Dominican Hospital

Dominican Hospital
By Mark Spencer

I had another dream last night,
A dream I've had for years.
It took me back, into the past,
Back to the pain and tears.

I remember the hospital,
The doctor and the nurse,
They told us Tom's heart was enlarged,
But it was much, much worse.

You see, Tom had no insurance,
And no money to pay.
So Dominican Hospital,
Just sent him on his way.

Ten days later, Tom passed away,
To heaven he returned.
An autopsy would be performed,
And this is what we learned:

My friend's heart wasn't just enlarged,
As the doctor had said;
It was nearly three times normal,
And that's why Tom is dead.

He had congestive heart failure,
And they just sent him home.
That "good" Catholic hospital,
Let my friend die alone.

On the coast of California,
The town of Santa Cruz,
Lies Dominican Hospital,
Where doctors pick and choose.

They will save you, if you can pay,
And many have been cured.
But they will send you off to die,
If you are uninsured.

That really is the bottom line,
There at Dominican.
It is a business, after all;
They love those Benjamins.

How many people have to die,
Before we say no more?
How long will souls, like my friend Tom,
Be someone you ignore?

If decency is bought and sold,
And aid comes at a cost,
If human kind has lost its soul,
Then everything is lost.