Update: January 9, 2007
Retaliation by Oak Forest Hospital
I received a call from Ms. Della Nelson of Oak Forest Hospital's billing department who states her manager asked her if my name sounded familiar. Ms. Nelson said yes. Ms. Nelson states the manager told her to contact me requesting my last two pay stubs regarding my eligibility for services. I called Mr. Stroger's office speaking to Ms. Monique Martin informing her I would post this message received from Oak Forest Hospital. Ms. Martin informed me Mr. Stroger had not read my letter as of yet, but that she was going to put it on his desk and inform him I called reporting this attempted retaliation by Oak Forest Hospital. I am calling this retaliation because I have already provided documentation for my eligibility to Oak Forest Hospital receiving a "Cook County Bureau Health Services Limit of Liability", which states in part "...You are responsible for 0% of your health care bills for the next year." This "Limit of Liability" expiration date is December 13, 2007. Why does Oak Forest Hospital want me to re-establish my eligibility?
January 7, 2007
Mr. Todd Stroger, President
c/o Lance C. Tyson, Chief of Staff
Cook County Board of Commissioners
118 North Clark Street, Room 537
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Re: Oak Forest Hospital and Budget Reduction
Mr. Stroger:
I have written before about Oak Forest Hospital and their emergency room to Mr. John Stroger, then the Cook County Board of Commissioner’s President. Nevertheless, the fiasco at Oak Forest continues. Apparently, management cannot come up with a viable plan to decrease the ineffectiveness of their emergency room and referral system to other community-based organizations for follow-up medical services.
On January 4, 2007 I visited Oak Forest Hospital’s emergency room for the 3rd time just to get a prescription refill. To me, this is a waste of the taxpayers’ monies to use emergency room services for prescription refills. The cost of an emergency room visit is high and the emergency room service for those who have “real” emergencies becomes a nightmare.
I have been in contact with the following Oak Forest Hospital employees: Mr. Martin Grant, Director of Pharmacy; Ms. Sylvia Edwards, Acting Chief Operating Officer; Mr. Anthony Maverick, Director of the Emergency Room; and most recently Ms. Shirley Bomar-Cole, Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer. I have written extensively about Oak Forest Hospital, the other issues below and posted my writings on my websites at http://clickforjusticeandequality.blogspot.com/ and http://click.townhall.com/.
My 1st writing regarding Oak Forest Hosptial was about the waiting time for prescription refills. I was told a prescription refill would be accomplished in a 4-hour period. I suggested this is ludicrous unless you want individuals wondering around the hospital possibly creating situations of disturbance due only to their waiting experience.
When visiting the emergency room in August of 2006 for the 1st time, I was seen by a physician, given a 3-month prescription for my high blood pressure medication and informed I would be contacted for a follow-up appointment in Oak Forest Hospital’s clinic. Later, I found this information to be incorrect. I was not contacted, nor was I given a referral to another clinic.
After running out of the medication, I called and found out I had to visit the emergency room again in November of 2006 in order to get a refill. This time I was given a 1-month refill and a referral list called “Ambulatory and Community Health Network.” I called the community agencies in my area but could not get anyone to answer the phone when I called. After many calls to Oak Forest Hosptial’s emergency room and writing Mr. John Stroger, Mr. Maverick called me. With Mr. Maverick’s assistance in December of 2006, he assisted me in contacting an agency on the list. I was informed by the Cottage Grove community clinic, I was put on a “hand-written” waiting list with Cottage Grove at 1645 Cottage Grove Ave., Ford Heights, Illinois 60426 for July 2007.
Mr. Maverick informed me one would have to be registered with a community health centers’ registration for an appointment before they would be eligible to come back to the emergency room for a prescription refill. Mr. Maverick stated that once a patient’s name could be located in the system’s computer system as having an appointment, they could come back to the emergency room for a prescription refill. I could not get an appointment registered into the system’s computer because I was told by Cottage Grove Community Clinic it was too far off to be put in the computer system. I was told it can only be a hand-written on a piece of paper. How would a patient or Oak Forest Hospital know a proposed appointment is documented? Again, in order to get medication I had to come back to the emergency room at Oak Forest. This time, as was the time before when I engaged Mr. Grant’s assistance, I had problems with Ms. Markita, who works in the pharmacy department, in getting my medication refilled.
During my 2nd experience at Oak Forest Hospital in November 2006, Ms. Markitta refused me service because I got to the pharmacy department at 4:30 pm submitting my prescription for refill. After talking to a supervisor I was able to get my prescription refill by 5:00 pm, which is the reported closing time for the pharmacy department at Oak Forest Hospital.
During my 3rd experience at Oak Forest Hospital on January 4, 2006, I entered the emergency room at 3:30 am receiving a prescription for a refill at approximately 5:30 am. At approximately 4:45 pm I arrived at the pharmacy department, with my prescription, requesting a refill. Ms. Markitta informed me I could pick up my prescription on January 5, 2006. I informed her that because of our last encounter I wanted to speak to a supervisor. Ms. Markitta informed me there was not a supervisor on the site. I informed Ms. Markitta a system such as this does not leave it without a supervisor.
