The debate over the Jackson Health System has become polarized.

First came the war between hospital executives and union employees. Each blamed the other.

Then came the allegations -- very on point -- of bad financial practices by Jackson's management. An audit found highly overstated revenue estimates. Wasted funds also came to light; workers were hidden on the payroll.

And last week, the bickering drama moved to the Miami Dade County Commission, Mayor Carlos Alvarez's failed attempt to take the reins of the system and the ineffectiveness of the Public Health Trust that governs the hospital.

The most important issue in this crisis has been lost in the sniping: the collective responsibility to provide medical services to indigent persons.

``The community has not been part of this conversation,'' said Daniella Levine, president of the Human Services Coalition. ``All parties involved have had a tendency to see the problem through their myopic eyes.''

Other hospitals in our community have turned a blind eye. They have offered help in dribs and drabs. But they have not yet assumed the position that's required to rescue Jackson. Community leaders haven't issued an urgent call for the private hospitals to do more.

``The hospitals are closing their eyes, hoping that these problems will go away by themselves,'' Levine added.

On Friday, Jackson proposed laying off 4,487 employees and closing two satellite hospitals. That's an easy out, but not the most appropriate response. Many fear that the other hospitals won't want to hire the laid-off workers because they are unionized. We cannot lose this skilled workforce.

The crisis at Jackson is the chronicle of a death foretold. For several years, its staff, the Trust, local government officials and healthcare experts have known that this would happen sooner or later because the hospital system operates under an unsustainable business model. It was irresponsible not to seek solutions in time.

Now, many want to make immigrants the scapegoat. It's a myth that Latin Americans come to Jackson to get free care. The staff is not ignorant. They meticulously check that patients are residents of Miami-Dade. It's the opposite. Many immigrants travel to their home countries for their medical treatment because they cannot afford it here.

As for the undocumented, the answer is simple. If they are allowed to be exploited in the fields, on construction sites and in the service industry because no one wants to do those jobs, then it is inhumane to let them die if they become ill.

What role has the University of Miami played in Jackson's latest misfortune? Too few people are raising this issue. When the Medical School bought Cedars Medical Center in 2007, it stripped Jackson of hundreds of paying patients, leaving it with the growing burden of the uninsured.

What about the County government? It argues that there is no money. Times are different, but when American Airlines nearly abandoned the North Terminal project at Miami International Airport a few years ago, the County immediately stepped up to absorb millions in cost overruns.

Without going much further, how many concessions has the county made to keep the Marlins by building a new stadium? Yes, those funds come from another source created for that purpose, but between a retractable roof and chemotherapy for cancer patients, what should the priority be?

While Jackson attempts to get more money from the state and federal governments, an independent committee should be created separate from the Trust -- one that would also represent the uninsured community. Some divisions at Jackson could be privatized, as long as they remain not-for-profit.

Or, as a last resort, declaring a state of emergency might open the doors to better solutions.

No one is going to win. We will all share some pain in order to preserve an adequate safety net for the indigent. Maybe I'm idealistic to believe that if the community comes together out of a sense of shared responsibility and, if there is goodwill, that pain will not be chronic.