Danville Register & Bee
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
DANVILLE - A new partnership between state and local officials could give more teeth to the Citizen’s Committee Related to the Danville Regional Medical Center.
Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell said Tuesday that he plans to add a senior-level staff member from his office to the seven-member group.
“Whenever these meetings are, we’ll send someone down,” he said. The staff person will participate in the committee meetings and listen in on citizen’s complaints.
McDonnell said he has been interested in Danville Regional’s current state of affairs since he met with Mayor Wayne Williams and the Dan River Region’s state legislators in early 2006.
“I wanted him to be aware of some of the issues that were developing in Danville,” Williams said.
The mayor said he shared some early concerns about how LifePoint Hospitals Inc. was managing Danville Regional since the company purchased the hospital in July 2005. McDonnell, who had previously worked in hospital management, took some of these concerns to heart.
He called a group of LifePoint executives into his office and shared Williams’ concerns with them. After this meeting, McDonnell said he “felt that things were pretty well on the way to turning a corner.”
But public concern over the hospital’s quality of care peaked up again this winter. Williams then formed the citizen’s committee on March 6 to collect public input about the issue.
Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said he started talking with Williams about the committee soon after it formed. Marshall said Tuesday that he remembered the group’s initial meeting last year and felt McDonnell’s office should get involved.
“(Putting someone from the attorney general’s office on the commission) will change the perception about this committee quite a bit,” Marshall said. “We want the folks at the hospital to listen.”
The attorney general’s office played a major role in reviewing the sale of the hospital when it took place. McDonnell, who was not in office at the time of the sale, said former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore’s staff had to approve the sale documents since Danville Regional operated as a public not-for-profit institution before it was sold to LifePoint.
“Our job is to review the court documents (pertaining to the sale) to be sure the taxpayer and the state have been represented,” McDonnell said. The attorney general said Tuesday that he has not reviewed the sale documents yet.
Williams said he was very happy to have the attorney general’s office involved in the hospital committee. He said the group stopped meeting a few weeks ago because they wanted to bring in a medical expert who could provide them with information about the hospital’s practices.
Williams said he is in the process of interviewing such an expert now but was uncertain how long the process would take. Despite this, Williams said he is very pleased the attorney general’s office is interested in joining his efforts to learn more about Danville Regional.
“I think having the attorney general on the commission will be very helpful,” Williams said.
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15 comments:
From the Chatham Star Tribune:
Greed, arrogance, secrecy wrecked hospital
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Most people I know took heart when City Council finally tiptoed into the scandal of what LifePoint has done to Danville Regional Medical Center.
Clearly City Council had been afraid to speak up out of their fear of the "Boys at the Bank," who, with their abiding reverence for money, got us into this awful mess.
But when City Council at last found some courage, it seemed better late than never.
It was encouraging to the voiceless when the mayor's so-called Citizens Commission announced that it would receive and put online the comments from people seeking to relate their fears and frustrations over the dangers of the hospital.
This seemed like a positive step. This positive step lasted not even a week.
As soon as the crisis deepened and our formerly highly respected hospital was placed on probation in terms of its accreditation, the Citizens Commission eliminated its web feature allowing the public to read the comments of their fellow citizens. The comments just disappeared. With Doloresco-like arrogance, no explanation was given.
As usual, secret decisions like this breed the contempt they deserve.
Greed, total lack of vision, arrogance and secrecy wrecked our hospital, which had become the linchpin of our community, a source of tremendous pride.
The Citizen's Commisson seems destined to follow the shameful lead of those who sold our hospital.
Why is it that no one has ever been held accountable?
Where are the people who might lead us out of this wilderness of deceit and incompetence? Is there really no one?
How long must we as citizens wait?
William K. Thomas
Danville
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2007/04/04/chatham/opinion/opinion10.txt
So, let me get this straight...employees are frustrated and leaving, the hospital was "preliminarily" denied accreditation, and now the state AG is interested in the situation....yet some are still trying to tell us there is nothing to worry about? That this is all due to a small group of whiny, disgruntled employees?
Wake up, people.
IF anyone thinks that it is a small disgruntled group of employees they are sorely mistaken my floor was originally abbout 45 RN's now it's 9. A great many are now travelers whom are paid a premium for doing the same work we are doing.
ALSO, we have had the majority of travelers that have either cut their contracts short or not renewed their contract because of the EXTREMELY dangerous (for the patients and the RN license )working conditions.Until people whom deny this do the research and wake up as to the state of medical care ,or the lack of , by for-profit hospitals there will only be the Joint Commission PROVEN substandard medical care that Lifepoint begrudgingly provides.(It's not slander or here say if it's recorded fact)Of course NO one from LPNT seems to think "the list" should be available.
