When you pay extra to have a special credit card, join a club or make a certain level of donation to a charitable organization, there is usually a set of benefits that come with that purchase or gift. You might get early access to an exhibit at the County Art Museum, discounts at a gift shop or reserved seating at a concert hall; any number of benefits that are available to those that make that choice.
The key is that it is offered to anyone and does not have serious ethical questions as it would with the potential timing of life or death decisions in health care. That is why I have been interviewing caregivers over that last several weeks regarding the apparent perks that come along with the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation’s Friend of the Hospital (FOH) “Gold Card” program.
So who gets this FOH Gold Card? According to the Foundations brochure, those that get the card include; major donors, Legacy Circle (planned gifts or bequests), Board Members of Hospital or Foundation, Support Group Presidents, Special requests of Foundations donors, board members and volunteers, and Community Leaders.
You may want to re-read that list once more as it basically covers just about anyone that they feel like giving the FOH Gold Card to except of course the “regular folk” that aren’t connected. Doesn’t that smack of nepotism or even trying to curry favor with decision makers who are only offered it for their position?
The Beacon was able to confirm that some Santa Clarita City Council members have received the FOH Gold Card under the guise of “community leaders.” Although, some Council members prefer to go down to Holy Cross which should make you wonder if they know something we regular folk don’t!!
The brochure that the Hospital Health Foundation hands to recipients states clearly that; “The FOH program is not about special treatment, but is about recognizing and thanking individuals for their generosity and support of Henry Mayo and making their visit to our facility as comfortable as possible.” But according to various House Supervisors, Nurses and Doctors, the program is all about special treatment including apparently kicking “regular folk” out of rooms so that an FOH card holder gets a private room.
On one occasion, according to an interview, a FOH member pulled out his Gold Card and demanded a private room when admitted to the hospital after he had been placed in a double room with another patient. Apparently all single rooms were full that night and the Nurse respectfully told him she could not accommodate his request. The FOH member called a hospital administrator in the middle of the night, prompting a phone call from that senior administrator to the chief nurse on duty, who was told to move the other patient, the “regular folk,” out of the room and give it to the FOH member.
One Nurse spoke of the fact that health care staffers were required to identify Gold Card patients on the white boards, also known as the census board, or medical charts with the “FOH” initials. In fact, one nurse we spoke to was reprimanded for not moving a FOH to the head of the line in the ER even though there were more serious patients that needed immediate attention according to the triage process.
Personally, I don’t have a problem if Foundation volunteers bring FOH members a gift basket, newspapers or even give special VIP meals. Those perks seem perfectly reasonable as a thank you to a donor. But, once you start giving preferential treatment in health care to one group over another it crosses over to an unethical class system; the haves and the have not’s.
Jumping FOH members to the head of the line; bumping “regular folk” from hospital rooms or cutting into an operating room ahead of those already scheduled is not an acceptable practice. Having the Charge Nurse become a Private Nurse for an FOH patient takes away quality of care from the other “regular” patients.
About a month ago a homeless woman was found dead in the ER waiting room at Henry Mayo after visiting the ER three times the night before. She was complaining of arm and wrist pain; had no insurance and was discharged after each visit. A hospital spokesperson stated that the hospital “…treat homeless people with the same compassion and care as all our patients. We care for everybody, regardless of insurance or an address.”
I wonder if she had had a FOH Gold Card would she have been found dead after being mistaken for sleeping in the waiting for seven hours after her last discharge from the ER. It makes me think that if you don’t have a FOH Gold Card that you might potentially get the same level of care as that unfortunate homeless woman!
Although the brochure clearly tries to make sure no extraordinary treatment is given to the FOH Gold card carriers, it’s evident from speaking with a number of people who work at or are affiliated with the hospital, that there is clearly a wink & a nod that goes with having the card. According to our sources, hospital house supervisors, after hour’s administrators and case managers all appear to take special interest in FOH patients especially with their healthcare.
We should all be appalled, but not surprised, that in this day and age anyone gets “special” treatment in a health care situation, especially due to financial or political influence. The “free pass”, as one local medical professional put it, is a “kick in the ass to everyone else” and should be seriously resisted by the local healthcare community. Our valley deserves top quality health care for everyone regardless of race, color, creed, sexual orientation and social or political status.
What do you think?
P.S. – This is a developing and continuing story. If you are a local health care professional and have information, stories or documentation that you would like to share with The Beacon please pass it on. Know that your efforts will be kept in the strictest confidence as some of your colleagues will already attest to. Thank you!
Dave Bossert- Commentary
Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.
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