The University of Chicago Medical Center is under the national microscope, with a recent death in their emergency department’s waiting room, and an alleged, inappropriate transfer of a patient needing surgical care.

Blogging over at MedPage Today, Shadowfax gives a more detailed look at their indiscretions.

With margins are already well above the national average, the hospital has decided to double down on profits, by limiting hospital beds available to the emergency department, and concentrating on revenue-generating services like oncology and surgical subspecialties.

I’m sure that if they could shut down the emergency department, a drain on most every hospital, they would.

It’s quite eye-opening how blatant they are in limiting care to the community, and now, federal regulations are taking a closer look. Repercussions, aside from the public relations hit they are taking, could be severe, including Medicare pulling its certification from the hospital.

So, in trying to stem the financial bleeding from emergency care, the University of Chicago is providing a template on how not to do it.