Charges of 'Bribery and Intimidation' Against Florida Hospital

[Bob Sands]

Tell me it isn't so, Joe!!!!!!

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-15-2005/0003626230&EDATE=

Quote:

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Charges of 'Bribery and Intimidation' Against Florida Hospital as Congressional Inquiry Expands, According to Consejo de Latinos Unidos

News Conference Tomorrow

Monday, May 16, 2005

1:00 p.m. EDT

Hampton Inn North Universal Boulevard Area

5621 Windhover Drive (Near Kirkman and Vineland)

ORLANDO, Fla., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- In an explosive development, Florida

Hospital, an Adventist Health System hospital, appears to have attempted to

"bribe and intimidate" an uninsured family after family members met with staff

members early last week of the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Oversight

Subcommittee to give a personal account about abuses by the so-called "not-

for-profit" hospital.

Consejo de Latinos Unidos, a non-profit organization that aids and

educates uninsured Hispanics and others, will outline the damning behavior

against the Vega family during a news conference tomorrow, Monday May 16, 2005

at 1:00 p.m. EDT at the Hampton Inn Orlando North Universal Boulevard Area,

5621 Windhover Drive (Near Kirkman and Vineland), Orlando.

"If this were to have happened in a court of law, it would simply be

called witness tampering," said K.B. Forbes, Executive Director of the

Consejo. "Florida Hospital did nothing to help this uninsured family and now

they are scrambling to cover their tracks with a specious offer that includes

a fully-paid ocean cruise for family members."

In the spring of 2004, Rodney Vega, then 5-years-old, needed a brain tumor

removed. Florida Hospital appears to have refused to provide help after a

physician in Miami told Rodney's mother that her son had two weeks to live.

She contacted the Consejo, which arranged for Rodney's immediate treatment.

What is astonishing about their plight is that the Vegas are practicing

Adventists, and Rodney's father is a pastor for the church. Florida Hospital

claims to be an "Adventist" entity, yet did nothing to help the family.

Last week, Rodney's mother gave the Oversight Subcommittee authorization

to look at her son's medical records. On Friday morning, officials from

Florida Hospital and a chaplain associated with the hospital contacted the

Vegas; the same day

http://www.wherethemoneygoes.com

highlighted the story.

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[Gerr]

If true, shame, shame, shame!!!

Gerry

[wicklunds]

Ouch, I applied to go through their chaplaincy program after graduation. Maybe I am glad that I never even received so much as a note in the mail from them as to why I was not considered for one of the spots. This is not good news if it turns out to be true.

Good find Bob!

[Bob Sands]

Hey, Stan, just coincidental that you are shutting the FFA down when this story got posted? Just Curious.

[Bravus]

Obviously I can't speak for Stan or CA, but I can say that the discussion (among th moderators, whose opinions Stan sought although the decision was definitely his) about shutting down Free For All had started *before* this story was posted. And that's only this round of the discussion: Free For All was always an experiment, being evaluated all along. I believe the reasons for shutting down this section are exactly as Stan stated them when he was asked.

[Stan]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

Hey, Stan, just coincidental that you are shutting the FFA down when this story got posted? Just Curious.

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

Florida Hospital had nothing to do with starting the FFA and it had nothing to do with us ending FFA.

I hve no idea why that thought would cross your mind.

[Bob Sands]

I remember a comment once from you Stan Jensen as I was reporting both good and bad stories about the church, when you saw the bad ones, you said publicly in front of the whole forum, "Can't you find anything good?" How about that for a reason?

[Stan]

Well, Bob, that could, and should have been posted under the adventist news section.

I can not recall any legitimate piece of news ever being removed.

There is nothing to stop you from joining and keeping on posting..

[Gail]

And I can agree with Bravus here that the two are competely unrelated

As he has mentioned, this forum has been under the process of evaluation since its inception

[LifeHiscost]

Quote:

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Obviously I can't speak for Stan or CA, but I can say that the discussion (among th moderators, whose opinions Stan sought although the decision was definitely his) about shutting down Free For All had started *before* this story was posted. And that's only this round of the discussion: Free For All was always an experiment, being evaluated all along. I believe the reasons for shutting down this section are exactly as Stan stated them when he was asked.

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In the first place, as in any other legal proceedings, the guilt is usually proven or disproven after the proceedings are completed. And often even then justice is not served well in the society we live in. Have none on this forum ever taken notice of the charges that were placed against Jesus? Do we think His servants, often very fallible, will sustain any less allegations of wrongdoing, and especially the more so as we get closer to the the closing of this earth's history. And one of the saddest parts of this scenario are the many professed followers of Christ who will take the first newspaper article as proof positive of evil intent and spread the news as gospel.

