Quote:
Originally Posted by Buffalo Jim
No health care facility which serves the general public may not add / open even 1 more bed without the approval of several Federal and State Regulators .
Any institution which accepts Medicare / Medicaid must jump through numerous approval " hoops " before they can expand an ER , add an additional OR or add new beds . Approval is even required for the additional of certain high tech diagnostic and / or treatment equipment .
Therefore one can certainly and accurately conclude that the Villages Hospital expansion was a long time in planning and must have made a very convincing
case for need or this would have not gotten past the wishful thinking stage .
Today it is nearly impossible for a hospital to be able to add anything to existing physical plant . It is far more common for regulators to force hospitals to cut back on the number of beds or offering certain services . Most hospitals in the States and Cities in the north are being forced into consolidation and sharing expensive high tech equipment .
One of my good friends here in the Villages was just told that he has cancer and the recommended form of treatment is something called " Proton Therapy ". The closest machine to provide the recommended treatment is located in Jacksonville . It will require 6 to 8 weeks of daily treatments so he has to find a place to live in Jacksonville for 8 weeks .
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Interesting point most of us have not even considered. Thank you for sharing that.