"Government Ranks Hospital Heart Care Online
First-Of-Its-Kind Site Ranks Hospitals According to Care; Most Score Average"
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CardiacHealth/story?id=3302737&page=1
"Check Hospitals in Your State
List Ranks Hospital Mortality Rates for Heart Attack Patients"
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Health/story?id=3304019
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43 comments:
This is so utterly disgusting that I'm figuring out how to get out of this town. We have known that Lifepoint had turned our hospital into a dump, yet our leaders are still talking about dialogue. It takes a national survey to expose what we all knew.
What a sick, sick town.
What's even sicker are the selfish ogres who sold OUR souls for a mess of pottage.
Damn them all.
Oh my word. Am I reading this right? Of 4477 hospitals, DRMC was one of only 7 (SEVEN) to have worse than average survival rates. That makes JCAHO non-accreditation look like a slap on the wrist.
Yeah, how's that for world class.
So much for the Heart Program
I wonder what will happen to it now. But then again I have noticed that we were doing a smaller amount of caths. This is so sad. All of the hospitals that you read about online that do really shitty things and we are pegged on the news and online. Name and all.
"The darkest hour is just before dawn."
And it's getting darker.
It hasn't all bottomed out, but it will, and then we will be forced to rebuild.
All focus must be on getting the boys who got our $200 million to come to the table and take responsibility for their destruction of our hospital--and to use that money to get us on the road to recovery.
LifePoint will be long gone from here. This latest "distinction" will be a big factor.
This is a result from us getting away from beginning core measures when patients with selected diagnoses are admitted. One of them is acute MI. Therefore, our averages are going to be down. It is based on beginning these protocols.
The ball was dropped when Kim Grossman reigned supreme!!
Maybe he's a bum, but he's a smart bum--that poser Deloresco: He got out just before the smelly stuff hit the fan.
You all are talking about something that you know nothing about. These numbers are affected by a lot of things. Did you know that if you come into the hospital with a heart condition (whether or not you have surgery) and are discharged, if you die within 30 days it counts against the hospital in these numbers? It doesn't matter if you die from a stubbed toe or a blood clot in the brain or from a car wreck? We live in Danville and have a high percentage of heart disease. Of course we're going to have high numbers. We also live in Danville where a LOT of people do not take care of themselves or cannot afford the appropriate medications. There are a lot of other factors that play into this number. All of these issues are not LIFEPOINT. We can blame them for some things, but others are just the nature of the business and the beast.
If we really want to make things better, we'll step up and try to be a part of the solution instead of being so disgustingly negative. Art is gone. We have a chance to get some leadership that will be honest with us and do what they say. This will make the world of difference. Why can't we think the positive at this point? We must have a hospital in this town. Do you all really WANT it to fall to shit? This blog is where all of the negativity is feeding. It's making it worse. If you REALLY care, then do something instead of talking. You're sounding like Art now!
My hope is that the bad news keeps mounting up to the point that Lifepoint gives up and decides to get out of DRMC. Only then can anything be rebuilt. I've met Bill Carpenter and his entourage on several occasions, and the bottom line is that Lifepoint senior management is inept and lightweight. It's amazing to me that shareholders would allow these people to run such a large operation.
"If you REALLY care, then do something instead of talking."
And you would suggest.............
Thats what I thought no suggestion except "Don't complain"
I for one am glad people are willing to point out the problems. Lifepoint certainly won't. If you are tired of the negative then YOU "do something" like pointing out the good.....until then quit jumping on those who are doing the ONLY thing they can by pointing out the problems.
To the poster who shared reasons why the numbers are so poor for our area, "thank you". It is so easy to take news on the surface without looking a litle deeper for the truth. Well, Danville. Here is something you can do to improve healthcare...improve yourself. Exercise, eat healthy and listen to your physician who you should see regularly. Many people in this area do not take care of themselves and expect magic pills or injections to take care of their health problems. I know of many people who are diabetic, have high blood pressure and high cholesterol who are 100 pounds or more overweight. They eat more at one meal than others do all day. They eat fast food at least once a day, suck down sodas like a dying man in the desert, and recline in front of the TV moaning how bad their health is. Yes, I am aware that many do have a family history of various health problems. You can't always get past the family genes, but you can give it a fight rather than sitting back saying "Mama and Daddy were big and had all these health problems so I will, too". Bull. There are many people who are out there pounding the pavement walking or jogging and choosing healthy foods in the correct portions trying to improve their health. We all need to follow their lead and meeting these core measures the poster mentioned will be a breeze. Yes, Danville, this is something we can do and it will cost us a lot less than having a heart attack or stroke. Good health starts with the individual.
I have seen these polls of the healthiest and unhealthiest cities before. There are some that turned their city from one of the unhealthiest to one of the healthiest. This city should not get down on each other because of this report, we should began health initiatives and add more healthier options to living in Danville!!
That one is my favorite yet--the writer who says the solution is to eat healthy, etc., so you don't need to go to the hospital!
Ridiculous. Don't you realize that Art was precisely what LifePoint wants? The next one may look and smell different, but if he isn't the Lifepoint model, he is as adios as Art.
