Martin Memorial Clinic in St. Lucie West (Stuart, Longwood: 2009, insurance)

[FlaLadyB]

Copied from the Palm Beach news:

Business is booming.
An emergency care clinic in St. Lucie West owned by Martin Memorial Health Systems saw 380 patients in its first week. The clinic, which opened Sept. 1, had an average of 48 patients per day, said Scott Samples, a hospital spokesman.

Located at the health system’s existing facility at 1095 N.W. St. Lucie West Blvd., the clinic is about 9,100 square feet with 12 beds. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Also posted in case anyone did not know this great clinic existed!

[LingLing]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

Copied from the news:
Lawnwood and St. Lucie Medical Center have been campaiging to STOP the 80 bed hospital from being built saying ..it would take away all the high paying client from them.. aw geee.. we obviously NEED THIS!

I think it is reasonable for Lawnwood and St. Lucie Medical Center’s to appeal the decision. I hope they will not give up. Both hospitals have served the need of insured and uninsured population of St. Lucie County for many years. As St. Lucie County’s population grows, Martin Memorial wants a piece of pie. HCA applied to County to open a hospital at west side of PSL several years ago. The application was turned down, citing not enough patients. However, Martin Memorial was able to play politics and convince the county’s officials. There are a lot more politics behind the scene.

[FlaLadyB]

I think we NEED a medical center here in this area. Why should we have to drive all the way to US#1 for St. Lucie Medical Center or drive to Ft. Pierce for Lawnwood? What happens if someone needs attention FAST? What about the simple convenience of not having to drive across town?

The mere fact that the new MM clinic saw that many people in one week shows ...we need facilities HERE.

[LingLing]

We need a medical center here. Lawnwood and St. Lucie medical centers have provided service for the people of PSL for many years. They have submitted request to build hospital at the Tradition area and their request was turned down.
Martin Memorial is able to play politics with the county officials and Tradition developer.
If you are a resident of St. Lucie County and you have a heart attack or gun shot wound and you don't have insurance, where you will be sent? Lawnwood. Not Martin Memorial.
If you have insurance/money, you may be admitted to Martin Memorial. However, if you are in big trouble, you will be re-sent to Lawnwood or St. Mary, where there are accredited trauma centers. Martin Memorial will NOT keep you.
The problem is that if insured patients were taken away from Lawnwood and lawnwood can’t survive, who will care for a large population of uninsured patients in St. Lucie County? Are you willing to pay more taxes so we can supplement Lawnwood or Martin Memorial to take care those patients? Do you think Martin Memorial will still stay in St. Lucie County if they are required to treat all uninsured St. Lucie county patients including severe trauma?
Yes, we live in Tradition. Somehow for some reasons, some of us think that we are wealthy and we should be treated differently. A hospital that caters to a small “wealthy” population will be great. But with so many uninsured patients and a large population of not so wealthy people in our area, this needs to proceed with fairness and care to all the residents of St. Lucie County.

[FlaLadyB]

We think we're wealthy? HUH? First I have heard of that, at least I'm certainly not wealthy. Don't include me in the "some of us". Ask the PGA people in the country club maybe.

Trauma center, yes...and a Trauma helicopter. It's brand new and they got it for the very reason of taking people from here all the way to Longwood and to put down Martin Memorial.

How about the major news of the illegal immigrant who racked up millions of dollars at Martin Memorial. He didn't have insurance.

Since St. Lucie County is so large and the hospitals for us are so far we still need care that's less than 45 minutes away.

[LingLing]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

We think we're wealthy? HUH? First I have heard of that, at least I'm certainly not wealthy. Don't include me in the "some of us". Ask the PGA people in the country club maybe.

Trauma center, yes...and a Trauma helicopter. It's brand new and they got it for the very reason of taking people from here all the way to Longwood and to put down Martin Memorial.

How about the major news of the illegal immigrant who racked up millions of dollars at Martin Memorial. He didn't have insurance.

Since St. Lucie County is so large and the hospitals for us are so far we still need care that's less than 45 minutes away.

Martin Memorial is not equipped as a trauma center. They don't have the space for emergency vehicles to enter, park and exit quickly. And they don’t have space to expand. Unless they are rich enough to push other business around the hospital out of their way, they would never be able to become a trauma center.

The trauma center is not just a helicopter landing place. The trauma center includes specially equipped ORs, a team of at least five trauma surgeons, two neurosurgeons and numerous other surgeons who are on call 24hours a day to take care of patients. Martin Memorial simply doesNOT have that ability to handle that kind of trauma. Otherwise, there is no need for them to fly their patients to Palm beach County Trauma Center supported by local residents’ tax money.

Recently, a resident of Heritage Oak, Tradition landed in Lawnwood ER. Her response to her attending neurosurgeon was the same as you. I live in Tradition and I don’t understand why I am sent here. By the way, I don’t have money to pay you. And I wish there is a hospital at Tradition. Her attending surgeon who has a newborn son and was on call for 24hrs was surprised by the verbal attack. He did what he needs to do to relive her pain and stabilize her condition, saving her life. What the patient doesn’t understand is that this is the only neurosurgeon on call that night in St. Lucie County. Unless she can move her private neuron surgeon around, she will have to go to Lawnwood no matter how many urgent care centers Martin memorial opens around here. When I was told the story by the neuron surgeon, I try to deflect it by saying I don’t live in that community and I don’t know why she said that.

