A clean bill of health

Jet, August 11, 2003

A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH: Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (front, l) and Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (rear, l) share a laugh with Detroit Medical Center patient Sam Woodard, who is uninsured and suffering from diabetes. The Detroit Medical Center (DMC), a non-profit organization that owns 10 hospitals throughout the city, has lost $360 million over the past five years. The initial solution to eliminating the deficit was to lay off 1,000 employees. But after protesters argued this would lower the quality of care, especially to the 18 percent of the DMC's uninsured patients, Granholm and Kilpatrick decided against the mass dismissal. They instead opted to give the struggling organization $50 million in rescue money as a joint donation from the city, county and state.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]