Undercover Reporting

I-Von Solbrig Task Force: "Filth and neglect bared at von Solbrig Hospital" - Unsigned - Chicago Tribune

Task Force Report

1975-09-07

"It is a critical period for a 6-year-old girl lying in an anesthetized sleep on the operating table in von Solbrig Memorial Hospital. Only minutes ago she had undergone two operations, a tonsillectomy and surgical repair of a hernia. But the only other person in the operating room is a $2-an-hour janitor, in his unsanitary working clothes, who has just put down his mop in the corridor outside and rushed in to watch over the young patient at the request of a nurse. . ."

II-Von Solbrig Task Force: "'Janitor' Helps With Patients" - William Gaines - Chicago Tribune

Lives are held in grimy hands

1975-09-07

". . .I was a Task Force reporter, hired as a janitor at the von Solbrig Memorial Hospital, 6500 S. Polaski Rd. I had been employed to scrub and mop and throw out garbage, not to assist nurses and doctors in the sterile surgical area. . ."

III-Von Solbrig Task Force: "4 doctors on list dead" - Pamela Zekman - Chicago Tribune

Only 18 of 50 'staff' practice at hospital

1975-09-07

"Altho fifty doctors are listed on the staff directory at the von Solbrig Memorial Hospital, only 18 of 47 located by The Tribune said they practice here. At least four doctors on the list are dead. One has been dead for four years. . ."

IV-Von Solbrig Task Force: "Surgery done on assembly line" - von Solbrig Physician - Chicago Tribune

By von Solbrig physician

1975-09-08

"The odds are astronomical, medical experts say, that several children in the same family would need their tonsils removed at once. But for $120 an operation, Dr. Edward J Mirmelli defies the odds, The Tribune Task Force found. Reporters discovered he regularly operates on three, four, and give children from the same welfare families in von Solbrig, 6500 Pulaski Rd., helping boost his welfare income to $60,000 last year, and $124,000 in 1973, according to federal government figures. . ."

V-Von Solbrig Task Force: "Hospital hunts patients" - Task Force Report - Chicago Tribune

Gets welfare cash

1975-09-09

"From all over the city, private ambulance companies take public aid recipients, easily able to use other transportation on expensive rides to Northeast, a violation of public aid regulations. In some cases, ambulances carrying "emergency" cases bypass other hospitals to go to Northeast, another public aid violation. . ."

Reaction: -Von Solbrig Task Force: "Probe started at von Solbrig" - William Gaines and Jay Branegan - Chicago Tribune

1975-09-09

"Investigation into von Solbrig Memorial Hospital and two of the doctors who practice there were ordered Monday by city and state agencies in the wake of Tribune disclosures of alleged unsafe and unethical medical practices at the hospital. . ."

VI-Von Solbrig Task Force: "'A nice place to go,' doctor tells drunks" - William Crawford - Chicago Tribune

1975-09-09

"One of Northeast Community Hospital's most frequent patients is Michael Wadley, a resident of the Northmere Hotel, 4943 N. Kenmore Av., who was admitted to the hospital six times between October and May, according to state public aid records. . ."

VII-Von Solbrig Task Force: "Hospital Proves a Costly Haven for Alcoholics" - Task Force Report - Chicago Tribune

Task Force Report

1975-09-10

"For the alcoholic deperate for a cure, the hospital is a sham, the treatment a cruel joke. For the welfare loafer eager for a free ride, it is a $78-a-day hotel where a person can float for days on powerful tranquilizers. And for the taxpayer, Northeast Community Hospital is an expensive charade that squanders valuable Medicaid dollars. . ."

Reaction: Von Solbrig Task Force: "Von Solbrig Hospital Placed on Probation" - Pamela Zekman and William Gaines - Chicago Tribune

1975-09-10

"Dr. Eric Oldberg, president of the Chicago Board of Health, Tuesday placed von Solbrig Memorial Hospital on one-month probation, during which the board will examine hospital records, interview employees, and conduct frequent inspections of the hospital's facilities. . ."