What Martin Memorial does is a smart business decision for them. They open small urgent care types of clinics here and there with minimal investment but none of them is able to handle true emergency. They were considered to be a better hospital simply because their main hospital is located in a wealthy community and they don’t have the exposure to many uninsured patients from St. Lucie and Okeechobee County.

Yes, the illegal alien was sent home to die simply because he didn’t have insurance. I don’t think his treatment is fair since he is here to work. Unfortunately, he is not born here. And I don’t think he is a resident of St. Lucie County. Otherwise, Martin Memorial will ask Lawnwood to take over the care.

Regarding your last point, if you get on I-95 and drive around 60mile/hour, you can be at Lawnwood in 20 minutes. If you are on an emergency response vehicle, you will be there in 15 min. Lawnwood is NOT 45min away.

BTW, I do wish there will be a real hospital in Tradition. But I just don't agree with Martin Memorial.....

[FlaLadyB]

I didn't say Martin Memorial HAD a Trauma Center - we need one here and I am quite aware of what a Trauma Center is. The small clinic they opened here in St Lucie West is the beginning of WHEN they can open the hospital here in Tradition. Then it will be moved to that facility.

Anyone who lives in this end of town wants a hospital in THIS area- not across town or up in Ft. Pierce. As for driving - emergency response vehicles are not much faster since they have speed limit laws and traffic to contend with too. If you are driving from here to US#1 in traffic it takes TOO LONG to get to a hospital. Lawnwood is a lot more than 15 minutes away as I drive in that
direction enough times to know how long it takes...too long.



The illegal alien was sent home because he had already racked up millions of dollars of free hospital care. There was nothing more to do than long term bed care and enough is enough. Nobody in his family or any relatives would take responsibility for him and the hospital decided -rightly -it was no longer their responsibility to do that.

Any hospital in this area is a needed facility. My post was to let people know that there IS a facility at all available to them. NOT to start an argument with you about how much you don't like Martin Memorial.

[LingLing]

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

I didn't say Martin Memorial HAD a Trauma Center - we need one here and I am quite aware of what a Trauma Center is. The small clinic they opened here in St Lucie West is the beginning of WHEN they can open the hospital here in Tradition. Then it will be moved to that facility..

I am not in Martin Memorial management team so I don't know what their actual plan is. According to I was told, I didn’t see anything that will tell me the hospital will be fully staffed with all sorts of specialty surgeons and equipment.

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

Anyone who lives in this end of town wants a hospital in THIS area- not across town or up in Ft. Pierce. As for driving - emergency response vehicles are not much faster since they have speed limit laws and traffic to contend with too..

Emergency vehicles can drive up to 70 miles/hour on I-95 from Tradition. And Yes, they can reach Lawnwood in 15min. I rode one in. When they first opened trauma center, I was in one of those test runs.

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

If you are driving from here to US#1 in traffic it takes TOO LONG to get to a hospital.

If you are on US#1, St. Lucie Medical Center is much closer to you than a hospital in Tradition. Someone will have to love Martin Memorial so much that he or she would risk his or her own life by refusing going to St. Lucie Medical Center and insisting on being sent to a hospital in Tradition. And I am not sure that paramedics will agree to do that.

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

The illegal alien was sent home because he had already racked up millions of dollars of free hospital care. There was nothing more to do than long term bed care and enough is enough. Nobody in his family or any relatives would take responsibility for him and the hospital decided -rightly -it was no longer their responsibility to do that. .

When I walk/drive around beautiful lakes in Tradition, I often see those young people working on landscape under sun in hot and humid Florida summer. Almost 100% of them don’t speak English. Most of them were paid minimal salary and have no insurance. I don’t know whether they are here legally or not. The illegal alien is one of those landscape workers. They are here because they can feed their whole family while being exploited here. If they got into trouble, they were sent home to die. His family and relatives appealed to the court to keep him alive here but they can’t win in the face of powerful attorneys hired by Martin Memorial.

Originally Posted by FlaLadyB

Any hospital in this area is a needed facility. My post was to let people know that there IS a facility at all available to them. NOT to start an argument with you about how much you don't like Martin Memorial.

I like Martin Memorial. If I go there to see some of my doctors, I will stop by downtown Stuart to have a nice dinner. I have many doctor friends who cover all three hospitals; this is the reason I know what is going on. What I try to argue is that Lawnwood and St. Lucie Medical centers have perfectly good reasons to appeal the decision that allows Martin Memorial build a hospital at Tradition. It makes absolute sense for them to fight. I have nothing against Martin Memorial Hospital. I just don’t agree with the negative comments about Lawnwood and St. Lucie decision to appeal.

[LingLing]

Letter: St. Lucie doesn't need Martin Memorial Hospital : Letters : TCPalm

And read PSLoldtimer's comment on this site if you search his comment.

[FlaLadyB]

SO STOP IT ALREADY...

those of us in the WESTERN part of PSL - NOT ON US#1 - NEED A HOSPITAL IN THIS AREA..because WE DON'T HAVE ONE. The more that the other two hospitals fight against whoever wants to build one just makes those of us who live in THIS area have a harder time getting adequate medical attention when we need it.

MY ORIGINAL POST WAS ABOUT THE CLINIC AND THE FACT THAT IT IS THERE .....