From the Nov 6 City Council minutes:
"COMMUNICATIONS FROM VISITORS
Former Mayor Sam Kushner appeared to ask City Council to get involved as a Committee of the Whole in order to find answers to concerns circulating about Danville Regional Medical Center (DRMC). Mr. Kushner said residents felt a great deal of insecurity due to the lack of transparency about the hospital’s business and it was felt the hospital had lost its heart and soul. He said citizens wanted to know wait times in the emergency room, how many doctors had relocated to other hospitals, and the nurse-to-patient ratio, among other concerns. He said these and other statistics were not available from LifePoint and said businesses seeking to relocate in our area would want to know about the hospital. He asked Council to communicate with the hospital administration and participate in conversation about what the facility is now doing and what it plans to do in the future.
DRMC Board Member Frank Campbell said he wished Mr. Kushner had come to him with his concerns. He said the board cared about DRMC and that it was unfair for Mr. Kushner to say the hospital had lost its heart and soul. Mr. Campbell advised the hospital was operating in the black, wait times in the Emergency Room had improved, and doctors had been hired to replace those that were lost. He invited Council Members to meet with the board and ask any questions it wished.
Dr. Miller said building up the public’s trust was important for the entire community and if the attitude of mistrust in the community was not changed, it would not matter how good the hospital was.
Mayor Saunders advised he and Interim City Manager Lacy had scheduled a meeting for Monday, November 10. He asked Council Members to submit questions for LifePoint to him or the City Clerk. He said would report to Council about the meeting. "
And from the Nov 18 City Council meeting minutes:
"Mayor Saunders advised that he and Mr. Lacy had a fruitful meeting with LifePoint on Monday and stated there would be another meeting with LifePoint officials. He encouraged Council Members who had not done so to provide questions for the hospital officials. "
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1 – 200 of 319 Newer› Newest»For some background on his comments at City Council, here is Kushner's letter/article in the Register & Bee back in October:
"A Problem We Can't Ignore
By SAM KUSHNER
Published: October 18, 2008
In a recent issue of the Danville Register & Bee, I saw an ad featuring a photo of Jerel Humphrey, who is CEO of Danville Regional Medical Center. Humphrey proclaimed that “the first six months of living in Danville have just been tremendous.”
Though I do not know Humphrey, I know that he has had a tough job and I wish him the best.
The same advertisement stated that Humphrey “feels strongly about his mission to make Danville Regional the best it’s ever been.” I believe the man is sincere. But the prospect of fulfilling that mission is no stronger than the commitment of LifePoint Hospitals Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., which makes the policies that Humphrey implements.
There are many of us who have watched in dismay as our community hospital has been reconfigured to fit LifePoint’s business model. The evidence indicates that the hospital is not on its way to becoming “the best it’s ever been,” but that it is well down the road to mediocrity.
Last month, this newspaper ran a front-page story about the disturbingly high mortality rate among cardiac patients at Danville Regional. This unhappy finding would suggest that LifePoint is unable to adequately staff and operate its cardiac unit.
Our hospital and public schools are our two most important local resources. Industrial prospects — as well as individuals considering a move to Danville — want to know what kind of schools and medical care is available. Yes, new companies have located in Danville and have created new jobs since LifePoint came to town. But, I suggest, they came in spite of the hospital and not because it provides quality care.
Take a look at the statistics. In the past 24 months, Danville Regional has terminated many of its most experienced nurses, who have moved on to other area hospitals. In their place, LifePoint has hired less-experienced nurses who work “flex hours,” which means that they work variable hours for less pay.
Likewise, we have seen an exodus of physicians who have left the hospital and Danville primarily because of LifePoint’s management style and because of the lack of quality care. Several medical practices have stopped admitting their patients to the hospital. Instead, they are being admitted to Annie Penn Hospital, Duke University Medical Center, Moses Cone Memorial Hospital and UNC Hospitals.
Patients who are admitted to Danville Regional are unlikely to be treated by their own physicians but by “hospitalists” who are employed by LifePoint.
Two questions need to be asked and answered:
-Why are local physicians admitting their patients elsewhere?
-Why are hospitals like Annie Penn, Centra Health and Moses Cone regularly advertising in the pages of this newspaper?
They did not do so pre-LifePoint. I suggest that physicians are admitting their patients elsewhere and that other hospitals are prospecting for local patients because so many of our friends and neighbors lack confidence in LifePoint and are willing to drive down the road to obtain prompt, personalized quality medical care.
Two years ago, Danville City Council appointed a citizens committee to study deficiencies at the hospital and to make recommendations for improvement. A report was written and LifePoint made a commitment to address its deficiencies. The developments that I have described suggest that LifePoint has not kept its commitment.
What can be done? LifePoint is a public corporation whose policies are developed by corporate officers and directors in Tennessee. While it solicits “customer” input, I suggest that the complaints of individual patients and their families are not really wanted. The hospital has lost its heart. It is bottom-line driven.
We do not know whether Danville City Council is engaged in a dialogue with LifePoint. However, it has made no pronouncement on the exodus of physicians, nurses and patients from the hospital. Though City Council has no power to regulate either LifePoint or Danville Regional, it has both the ability and obligation to insist that its citizens and those from surrounding areas receive quality medical care. It should be actively working to save the hospital, just as it rallied during the 1980s to save Dan River Inc. from a corporate raider.
From time to time, other regional hospitals have expressed interest in buying Danville Regional Medical Center. It is my understanding that at least one such hospital is still interested in an acquisition. It will not happen, though, unless Danville City Council and community leaders acknowledge that the public is not adequately served by LifePoint and work diligently to bring about the sale of the hospital.
Will a new owner re-create the hospital we knew and loved? Probably not. But there is the likelihood that our hospital can once again become a quality institution that enjoys the confidence of patients and of the medical community as well.
For our council members and other community leaders to put their heads in the sand and pretend there is no problem at Danville Regional is to invite disaster. Let us hope that they awaken to the reality and deal with it effectively.
• Kushner is an attorney and former member of Danville City Council. He lives in Danville."
Lifepoint will continue to be the same. It won't change until a good organization buys DRMC. Lifepoint is cutting servies, which equates to cutting quality in an effort to save money even though it is at the expense of quality health care. Another issue is the management. You don't see the mass exit of physicians in Martinsville (also a lifepoint unit). CEO management styles are different. The hostile atmosphere in Danville can be attributed to the arrogant leadership at the CEO desk.
...and the pathetic culture of corporate america in general as evidenced by lifepoint, GMC,Chrysler, Ford, Enron..etc..
Good ole fashioned greed I'ts finally catching up to them all, it will get DRMC/lifepoint eventually.
The ONLY hospital system in a 100 mile radius that is failing, also happens to be the only for-profit ...hmmmm
Arrogance with a large dose of APATHY abounds at the "O" level at DRMC.
It is most visible from the CNO(chief nursing officer) office. She has turned her back on the division of nursing leaving the less competent directors to run their areas into oblivion. Staff concerns are not appreciated or addressed,patient and family concerns fall by the wayside and physician complaint responses are lacking.
The exodus of even the new grads has started as they are recognizing the nsg division has no support from the CNO nor offers any support for their learning curve.
I will have to say Mr Kushner's seems to sum it up well. Community leaders that want to know how we the people feel about DRMC it's all there. As for Lifepoint the damage is done a change of ownership is the only way to get the community to regain it's faith in the hospital.
The City of Danville IS resonsible for the provision of a viable competent medical facility, just as they are for a police fire and rescue dept(squads).
They do have the authority to tell lifepoint to fix up or get out, give them 90 days , tell them to leave and then resell to Duke (who runs the hearts) or Moses Cone , or even Carilion.
Now if Danville only had courage...
The only people with balls in Danville were the five who made a mint at everyone else's expense. They are sitting pretty and quiet, getting care in Greensboro and leaving a dying town with a sucking sound where a hospital used to be. Only those who can't afford it go there, unless you have a true emergency, and hopefully they will check you in on time to get help.
