Healthcare Leadership Council met last night...issued the following press release. Seen any thought-provoking coverage in the local media?
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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Healthcare Leadership Council meets, establishes its Vision and receives report on ICU Staffing from DRMC
Danville, VA, December 12, 2007 -- Chairman Don Nodtvedt stated: “The primary objective of the meeting was accomplished as we established the council’s simple yet critical vision:
It is the vision of the Healthcare Leadership Council to strengthen the trust and restore the confidence of the community in DRMC.
Subsequent Mission and Objective setting are planned for the January meeting.
The council also received a presentation from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of DRMC. Among other relevant points, the council was apprised of the active recruiting of 6 open positions, currently being covered by 4 agency nurses. This ICU nursing coverage is planned at an hourly contact staffing level which exceeds both the national and regional averages.
The next meeting is scheduled for mid January
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
"Saving $4"
Danville Register and Bee
Sunday, December 9, 2007
It’s hard to be mad at Danville Regional Medical Center for trying to buy the cheapest products it can find. Most people do that every time they shop. The trend to buy the cheapest forces all kinds of businesses to work hard to keep their prices low.
The long-term, obvious cost of that low-prices-at-any-cost trend can be seen all over Danville as former Dan River Inc. mill buildings are slowly deconstructed for their bricks and beams. The manufacturing jobs that used to fill those now-empty buildings were shipped overseas. It’s a trend that has affected American workers in all kinds of industries for decades.
The Americans who work at the Hatcher Center, a local sheltered workshop for adults with mental and physical disabilities, are no different.
For the past 15 years, Hatcher Center employees have made hospital gowns for Danville Regional Medical Center. But the hospital is now buying more of its gowns overseas, saving $4 per gown. Orders from the hospital have dropped from 349 per month to 180.
“Representatives of the purchasing department of the hospital came out in September when we increased the price of the gowns and said they couldn’t afford them anymore,” said Chris Wright, executive director of the Hatcher Center. “… They said they would continue to buy them, but not as many.”
In addition to price, the hospital cited a number of new features it wanted for its hospital gowns. In fairness to the hospital, it should be able to buy any kind of gown it wants. In fairness to the Hatcher Center, it could have made the gowns the way the hospital wanted them made - just not at the same price as the overseas suppliers.
“Our wages in the workshop are based on area prevailing wage rates, and we needed to raise the cost just to cover expenses,” Wright said.
It’s been a tough year for Danville Regional Medical Center, and the hospital’s leadership no doubt hates being portrayed as Ebenezer Scrooge on this issue. Danville Regional struggled - but eventually maintained - full accreditation from the Joint Commission, but the time it spent under the cloud of a “preliminary denial of accreditation” hurt its reputation in the community.
The hospital has worked to change its image with its “Healthcare Neighbor to Neighbor” public relations campaign. But the hospital’s owners should know they serve a community that has been devastated by corporate outsourcing and downsizing.
Danville Regional Medical Center could boost its image here by getting the Hatcher Center to continue to make all of its gowns. Danvillians would appreciate that kind of effort, especially in the name of helping out such a good cause.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
It’s hard to be mad at Danville Regional Medical Center for trying to buy the cheapest products it can find. Most people do that every time they shop. The trend to buy the cheapest forces all kinds of businesses to work hard to keep their prices low.
The long-term, obvious cost of that low-prices-at-any-cost trend can be seen all over Danville as former Dan River Inc. mill buildings are slowly deconstructed for their bricks and beams. The manufacturing jobs that used to fill those now-empty buildings were shipped overseas. It’s a trend that has affected American workers in all kinds of industries for decades.
The Americans who work at the Hatcher Center, a local sheltered workshop for adults with mental and physical disabilities, are no different.
For the past 15 years, Hatcher Center employees have made hospital gowns for Danville Regional Medical Center. But the hospital is now buying more of its gowns overseas, saving $4 per gown. Orders from the hospital have dropped from 349 per month to 180.
“Representatives of the purchasing department of the hospital came out in September when we increased the price of the gowns and said they couldn’t afford them anymore,” said Chris Wright, executive director of the Hatcher Center. “… They said they would continue to buy them, but not as many.”
In addition to price, the hospital cited a number of new features it wanted for its hospital gowns. In fairness to the hospital, it should be able to buy any kind of gown it wants. In fairness to the Hatcher Center, it could have made the gowns the way the hospital wanted them made - just not at the same price as the overseas suppliers.
“Our wages in the workshop are based on area prevailing wage rates, and we needed to raise the cost just to cover expenses,” Wright said.
It’s been a tough year for Danville Regional Medical Center, and the hospital’s leadership no doubt hates being portrayed as Ebenezer Scrooge on this issue. Danville Regional struggled - but eventually maintained - full accreditation from the Joint Commission, but the time it spent under the cloud of a “preliminary denial of accreditation” hurt its reputation in the community.
The hospital has worked to change its image with its “Healthcare Neighbor to Neighbor” public relations campaign. But the hospital’s owners should know they serve a community that has been devastated by corporate outsourcing and downsizing.
Danville Regional Medical Center could boost its image here by getting the Hatcher Center to continue to make all of its gowns. Danvillians would appreciate that kind of effort, especially in the name of helping out such a good cause.
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