State of the Hospital-Danville Regional Medical Center: The R&B....and contact your City Council

Sunday, February 4, 2007

The R&B....and contact your City Council

Good coverage in the Register & Bee today...a few notable quotes...

Questioning care, doctor makes exit
"In the meantime, Sharp said, he spoke with hospital CEO Art Doloresco and asked him when things would change. 'My impression from talking with the CEO was that people here needed to accept the standards of practice that the business plan demanded,' Sharp said. 'Nurses had to learn to do more with less, ancillary staffing would be cut accordingly and many services (would be) provided by contract services from non-employed vendors. It did not seem to me that we would be able to address the problems such as less frequent direct patient contact with nurses that cause many of our competitors to be more desirable to patients.' "
http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149193014495

Council to meet with hospital CEO
" 'Rumors intermixed with facts are concerning our citizens and affecting their health care decisions,' said Williams, an ear, nose and throat specialist, in the letter. “It is time City Council take action on behalf of our citizens, first to determine the facts, then to offer solutions.”
During a phone interview Friday, the mayor said he is hearing concerns from both citizens and healthcare professionals, ranging from people questioning the quality of care at Danville Regional to staffing issues."
http://www.registerbee.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=DRB/MGArticle/DRB_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149193014544

Now, it's your turn...
So...maybe this is a good time to give Mayor Williams and the other members of Council a call or an email and share your point of view. Here is the link to the City Council website. Scroll down to the bottom third of the page for an email address for each member.
http://www.danville-va.gov/officials.asp?menuid=2816&sub1menuid=2841

Also, be sure to visit the articles on the R&B's website and post your opinion of the story.

4 comments:

Dizzy Cow said...: The hospital sale is a "lose/lose" situation for the entire community, even the Bank Boys who secretly sold the hospital and now stand exposed and disgraced before the world, like Emperors who've lost their pants.

There is one huge exception to this that came to mind as I read the Danville paper this morning. The worse things get at the hospital, the more ads they take out--great big silly ads like the one with the dancing preachers, or the one today bragging about how great the Emergency Room is.

I guess the only reason the newspaper is waking up and reporting problems at the hospital is that they've seen how those problems result in more big ads and more big money. And just think how much money some PR/advertising company is making off placing all these ads!

So it's "lose/lose" for all of us except the newspaper and the ad agency. Even the Lifepoint Biggies who are pulling down gross salaries will lose when it's all over and Lifepoint cuts and runs from our community with its tail between its legs. With luck, a few of the Naked Emperors will go with them.; February 4, 2007 at 11:09:00 AM EST
Anonymous said...: One of your commentators referred to the appreciation we owe Henry Hurt (Boys at the Bank) and others who set the stage for opening up this scandal. I know that Hurt is now interviewing people for a book about all of this--including economic development, the Institute, local educational initiatives, as well as the secret sale of the hospital. I know someone he interviewed. This could be very good news. He's a well regarded writer and his book Reasonable Doubt was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. It could be an interesting book.
--West Main; February 4, 2007 at 2:02:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: Excellent post Dizzy Cow! Biker; February 4, 2007 at 3:43:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: Does it really matter that Art is meeting the city concil? Do you truly believe that he has any truth in him at all? DRMC has a "Rumor Grinder" where employees can ask questions anonymously and have them answered "honestly" by the CEO. He wouldn't know the truth or how to be honest if it hit him in the face. He can't even answer a letter to the editor honestly. He stated that he had made contact with the person writing the letter and they choose to keep further contacts in private. I guess he does want them in private because he never contacted the person until much later.
If he can't be honest in something that he writes, then what makes the community think that he will be honest face to face?

I hope that Mayor Williams and the rest of the city councils doesn't back down to him and believe his lies. I hope that are all wearing some high boots that night. I am sure it will be deep!; February 5, 2007 at 9:41:00 PM EST

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Letter to Employees, February 7, 2007

Dear DRMC Associates, Physicians and Volunteers: Thank you for all your efforts to provide healthcare to the citizens of the Dan River Region. Providing healthcare, saving lives, and improving the quality of the lives of our friends, family and neighbors is a high calling, and you are answering that call each and every day. Delivering on the high expectations of those we serve is a tremendous responsibility, shared by everyone – physicians, nurses, technical and support staff, volunteers, managers and administration. It’s no secret that to be successful in meeting this responsibility, we must work together. We have seen in our Emergency Department the good things that can happen when staff, physicians and management work together effectively. The reduction in wait times and fewer patients leaving without treatment are ample proof. You should all be proud of this accomplishment. It is our hope that all of us on the hospital team, and indeed the entire community, can come together around Danville Regional and make it a source of genuine pride and positive economic activity for this area. Coming together is way overdue. When Mr. Bill Carpenter, CEO of LifePoint and three other corporate officers were in our hospital in January, they openly apologized for mistakes made at the onset of the hospital sale. Knowing what they know at this point in time, they would have definitely done things differently. LifePoint has committed the support and resources needed to make DRMC a hospital of which we all can be proud. In addition, we, as leaders in different areas of the hospital, commit our time and energy to that same goal. The important thing to remember is that on one person or small group can make this hospital successful. It will take the support and commitment of every single one of us who are connected to DRMC in any way. We need your help to make this happen. Going forward won’t be easy. Any organization of this size and complexity has issues. But it is time to move on, and move ahead. Constructive suggestions are always OK, and in fact welcomed, because there is almost always more than one “right way” to accomplish goals. Bitter, destructive criticism isn’t OK. There’s a reason they call it “holding grudges,” because the only person who feels bad is the one holding them. It’s time for us to let these go. Good things can happen if we channel our energies on positive activities. Never has this been more important than now. During 2006 and 2007 $26 million is being invested to create some good things – the build out of the 5th and 6th floors, the new radiation/oncology equipment, addition of PACS and a new state of the art CT machine. These improvements, coupled with your caring approach, will provide better, more complete care for our patients, close to home. Recent patient satisfaction scores have improved, and will continue to improve as long as we focus our efforts on providing the best care for our patients and support for each other. We also fully recognize the importance of improving staff and physician satisfaction, and the positive impact this will have on the patients we serve. We also have a big challenge that will require everyone’s best – our Joint Commission accreditation review, which will occur sometime in the next couple of months. When you think about it, it is not a stretch to say that the lifeblood of this community is dependent upon Danville Regional maintaining Joint Commission accreditation. Joint Commission accreditation is a key to the continued success of one of the largest employers in the region, and the place where the majority of our citizens come to receive healthcare. An accredited hospital makes the community more attractive for residents who already are here, and also for those people and their employers who are looking for a good place to live, work, play and invest. It also directly impacts the livelihood of all associates and physicians. We need to place a tremendous amount of importance and urgency around preparing for Joint Commission, because accreditation is vital to all of us. While some might think loss of accreditation hurts LifePoint, the real losers are those of us who live and work in this community. We must join together to protect one of our most valuable community assets. Our region’s economic recovery depends on it. So we go back to our original points: we are fortunate to be in a position to serve others, which is a tremendous responsibility we accept every day. All of us want to make this a better place to work, and a better place for our neighbors to receive treatment. We are committed to supporting you and know that together we will make DRMC the very best it can be. We appreciate each of you. Sincerely, Dr. Betty Jo Foster Chairman, DRMC Advisory Board Arthur M. Doloresco President/ CEO Richard A. Smith, M.D. Chief of Staff

State of the Hospital-Danville Regional Medical Center

Sunday, February 4, 2007

The R&B....and contact your City Council

4 comments:

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Letter to Employees, February 7, 2007