A little exercise in compare and contrast -- local media edition
The Chronicle's indispensable Metro columnist Rick Casey is unhappy because a local citizen ran for commissioner of Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9, and won the seat. Casey's unhappiness stems from low election turnout, and the local citizen's belief that God led her to run for the position.
Compare that withering column to KPRC-2's recent multi-part investigation of Harris County Emergency Services District No. 1, detailing an exclusive contract the agency had with a private, for-profit helicopter company:
For the last 14 months, a private for-profit PHI helicopter has transported patients to hospitals in and around Houston, working exclusively for the nonprofit government agency Emergency Services District 1.
Anytime ESD 1 paramedics decided a patient needed to fly to a hospital instead of taking a ground ambulance, ESD 1 would dispatch PHI.
In 2007, before ESD 1 signed the contract with PHI, the district only airlifted 12 patients in the entire year. In 2008, after ESD 1 signed the deal with the air medical company, it transported 106 patients. That’s a 783% increase.PHI made its money by directly billing and collecting from the patients it flew.
In one case, an accident victim was transported by helicopter to the hospital, released several hours later having suffered no major injuries, and received a $12,000 bill from the helicopter company. An ambulance bill would have been under $1,000. After Channel 2's investigation, HCESD 1 ended its exclusive contract with the private helicopter company.
When the Chronicle talks about "tenacious, watchdog journalism," it's a safe bet Casey isn't included.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 05/17/09 01:01 PM | Print |
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