Admin – Re: Noctomom situation in brief
This is Errol Brasstacks. An administrator’s job is not only to make sure the trains run on time, but to ensure the trains run at all. Check that, he first needs to make sure the trains even exist, because trains are costly things. Of course, I use “trains” as a metaphor for “hospitals”, as in reality I am not involved in the railroad business (though growing up I dreamed of being a conductor and I sometimes wear the hat on casual Fridays). Recently I’ve been reminded how very simple it can be for everything to be brought to a grinding halt, regardless of whether your business is powered by coal.
One of the hardest challenges an administrator in any line of work faces is a sudden and unexpected expense. For instance, a woman gives birth to nine children. Such an occasion is remarkable, heart-warming, and pricey. How pricey? Such babies are born prematurely and, as a result, cost up to 15 times more than full-term babies:
15 times the regular price multiplied by nine babies = significant expense. The mother of the octuplets attempted to defray her costs by seeking donations. That approach will likely not be so effective this time for three reasons.
1. The bill is larger (there is one more baby).
2. The economy is worse (people have less money, for charity and everything else).
3. People inclined to give in these situations already gave to the octuplet mom.
Also there is a fourth bonus reason:
4. Lots of people were creeped out by the octuplet mom and now want nothing to do with mass-births.
What does this mean for us? For now, the cost of this event will need to be covered by the hospital and the mother’s insurance company. Their initial offer: they will help pay for three of the babies, but no more, as anything beyond that is just excessive and clearly not the sort of thing they agreed to cover (the fact they’ve already been born has been deemed irrelevant).
It’s going to be a long summer.
