Medical Skyboxes: The hospital where I was born–St. John’s in Santa Monica–has just opened new “VIP Caritas Suites,” which “offer an upgraded stay for patients who want additional amenities and a more restful atmosphere.”
“Absent are the clatter of computer keys and the rattle of food carts rumbling down hallways. Signs of comfort are everywhere, such as in the reception area where an artisan glass jug filled with lemon slices dispenses cool water. The fourth-floor windows offer a panoramic view of the city, and nurses sit quietly at the elegant wooden table at the nurses’ station–their noisy equipment stashed in a separate nearby room.“
Hmm. This sort of thing could detract from the socially-egalitarian, class-mixing experience of post-Obamacare medicine … P.S.: I should add that the regular rooms at St John’s are extremely nice and the nurses excellent. This looks like a way to extract a bit more money ($500/day) with over-the-top service and a few strategically placed artisanal jugs. But if the best nurses gravitate toward VIP-high roller duties the end result could eventually look a lot like the market segmentation of airlines. …
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Kf Rule 4: Don’t Just Kick Them When They’re Down. Keep Kicking Them When They’ve Been Completely Forgotten: Remembering the visionary Jon Klein, as the network he failed to revive brings back Crossfire, the show he foolishly killed (in order to give us “emo” and “storytelling”) … Klein’s ratio of self-promotional press to actual achievement exceeded even that of Tina Brown, though that’s not hard when your denominator approaches zero. I miss him terribly. …
P.S.: Here is Mike Kinsley on Crossfire‘s potential virtues. …
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Executive director of Obama’s Organizing for America to Washington Examiner‘s Rebecca Berg : “We don’t always actively organize around every issue…” She left off the rest of the quote: “But when we do, we only turn out these eight people anyway.” …
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