Those five had no balls, that is why everything they did was in secret. Coward's lack the fortitude that is necessary to support a set of balls.
Can anyone post the names of the DRMC board members who approved the sale to Lifepoint in 2005?
I see references to the "fab 5" etc, but I would like to know who the individuals are/were.
How about the Board of Directors of American National at the same time? Thanks to anyone who can post that information for me.
They not only approved the sale, they engineered the whole thing and conspired to keep it top secret. Charlie Majors,Richard Barkhouser,BR Ashby,Ben Davenport and Motley(forgot his first name). I believe all of the above were on the AMNATL Board at that time except Ashby.
Hey, don't forget DR.'S Herman,Kaplan and Andrews.They were also on the board.
More questions about the DRMC and ANB boards:
What about the hospital CEO at that time, Warren Callaway - did he push the sale? (I know that he worked at for-profits before coming to Danville).
Did Landon Wyatt quit the board of the hospital over this issue?
What about Joe Roach, the Martinsville hospital CEO? What was his role in all this?
Mr. Roach was on the advisory board for American National Bank at the time of the DRMC sale to Lifepoint. His hospital was sold to a for-profit company (Providence Healthcare) in 2002 (while Roach was CEO) and the proceeds put into a community foundation (Hmm, sounds familiar). Providence was bought by Lifepoint in 2004. Amazingly, Mr. Roach has remained as the Martinsville CEO through all these transitions. Makes me wonder....
I believe Calloway was fired immediately when lpnt took over - if I remember correctly.
And as for martinsville- they were so far behind danville at the time that they tried to dictate policy and procedure changes that they wanted to use to "catch up" that were 20 years behind. That I witnessed.
Old computer programs, procedures etc..it didn't work thank goodness, but it doesn't matter lpnt has effectively destroyed medical care in every facility they've touched Va and other states as well...
Mr.Calloway left 5 months or so before the sale. That was when Ashby took over until the sale was final. I got the impression he was not being a "team player" for the sale and was encouraged to resign.
That is correct. Warren Calloway was not for the sale, that is why he quit.
Warren did not quit. He was very much opposed to the sale of the hospital. Warren was called to an "off-site" meeting of the board, at which he was told that his services were no longer needed. Locks were changed on his door within 15 minutes of the time that he left the building. BR Ashby then named himself as the interim CEO, sitting in a position to ensure the sale of the hospital.
100% true we were there !
I believe Mr. Calloway saw the future better than anyone and wanted to prevent Lifepoint from destroying the credibility of DRMC. Our board members would have been wise to listen to a true leader and businessman, but greed got in the way. It is terrible to see a hospital with so many good people can fare so poorly due to incompetent management.
Many of the DRMC Board Members, key Executive Officers of DRMC, and the Chairman of the DRHS Board were against the sale. These members included Mr. Wyatt, Mr. Callaway, Mr. Isemann, Mr. Sexaur, Mr. Collins plus many more, who are all gone now. They were run out of town and so was anyone else who opposed the sale. The "Power Hungry" Dr. Ashby was given the charge by the "Boys at the Bank" to silence those opposed, or get rid of them. Of the 47 Leadership Council Members who served DRHS before the sale, only one still remains and that's because he runs the IT Department and LifePoint needs him, more than he needs LifePoint.
How does a decision made in such secrecy by 5 or 6 people, that has stripped the Daville/Pittsyvania Community area of it's ability to provide "Competent Healthcare" go unpunished? I can't believe with so many people being negatively effected, that neither Civil or Criminal Action has not been brought against those who executed this plan.
Inconpetency and greed is showing itself. GM Ford, Chrysler, Lifepoint, etc.
Corporate stupidity that allows multimillion dollar salaries for one or two individuals at the cost of everyone and everything.
Workers cannot support multimillion dollar salaries, NAFTA and CAFTA did away with that capability of prosperity, now we produce nothing and use everything thanks to congressional stupidity.
As such CEOs(CFOs etc) use everything and produce ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, charts and reports that any 2nd year accounting student can generate on a $400 laptop and business decisions that could be made by anyone that can balance a checkbook.
Balancing that checkbook doesn't mean take a huge salary and lay people off. lifepoint wasn't cutting fat, they "do away with unnecessary positions" to wrangle money for their own salaries.
which in turn lessens the workforce to generate the money to operate the business, which lessens the provision of service, which lessens the quality, which lessens the patronage, etc...
The workers are the one's who provide the service to generate the money, not the multitudiness staff that lifepoint pays highly for nothing.
The automakers took jets to the meetings in Washington, lifepoint provides jets for CxO's to "go home for the weekend" sounds kinda similar huh..
The fab 5 thinking this area could support a for-profit hospital...scratch that , for profit labeled medical facility, was pure stupidity. ALL of the hospitals around us are NON-profit, and are so for a reason. Generally this is a poor region, it wasn't really before NAFTA and CAFTA but has been declining ever since.
Don't buy that garbageabout "all hospitals are seeing a downturn in this area" that is pure lifepoint manure.
Moses Cone, Wake Forest(Baptist)University, Carilion, UVA, DUKE,Forsyth (Novant)Memorial, ALL ARE EXPANDING, ALL ARE NONPROFIT.
Annie Penn, owned by Cone, and yes even Morehead in EDEN have/has expanded.
All of the facilities around us are , in some way, attached to a University, Ours was until the early 90's (then Averett College had a BSN program) but that was never propogated, a HUGE mistake.
The so-called leaders of this area show the same archaic mentality of the parents that willed them the money to be where they are by the same strategy of "take from the workers and lie as to the reason why" the whole general situation in danville's history is full of this. Ask your parents and grandparents,or remember for yourself, their "contributions from pay" built DRMC, it WAS NOT the 5 "businessmen's" property to sell. And it was a spineless City government that didn't undertake legal action to block the sale as it still is to not tighten the screws on them now.
lifepoint is just the crown jewel of STUPIDITY and lack of management training, lack of morals, lack of any leadership with untestinal fortitude, and the perpetuation of ABSOLUTELY NO ETHICS WHATSOEVER that continues to crush the future of any prosperity in this area.
And others are still removed from the hospital if they dare to question or criticize LifePoint or the "O's". All you have to do is look at the faces of those still there and realize how bad the situation has become. LifePoint can't give you any information if it does not contain a dollar sgin in front of it.
How can anyone in this town bestow our "Citizen of the year" award to the Chairman of the DRMC Board. This hospital is a shameful institution and those in charge should be listed in a "hall of shame". Dr. Campbell is in a position to possible help, but has anyone seen anything positive happen in the past 2 years? Of course that is a rhetorical question since we all know the answer. Is the Kiwanis membership full of Lifepoint flunkies? I think if the citizens of Danville were allowed to vote on your "Citizen of the year" the results would have been very different.
To me the The citizen of the year award should go to the person that that sets the best example of everyone to follow. Hard working and gives to the community. I can think of many that would fall in this group and the Chairman of the DRMC Board is not among them. From were I sit the hospital is not any better than it was a year ago.
Good Lord...is this Groundhog Day for this blog or just an extreme sense of deja vu all over again? I'm feeling like i'm reading the very first posts. Does the world not just go on, or do we need to pee on each others' legs and just say it's raining. Build a bridge...get over it.
I thought "at least we have a new thread...the last two were getting pretty ho-um." But noooooo....just more hash and re-hash.
Lets spice up this BLOG, hash or rehash, whats your pleasure? Did you give up your 64 hours yet?? Hope you finished your Christmas shopping, cause HO HO HO you won't be getting much of anything on your next check or maybe won't even be able to pay your light bill after they get done flexing you off the CFO's required amount! I'm dreaming of financial collapse at my house, but let me pay off my hospital bill with its 25% forgiveness! Oh, but lets not forget our turkey WalMart card. PLUS, heard again yesterday we got sold.........and the beat goes on!
"Build a bridge...get over it."
You still don't understand what's going on with the lack of medical care in danville since the last time you said this do you...
