Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_05.09.08 - Index

MAY 9, 2008 COMMUNITY THEPRESS.NET | 17A
Task force formed to
address health care
by Dave Roberts
Staff Writer
A coalition of health care providers
has formed a task force to head off a potential
health care crisis in East County.
The East County Access Action Team
is focusing on four areas: ambulance delivery,
uninsured patients using emergency
rooms, clinic services and the cost of care to
hospitals for the uninsured.
The team was launched at an April 4
meeting at the Brentwood Health Services
Center. On hand were county supervisors
Federal Glover and Mary Piepho, Antioch
Mayor Don Freitas and representatives
from Sutter Delta Medical Center, Kaiser
Permanente, John Muir Hospital, American
Medical Response and La Clinica.
County Health Director Dr. William
Walker led off the meeting with an overview
of some of the problems facing health care
providers, especially in tough budgetary
times. The county clinics deal with 80,000
patient visits per month, 10,000 of them in
East County.
“We are, I have to say, out of capacity
on any given day, and it’s getting worse,” said
Walker. “We used to run out by 10:30, and
now we run out by 7:30 or 8, with people
calling for same-day appointments.”
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One of the big strains on the health
care system is that 15 percent of county residents
do not have health insurance.
“That’s a phenomenon that will only
get worse until we have a state or federal solution,”
said Walker. “In the meantime, we
are the pieces trying to hold together whatever
access exists.”
Sutter Delta CEO Gary Rapaport
is concerned that his hospital is forced to
care for more than its fair share of the uninsured,
a burden he feels should be more
equably shared with Kaiser Hospital and
the county.
“One of the challenges we face is we
believe there’s not enough after-hours and
urgent care for patients that are uninsured,”
he said. “They are directed to our emergency
room. We are now disproportionately
caring for those patients.”
Sandy Small, representing Kaiser, said
the hospital, which opened on Deer Valley
Road in November, is also being impacted.
The facility’s 100 doctors and 1,400 employees
cared for 800 uninsured people per
month in January and February.
“We are a public hospital as well as
serving the Kaiser community,” she said.
“Anyone who comes to our hospital, we
see Health care page 22A
● HOME REPAIRS & SERVICE
● REMODELING
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● SEPTIC SYSTEMS
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● UNPLUGGING DRAIN LINES
It’s a Matter of Law
By Barbara A. Frantz
HIRING YOUR FIRST EMPLOYEE
Ok, your business is growing even in
this less than spectacular economy. You
can no longer do everything by yourself.
The phone no longer is answered on the
second ring, and you’re mired in administrative
activities. It’s time to hire your first
employee. Before you do, there are some
items that you must handle. First, obtain
a California Employer’s ID. It’s from
the EDD or “Employment Development
Department” for the state of California.
Once you have that number, it’s time to
start interviewing. There are a number
of restrictions on what you can ask during
an interview. That’s a topic in and of
itself. Now, you’ve found the person you
want to hire. Next you need Workers’
Compensation insurance. State Fund is
the most common carrier, but don’t let
the name fool you. It is a for-profit insurance
carrier, not always with the best
rates. You should send your prospective
employee an offer in writing. The letter
should state their salary, working hours,
vacation time, a statement that they are
hired “at will.” (means you can fire them
at any time and they can quit at any time),
job duties, who they will report to, their
title, commencement date, health benefits,
sick leave, and that their employment
is conditional on a satisfactory background
check. They start to work, and on
the first night you ask them to stay late for
a “marketing meeting” that you’re holding.
The event brings up issues about
overtime, exempt status, discrimination,
harassment and “hostile environment”.
Are you sure you want to hire that first
employee? From my personal experience,
the answer is definitely yes. Once
you learn the rules, you’ll never go back
to “paying those bills” yourself. You get
to do what you love doing, in my case it’s
practicing law.
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