European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 18, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A Texas town revives Hospital and itself by Lisa Belkin new York  news around Memphis Texas headline making Collee shop Chall ering kind of news is Hal Sho Hospital is still open. In Many places Hal would hardly to Worth mentioning. But Here in Texas which leads the nation in Hospital closings 52 of Ihu 254 counties do not have a Hospital. 0 those 52.15 watched their hospitals close within the past Yucai. Last month Hall county nearly became the 16th victim when its Hospital in the Middle of Tho Cotton arming town Al we merits almost closed. When it did a when the Lown of 3,000 people managed to raise about $400,000 to keep the doors open lha was news. Hall county Hospital opened in 1966. Its 42 Beds Are Almos never Lull. Yet most of i he town s babies Are delivered there and occasionally an automobile Accident victim who would not survive i he trip 90 mites Northwest to Ani Anllo is brought in. In i960 the Hospital treated 1,357 people and the revenues were sufficient to pay the Bills. But in the next five years the surgeon and the family practitioner became seriously ill leaving Only one physician on the staff. Residents had to travel to Amarillo for nearly All their medical care. Last year. He Hospital treated Only 545 patients. The revenues were no enough to upgrade equipment or hire new doctors. That meant still fewer patients and less  could not be increased because county residents were already being taxed at the Legal limit to finance the Hospital. Three Maltha ago. Hie Board of the county owned Hospital called a town meeting and announced that unless something was done the Hospital would close in november. One Aline 450 residents at the meeting was Jay Campbell own i of a local insurance company. He went Home played with his calculator and prodded the amount of Money needed Al once $366,000 for radiology Laboratory and surgical equipment a now. Doctor better nursing services and payment of past duo Bills and later $134,000 Lor a second doctor and a surplus safety net to keep Tho Hospital at a break even Point. He also had o plan to raise it. Campbell brought the proposal to a retired accountant. Bill Cosby i m Tho  he jokes to inc inevitable. Question. The two presented in to a meeting of volunteers that evening. Those volunteers began making visits to neighbors they though might be Able to donate in a week they had raised $80,000. Until ,.few people described Memphis As a Serene close knit town.". "ii50 percent of the town wanted the Sun to come up the Solhei 50 percen would want it logo Down. Said Chris Carroll Campbell s sister. We d missed Cotton crop alter Cotton crop or. Campbell said. People had gone broke people had Given up things were  so ii was something of a Surprise when the drive to save the Hospital became i Cosby s words a town  a rally Al the High school raised $40,000. A link with the local radio station was be up in front from left retired accountant Bill Cosby and insurance company owner Jay Campbell Pote in Memphis Texas with a sign used during a fund raising crusade to save the Hall county Hospital. Of the Hospital and Campbell talked non Stop for 24 hours in a radio Hon that raised $71,285 More. About $2.500 of that came from passing truckers. They knew about the drive because the police chief got on his citizens band radio. Save our Hospital stickers appeared on bumpers their Sale raised $800 at 50 cents a piece. Businesses contributed. Patients paid old Bills. Pupils at the Travis county elementary school collected $333 Worth of recyclable aluminium cans someone began showing up Al local businesses with a goal in Low. It took a $10 donation to remove the goal. There was even a Pool to guess when the preliminary goal of $366,000 would be met. The Winner was whoever came closest to 3 42 . On saturday oct. 22, when Winifred Davis wrote a Check for the final $846. But although Memphis held a we did ii Parade in the town Square the Hospital s problems arc nol yet solved. The total funds recently exceeded $388,560, Short of ihe$500,000 that will eventually be needed. The Hospital cannot stay open in it does not Lind two doctors. Officials say it is Dill cult to Lind a physician willing to move to such a Small town. We have 10 be successful to our search or else the fund raising was for nothing said Bill Neely. The Hospital administrator. It s going to to difficult but it s certainly nol  Post of complications by l10ia Wasowicz. United press International nes thesia is the main culprit in forcing 60,000 americans each year to spend the night in the Hospital following surgery that l was supposed to be performed on an. Outpatient basis. In an analysis of 10,000 ambulatory or outpatient operations researchers found patients who had received  were nearly six limes More Likely than those who had not to develop serious postoperative complications ambulatory surgeries such As removal of an impacted Wisdom loom comprise some 40 percent of All operations performed in America and continue to grow in proportion said officials of the american Hospital association in Chicago in 1386, . Surgeons performed a local of 20 million procedures. Overall some 1 percent of ambulatory surgery patients develop Posl operative complications severe enough to warrant overnight hospitalization. In the study however University of California san Francisco. Scien tills Lound the rate Rose to 5.8 percent among those who had been Given general anaesthesia. The main reasons for postoperative Hospital admission included pain excessive bleeding intractable vomiting and urine retention surprisingly the patient s age had Little to do with. The development of serious postoperative / complications said or. Barbara Gold a a Csc. Anaesthesiologist who headed the study. We found that unexpected Hostila Bizalion Ader ambulatory surgery was More related to the Type and length of anaesthesia and Type of procedure than actors such As age gender or obesity said Gold who reported her findings Al a recent annual meeting of the american society of Anaesthesiologist a. The study results should help ambulatory care. Centers better anticipate and prepare for. Complications she said. ,. -. For example they could schedule High risk procedures earlier in the Day so the patient has More Lime to recover. Thus  of costly Hospital admissions could to lowered Gold said. General anaesthesia is used widely for such. Outpatient procedures As Wisdom tools extraction and laparoscopy a procedure in which a scope to inserted through a woman s Navel to examine Iho uterus or fallopian lubes or to perform a tubal ligation. Tho researchers found we Man who had a laparoscopy were 3,9 times More Likely to be hospitalized with postoperative complications than women who underwent other ambulatory procedures. Other risk factors included lower abdominal. Surgeries such As hernia operations with 3.6 limes the Normal risk procedures requiring More than an hour in surgery 35 times greater than Normal postoperative vomiting 3,4 limes greater and patients with mild to. Moderate underlying medical problems such As hypertension or asthma 2.2 times greater sunday december 18, 1988 the stars and stripes. Page 17