When people stop getting screwed by the same families and corporate raiders that have fed off of danville for decades... well then people will get over it , this was too much and too obvious to sit back and take.
Don't be so subserviant and spineless.
So what we're really talking about is the fact that we still live in feudal times in the Danville arwa, eh? We're actually convinced that a small, but elite group are that powerful. I hate being a serf!
that's the problem: the few haven't been diluted out due to lack of growth, just like they want it.
Why would a non for profit organization even want to buy DRMC? Doesn't sound like this town supports the hospital. They would be idiots to buy this and think they could turn it around with the attitude of most of you. I don't think it really matters, who runs the hospital, there are a few of you that will run it down no matter what. You would find something wrong with the new owners, and start the same old rehashing and complaining and moaning about " what it use to be" and where is the "money" from the sale. Face it, nothing will change, no one will want it unless they see that it can be successful, and of course that will never happen because all of you are living in the past!! What a joke, I haven't read this blog in a long time, hasn't changed, same issues, same complainers!
"because all of you are living in the past!! What a joke, I haven't read this blog in a long time, hasn't changed, same issues, same complainers!"
1) Those who do not recall the past are doomed to repeat it.
Don't remember what destruction lifepoint caused?
2) welcome back - seems you're good at complaining about the blog, so why did you even bother... Could it be that you actually miss working at a good place of employment aka DRMC before lifepoint?
Same ol rehashing? You are full of yourself. This hospital is a joke. Selling to another company means the new owners would have to overcome the poor reputation, but that can be done by serving the people responsibly, treating employees with respect, and getting the lying devious leaders out of there. It only takes one good leader to turn this around. With Lifepoint in control, that can not happen.
yawn...
...zzzzzzzzz
Looks like the blog has sleep apnea.
"yawn"
"zzzzzzzzz"
Apathy is descriptive of ignorance. See comments above.
REALLY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TUESDAY MORNING...............Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!
Oh please let it be a sale...
It's not about a sale
Then it's probably useless or another lifepoint lie.
So what is it if you know...
SO typical of the childlike banter here....I have a secret...I have a secret! Good lord.
Danville Regional Medical Center re-establishing affiliation with Duke Medical Center
from staff reports
Published: December 17, 2008
Danville Regional Medical Center officials announced today they are re-establishing an affiliation with the Duke Heart Center.
The Duke Heart Center (DHC) affiliated DRMC Cardiovascular program, also known as the Heart Center of the Piedmont, will include the development, support and delivery of inpatient and outpatient cardiac services, cardiovascular surgery, diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization, vascular surgery, vascular intervention and other cardiac diagnostic procedures and medical services
Duke is a good organization. They have some good doctors in place, but the patients at DRMC are still subjected to substandard care. Duke needs to address this problem. This announcement was expected and brings nothing new to the table.
I have reserves about going to the ER. No way would I have heart surgery here.
The surgery itself and the quality of the "heart RNs " isn't a problem, I know. The issue is with lifepoints rush to get them into general ICU population.
lifepoint destroyed ICU staffing and with it the quality of ICU care , not because of the RNs but because of the load . It is a proven researchable fact that for each patient added to a single ICU RN , the chance of death for every other patient goes up 14%.
But you see lifepoint talks a big game, and they want big names that they can "drop" to sound good , However lifepoint DOES NOT facilitate clinical experience for students from the Danville area, nor do they support anything danville, But they'll kiss every other @#$ they can to sound good.
Even though Duke is a quality facility and the Hearts that we worked on, and the ICU that was before lifepoint was top notch, A sticker that reads "Rose" on a pile of crap is still a pile of crap. life point is that pile with a "rose' sticker...
It's actually disheartening that Duke would even stoop so low as to even continue any type of affiliation with a corporation that tried so hard to get rid of CABG surgeries all-together.
And just where in the hell are they going to put the post ops? The main MED-SURG floor, 2A is CLOSED gang!!! You want to have your CABG and then get parked on 4A with the renal MRSA and VRE patients? Not me, thank you.
Can't do that : A Post-Op CABG takes ALOT of training and immediate in the room care.
I knew it, I knew it, I knew it....as much bi***ing and moaning that has been done on here about not being affiliated with Duke being one of many things to bash the hospital for.....the minute the affilliation is announced, you just start bi***ing and moaning again. See the above post about childlike banter. Good Lord is right
Very soon you will see a new blog that anyone that has something constructive to say may post. All others can stay here and whine. Want some cheese?
Idiot, the Duke affiliation isn't new, it never went away.
Only in appearance. It has quietly operated in the background, and now has Duke CRNA students in clinical there, at the cost of local students not being able to use their own facility, but there no less.
Before you gripe about someone else griping , get your griping correct.
As for a happy go lucky blog for lifepoint, good for you, but i suspect it'll become a gripefest when you learn how foolish you are and there is no more BS created sunshine to blow up everyone A%@.
The affiliation with Duke is the only positive at DRMC. Unfortunately, the care of the patients once they get put on the floor is horrible. One-day surgery is good, you go home and don't have to depend on lifepoint flunkies, but if you are put on a floor, don't look for adequate care. Between those that don't care and the severe shortage of help, you will suffer.
Not a happy go lucky blog...read a little closer. Just a suggested alternative to this hell-hole of a blog.
The Danville Orthopedic Clinic, Inc. canceled all future scheduled surgeries at DRMC. Not yet known where these operations are going to be moved.
To Danville Ortho.... Come on over to Halifax Regional, we'll leave the light on for you!!!
DOC out ....one more nail in the lifepoint coffin.
DOC is cancelling any future elective surgeries and not scheduling them to be done elsewhere, just not doing electives at DRMC. They are still going to provide any emergency Ortho surgery, ie ER, accidents, etc. Break your hip - get fixed. Want your carpal tunnel done or knee scope fixed - so sorry, not at DRMC. I guess having 2A closed was the final straw and who can blame them. I would never want to have a fresh total knee or hip done and then be put on a floor where the nurses are not up to speed with the needs of that type of surgery. Don't get me wrong, the nurses are wonderful and all are doing the best job they can given the limitations imposed by Lifepoint such as reduced staffings, increased workloads. It's not the nurses or support staff, it's the administration and poor business model decisions being made.
Come on Lifepoint guys, at what point are you going to realize how significantly you are taking this wonderful hospital apart and leaving our community so medically underserved as you drive more and more of our wonderful doctors to have to take such strong stands against your poor decisions???
So I guess two wrongs DO make a right, and putting the the patients in the middle of the dispute is OK? Now there is a compassionate and caring way to go about fixing the problems with the hospital.
So what are the cancelled patients supposed to do? Just hang out in limbo without a date for surgery, not making arrangements for time off from work, or for their families to be with them at the time of surgery? How many of them will decide to go elsewhere, rather than be pawns in such a juvenile game?
That's my point - the orthopods have a plan to move the cases elsewhere and are not just putting them on hold. They are smarter than risking loss of a large number of paying patients and seeing their practice evaporate. You don't just cancel "any future elective surgeries and not schedul[e] them to be done elsewhere."
I certianly do not agree with or support the staffing decisions on the part of the hospital and do agree with the doctors' position that there needs to be a postop surgical floor and better nursing ratios. But this is not the way to accomplish anything. It will come to no good end. Such "brinksmanship" tactics build resentment on the part of the hospital administration, the community and the patients. It's childish. The DOC surgeons should be community leaders and be working hard to make the hospital a better place from within, not just criticizing others and playing destructive games by putting their own patients at discomfort, inconvenience and risk.
The physicians at the DOC are not stupid. They ARE thinking of their patients and how to best take care of them. I applaude their decision to take action based on Lifepoints' lack of action. They are just one of many that have pulled away from Lifepoint to improve care for the patients. How many more must do this before Jess Judy, Jeral Humphries, and the rest of the Lifepoint flunkies get it?
