A Tale of Two Hospitals

According to its website, St. Luke's University Hospital is "dedicated to providing our patients and visitors with easily accessible services and excellent quality care delivered with outstanding customer service." It's named in honor of one of the apostles who was also rumored to be a physician. It has numerous locations throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond, and most are tax-exempt. Its 990 states its mission is "TO PROVIDE COMPASSIONATE, EXCELLENT QUALITY AND COST EFFECTIVE HEALTHCARE TO THE RESIDENTS OF THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE REGARDLESS OF RACE, COLOR, CREED, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN OR ABILITY TO PAY." Never mind that its President was paid over $2.4 million according to its 2017 990. Or that 11 other executives were paid salaries over $500,000. This hospital is named after a Saint, so it must be very caring, damn it! Except it isn't. Just before Christmas, this so-called non-profit turned someone away precisely because he had no means to pay. You see, he's homeless. He was even threatened with arrest. At this moment, he's at Lehigh Valley Hospital on Cedar Crest Boulevard. He's been told he'll be there awhile.

His name is Mark. I wrote about him back in 2015. One of my readers recognized him because she and he at one time traveled in the same circles. She now tries to help him and other homeless people even though she's an evil Republican. Fortunately for Mark, she was there for him very recently. St. Luke's was not.

On December 18, exactly one week before Christmas, Mark was in downtown Allentown. He was sitting, but noticed a very sharp pain in his hip when he attempted to stand up. He attempted to make his way back to his hooch, but the pain kept getting worse. Eventually, as he neared the Union Street bridge, he collapsed. He called 911 from his dumb phone, and paramedics responded. He asked them to take him to Lehigh Valley Health Network at 17th & Chew because a Street Medicine clinic is right across the street. They know him, and he is one of the stars in the above PBS video about street medicine. Instead of doing that, the ambulance dropped him off at St. Luke's at 4th and Chew.

St. Luke's took an x-ray, found he had no broken bones, gave him morphine and told him to be on his way. Mark tried, but was unable to walk. He spent the night in the waiting room, trying to reach the evil Republican so she could take him to a hospital that might actually treat him. While waiting, security personnel approached him twice and told him to leave or the police would be called. He was unable to move.

Mark eventually reached this evil Republican and she came to get him. He was still unable to walk, but St. Luke's reluctantly agreed to let her borrow a wheelchair so she could get him to her car. She took him to Lehigh Valley Hospital at Cedar Crest. They treated him like he was a human being.  Medical personnel drew his blood, and determined immediately that he had a major staph infection. It had actually entered his spine, which is why he was unable to walk. He's been at the hospital since, and is being treated with antibiotics.

In addition to treating him, Lehigh Valley Hospital sent someone to help him sign up for Medicaid and food stamps. He's been off assistance of any kind for over a year.

Lehigh Valley Health Network, which operates the street medicine program, has a core philosophy that all people matter. In contrast, St. Luke's treated Mark like he was garbage.