Government Health Care in Cook County Slammed

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

Stroger Hospital recently tanked a key inspection that found numerous flaws affecting patient care and safety at the county's biggest public hospital, which already is battling budget pressures that have forced widespread layoffs.

The hospital got 22 citations — by far its worst performance in nearly two decades — after a weeklong, surprise inspection in March by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the main accrediting agency for U.S. hospitals. More than 16 violations can strip a hospital's accreditation and jeopardize its federal Medicare reimbursement, a vital source of funding for Stroger.

Even if Stroger keeps its accreditation, it almost surely will wind up on probation with the commission, a category that just 3% of U.S. hospitals fell into last year.

The poor results raise questions about quality of care at the county's new flagship hospital, opened in 2002 at a cost of nearly $700 million, and cast doubt on leadership at the Bureau of Health Services.

Great moments in socialist health care.Do you want government running your health care plan?