I agree,the Physicians are looking out for the patients, It was bad the first month lifepoint took over and it's even worse now.I watched a fully functioning extremely proficient/experienced ICU,and some other floors, evaporate to nothing. Ratios go up on acuities that were EXTREMELY dangerous to both the RNs and the patients.Doctors that were normally on top of their game become stressed out trying to keep up/deal with worn out overloaded nurses. And daily bouts of lifepoint saying "suck it up you've got plenty of staff" when floors were 17:1 and ICUs were 3:1. I say good for the MDs: hit lifepoint where it hurts , run them out of town, and let's get on with it with another REAL hospital, a NONprofit.Every NONprofit around danville is flourishing, every for profit is faltering, Oh wait, no one else around danville, except Martinsville, was stupid enough to enter into a contract with non-healthcare trained (maybe even non-business trained) corporate greedmongers.
Go Docs !
Wouldn't it make more sense that the DOC decision came on an anniversary of their call pay dispute? Lifepoint probably is trying to stop paying them to take call, so they stop bringing elective patients. Am I wrong?
Are the open-heart patients still being kept in ICU until they go home? Or has Knifepoint forced them to the floors that are understaffed?
Duke may object to the Lifepoint ways but they sure are getting some money to have their name on the door. What does that mean if you are a patient?
I agree 100% with DOC and this decision to withhold further elective surgeries until such time as DRMC/Lifepoint get it together and put this wonderful hospital back together. If you were a surgeon and you KNEW that they were going to put a fresh postop total joint patient onto a floor where there are patients with open wound infections, nurses that are skilled with renal or pulmonary but have no real ortho skills as it pertains to fresh total joints, you'd be an absolute fool to do so. Remember, the doctor takes the ultimate responsibility for the positive outcome of the patients care. And if he proceeds with an elective surgery knowing full well the patient will not receive care to the acceptable standard of care, he now risks a huge lawsuit when the patient develops MRSA or VRE in their fresh total joint. This is simply a disaster in the making. The doctors at the Ortho Clinic are superp providers and know full well what they've done. They are saying to the hospital that the health and well being of the elective surgery patients are the most important point. Remember, if you need emergency ortho care, they are there for you. They are just saying no to any future elective surgeries until this problem is fixed. I applaude them!
Until this problem is fixed........
Meaning the orthopedic guys want LifePoint to once again supplement their practice to the tune of $300,000 per year to take call. TO TAKE CALL, mind you.
At what $$ amount would every other MD in town like to be paid by the community hospital to take call should a patient need them?
They should get paid to take call , when you're on call you are basically captive to work.
This is all about the substandard corporation called lifepoint , they have managed to destroy the level of medical care in danville and they must go..The CxO's have managed to divert everything that we worked for pay , benefits, etc into their pockets , the faster lifepoint goes the better...
How much are all the other doctors being paid to take call? The surgeons, pediatricians, internists, anesthesia? They also are available to take care of patients 24 hrs a day. What is special about the orthopedists? They are not taking a "quality" stand, just an economic one. Give them the money and they will go back to business as usual, regardless of the patient care or no care.
I think that the genereal surgeons MIGHT get paid to cover trauma, in addition to the orthopedic surgeons. I don't think any other physicians or physician groups get paid to cover the ER.
If you think paying docs to take call is a smart move, whyt not put your ivestigative noses to work and read a couple articles about hospitals that have closed or have come to closing because of the greed of physicians in this insane idea of needing to paid to take call. imagine if all family practice docs asked to get paid to be on call. Why don't we just pay the entire staff to take call? Janitors, diet aides, phlebotomists...let's just pay 'em all. What an entitlement-burdened town we have.
A most amuzing series of comments.
Clearly some re here from administration feeding the flames against "the greedy doctors" and others just showing their ignorance or desire for a socialized state.
Physicians like the rest of all of those in business are aslo trying to make a proffit. Without it they not only have no incentive to work, they also cant pay the nurses, office staff, etc that work for them.
FOr those of you too stupid to care, the 4 doctors at DOC employ a staff of about 50+.
Next, the "family practice" doctors dont get paid to take call at the hospital because THEY DONT TAKE CALL! Instead, teh hospital has a more expensive alternative, it pays for hospitalists.
The anesthesiologist, nuerse, phlebotomis, etc ALL get paid.
The surgeons now dont get paid because the hospital is stringing them along. Worst of all is the problem of he orthopedic doctors. Almost everything they do on call at night has absolutely no way to pay them. To add insult to inury, they require cast changes, braces,etc during their follow up care that the doctors have to pay for out of their own pocket . Yes this is true, they dont jsu twork for free on callit cost them money!
Meanwhile, DRMC nickels and dimes you for everything, cuts back services, cut backs employees but makes more $$$$. But hey want the surgeons to work for free.
I say we help the surgeons take theri cases out of town and follow them
Apparently you have never been billed by one of these doctors on call. I have. Every appointment. Every procedure. Every encounter. There was a bill.
Dear "A most amuzing":
First, get a dictionary or spell check.
Second, get a lesson in healthcare finance and operations.
Third, get a life. Sheesh.
"get a lesson in healthcare finance and operations."
You should also.
According to the Law of the US Federal Gov't . It is ILLEGAL to work off the clock, when you are on call , you are technically on the clock, You cannot remove yourself from call, work somewhere else while on call,or undertake social engagements that disqualify you from call( drink, etc).
You are "at work" since none of the aforementioned employees is "exempt" under the law, they must be compensated.
In any event call is a bandaid for understaffing...
And I am quit certain that my finance and operations experience qualifies my remarks.
The lifepoint corporation has dumbed down and whittled down the services to the point that any and everything is starting to impact them, they were a pitiful company to begin with but the ignorant lot that sold it (DRMC) were just as stupid and greedy as lifepoint, coupled with a economically depressed area and an economy that typifies the lifepoint mentality of "take from the income generators(pt's and staff) and give to the few that produce nothing" (CxO's )
And you have Danville in spades.
I can't belive what I read on here. You're either teh biggest dumba__s on teh planet or just someone who gets their kicks trying to interpret law that is way over their heads. Pay for call is negotiated on a market by market basis. Many hospitals to tis day do not pay anything for call (non-profits included). Some have been backed into a corner by the medical staff based upon the need to produce other revenue streams in a tightening reimbursement environment. It's strictly a contractual agreement and has nothing to do with employment.
Do us all a favor and quit posting until you know what you're talking about. It saves valuable byte space on this blog for those of us that want to read and post the truth.
Sorry...fingers were flying too fast out of exasperation with the previous post...spell checked now:
I can't belive what I read on here. You're either the biggest dumba__s on the planet or just someone who gets their kicks trying to interpret law that is way over their heads. Pay for call is negotiated on a market by market basis. Many hospitals to this day do not pay anything for call (non-profits included). Some have been backed into a corner by the medical staff based upon their need to produce other revenue streams in a tightening reimbursement environment. It's strictly a contractual agreement and has nothing to do with employment.
Do us all a favor and quit posting until you know what you're talking about. It saves valuable byte space on this blog for those of us that want to read and post the truth.
"Do us all a favor and quit posting until you know what you're talking about."
First of all, you should follow your own advice since YOU CLEARLY do not know what you are talking about.
Ask a nurse if they contracted a call pay rate, nope.
Ask an employment attorney, oh wait , some of us did.
Call any hospital within 200 miles, they have call pay, NONnegotiable.
As for being in over my head...you have no idea what my qualifications are, I could be signing your paychecks... if you were qualified in my field(s)...
Obviously you aren't...
The employment law "expert" is way off base. Doctors covering call have no "rights" or requirements to be paid. They are not nurses or other salaried/hourly workers and not guaranteed a penny for their call. You have mixed up apples and oranges badly. Don't bother trying to "correct" me. Doctors are usually asked to provide call coverage, for their own patients and those that come to the ER, as part of their hospital privileges. Given the high number of non-paying patients coming through the ER, many groups are asking for a supplement. In a non-profit, call was seen as giving back to the community. In Lifepoint's case, since they charge for blood, I won't donate for free, since they nickle and dime and give nothing back to the community, the doctors should not be expected to give a free service to a corporation to help them make money. The real losers are the patients.
