City and County Locked in Standoff Over Hospital Care
As bureaucratic disputes over hospital bills intensify, city officials warn that patients may soon be abandoned to the streets.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At the monthly meeting of the board of health yesterday, the ongoing dispute between the city and county regarding responsibility for the care of the poor was discussed. The board reviewed several requisitions for care provided at Providence Hospital, which had been returned unpaid by the board of public works, illustrating the growing confusion. Health Officer Palmer noted a particularly concerning case involving a prisoner named Frank Kannard, alias 'Kid' Donnelly, who remains hospitalized; despite the Corporation Counsel's legal opinion that the city is liable for the care of its prisoners, the bill was rejected. Dr. Holmes warned, 'This thing will end in the courts. Some one will die in the streets, both city and county refusing to render aid.' Meanwhile, the health officer reported a spike in typhoid fever cases, with seventeen reported and seven deaths, urging immediate inspection of unsanitary plumbing and drainage across the city.
“Some one will die in the streets, both city and county refusing to render aid.”
The 1893 struggle over which government body is responsible for the health and welfare of the indigent echoes Seattle's current, century-long debate over public health funding and the 'who pays' crisis. Just as in 1893, when bureaucrats quibbled over the medical bills of prisoners and the poor while typhoid spread, modern Seattle continues to grapple with the deadly consequences of fragmented health and social safety nets.
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