Tom...as in Morgan

Imagine this: A gala evening to benefit our Social Security office. Or an auction and community dinner to raise money for our Post Office. Sponsored by the Post Office Auxiliary.

Hard to imagine such things, isn't it? I thought about that while I was dancing and dining at the annual gala evening for our local hospital. The event raises over $100,000 every year.

On New Year's Eve we will go to another gala, for another hospital, which will raise even more money. That hospital is much larger than the first one.

These events are only the tip of the iceberg of the hospitals' efforts to promote themselves in our community.

Every week we see articles about their new doctors. And about additions and changes in their medical offerings.

We read about papers their docs have presented at medical forums. We hear about the progress they make with their student nursing programs.

The hospitals tie in with some of the schools in the area in their nurses training programs. They link up with grammar schools to tend to basic healthcare for the kids.

Meanwhile their foundations beat the bushes for money. To put into their endowment funds. To help pay for more improvements at the hospitals.

Doctors and administrators speak at various functions over the course of the year. To bring us up to date on their operations and on healthcare trends.

Meanwhile, their auxiliaries stage auctions and dinners and art shows to raise more money for the hospitals.

One of our hospitals has sponsored a round of breakfasts to enlighten many of us on the subject of cardiac care.

Our legislators get in on the act. They attend some of the functions. They work to snare funding for hospital projects.

And all the while, the hospitals compete with each other. And they compete with large hospitals out of the area. Which means they must work hard to keep their services up to snuff. And to win our confidence that they have.

Now, imagine we are in England. Or in New Zealand. Or in Canada. Where hospitals are run by governments. Under socialized medicine.

Virtually none of what I have just described exists. In America our hospitals are integral parts of our communities. The folks who serve on our hospital boards are our neighbors and friends.

In countries that have socialized medicine, hospitals are as much a part of our communities as is your local Motor Vehicles Office. Or your local Walmart.

Yes, they have a presence. They cannot help but have one. They employ people and patients and customers use them. But that is the end of it.

Oh, the chain store or government office might sponsor a team in the next walkathon. But as for total community involvement, they cannot compare with a healthy local hospital.

This is something worth considering the next time you dream of socialized medicine. Or of heavier government involvement in the delivery of your healthcare.

For more columns - and for my radio shows - go to www.tomasinmorgan.com.

From Tom...as in Morgan.