outpatient programs. Despite having to admit one out of every eight AIDS patients in the city of Chicago, the hospital has devoted virtually no administrative resources to the AIDS problem (the medical and nursing staffs have been sharing most of the responsibility). The most unbelievable fact is that the hospital has no alcohol or drug treatment programs, inpatient or outpatient, despite tens of thousands of these patients who present yearly to the hospital and clinics. Not only are there no programs, referral to outpatient centers is virtually impossible. The hospital actually lost a Federal grant of $60,000 because there was no one to administer it. All of this is in addition to several hundred beds closing.
So much for what the hospital does not have. Let’s look at what the hospital has had since Mr. Hansen assumed command. There has been a power failure, and several areas of the hospital have flooded during rainstorms. There have been acrimonious disputes with a company hired to clean the hospital and with the company hired to install computer services. There was a recent Federal and State investigation into hospital policies and procedures. There have been several lawsuits between physicians and the administration of the hospital on any number of matters. The hospital was hours away from a nursing strike, the net result of which was numerous resignations and an aftermath of bitterness. Most critical units and wards of the hospital are still understaffed. Waiting times for certain clinic appointments and X-ray tests grow progressively longer. Ironically, the public relations debacle that Mr. Hansen cites occurred after two public relations directors left the hospital and his office took control of that function.
Cook County Hospital
