Health Care and Spending
Re “County Medical Contracts Sewn Up,” May 16.
I am a resident physician who works closely with some of the attending physicians and departments mentioned in this article. To be honest, I do not know how much our staff is paid, nor do I know the details of their contracts. What I do know is that we have some of the finest attending staff that takes care of a population most physicians are unwilling to provide for.
What upsets me about your article is that the bottom line is money and not health care. There will always be someone to underbid every contract. However, finding the right, caring physician to provide the optimal care for patients is another issue. We are dealing with people’s lives and health! This is not like getting price quotes on building projects.
Furthermore, your article simplifies the role of the attending physicians at Ventura County Medical Center. They must care for a challenging group of patients with complex medical and social problems. They are on call sometimes every fourth night, expected to come to the hospital or be available for phone calls at any hour. The attending staff is also expected to teach and mentor the residents during their training. It takes a very patient and knowledgeable physician to fill this role.
I think it’s interesting that there’s such a long line of physicians waiting “to get a piece of the action,” considering this profession’s strength is derived from self-sacrifice and concern for the common good. I hope those in line realize the time, commitment and sacrifice the job requires.
This is far from the sweetheart deal your article depicts. If the county is concerned about how taxpayer dollars are being spent, then I say they are being spent to provide top health care to people in need. Getting the “cheapest group of physicians” reflects only our society’s greed and self-indulgence.
County hospital care need not be synonymous with cheap care but rather quality care. Ventura County should take pride that it takes such excellent care of its indigent population. The county should be commended for giving first-rate care to a group of people too often forgotten.
GEOGY THOMAS, MD
Ventura
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It is appalling that our Board of Supervisors would place people like Dr. Sam Edwards and his staff in charge of an operation like the county hospital.
Ventura County needs every tax dollar it can find. How can county officials defend Edwards and his staff for spending millions of dollars on outside clinical services without a single bid? If they spend tax dollars on streets or anything else, they obtain bids even when far less money is involved.
If the supervisors insist we maintain one of the few remaining county hospitals with our tax dollars, the least they can do is a thorough housecleaning of this system. Get some top management to run the place on a businesslike basis or close this masterpiece of redundancy once and for all.
R.D. WILLIS
Ventura