Gavin Good
The hospital's decades-long reputation for aggressively billing patients has resurfaced anew during the pandemic.
r/UIUC
A university student criticized the University of Illinois Counseling Center in a Reddit thread, describing being turned away in tears during a “serious mental health crisis”, but were turned away because they “already had an appointment six months ago.” The counseling center responds with a commitment to student needs.
One of Gail Rogers’ most vivid memories while in intensive care for COVID-19 was the doctors who would not come in her room, but instead peered at her through the inside window and gave her a thumbs up sign. As Champaign County’s first COVID-19 patient, the 52-year-old lawyer also remembers how unprepared the health profession was for the virus in March of this year, despite five weeks' warning.
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On Monday, Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department Administrator Julie Pryde, joined by officials from Carle Foundation Hospital and OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana, warned that hospitals are approaching capacity. The officials said that Region 6 — which covers 21 counties in east-central Illinois including Champaign County — has only 29% of its Intensive Care Unit capacity and 29% of its hospital bed capacity remaining as virus cases surged.
Carle.org
Since March, a total of 80 COVID-19 patients have died in the Carle Health System and 511 have been discharged. Carle shares these trends “to inform our region of the reality we’re facing today,” according to the website. “As the region’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, we continue to meet our community’s healthcare needs whether it’s care for COVID, heart attack, stroke or trauma.”
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Carle Foundation Hospital is routinely treating people in beds in the hallways of the emergency room at its Urbana facility on University Avenue, although the practice has come under criticism by health experts. The practice is generally done because a hospital is at overcapacity and does not have room for patients and is known as “boarding.” Boarding has been criticized because negative effects can include death, preventable disability, prolonged hospital stays and general discomfort.
Carle Foundation Hospital has received nearly $18.8 million this month in grant money under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act, according to COVID Stimulus Watch. Meanwhile, Christie Clinic received about $2.4 million in grant money. These grants were awarded through the department’s Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund on June 11, according to COVID Stimulus Watch, which is a service of Good Jobs First, which collects data of financial assistance from federal, state and local government programs. COVID Stimulus Watch, specifically collects and publishes data from CARES Act recipients.
Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess
Flaws in the Illinois state legislature’s bill to legalize cannabis for recreational use has led to statewide shortages in the product, particularly for the…
Darrell Hoemann
A nursing home resident at Alden Town Manor Rehab & HCC died after tumbling down five concrete stairs onto the pavement, according to state inspections reports. The receptionist said, “no one can really cover for me on the weekends when I step away from the desk,” according to the report by the Illinois Department of Public Health about the 2018 incident.
Darrell Hoemann
Many rural counties in Illinois face the same lack of choice when it comes to high-quality nursing homes. Rural nursing homes are buffeted with a number of issues that often lead to understaffing and low quality of care. In addition, some nursing homes in rural areas are closing because of financial challenges. There are 52 counties in Illinois with a population of under 30,000, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and 45 of which has three or fewer nursing homes. Pope, Pulaski and Putnam, three counties with over 16,000 people in total, have no nursing homes within the counties.