Very well put...this deserves to be on the front page!

"While the statements in Mr. Doloresco's letter are presumably accurate, and would be what any CEO of good conscience would say, Failure to pass JCAHO accreditation would indeed hurt Lifepoint. DRMC is the largest Lifepoint facility and Lifepoint is an investor owned company.Insurance companies will not pay for services rendered at a facility which does not carry JCAHO accreditation. This would be a huge financial kick in the teeth for DRMC and Lifepoint from financial and quality of care standpoints. If your goal is to hurt Lifepoint, that would certainly garner attention.However, realize this is a double-edged sword with a giant ripple effect on the community. Think about this in the event of a JCAHO survey failure:

1. Your insurance would be no good at the facility. You and everyone you know who needed to go to the hospital would have to pay the whole bill (no managed care discount) because insurance companies would refuse to authorize treatment at a non-accredited facility.

2. Since your insurance will no longer pay for services, you and yours would have to seek hospital services elsewhere. Martinsville, South Boston, or North Carolina. Right now, you have a choice of not using DRMC. If they fail the JCAHO survey, the choice is gone. By the way, Lifepoint also owns the Martinsville hospital.

3. The survey is a reflection of the quality, monitoring, and management of care and their outcomes. Failing the survey would hurt the hospital, but it would be a direct reflection of how the people who live in Danville and work at DRMC take care of their neighbors. The social stigma of being affiliated with that would be awful.

4. If the hospital fails, and money is cut off, services and employees would go and go quickly. Can Danville handle a significant layoff of what is now the city's second largest employer?

I am sure there are other considerations, but these are just a few that come to mind. While I doubt Mr. Doloresco's personal commitment to the community and DRMC (he is new to the town), his words are true. This being said, I would make a couple of observations and address Mr. Doloresco in this blog.It is interesting that DRMC has appeared to have a revolving door in the CEO position, and that Lifepoint execs have made more than one trip to Danville to apologize for things they should have done differently. Good heads have rolled at their expense and they should be aware that in a town such as Danville, any loss of employment stirs feelings of anger and resentment within the community. There are intelligent people in Lifepoint. I beilieve a cause-and-effect and cost/benefit ananlysis would be in order before corporate and hospital administrative mouths utter future promises.Many in the community love and trust DRMC with their lives. Those you do not need worry about Mr. Doloresco. Obviously, however, there is still plenty of unrest in the community regarding our hospital. Elbow grease, not flowery, Art-ful, rah-rah speeches, is what you need to commit. Push a mop, register a patient, drive the shuttle bus. It is what you do....and continue to do, that will make the change. Your words are nice, but your actions have said so much more, and many believe the two contradict each other. True, you are the CEO and have primary responsibilities. Unfortunately, those around you fail to see you handling those well either. If they did, would you have been called before the city council the same way as one of your predecessors?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. What are you and Lifepoint doing different?

The ball is in your court. "

EDIT: Didn't mean this should be put on the front page of the newspaper....just on the front page of the blog. There are too many good points made in this to be buried on a back comment page.