Have an Appointment at Bascom Palmer in Miami? Bring a Sleeping Bag Because They Suck at Keeping Appointments. By Geniusofdespair

I have had numerous appointments at Bascom Palmer Eye Hospital and never waited UNDER 3 hours. Below is their guidelines on how to treat patients: AIDET or Edward Norton's Law. Trust me. Norton's Law is totally ignored by everyone. And the Duration thing, that is a laugh and a half. If I knew how long I had to wait, I would go downstairs and hang out with the homeless people all over the streets. It would be better than sitting in a stupid room pacing back and forth waiting to be called.  Here is a tip Bascom Palmer: Don't make appointments if you are not going to keep them. Perhaps you need a workshop on what an appointment is. I am going back the end of the week, if I had a real job I would be up shits creek with a three hour appointment.

Worst thing: If the Doctor has a bunch of interns with him/her, you will be totally ignored. He just talks to them and you are almost a nuisance sitting in the chair, as they discuss your case in front of you but no one addresses you directly. I felt like a prop.

Breaking News: Chief of Staff Eddie Borrego Leaving District 8 County Commissioner Lynda Bell. By Geniusofdespair

Trying to confirm right now, heard Eddie Borrego was leaving Monday to work for Carlos Migoya, joining former County Commission staffers Donald Wolfe (Xavier Suarez)  and Ester, Joe Martinez's former chief of staff and a second Martinez staffer.  This Eddie Borrego move should rock the Lynda boat!!!!  Now you know where our bond money is going -- big salaries. GOT CONFIRMATION EDDIE BORREGO'S LAST DAY IS JANUARY 24TH. Xavier Suarez only had good things to say about Don Wolfe (he said he couldn't offer Don the kind of salary he can get over there). The X man said Don has great range or "bandwidth" -- he could tackle anything put before him. Commissioner Suarez sent him off with his "blessings." Borrego, on the other hand is leaving during a campaign. Shows a lack of confidence. So all you nitwits who voted for the Jackson Bond... take a deep swig of these bigger salaries at Jackson, than the county offers staff.

I Voted on the Jackson Bond Today: NO. By Geniusofdespair

I voted a big FAT "NO"!  Wrote why the other day...

The Miami Herald endorsed it but it was a wacky endorsement, besides they endorse anything that cost us money, from the Miami Herald:

Skeptics may have doubts. Didn’t we just agree to a huge bond issue for the school district last year? And didn’t we force the mayor to backtrack on a plan to raise property taxes for a good cause (public libraries and an expanded animal shelter) because we couldn’t afford to pay more?
Yes and Yes.

Ideally, another public bond issue could be delayed until the effects of the painful recession are behind us.

That is the only part worth reading of their endorsement.

Republicans are getting many giant mailers about Jackson's GIANT Bond proposal. By Geniusofdespair

The election is in November but I have already been getting really giant flyers telling me to vote for the Jackson bond proposal.

I don't vote YES for bonds so they are wasting their time especially for an $830 million bond.  The Democrat in my household has not gotten any flyers, while I, as a Republican, have gotten 3 in about 10 days. Maybe they have to adjust the reading level and the messages for Democrats or they figure they are stupid enough to just vote for it.

Why don't they stop wasting money on flyers and run the damn hospital better. And why are they targeting Republicans?

How much is Carlos Migoya's salary? $590,000 plus bonuses.

Stupid big expensive flyer. One of three for a November election.

Do you have any idea how expensive it is to send these flyers countywide? Don't be duped. We already fund this hospital with a half penny sales tax and a half penny from our property taxes - that is $350 million a year. Here is what they should have done (written in 2011):

A task force of 20 Miami-Dade healthcare leaders has recommended that the financially troubled Jackson convert to a private nonprofit, a path taken by Tampa General and many other public hospitals across the nation over the past 20 years. The task force's 143-page report, set to go to the County Commission next month, urges commissioners to quickly create a nonprofit with the "independence, flexibility and nimbleness" to make sound economic decisions for Jackson, which has lost $337 million during the past two years.

Many struggling public hospitals have prospered after freeing themselves from political controls and bureaucracy that some healthcare professionals believe are the cause of inefficient operations. Tampa General is one of them.

 Maybe with Obamacare we won't need this stupid mega-bond.

Watch out for "Citizens for a Healthy Miami Dade": They Want Your Money. By Geniusofdespair

Citizens for a Healthy Miami Dade is a PAC with the purpose (they say) "To Advocate for Jackson Health Systems to enhance its programs and facilities in order to compete successfully in an evolving healthcare environment."  In other words, they want to collect money in this PAC to pay for commercials and flyers to convince you to vote for their BOND. Don't vote for anymore Bonds. You are breaking the bank. It says on their website:

On November 5, Miami-Dade voters will be asked if JHS should be allowed to access an $830 million bond for a comprehensive upgrade...

Just say no to all these stupid bonds or stop complaining about your taxes.

Larry Hawkins, really? ... by gimleteye

Once upon a time on the upper west side of Manhattan (this is real and true!) I regularly had breakfasts at Tom's Restaurant; that is to say, the same place at the same time that the future president, Barack Obama, also frequented Tom's. Hear me out. This isn't another six degrees of separation story.

This weekend, nursing a severe case of jet lag, I contemplated how to write about the return to quasi public life of a disgraced former county commissioner, Larry Hawkins, now chosen by the unions to be its representative on the Jackson Health System board. What was in that coffee I was drinking, staring into the future? Did I imagine I would be writing about the horrendous error the unions are making in reviving a public role for a disgraced Miami politician whose notoriety chases him like a string of tin cans tied to a car bumper, while my former counter mate, now president of the United States, was golfing with Tiger Woods? Hell, back then Barack Obama didn't even know the right way to hold a golf club!

We know where Larry Hawkins went wrong. It is detailed in CASE NO. 94-4715EC, in Florida state administrative court.

Jackson Health Systems: This can't be right. By Geniusofdespair

I read this yesterday and thought how can they expand with no money...

...and today my question was answered: By eliminating jobs.

That is almost 2,000 jobs they have cut from Jackson Health Systems since 2010. Aren't we supposed to be getting people jobs? Call that good for nothing Governor Scott and tell him about all the people that won't GET TO WORK. Mr. Mayor, tell Mr. Migoya we can't leave people without jobs and expand at the same time.  And, firing people with benefits to replace them with part-time personnel is NOT okay. This sucks, I am boycotting Jackson. Maybe Millie Herrera can do something (see post today).

Miami Dade County In Trouble Over Their Jails. By Geniusofdespair

The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has been investigating conditions at Miami Dade County jails for 3 1/2 years. Their findings have been released. Here is the kicker: The County Commission knew about the investigation because they got a memo from Carlos Alvarez on April 4, 2008. Still the Feds found all these problems. They say "a majority of the findings relate to the medical and mental health services provided by Jackson Memorial Hospital's Corrections Health Services." Read the Memo above. For a more in depth look at the findings, use the link also above.

You all realize this is going to cost the County a bundle to fix. If the County doesn't fix things, Mayor Gimenez says "the U.S. Attorney General is authorized to initiate a federal lawsuit."

The feds detail 8 suicides that they say illustrate "The harm resulting from MDCR's (Miami Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitative Department) failure to take reasonable preventative measures." They say further that:

"MDCR is deliberately indifferent to prisoners' suicide risks and serious mental health needs."

That is harsh language. Can you imagine what they would have found had the jails NOT known there was an investigation going on?