South Florida hospitals deny they refused care to Haitians

[Derechos]

South Florida hospital spokespeople strongly denied Saturday that their facilities are refusing to take more trauma patients from Haiti, leaving them to die at field hospitals in the earthquake-ravaged country.

Military planes stopped flying the injured to Florida on Wednesday, after Gov. Charlie Crist wrote to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, asking the federal government for help covering millions of dollars in care that hospitals around the state are providing, the New York Times reported in Saturday's editions.

Crist pointed out that Florida hospitals were ``at capacity.''

Friday, Maj. James Lowe, deputy chief of public affairs for the United States Transportation Command, told the Times that ``the places they were being taken, without being specific, were not willing to continue to receive those patients without a different arrangement being worked out by the government to pay for the care.''

Not so, said Dr. William O'Neill, executive dean of clinical affairs at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine.

http://www.miamiherald.com/582/story/1454479.html

[Downwinder]

1. Now we get the CYA blame game, while people are still without treatment.

Capitalism at its finest.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Now they have refused care to Haitians, AND they have lied about to the world. n/t

[Derechos]

3. Update: Charges fly over grounded airlifts

http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/1455459.html

[Peace Patriot]

4. Insurance corps, profit-run health care. Such an ugly, ugly sight. nt

[Derechos]

5. Update: Donors fly kids to Philadelphia hospital as hundreds wait for U.S. medical airlifts to resum

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/1455798.html

[Downwinder]

6. More CYA.

"Spokesman Tommy Vietor said the problem was finding hospitals that have capacity for patients and are close to facilities that can land giant military C-130s."

Military C-130s can and have landed and taken-off on a carrier.

[Derechos]

7. U.S. Resumes Airlift Of Injured Haitians

The U.S. military will resume bringing Haitian earthquake victims to the United States aboard its planes for medical treatment, ending a suspension that lasted several days, the White House said Sunday.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/31/us-resumes-airlift-of-inj_n_443735.html