http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp...1&nav=HMO6ajAg

Things are looking up for a local hospital that was struggling financially a couple of years ago, largely because of patients from Mexico -- illegal immigrants or residents of nearby Naco, Mexico -- who couldn't pay for services.


Three or four years ago, Jim Dickson, chief executive of Copper Queen Community Hospital, had to cut back on employees and hours, shutter his skilled nursing facility and close the hospital's maternity ward.

Today, however, federal funds that provide partial compensation for treating illegal immigrants have finally started to come in. Even better, Dickson said, the number of non-paying patients at the hospital is declining rapidly.

"It might be the increased number of Border Patrol agents in the area or it might be the notoriety of the Minutemen (civilian border watchdogs)," he said. "But there are just not as many people crossing from Mexico.

"Whoever is doing it, they are doing a good job because it has meant financial viability for us."

He points to numbers from March and April, traditionally two of the busiest months for illegal alien patients, as evidence.

In the past, these were months when the hospital would write off as much as $30,000 in uncompensated losses. The amount has now dropped to less than $7,000, Dickson said.

Border Patrol statistics support Dickson's belief that illegal crossings are declining in the area. The agency reported 10,230 apprehensions of illegal immigrants in Cochise County in March, less than half of the 21,232 recorded in March 2005.