From: "Rich Gauszka" 

In Michigan our previous Republican governor John Engler closed down many
of the public mental institutions and those in need were thrown into the
streets.

There have been *errors* on either side of the political spectrum with the
one unfortunate result that many helpless individuals have been thrown out
into the street.



"Gary Britt"  wrote in message
news:44255e95$1{at}w3....
> There would be no need for dumping if the "liberals" in their infinite
> wisdom and compassion hadn't forced the closure of county residences for
> people who would otherwise be homeless.  These people have been
> "liberated"
> to continue their drug and alcohol lifestyles of dysfunction and
> non-gainful
> employment, and can no longer be forced to accept government/county
> housing
> and treatment.  As a result the number of homeless exploded.  Private
> hospitals nor the public in general have any obligation to provide these
> people free health care and free housing in the form of a hospital bed
> that
> is otherwise needed for patients in need of medical care and not in need
> of
> a county work farm.
>
> Gary
>
> "Rich Gauszka"  wrote in message
news:4424baff{at}w3....
>> No national health care needed here as dumping is cheaper
>>
>> http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/24/D8GHV8KO5.html
>>
>> Authorities are examining a surveillance tape that shows an elderly woman
>> wandering Skid Row in a hospital gown and slippers as they investigate
>> the
>> practice of hospitals and police agencies dumping homeless people
> downtown.
>>
>> Carol Ann Reyes, 63, of Gardena, was taken from a Kaiser Permanente
> hospital
>> in Bellflower on Monday to the downtown area known as Skid Row,
> authorities
>> said.
>>
>> A surveillance camera outside the Union Rescue Mission showed Reyes
> walking
>> from the direction of a taxi that had just driven away. She wandered the
>> street for about three minutes before a mission staff member brought her
>> inside.
>>
>> City officials have been looking into the alleged dumping of homeless
> people
>> in Skid Row, a ramshackle area downtown.
>>
>> Several hospitals have acknowledged that they put some discharged
>> indigent
>> patients with nowhere else to go into taxicabs headed to the area because
> it
>> offers a chance for getting services and shelter. Los Angeles police also
>> are investigating whether other law enforcement agencies dump people
> without
>> anywhere else to go downtown.
>>
>> "We have been looking into homeless dumping for some time, and this
>> (tape)
>> gives us another example of what has been going on," said
Frank Mateljan,
> a
>> spokesman for the city attorney's office.
>>
>> Diana Bonta, vice president of public affairs for Kaiser Southern
>> California, said the hospital attempted to find a shelter for Reyes, but
>> when that failed, it was determined that she would be taken to the Union
>> Rescue Mission. Hospital officials are trying to find out why Reyes, who
> was
>> in the hospital after suffering a bad fall, was left on the street still
>> wearing her hospital gown and slippers.
>>
>> The incident violated hospital policy and will not occur again, she said.
>>
>> "We have a policy of treating our patients with compassion
and care,"
> Bonta
>> said. "This should not have happened."
>>
>> Andy Bales, president the Union Rescue Mission, where Reyes remained,
>> said
>> the incident was the third in the past week in which security cameras
> caught
>> taxis dropping people in the area. The problem will continue until a
>> coordinated discharge plan between hospitals and shelters is created, he
>> said.
>>
>> "We just can't drop people off like baggage," he said.
"We can't have a
>> society where these people have nowhere to turn when they need care."
>>
>> State Sen. Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles, a Democrat, has introduced a bill
>> that would prohibit any arresting agency from taking people who need drug
>> treatment, mental health services or shelter outside their jurisdiction.
>>
>> Los Angeles County officials are also considering establishing five
> regional
>> homeless centers in an attempt to reduce dumping, the Los Angeles Times
>> reported Friday.
>>
>> The regional homeless centers plan would spread the responsibility of
> caring
>> for the homeless to suburbs instead of concentrating it downtown, the
>> newspaper said. Each 30-bed center would operate 24- hours a day and
>> would
>> accept people from hospitals, police and care providers. The goal would
>> be
>> to find the resident permanent housing and services such as mental health
>> and substance abuse treatment, officials said.
>>
>>
>
>

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