Ms. Markitta left and another employee of the pharmacy department came to the window. She informed me I was too late to receive my high blood pressure medication for the day. I asked her if she was a supervisor. She said no, and that she was the next in line above Ms. Markitta. I informed her I wanted to speak to a supervisor. This person did not seek a supervisor for me, but rather, called the Oak Forest Police. I was appalled.
Oak Forest Police Sgt. Isais, and officers Garland and Gorss arrived on the scene. I explained my issues. Officer Garland interviewed both Ms. Markitta and me. Officer Garland informed me the pharmacy department stops taking prescriptions at 4:30 pm. I informed Officer Garland I have never seen a memo or anything posted suggesting prescriptions are not accepted after 4:30 pm.
Upon officer Garland’s arrival I was talking to Ms. Bomar-Cole about my issues on my cell phone. Officer Garland was not concerned about who I was talking to on my cell phone when he told me to get off my cell phone, even though I attempted to tell him I was talking to Ms. Bomar-Cole. I had to abruptly disconnect from Ms. Bomar-Cole. I requested Officer Garland tell me where the house phone was located so I could continue my conversation with Ms. Bomar-Cole. Officer Garland was very reluctant to tell me which phone to use. By this time, Officer Gorss appeared and directed me to the house phone.
I called Ms. Bomar-Cole on the house phone and apologized for hanging up on her. Ms. Bomar-Cole suggested getting my medication for me, holding it in her office for my pick up on Friday, the next evening, January 5, 2007. I informed her I really needed this medication, which I had been attempting to acquire since December 14, 2006 with Mr. Maverick’s assistance. I informed Ms. Bomar-Cole I had not had any medication for about 40 hours.
My conversation ended with Ms. Bomar-Cole and her suggestion of picking up my medication on Friday, January 5, 2007. As I was leaving the hospital Mr. Maverick appeared stating he would attempt to get me a dose of my medication for one day to hold me until I could pick up my medication from Ms. Bomar-Cole. Mr. Maverick led me back to the emergency room getting instead a prescription for 1 pill of each of the medications I take, which are 2. I thanked him for this gesture and response to my need.
I went directly to the Walgreens at 162nd Street and South Park Avenue in South Holland, Illinois. The Walgreens pharmacy associate informed me each pill, which is the generic form of the pill, would cost me $11.95 for each pill. I could not afford this price. Therefore, I had to wait until Friday, January 5, 2007, to get my medication from Ms. Bomar-Cole and Oak Forest Hospital. I picked up my medication from Ms. Bomar-Cole on Friday, January 5, 2007.
Sir, you really have your work cutout for you. I support the downsizing you have requested from the departments under your charge. The “fat” needs to be cut. I have written and posted my writings about some other departments you are charged with supervising, such as the Sheriff’s Department, the State’s Attorney Office, the Office of Inspector General, just to name a few. These departments have people who appear to be sitting on their butts while state, city and local corruption and crime flourishes. These entities govern and monitor themselves. How can government prosper and provide needed services to its constituents if the entities themselves are corrupt and full of deceit? How can an entity monitor itself? This breeds corruption.
Sir, I do not present problems without solutions. The Oak Forest fiasco can be contained. Remove the “fat.” The Oak Forest clinic should be able to facilitate prescription refills when the community agencies are booked up with referrals. Mr. Maverick informed me one would have to be registered with a community health centers’ registration for an appointment before they would be eligible to come back to the emergency room for a prescription refill. I could not get an appointment registered into the system’s computer because it so far off. I was told it can only be documented on a piece of paper. How would a patient know their proposed appointment is documented? A good computer system could avoid a patient being lost and could provide the substitute for downsizing.
On January 4, 2007 when I was at Oak Forest Hospital’s pharmacy there were about 20 to 25 people waiting for prescriptions to be filled and picked up. This was about 4:45 pm. Sir, it does not take rocket scientists to understand that the personnel may be procrastinating for a line of people to develop at the end of the day as such described. If the pharmacy department can fill prescriptions at the end of the day like this, it should not be telling patients they have to wait 4 to 5 hours for a prescription to be filled.
I hope you can do something about these issues at Oak Forest Hospital, the Sheriff’s Department, the State’s Attorneys’ Office and the Office of the Inspector General. These entities must not be able to monitor themselves. This breeds corruption. Too many of these people are sitting in their chairs all day, doing nothing, collecting taxpayers’ monies.
Most recently, I have written and posted on my websites how the Sheriff’s Department created and played a part in burglary, theft and home invasion calling it an eviction. I have written asking the State’s Attorneys’ Office to investigate this issue. Is the Sheriff’s Department being investigated regarding this issue? I have not received a response from either of these entities, but you know what, they are investigating themselves. I have written about police corruption in the 8th District. I had an interview on August 22, 2006 about these writings. No one from the 8th District has contacted me with any results. This is because the entity is investigating itself.
Respectfully submitted,
Fred L Nance Jr., ABD, MA, CADC, NCRS
cc:
http://click.townhall.com/
http://clickforjusticeandequality.blogspot.com/
