Confession

      If the old theology holds true. I'm sure there's a place reserved front row center for me to roast in the fires of hell.
     How so?
     Well, at 78, I'm too old for the more mundane sins  like adultery or idolatry.  
     But as for the shameless pleasure I take from wallowing in the sin of Pride...?
     Especially the obscene sense of self-righteous superiority I enjoy while exploring America's greed-driven healthcare system.
     Anyhow, here I go again:
     As custodians of one of the nation's ten largest public healthcare systems, the folks at the tax-funded North Broward Hospital District take great pleasure in tinkling all over their mission of service to the sick and needy.
     And certainly no District program takes greater pride in serving the less fortunate in the northern two-thirds of the county than Broward Health's Division of Community Health Services (CHS).
      Now, according to CHS officials, their "mission is to provide a network of family primary health services that offer affordable, comprehensive, quality primary, home health and hospice services in neighborhood community locations, primarily serving indigent, uncompensated care patients and the working poor."    
         So let's look at the District's CHS Primary Care Centers' service to northern Broward's - uh, well - "less fortunate".
        Broward CHS Primary Care Centers*
               Fiscal Years         2000              2016
               Visits                    204,122         126,487  (38%)    
               Cost per visit       ($149)            ($362)
               In 2016 $             ($206)            ($362)      78%      
               FTEs                     262                360          37%
               Visits per FTE       779                 351        (55%)
               Salary
               Per FTE                $58,631         $78,842
               In 2016 $               $80,910         $78,842    (2%)                
   *NOTE - A major justification for the District's Primary Care Centers was to reduce the "load" of non-emergent patients visiting the system's Emergency Rooms.
   However, in comparing the "load" pf patients visiting the District's Emergency Rooms to the its Primary Care Centers we find:
                 District Visits                 
           Emergency Rooms       186,397      298,223     60% 
           Primary Care Centers    204,122     126,487    (38%) 
  
       Okay.
       So shame on me for having fun with these numbers at the District officials' expense.
       Mea maxima culpa!
       As well as a craven sinner!