That might be the case in some places, but i know plenty of not fo rprofit markets where docs are still asking for a significant supplement in light of their own tightening reimbursement. Do we call "call" giving back to the community in those cases? Probably not. The previous poster clearly has some knowledge...the one prior is just trying to pee on our legs and have us believe its raining.
Doctors have charged me extra for services provided while on call than for the same services provided in the office. Yeah. They get compensated. Hourly employees get call pay. Salaried ones do not.
As for the blood comments, yes, Lifepoint charges for blood. All hospitals charge patients for blood given. Even the non profit Red Cross charges for the blood that they get from volunteers that they sell to hospitals. It is my understanding that the charges help cover the cost of testing blood for AIDS and other viruses and charges paid to FDA or some other government group.
There's not a hospital in the US that doesn't charge for blood. Hello....it's 2009, or is it still just sweet little ol' 1959 in good ol' Dumbville?
The blood point was that if you don't have volunteers giving blood, you have to buy it from another agency. You still charge the patient the same but if DRMC gets volunteer blood, it saves money (more profit for Tennessee). Lifepoint did away with the blood credit cards that donors got for donating. Now, even if you give blood, if you or a family member need it later, you will have to pay. Straight from your arm into the CEO's pocket.
I am type O-Neg (Dru Positive) (VERY DESIRABLE BLOOD TYPE) and was well over the 8 gallon mark when they took away the donor credit program. They'll never see my arm again at DRMC !
(that's >64 donations in case you're wondering)
"Now, even if you give blood, if you or a family member need it later, you will have to pay"
Yet another reason why DRMC should have stayed NONprofit, NONprofits do this, FORprofits don't.
lifepoint is a leech and needs to go and since Ortho has cancelled surgeries and Pulmo ONLY does consults lets see if lifepoint likes that, oh and by the way the CxOs are NOT happy , their play money pool has dried up.
In most markets, you simply give blood to Red Cross and call it good. Most folks that give blood do it out of the spirit of giving and don't expect anything in return. I forgot that most Danvillians are simply quid pro quo - ites. Too bad...
Again, the blood point was not to stop donating but to find a recipient, like the Red Cross, that does not directly profit from your donation. Lifepoint gains dollars and gives you nothing in return. They get the blood they need from many sources but would rather not pay for it if you will give it to them. The Red Cross gives back its "profit" to those in need, not those in greed.
"I forgot that most Danvillians are simply quid pro quo - ites. Too bad..."
You're obviously ignorant of any history of danville.
"Danvillians" have given and given and given, sometimes to their own detriment and in return a few, very few, have benefited from their generosity.
DLSC
DRMC etc etc
"spirit of giving" can only go so far, eventually you get tired of getting beat up for trying to help, Best example here is DRMC.
No one expected to get paid for donating blood(that's why it's called donating) but, when someones generous spirit(post above about lots of donating)is now a profit stream for a corporation that source should dry up.
This is the very reason hospitals should NEVER be forprofit, the conflict of interest between those that want money and to control the sources(corporations, insurance companies, drug companies)and those that want to help the populace (community hospitals, Red-Cross etc., MDs,RNs,staff etc. )
Donations should be to directly help (quid-pro-quo) not used as a high profit revenue stream for greed mongers and bully corporations, if lifepoint brings back the voucher system for blood (even if it's not 1:1) I'm quite sure they would see donations increase.
They probably wouldn't increase to previous levels since lifepoint has made a laughing stock out of DRMC, but they would at least help families of those unfortunate enough to have to go there.
I have not commented thus far but I really just have to say I am so sick and tired of these "professional" complainers I could puke. Yes I work at the hospital, yes I am overworked, yes I would LOVE to be paid on call in addition to the HUGE salary I pull in every year(Joke)!! They make it sound like it is such a burden to "be on call". I mean come on, how many orthopedic emergencies do we have if you really think about it?? How many multicar accidents with broken bones? How many incidents in the middle of the night need orthopedic assistance?? I really would love to know how many times in a month they each actually have to come in. Of course they will never disclose that! Might be suprising to figure out what that hourly rate would be! On top of their massive income they want more $$. As a professional caregiver on the floor, I am sick of listening to them complain about losing their call pay. Go complain to your accountant, not to me while I'm trying to take care of my patients and get my work done.
And how about this quote from above;
"Physicians like the rest of all of those in business are also trying to make a proffit. Without it they not only have no incentive to work, they also cant pay the nurses, office staff, etc that work for them."
So sorry to inform you, we all have overhead and bills, I'm so sorry that you need to make a PROFFIT to have an incentive to work!!. Hey here's a thought....try working your (blank) off and raising kids, and wondering how you will be paying your bills next month on MY salary instead of worrying when you can buy your next new car or finance your summer vacation on your "profit"!!
Amen to a voice of reason. Thanks for your posting. Wish we had more like you.
Agreed. Glad to have you working at the hospital.
Anyone read the Eddie's column prediction/word from the tigers mouth for the Hospital ?
Sale ...
Somebody know something?
Isn't amazing that when a voice of reason speaks, all the "professional complainers" hush their mouts. hmmmm....truth shall set you free??
Truth is lifepoint, it's parent co. and the history of the founding members is a disgraceful bunch , none of which should have anything to do with a business and absolutely nothing to do with healthcare. lifepoint is a DISGRACE in every area in which they are located , speak to the employees and past patients, there's your TRUTH.
How come no more "president's forums" for employees?
See what I mean....proof positive of my post.
"How come no more "president's forums" for employees?"
Because lifepoint can't handle the obvious truth...they have no idea what they are doing in healthcare.
Yawn....
Excuse us Mr/Mrs self-important immature adult.
As soon as you're finished expelling halitosis please enlighten us , the poor ignorant huddled masses.
So, no new news at DRMC??? Maybe things are looking up?
The orthopods ended their embargo and are doing elective cases again at DRMC. I guess the hospital caved in to their demands for call pay.
Point made. Case closed.
Now...go back and read all the above blathering and try to re-justify. Told you it was about revenue all along.
And yet the hospital is still painted negatively..."caved in"? Give me a break. Professional whiners rule here!
So does that mean if they cut your pay you'd just go to work like nothing happened?
I bet not.
Seems that mostly those on here that cast those standing up for workers rights are strongly for lifepoint .
Do research, and I mean real, Grad school, Doctoral school research, from peer-reviewed writings and you'll find hospitals like lifepoint(for-profit's) are falling out of favor in the U.S. and indeed the world. Individuals and insurance companies are not willing to pay to facilities that waste money on huge CxO bonuses that produce no benefit.
Please document your statement above with specific citations for scholarly articles produced by "Grad school, Doctoral school research, from peer-reviewed writings."
I think we'd all find them of interest.
So it was not the "lack of quality" that took away the cases but a lack of "kickback"!
So the only way the orthopods would send patients to DRMC would be if they were paid by Lifepoint??
Pub med central and ebsco host,
General search until you're blue in the face.
Then why was it a tax-paying hospital company that invested more money than all the not-for-profits combined to develp and perfect medication bar-code technology...and today has bette outcomes for med errors than even academics? Let's hear your excuse for that.
You are forgetting that DRMC had a medication delivery system that was even recognized in the Wall Street Journal before Lifepoint even knew about Danville. This system was error free. It was great for the staff and patients and it was one of the first things to go when Lifepoint hit the doors. I don't believe Lifepoint has had a thing to do with developing a bar code medication delivery system.
I didn't say LifePoint did. But DRMC's was not a nationally proven and replicable as the one I'm speaking of is.
Sorry, but , yes they were, and the " replicable technology" , was funded by the US government.
exactly...just more of "let's hold out our hand for more taxpayer created grant money vs. companies that are successful enough in their own right and are willing to invest their own resources into technology and improvement. Seems sucking hind tit on the government is pretty popular in your neck of the woods.
