Free Market Leaves Pain Patients At Risk

Free Market Leaves Pain Patients At Risk
By Lynda Carson 8/18/02

Oakland Ca-On August 1, 2002 more than a dozen recently dumped pain patients of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center appeared in front of Oakland City Hall for a rally and Hearing regarding the Pain Clinic closure at Summit Hospital in Oakland. The patients were there to protest the July 15, 2002 closure of the Pain Clinic at Summit, and were expected to be speakers afterwards for the 1p.m. Hearing inside of City Hall.

Ironicaly, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown was holding a staged event in front of City Hall at the same time to create the appearance of an anti-violence protest in Oakland. Shootings in Oakland have recently gotten peoples attention, and City Officials have been scrambling to make the best out of a grim situation. A row of media cameras were poised to cover the anti-violence event once the speakers lined up at the podium would take over and denounce the violence which plagues Oakland in all it's many forms. An array of reporters already were starting on their interviews before the event even began. Such is life in Oakland, that it was a small turnout of supporters for the Mayors view during the event, and once the event was underway, it was dogged by people who countered the Mayors message for more police when he tried to speak.

Meanwhile, as the Pain Patients started to show up in front of City Hall for their event they took one look at the long row of cameras lined up to cover speakers at the podium, and in amazement they asked each other if this was all for them? It did not take long for the pain patients to realize that two events were scheduled for the same time, and the decision was quickly made to get close behind the podium in a half circle to display the protest signs in front of all the cameras to denounce the pain clinic closure. A number of patients in wheelchairs quickly took their positions and held up their protest signs.

After all, claimed patient supporter John Reiman of the Campaign for Renters Rights, the patients have felt the violence of pain from Summit Hospital closing the pain clinic, and this staged anti-violence event of Mayor Jerry Browns will help to get the word out about corporate violence which also occurs in the american society.

It was a hectic day for the Painfighters as they now call themselves ever since the sudden closure of their beloved pain clinic at Summit Hospital. It was barely a bit past noon and they already were on KPFA radio for the morning show, and now a few hours later they were posing for the long row of cameras for that evenings news accounts for the mainstream networks.

It was a hot sunny day, and after a few speakers took their turns at the podium to denounce violence, Mayor Jerry Brown suddenly appeared with his handler. The Mayors main message was that law and order was needed in Oakland to stop the shootings and that he will push for the hiring of many new police officers to counter Oaklands present shooting spree.

At that point, the pain patients shouted out in earnest to ask about corporate violence, and asked how he (the mayor) felt about the closure of the Summit Hospital Pain Clinic. What about the violence of Summits closure of the pain clinic some of the patients loudly proclaimed as a question? An eruption of the crowd bellowed out with chants of no more police, with the pain patients following suit to chime in as the embarrassed Mayor was quickly hustled off by his handler. As the red faced Mayor ran past the pain patients for refuge in City Hall, he shouted out; if you do not support more police for Oakland, he will not support the patients in their effort to re-open the pain clinic. Many in the crowd were stunned in shock by the Mayors stinging threat, and they asked each other if they heard the Mayor correctly. Did he really say that, some of the dumped patients asked?

No one had the time to debate what the angry Mayor of Oakland had just shouted as he ran by, it was barely a few minutes before 1p.m., and the time to go inside to Hearing Rm 2, had already arrived. But the lash of the Mayors tongue has already sunk into the minds of the pain patients and their supporters, and it looked like it was to be an up hill battle for the community to get the pain clinic re-opened.

Hearing Rm number two was located upon the first floor of Oakland City Hall and was already starting to fill up by the time the patients started to roll in on their wheel chairs. In moments, Councilmember Jane Brunner could be heard clearing her throat as she announced that it was 2 minutes past 1p.m., and the Hearing was about to begin.

As official hearing members, Councilwoman Brunner was joined by Councilwoman Nancy Nadel, Mayor Shirley Dean of Berkeley, Marty Doyle of Senator Don Peratas office, Rachel Richmond of Assemblywoman Wilma Chans office, and Joe DeVries of County Supervisor Nate Mileys office.

The speakers for the hearing were the patients of Summit and their supporters from Local 250 SEIU, the Consumers Union, the public, and followed by the administrators of Summit Alta Bates Medical Center who were involved in the pain clinic operations and closure.

One by one the speakers arose to testify in the hearing as to why the pain clinic was needed, while others testified as to the reasons why the pain clinic was closed and will never be re-opened for financial reasons.

Summit officials claimed that a loss of $60 million at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center was at the root of the pain clinic closure, while at the same time financial records revealed that Sutter Health Care the parent company of Summit Hospital showed more than a profit of $100 million last year. During the hearing it was revealed that for that particular clinic that was being closed, annualy there was a $300 thousand loss and that during the past five years there have been at least 1,100 active patients. The patients claim that it was nearly 2,000 patients at the clinic.

Whether the losses or profits being debated in the hearing room were real or not, the administrators of Summit coldly proclaimed that they wanted to focus on in-patient care, and they wanted out of the out-patient care business. Throughout much of the hearing, sobs and weeping of the patients and their supporters could be heard from around the room as testimony after testimony revealed the pain and suffering that has resulted ever since the closure of the pain clinic on July 15, 2002. With no where to go for many of the dumped patients who have little but Medi-Cal or Medicare as insurance, it became apparent that a real crisis was created by a free market system that allows this sort of
corporate violence to permeate society at large in America.

In an opinion piece of the Oakland Tribune on August 16, 2002 Peggy Stinnett states that funding for a new clinic has been found. In a call to Peratas office to verify the opinion column of Stinnetts, staffers of Peratas office state that funding has not yet been found to set up a new clinic.

Presently, state, county, and local officials are scrambling to find the funding to create a new pain clinic for the east bay, and one can only hope that the vulnerable patients will continue to receive pain management service until this crisis has been resolved.

Meanwhile, plans are under way for a march and rally to Summit Hospital on September 2, 2002 to oppose the pain clinic closure.

The Painfighters may be reached at 510/601-7794