[:"red"] "It is sufficient for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant or slave like his master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they speak evil of those of His household." [/] Matt 10:25 AMP

[K]

I have to be really careful with what I say here, but it is a common practice for another AHS hosptial that I know of to send away their nopays.

I couldn't say it is a policy, but in the kind of work I do the statistics show they rarely refer paying customers to us.

It is also not just them that sends nopays to us, but other hospitals who are denominational or are considered non profits send us nopays too.

Now having said that, I want to say how is it that a Pastor in our church doesn't have insurance. Is he a lay pastor with no benefits? I thought all conference employees were offered insurance.

[Bob Sands]

Quote:

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And one of the saddest parts of this scenario are the many professed followers of Christ who will take the first newspaper article as proof positive of evil intent and spread the news as gospel.

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And one of the sadder parts of the scenario is that none of that high priced help comes forward to render the truth because it is in litigation, so it leaves people to speculate. With profits like those stated, we should expect better.

If you ask some of the for-profit hospitals like the Tenet/NME chain, look out AHS, the bigger you are the harder you may fall.

[Anthony!]

Careful with that axe, Eugene.

-Pink Floyd

grind...grind...grind...grind...

[K]

The big picture is that it isn't just them who dumps no pays, it is a problem with the system. It happens on a daily basis. It is why congress is investigating, and it will continue to happen as reimbursements for state and federal funded insurance declines.

Once again I ask, how can a SDA pastor who is on the payroll of some conference not have health insurance.

K

[Naomi]

</font><blockquote><font class="small">Quote:</font><hr />

Once again I ask, how can a SDA pastor who is on the payroll of some conference not have health insurance.

K

<hr /></blockquote><font class="post">

K, I may not be correct but I believe that for our pastors, as in the public sector, it is an option. Perhaps the pastor in question made the decision not to pay the deduction for insurance.

GC changed the insurance benefits a couple of years ago but, to my knowledge, it is still available. My family menbers who are pastors have life and health insurance. There are many here who know the current insurance policies better than I.

[Bravus]

Bump for jasd <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

[Pockey]

I'm not sure about the specifics regarding Florida Hospital, but in general, just because a hospital is "nonprofit" does not mean it's a "free" hospital. Uninsured patients get turfed to county hospitals every day from nonprofit hospitals in California. All the people over in Florida upset because they turned away an uninsured SDA kid whose father is a pastor, what did they expect? Is the hospital going to give free care to him just because he's SDA? That is so far from reality. That hospital would cease to exist if that were the case. Now if only they had left things at that, I don't think anyone would've batted an eye. They screwed up when they started offering that cruise vacation. What is up with that? Can we say...stupid?

[jasd]

>>Bump for jasd<<

Well and good. Appreciated. The alleged abuses outlined within this thread and the link provided --should be always before our eyes

--to remind, if true, of the mindnumbing betrayal of the public trust,

Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

--and the perversion of the stated mission of the church. (it is my contention that the body of Christ errs in seeking tax relief from the govt [read: Caesar] under the provisions of {501©3}; to avail itself of the benefits of incorporation or from operating as such; --for reasons too involved to explore here)

These allegations, if proved true, ought remind that _to not speak out_ in a vigorous and timely manner against such a misrepresentation of Gd by those [.Org] who lay, singularly, claim to His truth --cannot be countenanced; as, to do so finds Writ obtaining in that principle set forth in 1 Corinthians 6 --

1Cor 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

‘Should one be joined in misadventure with another, they share equally, the sins of it.’

(I’ll be bumping this thread intermittently for a short period, --to keep it as frontlets between the eyes, as it were.)

Per Refugee: will it be bumped? or no? It is my observation that for guileless’ sake [read: ACTIVE] it be bumped (I would have no problem with the obnoxious being deleted, both mine and others; as well, the initial stuttering, where I lacked familiarity with this forum’s code --to ‘edit’, ‘emend’, or otherwise, to have ‘trimmed’ my posts). Having said that,

if it bothers Ad so much, as to slough it…, I can begin, instead, a new thread titled Potpourri --containing the old posts for continuity, and continuing from there. As I’ve said,

no huge import… If, for differences in dialogical matters, Ad wishes that I let it fall off the page, okay, will do, --but for transparency, the issue(s) and reason(s) attendant should be addressed.

[Bravus]

(short explanatory note - 'bump' doesn't mean I or Stan transferred this thread here. it means it was already here, albeit on about page 3, and I just posted a new post to bring it to the top.)

I can't see Refugee here, so perhaps Stan could bring that one across.

[jasd]

Sorry...,

I'd already checked page 3; it must be my stigmaticus... time for a new prescription.

Thanks.