Profit or non-profit. DRMC is a joke and I would not bring my dog here
Sentinel:
GREAT BLOG. We have a similar blog - www.legalmedicine.blogspot.com
We are in Roanoke and so we often focus our attention on Carilion.
We are having a seminar in Danville next month - its free and open to the public.
Diagnosing Dementia in Seniors – and Decision Making Capacity
Presentation by board certified geriatric physician Dr. Gary Oberlender.
The Seven Deadly Sins of Nursing Homes – Common patient errors and what you can do to prevent them
Presentation by the Frith Law Firm, discussing common medical errors in nursing homes, as well as how family involvement can help prevent mistakes.
What every family should know before placing a loved one in a nursing home.
Presentation by the Frith Law Firm, discussing common medical errors in nursing homes, as well as how family involvement can help prevent mistakes.
The Event is free, and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. To reserve your seat, please call Frith Law Firm by February 20, 2009 – at 540-985-0098, or email, lellerman@frithlawfirm.com.
Oh great...that's all we need...a free "ambulance-chaser" seminar. Nice cover with having a board certified physician presenting.
"let's hold out our hand for more taxpayer created grant money vs. companies that are successful enough in their own right and are willing to invest their own resources "
lifepoint is HARDLY a success , it was born of loss and fraud, DRMC was stand alone and prospering.
Stand alone and prospering hospitals don't sell. I don't work for LifePoint and I don't work for DRMC...and I don't believe half the stuff i see posted on this blog.
A community hospital just MIGHT be sold if a few unenlightened folks want to raise money to prop up a failure- Institute for Advanced Learning. A think tank funded by tobacco payout money (meant to pay back states for expenditures on health care!)and now running out of money. They have finagled a FEW extra jobs for the community but done little overall. It is a pretty building and a nice place for a HS prom or wedding. Just what Danville needed, NOT. Now the hospital is converted into a shell of itself. The same "leaders" were involved in both. So if you need good health care, run over to the Institute and have them look up something at WebMD to help you. Thats the closest thing to a real hospital left in this town.
I have to agree with the post above. DRMC was not in as good a shape at the time of the sale as some believe, nor is it as bad now. Given the very fractionated and disorganized medical community as well as a continued decline in the Dan River regional economy since 2003, I'll thow out a radical thought - DRMC would have been in far worse shape if it had tried to remain an independent locally-owned facility. Of course no way of ever proving that, but that is my personal opinion.
Could DRMC be better than it is now? Absolutely. But it wasn't that great in 2005 when it was sold. Sorry for that dose of reality.
Hallelujah for a dose of reality. Wow...a breath of fresh air! Thank you!
Here is the reality before the sale...DRMC was still in the black, had all of the docs in town attending their patients in the hospital, had a pain clinic, had a rehab unit for stroke pts.,the doctors all spoke english,had a top notch computer system and atleast 1 person attending the front door during high traffice times and on and on and on------
That "breath of fresh air" must be coming from Tennessee. If you have a had loved one as a patient in the hospital you will have noticed a lack of nurses, lack of cleanliness, lack of attention. How can anyone believe things would be better when Lifepoint has to pay taxes and middlemen in Tenn. and still show a profit to investors?? With an in town not for profit, all profits went back into the hospital, and stayed in Danville. The staffing levels, services offered and number and quality of doctors was MUCH better, pre-Lifepoint.
Lot of truth in the last few posts. The Hospital had Money problems before the sale. The Now known fab five saw this. They could not make the nessary changes because of the people involved. We know it as the Good old boys network. Seeing the profit shrinking, no way to make the changes with out a backlash with thier peers they packaged the Hospital to make it look as good as possable and sold it. I'm sure they did not for see the hate that would come frmm the regulator folks. I do not agree with what they did. Could the hospital have made it as a nonprofit? Yes with the right leadership looking out for the people of the community and not for them selves. DRMC could have and should have expanded some years back and should have joined with South Boston, Eden, Martinsville just as the cone and Carilion systems did.
Lifepoint will look after the profit first and formost this will never change. They will continue to make changes to keep the profits up. I personaly think DRMC has problems and Lifepoint is fighting a looseing battle. Unless they can find balance with in the the next few years they will cut and run. Trust me Lifepoint is in no way great but there are others much worse.
An FYI I work for the OLD DRMC for 19 years and left when lifepoint came in. I knew people in the right places then and now, so I know this information has truth to it.
So the breath of fresh air comes from right here in good ol' Danville. Smarts a little, doesn't it? Thanks to the immediate past poster...nice to know there's at least a couple of us out here.
I thought I might find some prior DRMC "associates" lurking on this board. For what it's worth, I've created a group on Facebook.com for those of us that might like to get reacquainted. If you have a Facebook.com account search for “Danville Regional Medical Center”
:)
Ken.
And the slow, painful death of medical care in Danville continues...
Kinda like this blog...
Well you can only blog about the complete STUPIDITY of a greedy , ignorant, unprofessional, careless, corporation for so long. I guess when the remainder of the Dr's leave the fun will really begin...
Hello, anybody home? Helllooooo...Hmmm kinda like lifepoints brain , nobody home...
The smart ones have left town for medical care and the uninsured schelpps stay in Danville. Lifepoint makes money off sick medicare patients which means they must be skimping on the basics. Sounds like a nice place to go to die.
Still plenty of burial plots available, so lifepoint will be fine. They keep burial salespeople well paid.
Last one in turn out the light...
well they combined fresh surgical patients with contagious contact precautions patients so I guess some of the lights are already out...
Expose as many patients as possible to various infectious diseases and hopefully they will stay longer, thus improving Lifepoints bottom line. Not exactly what I call a good business plan.
If these last few comments are the best you can do, you folks need to get a life.
If all you have to do is read them with no solution for the hell that is lifepoint, then
1. lifepoint fired, or layed you off.
2. you left.
3. You also need a life.
Choose all that apply.
Published: February 18, 2009
Danville Regional Medical Center has announced a partnership with the Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg that will attract physicians to a new residency program at the hospital.
Jerel Humphrey, CEO of Danville Regional, said the partnership with VCOM will help the region solve its shortage of doctors by attracting them to the residency program and encouraging them to stay in the region when the three-year residency is completed.
The Danville Regional Foundation is providing a $165,000 grant to start the program and an additional $180,000 to provide $36,000 stipends for five residents in the first group of residencies at the hospital.
Hospital officials plan to begin the program in July 2010 with 20 residents. Initially, the program will focus on primary care training for doctors who will specialize in family practice.
So now that LifePoint has run off all of the Family Practice physicians, they now get the Foundation to fund their recruitment efforts for young inexperienced talent.
Well Done LifePoint!!!
Actually these residents are just free labor. Doing things other staff would do, paid by the Foundation. Another money saving move for knifepoint. I wonder how many DRMC staff can be cut now?
So lt me get this Lifepoint buys our Hospital and turns it unsidedown. Then run off most of the doctors we know and trust. Now we are going to give $345,000.00 back to this same group to replace the doctors that they ran off in the first place. You've got to be kidding me. I would say good job life point. It's the folks in control of the money that I would say needs to be replaced. If lifepoint and mess it up have us pay to fix it when most of us would not take our dogs there. These guys must have some great sales force or we are some domb SOBS!
These young "Doctors-in-training" will learn how to cut corners, mistreat workers, and who knows what else. I would hate to have a doctor elsewhere after they did their internship at Knifepoint.
Some of these fine young doctors will be our very sons and daughters who have now gone on in their education and will come back to return their skills to you, me and the other residents of this community who will age and become in need of continued medical care. This is exactly the kind of "shot in the arm" we'll need to see our doctors offices again filled with smart, energetic doctors who are here for the same reasons as you and I, this is a wonderful community and a great place to raise children.