FROM THE WBTM WEBSITE
(DANVILLE) -- A NEW REPORT INCLUDES SOME GLOOMY NUMBERS FOR DANVILLE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER...BUT LOCAL HOSPITAL OFFICIALS SAY THE NUMBERS DON’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY.
THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID REPORT IS BASED ON A STUDY OF PATIENTS WHO DIED A MONTH AFTER TREATMENT FOR HEART ATTACK OR HEART FAILURES. IN BOTH INSTANCES, DANVILLE REGIONAL WAS THE ONLY HOSPITAL IN VIRGINIA TO MEASURE ABOVE THE NATIONAL RATE. IN TERMS OF HEART ATTACK DEATHS A MONTH AFTER ADMISSION---THEY WERE ONE OF ONLY SEVEN IN THE NATION TO SCORE WORSE THAN THE NATIONAL RATE.
D-R-M-C CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, DR. MICHAEL MOORE, SAYS THE REPORT USES A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE AND A LIMITED REPORTING PERIOD. ALSO, MOORE SAYS THE REPORT DOESN’T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THOSE WHO DIED FROM SOMETHING OTHER THAN A HEART CONDITION. AND HE SAYS THE RELATIVE HEALTH OF LOCAL PATIENTS ALSO SKEWS THE NUMBERS.
STILL, MOORE SAYS THEY TAKE THE REPORT SERIOUSLY AND HAVE ALREADY TAKEN STEPS TO IMPROVE CARDIOVASCULAR CARE. HE NOTES DANVILLE REGIONAL WAS HONORED LAST YEAR BY THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN THEIR PROGRAM TO DEAL WITH HEART FAILURE.
I also have met the top people at LifePoint, including Carpenter. Extremely unimpressive people. I think they are simply money hounds and that's it. They remind me of a den of vipers, and soon enough they'll be savaging one another.
Now, I have heard it all..... The community blames the hospital / LifePoint for their morbidity.
(use the dictionary)
How insanely ridiculous.
"Now, I have heard it all..... The community blames the hospital / LifePoint for their morbidity.
(use the dictionary)
How insanely ridiculous."
Exactly where have you seen the community blame the hospital for morbidity? ABC News made a report, WBTM reprinted it, and THEN gave the hospital a fair chance to answer,which they did...and looks like a plausible response. I didn't see anywhere that the "community" has even responded to the report, let alone "blamed" the hospital.....
Once again someone misses the point. If a person already has poor health when they have a heart attack it increases risk of death. If the person survives the heart attack and continues to live an unhealthy lifestyle, the risk for another heart attack and death continues to remain high. A healthy person has a body in a better condition to survive a heart attack. If more people in our area lived a healthy lifestyle, there would be fewer heart attacks and fewer deaths due to heart attacks. Fewer heart attacks and fewer deaths will result in DRMC not being on the list as one of the worst hospitals for surviving a heart attack.
Very well put...
The point at hand is that if you are noncompliant with the instructions you receive on discharge after a heart attack then chances are we will see you again. Check the dictionary it is called noncompliance. I am sorry that we have been looped in the "worst", but we also live in the "belt" of everything.
And we shall say it again.......
BOYCOTT the BOYS at the BANK (and oil/gas company) !!!
Has anyone seen Ashby and the Bank Boys? Does anyone know what they did with our $200,000,000? Are Davenport and Majors still running the Institute and giving employment to Major's son?
Does anyone in Danville care?
Of course people care, but the only ones who might speak up, people like city council, are all so scared of the bank boys that they would never say anything. You got to remember that the bank boys are totally into fear and intimidation, and that's the nly way people like that get what they want. they see mony as a tool to beat down those who disagree. These people are evil people and elected oficials are very afraid of them which is what they wabnt oldest story od despotism in the world.
Is it true that big bank boy Charlie Major's son is moving back to take over the Institute? That would mean a new generation of these kinds of people in our community.
what do you mean by 'these kind of people'.
Homophobia has no place in this discussion.
No, I think he meant money-grubbing, arrogant people indifferent to all but the wealthy.
"These kind of people " are the good old boy network that thas kept danville down and depressed for decades.Instead of prospering and growing like EVERYTHING around us ( Greensboro, Roanoke Winston Salem etc.) These crooks have made millions off of the backs of others .And to the JACKASS who asked if we'd ever materially added to the upkeep or building of the hospital , Learn some of Danvilles history and you'll see where people have donated and donated and some made to donate without choice by there employer.
The hospital was built by the community for the community not for a few crooks to sell it out to finance their families , well I guess a few in Danville have always benifitted from the suffering of many here.
There are many things which affect this core measure data. One of which is physician cooperation with the measures. the results were just as bad pre-lifepoint but were not publically published by CMS until recently.
Much effort thas gone into working to better this and more will come. You cannot blame lpnt for this one folks. we are too busy seeking blame when we need to seek solution.
