The bounds of charity: the current status of the hospital property-tax exemption

Article Abstract:

Charitable, or not-for-profit, hospitals have traditionally been exempt from paying taxes. Their tax-exempt status has recently been challenged because of the increasing pressure to reduce the federal deficit and because not-for-profit hospitals do engage in certain business activities. Tax authorities on the federal, state and local levels are viewing not-for-profit hospitals as an inviting potential revenue source. Much debate has occurred at the local level, where property taxes could provide a substantial amount of revenue. The underlying reason for exempting hospitals from paying taxes has always been their charitable purpose and services, but the definition of charitable in the changing health care industry may not be clear. Investor-owned hospitals which do strive to make a profit may provide excellent health care, but without charitable hospitals there would be a void in the system. Charitable hospitals provide services which generate a financial loss because they are not reimbursed, and they are often found in less desirable locations. If municipalities perceive that their charitable hospitals are equivalent in purpose and services to for-profit hospitals, they may decide to initiate property taxes; this would change a 200-year-old tradition. A fundamental conflict exists between the goals of serving the community and returning dividends to shareholders. The charitable hospital should be preserved and respected by the community; to earn this treatment, its staff and administrators must remember the goal of serving the most basic human need for health care. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Taxation, Economic aspects, Laws, regulations and rules, Hospitals, Community health services, Tax exemption, Tax exemptions, Public institutions, Hospitals, Voluntary, Voluntary hospitals, Hospital and community, editorial

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Human parvovirus B19 infection among hospital staff members after contact with infected patients

Article Abstract:

Human parvovirus B19 is a small virus which invades the DNA and is associated with many diseases that affect the blood cells. The virus has been found in the bone marrow of patients whose immune systems have been suppressed, and it has been implicated as a cause of an arthritis-like condition. Although the virus is widespread, it has never been considered a hazard to medical care personnel. An outbreak of illness among the nursing staff of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was traced to two adolescent patients with sickle cell disease and aplastic crisis. Thirty percent of the 40 health care workers who were exposed to these children became infected, and 5 percent more were possibly infected. Blood tests from eight other workers showed evidence of prior infection by parvovirus B19. Hospital workers are at risk for contracting this virus from patients with parvovirus-associated blood crises. All patients who are admitted to hospitals with fever and hereditary anemia should be promptly placed in respiratory and contact isolation to avoid this nosocomial infection.

Case studies, Communicable diseases, Disease transmission, DNA viruses, Parvovirus infections, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

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