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SUNRISE HOSPITAL ELIMINATES 144 JOBS DUE TO SOUR ECONOMY IN BUSINESS HEALTH CARE By Delen Goldberg staff writer S slips, Davidson said. patients, and fewer people are paying their bills. unrise Hospital and Medical Center announced that it will eliminate 144 po- sitions as a result of the sour economy. The recession has caused the hospital to take a double hit, spokesman Dan Da- vidson said. Fewer people are becoming Patient volume across the Las Vegas Valley fell 2.6 percent from 2010 to 2011, Davidson said. Las Vegas residents aren't becoming healthier. Rather, they are forgoing hos- Your Safety Our Priority pital visits because they worry about cov- ering copays and deductibles and taking time off from work, Davidson said. About a third of valley residents are Sunrise has seen a 26 percent increase in uncompensated care over the past year. Workers had to decide by May 30 whether they will take severance. "At the end of that process, we'll have a uninsured, Davidson said. As a result, much better sense of how many people will be displaced from the organiza- tion," Davidson said last month. Cuts will affect Sunrise Hospital and Sunrise Children's Hospital. "Some of it is people without insur- ance; some of it is unpaid bills," David- son said. "It puts quite a burden on the facility." Sunrise announced the cuts to em- ployees May 22. To minimize layoffs, ad- ministrators plan to trim open positions and reduce contract staff. Hospital executives also offered work- ers voluntary severance packages. Even Sunrise officials said patient care will not be compromised, despite a smaller staff. "One of our main goals was to limit impact at the bedside," Davidson said. "If you are a patient, you should have no concern about the quality of care. We have gone through a very thorough pro- cess so we can make sure we meet our so, buyouts will likely not prevent pink meeting our patients' needs." TRANSPORTATION It's Free. It's Easy. It's the Law. One call to 811 gets underground utility lines marked for FREE – whether you're a homeowner or professional excavator. Every digging job requires a call – even small projects – so be sure to: • Call 811 two days before starting any digging project • Wait for the site to be marked • Respect the marks • Dig with care Not calling can be life-threatening and costly. You can harm yourself or others, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood, and potentially be responsible for injuries, repair costs, and criminal penalties. FARES UP: Though trips were down 3.2 percent, profits were up in April for local cab companies. FUEL SURCHARGE BOOSTS CAB COMPANIES' PROFITS By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer S outhern Nevada taxis made fewer trips but made more money in April, the Nevada Taxicab Authority reported. pickup or drop at McCarran Interna- tional Airport, and a waiting time fee of $30 an hour whenever a cab is stuck in traffic (assessed whenever the cab The state agency that regulates Clark moves at less than 12 mph). County's taxi industry reported 2.3 mil- April 2011. But during that time frame, the county's 16 cab companies reported revenue of $33.2 million, 2.8 percent ahead of April 2011. Cab companies also had 9.6 percent www.swgasliving.com/safety 8 lion trips in April, down 3.2 percent from more medallions — the permits needed to operate a taxi — than they had a year earlier. The increased number of medal- lions resulted from special allocations approved by the five-member Taxicab Authority board for large conventions and special events and the conversion of temporary medallions over six months. For the first four months of 2012, the number of taxi trips was up 0.8 percent to 9.2 million and revenue is up 7 per- cent to $133.5 million. The increased revenue was a result of a fuel surcharge that took effect in May 2011. Under the new rate, the surcharge added about $1 to the average taxi trip. Cab companies currently charge a $3.30 "drop" fee to hire a cab, $2.40 per mile, a special $1.80 fee if the trip includes a | 4 JUNE 2012 | SAM MORRIS