Agree with the last post but usually the institution getting the residency pays their salaries, they are, after all, MD's who take care of patients and provide service. I can't believe the Foundation is paying for this. Why not give use the rest of their money to buy insurance for those people currently "self pay" and have that insurance pay Lifepoint?? What a great business model for Lifepoint, plus they get the asset of the hospital and have that sales money come right back to them!!
Although some out there try and spin everything about DRMC as negative, this new program is nothing but a positive for our community. First of all, this same thing is done in many, many cities and towns across the country. In fact, VCOM was founded to help address the shortage of physicians in our state (which is at the moment about 3,600 docs short of what is needed). Next, historically up to 30% of resident physicians will end up staying in the community where they trained. Furthermore, after the program is up and running, the federal government will subsidize most of the cost of the program through direct graduate medical education (GME) and indirect medical education (IME) payments under Medicare Part A for residents' training. This is money that is not coming into our community now. So, DRMC just created 24 new, good-paying jobs to boot, at a very difficult time economically when many other businesses are laying people off.
The next misconception to deal with is that residents are slave labor. That may have been true years ago, but new regulations limit the amount of time the docs can work. These residency programs are very structured and designed to educate and train the doctors without inappropriate amounts of work or responsibilities.
And, most importantly, every study ever done shows that the care delivered at hospitals that have residency training programs is better than at hospitals that don't have them. Lynchburg has a family practice residency. Moses Cone has several residency programs including family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics.
So, this will make DRMC a better hospital and bring more doctors into our area. Seems like a perfect investment for the Foundation to make.
Good Information but if it was not for Lifepoint we would not need more doctors. As for sons and daughters comming back I don't see it not here. I have four and I hope non return.
I think you blame Lifepoint too much for the exodus of docs. For sure, some of it was due to their "slash and burn" tactics after they bought the hospital. But, the loss of many specialists and the inability to recruit new docs is also because of the depressed economy in southside Virginia and North Carolina. A lot of docs want to go to more urban areas where they can make more money than they can here. The people who might want to come back here are those that call it home and grew up here. Don't discourage your kids from coming back to Danville. It's a good place with good people and we certainly can use all the help we can get.
My three children and seven grandkids don't live here nor would I want them to. Medical care throught most doctors is good, but we have more than our fair share of incompetence in the medical community and lifepoint is concerned with only the bottom line, the patients that feed that are just a means to the end and don't require the respect they deserve. I want Danville and the area to prosper, but not at the expense of their health. Lifepoint leaves and things will slowly get better.....
These residents are still DOs not MDs. BIG difference. Lifepoint wouldn't be a draw for MD residents.
Inaccurate and untrue comment about the difference between DO's and MDs.
Both osteopathic and allopathic physicians go to school for four years following graduation from college, and serve residencies of three to six years depending upon specialty. Both DO's and MD's are licensed by the same state boards and must meet the exact same training requirements and pass the same licensing examinations. They take the exact same examinations for board certification.
There are minimal differences in focus during medical school, as the osteopathic schools emphasize looking at the "whole person" when looking for the cause of disease and also focuses more on preventative health compared to allopathic schools.
As a new, young medical school, VCOM approached DRMC about serving as a training site for their students and for residents.
FYI, the other site that serves as a residency training program for VCOM is Carilion in Roanoke, who also host osteopathic training programs in family practice, internal medicine and neurosurgery.
Sounds like this group did not do it's homework or else they would not have gone to Lifepoint. They will have a hard time as a draw for DO's and MDs. Shoot they are a hard draw for patients.
"The next misconception to deal with is that residents are slave labor, "
They still are.
Are you aware that lifepoint won't sponsor a clinical site for in town residents? They won't they only want big names that they can drop on a poor unsuspecting community.
DRMC isn't a hospital anymore it's a marketing scheme.
oh good lord, what a bunch of in-bred, know-nothing idiots. Have never seen the like. Can't you find the rock you came out from under and just go back?
"what a bunch of in-bred, know-nothing idiots"
We have the Bachelor's degrees Masters degrees and the PhD's , you are most likely the "know nothing idiot"
And going back to what worked is what Danville needs in this particular case...
Sorry idiot
"what a bunch of in-bred, know-nothing idiots"
We have the Bachelor's degrees Masters degrees and the PhD's , you are most likely the "know nothing idiot"
And going back to what worked is what Danville needs in this particular case...
Sorry idiot
The real idiot here is the one that keeps repeating himself.
latest info form the front lines the nurseing home was sold. All ties with DRMC will be Severed this spring. It is being managed by a third party company now. Lifepoint decided not to release the infomation at this time. This will drop about 50 folks from the pay roll. Another 50 folks will be dropped in the next round of layoffs to happen soon. Many folks are worried they will be next. So thats 100 folks lifepoint will save money on soon. Some of the people on here think things are getting better at good old DRMC.Hum! Only if you are a stock holder.
latest info form the front lines the nurseing home was sold. All ties with DRMC will be Severed this spring. It is being managed by a third party company now. Lifepoint decided not to release the infomation at this time. This will drop about 50 folks from the pay roll. Another 50 folks will be dropped in the next round of layoffs to happen soon. Many folks are worried they will be next. So thats 100 folks lifepoint will save money on soon. Some of the people on here think things are getting better at good old DRMC.Hum! Only if you are a stock holder.
"The real idiot here is the one that keeps repeating himself."
First, you don't know if it's a him or a her.
Second we have to repeat ourselves so uninformed fools like you can understand what's really going on as you have NO clue,
...as you have NO clue...
as you have NO clue...
100 more layoffs , maybe one day you will get it...
This blog has outlived its usefulness if the best we can muster is being rude, calling each other names and throwing in the occasional rumor.
The Nursing home has been sold so I think this person may have some good Info.
Yep Stratford House is gone,
Jobs inside the Hospital to be gone soon...lifepoint will have to downsize and further downgrade the facility as a few leftover staff, MDs, and nurses cannot subsidize millionaire leeches...
Yes the nursing home has been sold, several months ago. Geez what is this, news traveling slow in the big D ? Ha!
DRMC sold it just like Moses Cone sold two of its nursing homes keeping just the one at Annie Penn.ALL did so due to costs involved in maintaining/managing long term care centers. It's called prudent business management.
I was gonna ask that question: Why should a hospital own a nursing home anyway? What difference does it make if DRMC owns the Stratford House or some other company owns it?
Wait...what was that? Oh, just a breath of fresh air called common sense.
Just another degredation of services by a For-profit Corporation that has destroyed yet another human service.
For profit hospitals have NO place in the U.S.
Pretty much all corporations are "for profit," such as Dan River Mills, Dimon, Goodyear, Ikea, Nestle.
I get a paycheck and pay taxes just like the doctors, nurses and other staff a DRMC. We are all "for profit." Does that make all of us evil?
There are a number of not-for-profit hospitals that prey on patients, cut services, jack up fees and treat employees poorly. The line between "good" and "bad" hospitals isn't whether they pay taxes or not.
The real issue is not whether they are for profit or non-profit, but quality of care. We all know the level of care at DRMC is not acceptable. Our city council knows this and chooses to do nothing, the people of the community have to make it an issue by not using this establishment. Until that happens, it will not change.
What authority does the Danville City Council have in this situation? Can Council summons the management of Goodyear and tell them to stop the furloughs and layoffs? How about Columbia Flooring - "No layoffs or else, you hear?!"
Can they tell Value City not to go bankrupt, or Backyard Burgers (my personal favorite) not to close up shop and leave town?
Don't think so. Danville City council has no authority over DRMC. State Board of Health - maybe. People leaving in droves to find health care outside Danville - I think they are already doing that, by-and-large.
Hallelujah, no more need for the nasal canula....even more breaths of fresh air. Could it be that the idiots are logging on less or the astute are logging on more? Hmmmm...
If you consider the last few posts breathes of fresh air you must work in a manure factory.
Nope...they just love the truth more than rumor and whining.
That's HILARIOUS, there is NO TRUTH to lifepoint at all.
Their business model is pathetic.