Why not use this as a stepping stone...hey foundation can we use some of the 200 million for programs on cardiac health to include diet, exercise, smoking cessation, diabetic programs etc. Place these programs in the schools and in industry...or lets tackle teen pregnancy and care of the uninsurred. All such proactive and preventative measures will change these numbers over years. Not just care at the hospital once the problem is beyond control.
"Why not use this as a stepping stone...hey foundation can we use some of the 200 million for programs on cardiac health to include diet, exercise, smoking cessation, diabetic programs etc. Place these programs in the schools and in industry...or lets tackle teen pregnancy and care of the uninsurred. All such proactive and preventative measures will change these numbers over years. Not just care at the hospital once the problem is beyond control."
Okay, you are making way too much sense there. :-)
There are so many things this foundation money could be used for that would truly transform this region...improved healthcare at all levels of society...improved emergency/crisis care (DOVES, EMS service, anyone?)...retraining our workers who have no marketable skills for new industry...drug treatment programs for all those who can't get a job because they fail the drug screen...literacy programs...ad infinitum...
Let's hope that it is used for real transformation, and not a series of token or pet projects. This region certainly deserves more.
I agree with the above statements, especially the part about helping EMS, in so much as having paid EMS. Even though every patient deserves a nurse to care for them, every citizen deserves to have a paid EMS service that can gaurentee a paramedic shows up to care for them enroute to the hospital, and not Jim off the farm who maybe has basic EMT training and has not ran a call in months. How sharp are his skills?
Second, lets also look at how woefully inadequate our times are at getting a patient to the cath lab. National standards say ER to cath in 90 minutes or less. People in Danville may not get caths until 2-3 days after they have been admitted. Some say that they got clot-busting meds, but, we all know they are only effective in 10-15% of patients who receive them. That is why people go to other hospitals or demand transfers, they are tired of sitting around while small pieces of cardiac tissue continue to die. Part of this is the mind set of the cardiologist and part because we just have no staff in the cath lab thanks to budget cuts.
Let's be careful and not generalize about the EMS services available in the region. Your point could be valid in some instances, but we are lucky to have some extremely capable and well-outfitted volunteer EMS services in our region.
The bigger point is that a lot of people are trying to do good in the name of their fellow citizens and the windfall from the sale of the hospital could go a looonnnggg way in transforming our region.
EMS personnel that volunteer with an agency are required to have a certain amount of continuing education credits. These help the personnel with updates to keep their skills fresh. Their respective agencies may also require yearly competencies for them to validate their skills.
Additionally, it is not about ED to cath lab time anymore. There have been recent studies published that back waiting 48-72 hours post MI (barring no further chest pain or symptoms) to allow for the body to recover from that event. There are also studies published that have found the use of thrombolytics are just as effective as taking the patient to the cath lab with less invasive risks.
Furthermore, Duke is looking to expand it's heart program to include the cath lab.
It'd be wonderful if Duke ran the whole Facility and made the nursing school a Duke branch and offered a BSN, boy that would really bring it.
Sell to Duke. Sell to Duke.
Sell to Duke.
Forget it. Duke would not touch this dump, especially after LifePoint got rid of their heart program last year.
If we could demand that it be sold to Duke for the now "FMV" plus give them a bonus from the 200 million the bank boys are hoarding they might.Even trade.
Plus that money has to have tons of interest by now give Duke that as a bonus.
Could City of Danville condemn the building and repossess it and then give it to Duke?
I am here to tell you that the heart program still exists. Dr. McCann is still employed through Duke and still does heart surgeries here. He has associates from Duke that come here and assist with surgeries and cover his call. The only thing we don't have is the Duke franchising fee that Lifepoint refused to pay.
Appearance is part of the game.
Not being franchised BAD !!!!!!!!
For those that think Duke is so great, when was the last time you were there as a patient or with a patient? I have been there with my mother and the nursing care was terrible and the place was filthy. She only had someone come in her room to give her a pill. No one gave her a bath, checked on her, helped her to the bathroom, etc. If you asked for anything they had an attitide. This was on the cardiac unit. The only reason that we went there was because the service that she needed was not available here at DRMC.
As for me, I would rather take my chances here with people that I know.
You bloggers just want to keep the pot stirred and refuse to give the hospital a chance to turn things around. Give it a break! Taking your business elsewhere is not hurting Lifepoint but the physicians that lose patients and eventually leave, and the staff that lose jobs because the census is down. Fixing the problem will take much longer than it did to create it no matter who owns the hospital.
This happens everywhere, the RN's probably avoided coming in because you hovered or "knew as much as they did" which is often the case with families.
Oh and they ARE still accredited.
"You bloggers just want to keep the pot stirred and refuse to give the hospital a chance to turn things around."
Actually, we have been giving them the chance for two years. They are refusing to take the opportunity. Those are two separate things.
PLUS: If they had left well enought alone, there wouldn't be a need in "turning things around"
Do you realize all ofthis effort is just to "get back to where we were"
To the comment "Oh and they ARE still accredited. "...
"there is justification to deny accreditation to the organization as usually evidenced by a count of the number of non-compliant standards at the time of survey."
That's still a long way from full accreditation back in 2004 BL (before LPNT)
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