Room Care

Ifind the recent adverse portrayal of the care rendered to patients at Burbank Community Hospital disturbing. The focus on problems in the emergency room leaves one with an inaccurate picture of the entire facility. As a physcian practicing in Burbank for 25 years, I have seen privileged to be a member of the staffs of both St. Joseph Medical Center and Burbank Community hospital. In my experience, Burbank Community hospital has always served the community as a nonprofit institution dedicated to providing the highest quality of care.

Opening day at the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels at LA Live is still five months away. But Room 1055 is a beehive of activity. One worker attaches metal pins to the door of what will become the room's closet, his drill a quick, metallic syncopated whir. Another grunts away as he carefully attaches a mirror to the wardrobe's door. When this two-man crew started installing wardrobes in the hotels, on the 52-story building's fifth floor, it took them 60 minutes to assemble the piece.

Sleeping pills: An article in the Feb. 4 Health section incorrectly referred to the interaction between sleeping pills and alcohol as "more than just addictive." It should have said that the combination is more than just additive. In the same article, Greg Thompson, associate professor at USC's School of Pharmacy, said "with Benadryl, you probably couldn't fit enough in your stomach to kill you." Thompson adds that though a lethal overdose is unlikely, too much of the over-the-counter drug can damage the heart.

Sleeping pills: An article in the Feb. 4 Health section incorrectly referred to the interaction between sleeping pills and alcohol as "more than just addictive." It should have said that the combination is more than just additive. In the same article, Greg Thompson, associate professor at USC's School of Pharmacy, said "with Benadryl, you probably couldn't fit enough in your stomach to kill you." Thompson adds that though a lethal overdose is unlikely, too much of the over-the-counter drug can damage the heart.

Dr. Phillip Rand, whose office at the Midway Medical Center was blocked by abortion protesters Saturday afternoon, said Monday that only one of the 40 patients who had appointments with him on Saturday was scheduled for an abortion. "We don't do too many abortions," Rand said in an interview. Rand, who has four offices in the city, is a leading obstetrician-gynecologist who has practiced in San Diego 30 years. He said he may have been targeted because of his connection with Womancare Clinic in Hillcrest, where abortions are performed.

The editorial "Humana Hospital Closure Is a Disaster" touches on all aspects of medical care in Orange County as viewed from a hospital emergency room. In stating that the closure of the hospital was disastrous " . . . for the thousands of poor people in the region who sought medical aid in its emergency room," you arrive at the heart of our problem. Restoration of the emergency room is the hope of Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith. Unfortunately, reopening the emergency room would not solve the problem of indigent medical care in Orange County or even in Westminster; on the contrary, it would delay finding a genuine solution.

The last time Altrus Hunter needed to be rushed to the hospital, paramedics came right away. But it was an hour and 10 minutes before the 60-year-old man with breathing difficulty finally arrived at a hospital that would treat him. And by then it was too late. Hunter died Nov. 9, a day when all the emergency rooms at the four hospitals closest to his home in South-Central Los Angeles were reported to be full and unable to accept any more ambulances.

Property allegedly stolen from victims of the fire that claimed four lives at a Southwestern Los Angeles board and care home over the weekend was found in the room of the man suspected by police of starting the fire. Police investigators found three purses, 22 silver dollars and an unspecified amount of paper money in Walter Evans Jr.'s room at the rear of the board and care home on West 25th Street, Detective Richard Marks said Monday.

Dr. Paula Verrette remembers. She remembers sitting in school as a child in Louisiana, pus running down her leg from a third-degree burn. She remembers how the pus crusted in her socks, sticking them to her feet. She remembers too that her work-weary mother--a maid and salesclerk raising seven children on her own--had no means to pay for a doctor. From such memories, Verrette has forged a mission.

As long as he lives, Salvador Martinez will blame himself for the death of his son, Christopher. The 13-month-old boy died in April 1998 of dehydration after he was treated for the flu at what authorities described as a sham clinic in Santa Ana where a phony doctor advised withholding food and water. "Every day I ask myself, 'Of all the clinics and doctors I could've taken him to, why did I take him there?' " Martinez said. "Why, God, did I take him there?"

The Syrian paramilitary fighter, paid by Saddam Hussein to kill Americans, was having surgery to repair the gunshot wounds to his buttocks and legs. U.S. Navy corpsmen already had removed the maggots that infested his wounds during his three days in hiding. Also Wednesday evening, an Iraqi civilian, his eyes fixed in a thousand-yard stare and his breathing labored, was being examined for a severe head injury suffered hours earlier when he fell from a speeding truck.

As long as he lives, Salvador Martinez will blame himself for the death of his son, Christopher. The 13-month-old boy died in April 1998 of dehydration after he was treated for the flu at what authorities described as a sham clinic in Santa Ana where a phony doctor advised withholding food and water. "Every day I ask myself, 'Of all the clinics and doctors I could've taken him to, why did I take him there?' " Martinez said. "Why, God, did I take him there?"

Dr. Paula Verrette remembers. She remembers sitting in school as a child in Louisiana, pus running down her leg from a third-degree burn. She remembers how the pus crusted in her socks, sticking them to her feet. She remembers too that her work-weary mother--a maid and salesclerk raising seven children on her own--had no means to pay for a doctor. From such memories, Verrette has forged a mission.

The editorial "Humana Hospital Closure Is a Disaster" touches on all aspects of medical care in Orange County as viewed from a hospital emergency room. In stating that the closure of the hospital was disastrous " . . . for the thousands of poor people in the region who sought medical aid in its emergency room," you arrive at the heart of our problem. Restoration of the emergency room is the hope of Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith. Unfortunately, reopening the emergency room would not solve the problem of indigent medical care in Orange County or even in Westminster; on the contrary, it would delay finding a genuine solution.

Dr. Phillip Rand, whose office at the Midway Medical Center was blocked by abortion protesters Saturday afternoon, said Monday that only one of the 40 patients who had appointments with him on Saturday was scheduled for an abortion. "We don't do too many abortions," Rand said in an interview. Rand, who has four offices in the city, is a leading obstetrician-gynecologist who has practiced in San Diego 30 years. He said he may have been targeted because of his connection with Womancare Clinic in Hillcrest, where abortions are performed.

The last time Altrus Hunter needed to be rushed to the hospital, paramedics came right away. But it was an hour and 10 minutes before the 60-year-old man with breathing difficulty finally arrived at a hospital that would treat him. And by then it was too late. Hunter died Nov. 9, a day when all the emergency rooms at the four hospitals closest to his home in South-Central Los Angeles were reported to be full and unable to accept any more ambulances.

Opening day at the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott hotels at LA Live is still five months away. But Room 1055 is a beehive of activity. One worker attaches metal pins to the door of what will become the room's closet, his drill a quick, metallic syncopated whir. Another grunts away as he carefully attaches a mirror to the wardrobe's door. When this two-man crew started installing wardrobes in the hotels, on the 52-story building's fifth floor, it took them 60 minutes to assemble the piece.

Ifind the recent adverse portrayal of the care rendered to patients at Burbank Community Hospital disturbing. The focus on problems in the emergency room leaves one with an inaccurate picture of the entire facility. As a physcian practicing in Burbank for 25 years, I have seen privileged to be a member of the staffs of both St. Joseph Medical Center and Burbank Community hospital. In my experience, Burbank Community hospital has always served the community as a nonprofit institution dedicated to providing the highest quality of care.