UCI Medical Center’s Losses and the Health Care Crisis
When UCI bought the Orange County Hospital in 1974, there were dire warnings that they were purchasing a major problem. One regent even called it a “suicide pact.” Today, those early warnings have become a reality.
If UCIMC closes, the burden of indigent health care will fall on the shoulders of the remaining 34 hospitals in Orange County. The financial plight that will then be produced will force the crisis to escalate to an even higher level. Being turned away from emergency rooms and from hospital care will become an everyday occurrence, and there are sure to be casualties.
Orange County deserves to have a medical research and teaching center of excellence. The University of California is the most outstanding academic institution in the world, and our county is fortunate to have such a dynamic and growing campus in our midst. UCIMC did not create today’s problem in indigent health care. What a tragedy if it fell victim to a political crisis.
MRS. WILLIAM ARNOLD
Laguna Beach
Arnold is a UC Irvine College of Medicine trustee.
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