A hospital stay in the United States can be a great equalizer. It mixes disease and diagnosis, joy and despair, and physical and mental tribulations, all of which are encompassed by matters of life and death. Regardless of class, education, or ethnicity, few people understand the science and service behind the delivery of modern medicine, let alone the billing and insurance systems that usually follow. As health care reform takes center stage across the nation, hospital stays continue to be full of uncertainty and trepidation.
For the past eight years, I have had a front row seat to what public opinion has perceived to be the decline of Western medicine, particularly as it applies to the health care system in the United States. As the successor to hospital CEO after my father’s unexpected death, I transitioned from health care lawyer to the head of a small community hospital in Los Angeles County, California. During this time, I have come to understand a great deal about the current state of health care in this country. One of the biggest surprises I have found is that health care and hospitals are not as complicated as most people believe.
Since few people are ever prepared for a hospitalization, the articles here are a mix of new posts as well as a few highlights from my book–Hospital Stay : Health Care Made Simple–designed to enable you to come to grips with many of the processes and procedures involved in a typical hospital stay. This Website aims to provide patients with all the necessary information to make their hospital stay as smooth as possible. It is also intended to serve as a complement to the doctor-patient relationship as it tries to answer questions that a patient or family member might not be able to ask in person. It is my hope this book will dispel, or at least lessen, the feelings of hopelessness and fear that inevitably occur when one is admitted to the hospital. If the information contained here results in a more comfortable, relaxed stay for both the patient and family alike, then it has succeeded.
No matter how complicated the running of a modern health care facility may appear to be, its guiding principles are quite simple. Hospitals function through an uneasy alliance between medicine and business. True, a doctor’s primary concern is for the health of each patient, and medicine takes precedence, but there would be no treatment if these facilities were not compensated for their time and services. This symbiosis lies at the heart of American health care. By recognizing the interplay between these functions, a patient will be better equipped to understand the full experience of his or her hospital stay.
From a medical perspective, today’s hospitals are designed to treat the sick by hosting a multidisciplinary roster of professionals with varying expertise in the medical arts and healing sciences. Divided into specialized departments that work in close conjunction with one another, these individuals are trained in every aspect of a hospital stay, and serve as the front line against sickness as it manifests in a seemingly infinite number of ways. Still, the wealth of knowledge possessed by this prestigious group is often lost on the typical patient who simply does not understand why he or she happens to be lying in a sterile white bed surrounded by strange people bustling back and forth.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, hospitals were a place where patients went to die. If one had the desire and the necessary resources to survive treatment took place at home. We should always be mindful just how far medical science has evolved so that we might better understand how the modern hospital operates. In this way, patients are better prepared to appreciate the health care system itself.
On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Health Care Reform) into law. More than ever before in recent history, the topic of health care is in the public spotlight. The legislative changes to our nation’s system for delivering health care will continue to unfold in the years to come, and their impact will be better understood over time. The success or failure of health care reform may hinge on how well we as a nation come to understand and appreciate our new system.
For better or worse, this education may start unexpectedly during a hospital stay, which often occurs without warning. This Website, like the chapters in my book, will familiarize you with many of the processes and procedures involved in a typical hospital stay. By explaining each part of your visit in simple terms, from admission to discharge, I have tried to eliminate the confusion and fear that surround any hospital experience. I hope that by doing so, this will free patients to focus their energies on their primary task at hand—getting better.
–Craig Garner
Craig Boyd Garner, Esq.
Prior to assuming the post of Chief Executive Officer at Coast Plaza Hospital in Norwalk, California, Craig practiced law as an attorney and partner specializing in health care issues. He serves on the advisory board for the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, and on the board of directors for LVS Health Innovations, an evidence-based health management company focused on creating sustainable active and healthy lifestyles. Craig is also on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Opera and the Board of Visitors of Seaver College at Pepperdine University.
Thomas A. Gionis, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., M.H.A.
Dr. Thomas A. Gionis serves as President of Aristotle University, Dean and Professor of Public Health at Aristotle University School of Public Health; he was the Founding Dean and Professor of Law at Aristotle University College of Law. Dr. Gionis is a United States Fulbright Scholar in Law, a current member of the United States Fulbright PEER Review Committee Member/Global-Public Health, and former UCLA Visiting Scholar in Public Health. He also serves as a Visiting Lecturer in the Executive Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the UCLA School of Public Health, where he lectures in Health Law and the Principles of Global Health. Dr. Gionis is a frequent Lecturer in bioethics at international United Nations UNESCO bioethics meetings, and serves as Chairman of the UNESCO International Bioethics Journal Club and Chairman of the Joint Study Committee on Clinical Research Ethics. As Medical Director at Coast Plaza Hospital, Dr. Gionis has been recognized as the youngest individual in the United States to be awarded the medical degree (M.D.); he started medical school at 17, and was awarded the M.D. degree at 21 years of age. He is a published author and the Editor-in-Chief for Royal Society Law Review. He lives and works in Southern California.
Galal S. Gough, M.D., F.A.C.O.G., F.A.C.S.
Currently the Chief of Staff at Coast Plaza Hospital, Dr. Galal S. Gough was a practicing OB/GYN with over 40 years experience in Southern California. Dr. Gough served as Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at USC Medical Center from 1987-1999, and as an Associate Professor for 17 years before that. He has earned fellowships at the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American College of Surgeons, and the International College of Surgeons. Dr. Gough served on the Medical Board for the State of California between 1984 and 1991 in various capacities, including its President and the California representative to the Federation of State Medical Boards. Since 1985, Dr. Gough has served on the California Committee of Bar Examiners, and has held a position as committee member for Moral Character from 2000 to the present. He was appointed Chairman of the Committee of Bar Examiners in 2010. Dr. Gough lives and works in Southern California.
