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Posted on 16th April 2009 by Gordon Johnson in Brain Injury

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On Apr 16, 2009, at 6:08 AM, MICHAEL SHELLER wrote:

Dear Mr. Johnson,

I simply had to stop all activity and send you this e-mail. Please let me explain:

Around the very turn of this new decade I suffered a brain injury. I have no memory of the accident at home that kayoed me and put me in a hospital (so I have been told by my wife who heard my thump and found my inert form). I was out cold for a month and expected to die. Thanks to the powers that be I amazed a number of medical personnel who were attending my case and eventually regained consciousness. Early on I spent some six months in a rehab center aptly named “Transitions.” Having been, many years ago, a veteran of the Vietnam war, I have to say that I came close to leaving this mortal coil on several occasions. But I suspect this brain injury was the closest I came to, as the saying goes, “biting the bullet.”

In any event, given that because of my work I spend a significant amount of time on the internet (no, not what you think – nothing naughty!!) (I do a good deal of stock pattern research) I occasionally check sites that relate to what I went through. I found your internet brain injury material this morning and I simply had to tell you that not only did you do an excellent and thorough job presenting the varied facts concerning brain injury (hey, I know – I used to be the Creative Director of a New York advertising agency) but you impressed me as someone who really cares about what they are doing.

As an old army guy, let me salute you!

My Very Best,

Mike

My response to his letter:

Mike:

Thank you for your kind words. Do you mind if we put your comment on one of your blogs?

Gordon Johnson

Gordon,
Your comment warms my heart. By all means please do. Inasmuch as I used to, among other things, write ad copy, it’s nice to know that I can still do a “pitch” now and then. :-)

I truly meant all that I said to you.

We are always interested in hearing from our readers, and if you have something you want to add to our blogs, let us know.

Multiple problems hurting hospitals’ bottom lines

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Posted on 28th December 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Brain Injury

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Date: 12/28/2008 12:02 AM


By The Associated Press


U.S. hospitals are beset by financial pressures from all sides. Issues cited by hospital executives, industry consultants and other experts include:

—More patients aren’t paying their bills or are taking longer to do so. Reasons include increases in people who are unemployed and have lost their health insurance, employers increasing workers’s copayments and premiums, and more people getting insurance plans that carry very high deductibles.

—More patients are putting off care until illnesses are very serious, then showing up at emergency departments, unable to pay.

—Patients are delaying diagnostic procedures and elective surgery such as joint replacements, which generally are moneymakers.

—Overall admissions are down at many hospitals, also cutting revenues.

—Government subsidies for uncompensated, or charity, care have been cut in some states due to their budget problems, and some states are starting or expected to cut reimbursements for Medicaid programs, typically one of their biggest budget items.

—Credit has become tighter, increasing borrowing costs at best and leaving hospitals unable to borrow in some cases.

—Hospital endowments and other funds invested for later use have been hurt by the stock market’s plunge, with many hospitals seeing considerable losses.

—Wealthy hospital patrons, some of whom also have suffered big investment losses, have started cutting back on donations.

—Many individual doctors and small group practices are pressuring hospitals with which they are affiliated to buy their practices because they can’t afford expensive technology upgrades, particularly computerized patient record systems.

In addition, some experts fear expected health care reforms under the new Obama administration could include cuts in the levels of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, a crucial issue because hospitals on average get about 55 percent of all patient revenues from those two government programs, which already don’t cover full costs of care.

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Source: American Hospital Association, AP interviews.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.