LEADER: Orange County is paradise for managed...

LEADER: Orange County is paradise for managed health care organizations. HMOs and preferred provider organizations have signed up four of every five households here, the best showing of any large urban area in the nation. . . . The reasons? Probably the early aggressiveness of Orange County businesses, quick to switch their group insurance to the lower-cost managed plans, says one hospital official. “And it doesn’t hurt that two of the largest HMOs (FHP and PacifiCare) are headquartered here.”

A NEW PAGE: That most common of hospital sounds--doctors being paged over public address systems--will be missing from the rooms and corridors of the Anaheim Memorial Hospital’s new birthing center. A computer, sensing tiny infrared transmitters worn by staffers, will locate hospital personnel instantly, then open the nearest intercom. . . . “We’re the first to have this west of the Mississippi,” says a spokeswoman. “This is going to prevent our running around trying to locate people when you need them urgently. To us, it’s a very big deal.”

MORE ROOM: Starting in March, Orange County will have a second location for treatment of the most serious burns. . . . Joining the UCI Medical Center will be Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim, which will open a six-bed burn unit named after the unit’s medical director, burn specialist Dr. A. Richard Grossman. . . . “Our studies showed it is needed,” says a spokeswoman. “Last fiscal year we had 250 burn cases come to our emergency room, and half of them needed hospitalization.”

DOGGIE BOWSER M.D.: Man’s best friend has a pretty good bedside manner too. . . . The two most popular volunteers at Children’s Hospital of Orange County are a German shepherd named Beck and a Labrador retriever named Stella. Their weekly visits help kids with speech and motor skill exercises, says therapist Joy Weingartner. . . . “A lot of these kids just light up when the dog walks in. You can see their spirits rise. For that moment they forget they’re in a hospital.”

Managing Health

The county leads all large U.S. urban areas in households using managed health care organizations: Orange County: 80.4% Riverside: 72.6% Los Angeles: 70.7% San Diego: 70.6% National mean: 52.6% Source: Managed Healthcare News