Sep 10, 2009 4:10 pm US/Central
Free Of Politics, County Hospitals Save Millions
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Bill Foley, CEO of Cook County hospitals, promises better services amid budget cuts he continues to oversee.
CBS
Here's a shocker: Taxpayers are getting $74 million back next year from Cook County's hospitals and, with the savings, improved health care at the hospitals. It sounds almost too good to be true.
It's both of good news for taxpayers, and an indictment of years of mismanagement.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports.
Bill Foley, CEO of the Cook County hospital system, says he hasn't gotten any political interference.
And that's the key to the surprising turnabout at the hospitals, where administrators plan to take $74 million less of your tax dollars next year. That's right, $74 million less.
Foley, an experienced hospital turnaround specialist, was appointed by the new independent hospital board to squeeze out the fat. He found plenty. Nine hundred positions that were funded, but vacant, are now eliminated.
"Next year, there's going to be another 460 positions that we're going to cut," Foley said.
For years, all the county hospitals have been known as a political patronage haven, with thousands of jobs controlled by former County Board President John Stroger.
But his son and successor, Todd Stroger, gave up control in exchange for that controversial one-cent sales tax hike.
"If we didn't get that one penny, that one penny literally helps keep this hospital open," the junior Stroger said. "And without that one penny, this hospital would have closed."
But the hospitals are spending less, not more. How?
By signing up eligible patients for Medicaid and public aid before they're treated. By purchasing supplies in bulk, which is expected to save $20 million next year. And by moving surgeries from outlying hospitals, like Provident, to Stroger.
"Our total number of operations at all three hospitals is up since the board approved the consolidation in December of last year," Dr. Richard Keen, chair of surgery, said.
There have been 1,700 more surgeries this year with fewer staff, as administrators have promised improvements in patient care.
"Waiting times, the times it takes to get appointments, to get procedures done, all of those things we're currently addressing," said Foley. He said improvements can be made, even with budget cuts.
The new administrators think they can find even more savings as they establish a three-year strategic plan for county health services.
But the independent hospital board was only given temporary control for three-years. One year's almost gone, and there's concern that the politicians would love to get their hands back on all those jobs and all those contracts.
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