|
County hospital critics run into brick wallChicago Sun-TimesOctober 3, 2006By Steve PattersonProbing questions and hints of criticism about patronage hampering operations at Cook County hospitals were knocked down at a hospital committee meeting Monday. Each time Commissioners Mike Quigley and Forrest Claypool tried questioning the impact of unqualified hires padding the payroll, Commissioner Jerry Butler, chairing the meeting, stopped them. And when officials with the Institute for Health Care Studies at Northwestern University detailed troubles with hospital management and operations, Commissioner Roberto Maldonado peppered them with questions about their credentials and abilities. Maldonado seemed particularly offended when the officials raised the idea of a board with more medical and health care experts on it possibly taking over hospital operations. 'Something has to change' "There has to be something in place that has a direct focus on changing the way we operate," Steele said. Monday's meeting provided the first chance for commissioners to question those who authored the July report on hospital operations, which the authors said was hampered by the lack of accessibility granted them by former Board President John Stroger. Maldonado and Butler scoffed at that possibility. But the hospital system has long been viewed as a dumping ground for Stroger's political supporters, and authors of the study said when hospital jobs open "people who are the best" don't always get hired. "We call for this body to do something," said study co-author Terrence Conway.
|
||||||||||