That philosophy includes figuring out how to target the healthy and wealthy. The retail outlets would provide alternative therapies, like massages and herbal products. The wellness component is something that Detroit hospitals rarely have the luxury of contemplating. When you have a mom come in and the rats are eating her baby, the last thing she's going to be worried about is her future health care. Still, Beaumont administrators squirm when words like rich or thriving are used to describe their hospital.
All hospitals are in the same boat.
About 45 percent of Beaumont's patients are covered by Medicare, the government insurance for the elderly. Only 5 percent are covered by Medicaid, the government insurance for the poor. What has kept Beaumont out of the red thus far is that patient volume has outpaced the decreases in government reimbursement, Scodellaro said. The hospital has seen a 28-percent increase in admissions in the past five years. Effective July 1, the clinic will be turned over to private-practice doctors.