Their lack of ethics is disraceful and their disdain for patient/staff safety is unbelievable.
Some people never learn...
Amen to that. They absolutely care about $$$ only. Looks like another patient treated improperly in the E.R. She was airlifted eventually to another hospital. I am sure we will hear more about this one. E.R. dropped the ball on obvious symptons and made her wait until nearly too late, but the jury is still out - she is in bad shape, it may have been too late. More to come.
So, what is this crap about one of the best OR nurses getting the boot? Any thoughts or ideas out there?
What the public would like to know is if the flowers sent to the Surgical Services director on Friday were payed for by DRMC or if the DON payed for them herself?
I think the joke of leadership in that OR has finally cut their own throat!!!!!
We all know that anyone with excellent clinical skills and knowledge is a threat to that so called leadership!!!
How do you go from being employee of the year to being terminated? Something's wrong here.
VERY wrong....I know now where I WILL NOT be having surgery!
If there is a problem with taking your own medications at work, does this mean I can't have my NuvaRing in while on the clock?
like I said before , there is NO place in healthcare for greedy, unethical, immoral corporations , lIFEPOINT MUST GO , NOW !!!!!!!!
Is it acceptable to water the flowers you received after firing someone with water obtained at DRMC? Or is this an offense that could result in termination?
"How do you go from being employee of the year to being terminated? Something's wrong here.
March 22, 2009 5:13:00 PM EST"
How? Well, you work your @$% off, make everyone else jealous because you are dedicated to your craft, and make tons of OT. The tons of OT probably had more to do with it than anything...O's hate to be "out earned" even if its at the expense of not having a life outside of work.
What is funny about the entire situation is no one had the former employee to write down exactly what she does for DRMC. Not just her job description but the above and beyond that was done on a daily basis...cleaning floors and ceilings, cleaning the dust from air vents, providing information and helping out RN supervisors every time they called her with a problem. Being the best patient advocate ever, going above and beyond what was ask and expected. Knowing what was needed in the OR before it was ask for. Being able to start life threatening cases that couldn't wait with only herself until the rest of the staff could get there.
Those are some big shoes to fill. I don't think everyones ducks were in a row before they acted out of hate and stupidity. Thank you Life Point...excellent work once again!
To the former employee, you are missed not only in the OR but in EVERY department of the hospital! Doctors are asking about you, as well as staff and families you have touched with your compassion and kindness over the years. (By the way, what shelf of what row beside what other items to the left or right are the triple lumens kept in general stores?) WE ALL MISS YOU!!!
March 22, 2009 5:13:00 PM EST"
How? Well, you work your @$% off, make everyone else jealous because you are dedicated to your craft, and make tons of OT. The tons of OT probably had more to do with it than anything...O's hate to be "out earned" even if its at the expense of not having a life outside of work.
March 24, 2009 8:52:00 PM EST
You are exactly right. The OR management has always resented anyone with excellent skills, confidence or good rapport with surgeons. Those people are a threat to the so called leaders who lack those abilities. These "leaders" have been responsible for the departure of many good OR nurses who have found employment in "real" hospitals where they are respected for their contributions rather than resented. When suggestions for improvement are made at these "real" hospitals, the employee is told their suggestions and opinions are valued rather than being told that is "none of your concern, you are not a manager" like they are told at DRMC. But then again, that is a concept that earns a hospital Magnet status and we all know DRMC is not a Magnet hospital.
In the past you used to have to do something really horrendous to a patient or the hospital to get fired, but now all it takes is for somebody to have a grudge against you. If they can't get you on your knowledge, skill or patient care they have to be creative and come up with something really ridiculous. Everybody...hold your nose when you go in the hospital 'cause something stinks, and I think they call it management. Oh, and if you do take a breath...make sure it doesn't belong to the hospital.
Another thing If the employee was becoming "ill" or in danger of having an adverse medical condition, where was this so-called supervisor and why didn't this "supervisor" mandate that the employee go to the ER to be helped/examined?
Oh wait , I was a hospital employee- the answer is better a dead employee than a proactive manager- it's cheaper and well you can't help an employee if you are either at home sitting on your butt or in the so-called hospital playing Mr/Ms Superior...
This removal is probably the best thing for the employee...I hope the employee sues and wins.
"O's hate to be "out earned""
Worthless employee's (O's) are nothing ,ore than overpaid leeches, they produce nothing...
A good employee( in this case a RN)provides a service that GENERATES income for the hospital.
Therefore O's don't "earn pay" they drain funds = Leeches.
There is only one way to solve the problem. Time to clean house. Starting with OR management. One has been there too long and has become resentful and noncaring; the other has not been there long but over stayed the welcome after the second week and hates the idea of someone knowing more than she does. Oh, wait, that would be anyone with half a brain.
Administration needs to grow some b#*@s and do what needs to be done. It is the only way to solve the problem. Wipe the slate clean and start fresh. Ask some of the former OR employees that are still there the ultimate reason for their transfers/leaving.
So tell us....how do you all really feel?
I was thinking...wouldn't it be great if all former employees would simply go form another blog instead of continuing to poison the water on this post, since those of us that are still here are trying to find solutions?
Hello,
Mr. Omnipotent forming another blog won't help, you see there are more tragedies and destructions caused BECAUSE of lifepoint than any solution that you will ever come up with can fix.
There is only one real solution: lIFEPOINT MUST GO and a REAL NONprofit organization will have to buy it.
That is the ONLY solution. Coexisting with lifepoint is a pipedream.
It reads like not everyone posting is a "former" employee. Some may have simply left one department for another. Oh, and please enlighten us on what solutions are trying to be made? Don't keep them to your self. And if it includes pills and programs, it doesn't count.
Re:
I was thinking...wouldn't it be great if all former employees would simply go form another blog instead of continuing to poison the water on this post, since those of us that are still here are trying to find solutions?
Check out the March 25 10:26 post:
"wipe the slate clean and start fresh" with OR management seems like a suggestion for a solution to me. Obviously you have NO idea how the current OR "management" works. They "manage" by intimidation and fear tactics. Upper management has been told repeatedly by staff that OR management is lacking. Obviously they don't want to hear it.
They don't want to hear it because : they don't:
-understand it
-are in it TOTALLY for the money
- have no valid history of SUCCESSFULLY running/fixing anything
-Don't care
Pick any two...kinda reminds me of the fab five same rules apply just on a larger scale.
Oh yeah and lifepoint was spawned of a broken/ suspected fraudulent system.....hmmm
At least the filthy five have stashed their money in a safe place, with Bernie Madoff!
Such petite bourgeoisie mentality that reigns supreme here. Was much more valuable when there were fewer posts that actually carried some reason into the conversation.
If poster mentality is "petite bourgeoisie mentality" you must realize that by granting posts that you deem "bourgeoisie" enough weight to be read that you specify your own as even smaller perhaps micro or nano...discount nothing you read here, I do not discount yours, but you must realize the true urgent damage that lifepoint has created . gone from one of the largest employers in Danville to the largest JOKE of an employer and certainly the least trustworthy employer as the covert firings continue...
WOW! There have been some comments made by someone in the OR who thinks that they are just as big as the words they have used recently such as petite bourgeoisie mentality. I just can't remember if they were made before or after the same individual walked the halls last Thursday singing "Ding Dong The Wicked Witch Is Gone".
So really, don't get on here with your high and mighty attitude and "big" words.....just pass your gas.
So, word has it there is already a former OR employee in mind to replace the latest Lifepoint casualty. We all know what a joke that is!!
Must have learned "Ding Dong the Witch is Gone" from the current OR manager. That's one of her favorite songs!!
I'm supposing by now the hospital has crumbled under the weight of the bad news and ceased to exist...thus the immediate drying up of postings. Ding Dong.
"...and the beat goes on.."
New job posting yesterday..Director of HR postion listed.
"...and the beat goes on.."
Some beat...
It's (lifepoint) very off-key and off-time and off-beat, weak and sickly, struggling.
But making a profit so f the community.
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