Yesterday, I wrote about the hospital-building boom and suggested that we may not need it—and more to the point, we may not be able to afford it.
In my description of how hospitals are adding costly amenities like waterfalls and all-private-rooms in order to woo well-heeled, well-insured patients, I suggested that the money might be better invested in computerized medical records or Level I trauma units. (In some parts of the country, trauma units are spaced so far apart that if you are in a car accident, there is a real danger that the unit will be too far away to be of any help.)
Barry Carol responded, agreeing that safety should come first, but also arguing that the private rooms help prevent infections. As for the waterfalls, he noted that “while they may make good journalistic copy as illustrative of frills,” given the high cost of hospital construction “they probably get lost in the rounding as a cost factor.” See his comment here.
Because Barry had raised a number of good points, and because the hospital boom is such a large and crucial subject, I decided to return to it today while responding to his comment.
Barry—
I’m afraid the waterfalls are more than good copy for journalists.. Similar amenities are being included in hospital construction across the country–and it adds up.