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Hospitals Were Quiet as Voters Decided Health Measures
By
Shannon Snow
November 3, 2004
Although the campaign signs around town today were red, white
and blue, inside the cardiac unit of Lucile Packard Children's
Hospital there was only the last. The small ward, which treats
young children with heart problems, was filled with patients
in blue hospital gowns, tended by doctors in blue scrubs and
surrounded by blue curtains. In one corner, a young father held
his tiny daughter's hand while she slept amid a mass of tubes,
a heart rate monitor and other medical equipment. He wore
a blue baseball cap.
California voters faced five health-related ballot measures
this Election Day, including Proposition 61, which would funnel
$750 million into children's hospitals. Other health
initiatives, confronting issues from employer health insurance
to stem cell research, represent billions of dollars of funding
for patients across the state.
One such measure is Proposition 67, which would impose a 3 percent
tax on phone service to fund emergency medical care. It
was intended to provide what healthcare professionals say is
a needed $500 million Band-Aid to an inadequate emergency care
system. More than 60 emergency rooms in California have
closed in the past decade.
Santa Clara County health officials are already preparing for
the December 9 closure of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. The
hospital, which housed one of only three emergency rooms and
trauma centers in the county, will stop receiving ER patients
on Nov. 30. San Jose Valley Medical Center and the Stanford
University Medical Center are expecting to carry the patient
load.
Inside Stanford Medical Center's Emergency Department, the waiting
room was eerily empty today, like a calm before a storm. A
young man sat alone in the waiting room, which is secured by
a guard and a metal detector. There is a check-in policy
to the 25-bed ER, in part due to gang violence. The lone
patient watched local election coverage on the small TV for a
few minutes, and then changed the channel to Comedy Central.
As a whole, the hospital was quieter than usual, remarked Helen
Allrich, a spokeswoman for the Stanford Medical Center. "Maybe
they are all off voting,” she said.
The Packard Children's hospital also seemed slightly calmer
than normal today, despite being at 90 percent capacity for its
264 beds. A recreation center with room for 25 children
accommodated just one small girl sponge painting with her father. One
waiting room for clinic visits held just ten people, and piles
of books and toys lay abandoned on the waiting room floor.
The only thing that seemed active at the hospital was the delivery
station. A nurse at the Labor and Delivery department reported
that 10 babies were born as of 10:45 a.m., slightly ahead of
schedule for the average 12 to 13 babies that are born in a full
working day.
Less than a half a mile away, local polling stations also saw
increased turnout as voters made tough decisions on other health-related
initiatives. Increased taxes and more than $800 million
were at stake under Proposition. 73, which would fund mental
health services. The highly controversial stem cell initiative,
Proposition 71, was another closely watched measure. Voters
also took a stand on Measure 72, which would require businesses
with more than 200 employees to provide health insurance.
It is likely that some hospital patients also cast their votes
today, even if medical conditions made them unable to attend
the polls.
“There is a special provision for people who are hospitalized
to vote," said Joanne Reynolds, a legal analyst for the California
Secretary of State. Section 3021 of state law provides for
an "emergency absentee ballot." For any time
between October 27 to November 2, a voter who is unable to go
to his or her polling place may request in writing a special
ballot, which must be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Contact Shannon Snow at ssnow@stanford.edu
