Big-picture hospital strategy needed
When is the last time you visited a hospital emergency room in the Valley? With any luck, you haven't had to.
Earlier this week, one of our employees unfortunately was sick enough to warrant the trip. Dehydrated, dizzy and unable to sit up, she spent her first hour lying on the floor in the ER lobby before being taken to a cubicle with a bed. She went through several tests, eventually saw a physician's assistant (the doctors were swamped), and was unceremoniously left on a gurney in a drafty hallway for eight hours before being admitted for further tests and observation.
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The name of the hospital isn't important, because hospitals all across metro Phoenix have the same horrendous ER track record.
Last year, a national study found Arizona's emergency medical system is suffering from a shortage of physicians, nurses and hospital beds, crippled by overcrowding, and ill-prepared to handle a large-scale crisis.
In a report card issued by the American College of Emergency Physicians, Arizona tied with eight other states at No. 42, with a grade of D-plus.
The Valley's explosive growth has added further to the crowded conditions at most local hospitals.
Two stories in this week's paper address the need for more staff doctors at area hospitals and the difficulty in accommodating the demand for nursing classes at public universities. These are strong indicators that this national epidemic is hitting home.
The good news is that a number of hospital systems are designing and building new facilities in several Valley communities. Hopefully, these projects will help ease the burden at existing medical facilities -- but in no way will they solve the problem. The market merely is playing catch-up in an industry riddled with personnel shortages, insurance woes and heath care reform headaches.
One would think the answer would be a simple calculation based on population, numbers of nearby hospital beds, and perhaps local transportation and other statistics. But it's not that simple, because no one really pays attention to whether a region in Arizona has adequate hospital services.
At one time, Arizona required hospital systems to obtain a "certificate of need" from the state before building a new facility in a particular area. The company had to prove there was a need for a hospital in that area before they could build one. In March 1985, the CON rules expired and the Legislature didn't revive it.
What the Valley needs is an authority that can recommend the amount of hospital coverage needed in a given area. This authority should be as free as possible from political or business influence to suggest what services are needed based on local statistics and trends, including population, alternate services and transportation realities.
Let's be clear: We are not advocating government oversight or that a government agency be created to mandate hospital construction. The free market still works. What's needed is a big-picture view that should include a more collaborative effort among hospitals, balanced with smart strategic planning. The decision of what to build, and where to build it, ultimately must rest with the community and be based on heath care business interest and financial resources.
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