medically indigent program and trauma care fund medically indigent program the medically indigent mi program is a state-sponsored program that provides health care to very sick or very injured uninsured people low-income people who are ineligible for medicaid or medicare and who cannot afford to pay for their emergency medical care qualify for the mi program the program currently provides funding of only 40 percent of costs to hospitals for treating life-or-death situations it is a vital source of payment for many hospitals that already face a financial crisis and are required to provide care in emergency situations regardless of patients ability to pay trauma care fund the statewide trauma care fund was created in 1997 to help offset the high cost of operating and maintaining a statewide trauma care system payments from the fund are used to enhance medical assistance payments for trauma cases the payments improve the low medicaid rates and also serve as compensation for the many unco
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who is helped by medically indigent and trauma programs almost all hospitals in washington state receive funding from the medically indigent and trauma care programs over 2,000 critically ill persons per month across washington get help from these programs case study sites
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who is helped by medically indigent and trauma programs people all across washington are helped by the life saving services these programs provide here are some of their stories harrison memorial harrison memorial hospital is a 297 bed hospital located in bremerton the hospital sees 49,000 patients a year in the emergency room last year the hospital provided $2.1 million in charity care and forgave $2.7 million bad debt for patients unable to pay for their care all of the following patients were residents of kitsap county · a 56 year-old single male was diagnosed with cancer at the time of his diagnosis he was uninsured unemployed and unable to cover major medical expenses diagnostic and treatment regimens significantly improved his likelihood of cancer survival · a 45 year-old married female with one child was diagnosed with disease of the pancreas her husband was unemployed at the time of her diagnosis and she was trying to support the family through her own self-employment they did
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wall had been punctured and he was unable to breath he was treated urgently with a chest tube which saved his life after he was stabilized he was tranferred to harborview for pediatric intensive care during his rehabilitation he spent a long time on ventilation but is now smiling and interacting with his family harborview medical center harborview medical center is a 413 bed hospital located in seattle it is the state s only level i adult and pediatric trauma center caring for the community s most seriously injured patients the hospital sees approximately 85,000 patients a year in the emergency room last year the hospital provided $36 million in charity care and forgave $24 million in bad debt for patients unable to pay for their care approximately half of all patients entering the emergency department have injuries classified as serious critical or major because of the high volume of trauma care provided at harborview the medical center is provided with a block grant in trauma funds t
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tacoma general hospital tacoma general hospital is a 298 bed hospital located in tacoma the hospital sees 82,000 patients a year in the emergency room last year the hospital provided $3.4 million in charity care and forgave over $9 million bad debt for patients unable to pay for their care · a 49 year-old woman was involved in a nearly fatal automobile accident she spent 44 days in the intensive care unit and another ten days in the hospital before being discharged to an inpatient rehabilitation facility during her hospital stay she underwent four surgeries · a 22 year-old man was airlifted to the tacoma trauma center following a serious snowboarding accident while he was employed as a chef he was uninsured during his three-day stay at tacoma general hospital the young man had one surgery and no complications · a 19 year-old student suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle crash sending him to tacoma general s trauma center the victim who was wearing a helmet spent five days in the ho
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southwest washington medical center southwest washington medical center is a 360 bed hospital located in vancouver washington the hospital sees 112,000 patients a year in the emergency room last year the hospital provided $3.6 million in charity care and forgave $8 million bad debt for patients unable to pay for their care · a 23 year-old male from vancouver washington was struck at high speed by another vehicle on the driver s side despite wearing a seatbelt he suffered multiple fractures and injuries to his brain face arms legs and internal organs he was unconscious and in critical condition upon arrival at the hospital and required a full resuscitation team to keep him alive after being stabilized he underwent neurological orthopedic and plastic surgery he spent 10 days in the intensive care unit followed by 14 additional days of hospital care he was eventually discharged to a skilled nursing facility where he was put on breathing and feeding tubes he was later admitted for inpatien
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deaconess medical center deaconess medical center is a 388 bed hospital located in spokane the hospital sees 34,000 patients a year in the emergency room last year the hospital provided $2.8 million in charity care and forgave $3.5 million bad debt for patients unable to pay for their care · a 28 year-old mother and her 20 month-old baby girl from four lakes washington were involved in a single car rollover both were ejected from the vehicle and sustained multiple injuries the mother sustained fractures to the ribs collarbone right upper leg and left lower leg the baby sustained fractures to the spine ribs collarbone upper and lower right arm and lower left leg both mother and baby had concussions with brief loss of consciousness injury to the lungs and multiple cuts and bruises the mother was transported to the hospital by ground ambulance and the baby was airlifted both underwent trauma surgery along with care from adult and pediatric orthopedic surgeons neurosurgeons and intensivist
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for more information contact cassie sauer director advocacy public relations 206 216-2538 cassies@wsha.org claudia sanders vice president policy development 206 216-2508 claudias@wsha.org len mccomb lobbyist 360 951-1661 lenm@localaccess.com washington state hospital association 300 elliott avenue west suite 300 seattle wa 98119-4118 phone 206 281-7211 fax 206 283-6122 www.wsha.org
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