The employees that are left are the same professionals that provided care for the community before, However, we cannot provide the same level of care with 1/4th of the resources.
I have seen the accidents pt's are having because of low staffing or "we don't need CNA's" or at least not 24-7. I have seen the results of high pt loads and the unnoticed deterioration of patients due to that load.YOU CANNOT care for 6 or 9 pt's on the floor or 3 in an ICU it is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS and it is happening as standard practice ONLY since lifepoint took over.I have seen this , I have lived this nightmare all the way through. If we were whining the other MAGNET facilities wouldn't be courting us so heavily. Oh and by the way one of the stipulations of a Magnet facility is STAFFING If those in denial would take the time to learn the arguement that we are in this would be a finished arguement.
Thank God that maybe the AG will now be able to show everyone how dangerous it really is there.OH and DUKE is GONE they wouldn't resign the contact with Lifepoint.
You had 45 RN's and now have 9 ? Then you must have had a high percentage of prn staff .
No actually very few prn. That's just how much our pt load increased.
Sentinel Event,
How about starting a post where people can post before and after staffing numbers for their dept.? Then we can tally them up and see how many have left since LPT took over. That might be an interesting stat for City Council and the citizens commission. Might also show more than just current patient ratios since as the census changes so do ratios. It will also show how the changes have impacted the community since the ones that left have mostly seemed to go out of town.
Steve
I know for a fact one UNIT has increased the expected load on the RN's by 50% the charge nurse by 100% and lost the pm CA's
The unit I formerly worked in had 17 RNs, 4 CAs, and 1 secretary. The target number from Lifept. was 5 RNs, 3 CAs and 1/2 sec. Now that the target figures have been met, that unit cannot serve the Drs. or patients in a timely manner. The drs. have alienated themselves from this unit and only do what is absolutely necessary for pts there. The other pts are served in these drs' offices. This was a major mistake. Lifept. has destroyed a huge moneymaker for the hospital and wrecked the lives of a dozen faithful employees. Dixie Doss
Thank you, Dixie ,for validating my point. Lifepoint is working us to our death, and our patients I've SEEN IT.
" The other pts are served in these drs' offices...." BECAUSE
THE MD'S GET BETTER REIMBURSEMENT for procedures done in the office.
This "ain't" rocket science
Not true above poster, the physician's offices cannot charge for individual supplies, medicines, nursing care or facility fees like hopitals can. They can only file for the drs. procedure charge and a comprehensive fee that is governed by cms. For example, my husband had a procedure at DRMC 2 years ago as an outpatient, the hospital charged $4,378.00 plus the dr. charged $400.00. He had the same procedure at MCHS outpt. dr's unit 2 months ago and the outpt drs' unit charged $1600.00 plus dr. charged $600.00. Now you tell me who is making the most money? The dr.in GRSBORO did charge $200.00 more but look at the difference in the facility charges and a two yrs' difference. I'll tell you, the dr's in the DRMC unit tried to work with lifept. and the response was "we will look into it" or they were ignored and the best of all...that fat--- consultant told us "if the drs. didn't like what was going on
in the hospital lifept. would just hire some of their own drs." Evidently conducting business must be rocket science to lifept., because they don't get it AT ALL! Look at the history lifept., this unit was the 2nd highest money maker in the hospital until 6 months after you took over. Dixie Doss
" The other pts are served in these drs' offices...."
BECAUSE
THE MD'S GET BETTER REIMBURSEMENT
for procedures done in the office.
This "ain't" rocket science, lady.
#1 I am not a lady and #2 you sure aren't a rocket scientist. They do not receive enough reinbursement to hardly make it worth doing the procedures there, what they get out of it is control of their own schedule and their choice of employees. Also the safety of their patients means something to these drs. What they were getting at the hospital amounted to alot of wasted time sitting at the nurses' station and alot of complaints from their patients about registration waiting time. The drs. may make a few dollars more in their offices, but lifept. screwed themselves out of any profit by not accomadating the drs. Dixie Doss
Doctors also do not have to jump through half the regulatory hoops that hospitals do either. Procedures are becoming a little cheaper in the outpatient realm as technology changes bring expenses down as in other areas of life. So if they can do the procedures in their office, save time for themselves and the patients, make a little cash (that's why we all work) and do this safely, then so be it.
City Council is afraid to speak out against the "boys at the bank" because the "good ole boy" system is still alive and well in Danville, VA. We would probably be horrified to find out just how many pies they have their sticky little fingers in...... not one of them will ever be held accountable because City Council is a part of the "good ole boy" as has been the case since the post war reconstruction period of the 1870's
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