Citizen's Committee to hold first public hearing
Concerned residents will get their chance to speak out about Danville Regional this evening in Chatham.
Danville Register & Bee
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
DANVILLE - The first public hearing set up by the Citizen’s Committee Related to the Danville Regional Medical Center will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Chatham High School.
A second hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at O.T. Bonner Middle School in Danville, with a third hearing scheduled for May 15 in Yanceyville, N.C.
The committee is asking people who want to speak to sign up at the start of each meeting.
Jim Houser, who co-chairs the committee, said that only 30 people would be guaranteed a chance to speak at each event.
Houser is asking speakers to limit their remarks to three minutes and groups of people who have the same concern are asked to select a spokesperson.
“We want to have as many different concerns brought up as we can,” Houser said.
Danville Mayor Wayne Williams formed the commission on March 6. He asked the group’s seven members to gather information about how Danville Regional’s quality of care has changed since Lifepoint Hospitals Inc. purchased the hospital in July 2005.
Houser said the top two issues of concern have been Danville Regional’s staffing levels and the quality of care present at the hospital’s emergency room.
The Citizen’s Committee will review all the information the group has collected at its next meeting on May 22. Houser said the group will discuss the community’s main concerns with its health care consultant.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
19 comments:
As BAD as I hate to post this, (and I certainly hope all of the rumors about getiing fired for speaking out are untrue), word has it someone has been assigned by Mr.D to attend tonight and take notes about who says what.
I will post this to the commission site also. Somehow they need a way to allow for annonimity.
I have family that works there and have done all of the speaking out for them, but at this point I am ready to pack up and move with them. Unfortunately the only good I can see happening is for Lifepoint to move on. None of my family will ever be happy working for or going to a Lifepoint facility. I'll see you there and hope enough of you have the testicles to speak the the truth.
I'm also afraid to speak, but I think it might be safe to go to the meeting and say nothing. My wife's job is critical to our lives and the lives of our children, and I fear that if I speak out someone will connect me to her and she will be fired. One rumor is that they will take names of the people who come as they enter the door, but I don't see how they can do that. Maybe it's best to go and observe. If they are taking names at the door, that's the time to split.
If there is a trustworthy mole in the bunch , go to the meeting ,take notes and report back facts to S.Event. The rest of us would surely appreciate it.
What's critical is for people to show up, whether they speak or not. It's important that they know people care. Not all of us can go to Centra or MCH, or Duke, and DRMC is OUR only hope. Show up and let them know. No reason to be harsh....just let them know we would like to have back a decent hospital.
It is important to remember that individuals can express concerns through the survey that will be available at each forum. It will have questions to answer but also will have space where individuals can speak out in writing. Individuals can also directly contact the commission members through email or by picking up the phone and calling them. Art D. can be in attendance tonight since it is a public forum but he will not be sitting with the commission members. He can only be a part of the audience. The commission members are very aware that current employees worry about being fired if they speak out. Art D. knows that fear can be a powerful tool but there is such a thing as free speech.
Why don't you guys just back up the "yellow gas truck" from Wacco,Tx and just gas the place and set it on fire... Do you guys not realize that there is over 1200 employees of this facility who have children to feed and college to pay for... Look at what you are doing....
I just got back from the meeting in Chatham.
About 60 people showed up and around 15 spoke.
I think most of the important issues from this blog were brought up before the commission. Staffing, patient care, management's secrecy and condisinding tone, facility degredation, misleading statements by LFPT when they came about there would be no staffing changes or layoffs for 2 years....etc. Remember though there is power in numbers and even if you choose not to speak, your presence in the audience is important.
Important folks I saw in attendance: Dr. Miller, Coy Harville, Wayne Williams, Henry Hurt, WSET, WAKG, Register and Bee. I am sure there were others. Joe Bloomer spoke as a former employee and several patient families spoke as well as Coy Harville and Henry Hurt. Only one employee I know of spoke and she merely addressed the fact that the employees left were caring and hard working and that the negatives should not be directed toward them.
Remember there is power in numbers and the Danville meeting should be WELL attended even if you don't speak.
Steve
Small Correction to Steve's report: The audience count (taken from the back) was 87, excluding the commission members and the tv and radio people. Fifteen people spoke.
Art Doloresco was present, so of course no DRMC employee was stupid enough to speak--except for Leslie Smith, a PR flack who got up and spoke glowingly of personnel.
It was an excellent hearing, extremely well attended by Chatham standards.
Thanks for the correction! Glad to know there were more people in the back. Lets see if we can't turn out 4 times as many in Danville
Yes, Leslie is full of PR flack but she's as miserable as the rest of us and no doubt she was strongly encouraged to speak.
Hank Davis, Chatham Supervisor, was also present and spoke about his family negative experiences at DRMC under LifePoint.
Gretna Mayor Lingafelt also spoke of her own family's poor experiences with Lifepoint and noted that the Gretna Rescue Squad is now taking far more patients to Lynchburg than ever before--even though it is a greater distance.
One of the most searing stories at the Chatham hearing was told by Danville Police Captain Barry Creasy, who lives in Chatham. He related that when his brother was dying of cancer recently, he was pre-admitted by his doctor to LifePoint's DRMC at 10am. He was in great distress, and his doctor had ordered the treatments for him to begin at once. Incredibly, with the man suffering terribly, six hours passed before the treatments started.
Isn't it incredible that the Danville Register calls the tone of last night's meeting "angry"? My elderly father and I attended and we thought the entire procedure was highly respectful. The audience was respectful of the Commission, and the Commissioners were respectful of the audience and the speakers.
I don't often get to compare what is written in the Register with what really happens, so I was amazed, to say the least.
--TightSqueeze.
Leslie Smith has no choice about what she can say...she's in a catch-22. If you think mainstream employees can't voice their opinion without fear of retribution, I don't see how you can expect the person from the PR department to have any more freedom.
Just out of curiosity, was John Lambert there? ("Wonder how we can "spin" this one Art?")
Agree, Leslie is in a tough position as well as the others in the "mainstream".
Leslie is trying to work to better this origanization and why is it so wrong to speak up in support of your co-workers?
I have worked for DRMC for approx 10 years. I am encouraged that we now speak to problems and work to solve them. In years past problems were glosse dover and rarely addressed. Why does everyone think the problems started when LifePoint entered the scene. do you all forget your many complaints of the past. Why must we as a community be so angry? there has been more work in the last six months to create a safe atmosphere for our patients then I have ever seen here before. Support the DRMC staff don't continue with this lynching. I am ashamed to call Danville my home. If your care is less then desireable then speak to those that can address it but why this constant anger. There are problems yes but man....is yourlife that bad? Why don't you try a more positive approach and work constructively. As an employee I speak up everyday and excuse me but I am not losing my job. Speak up with a professional voice...offer soloutions!
The last 6 months of increasing pt. safety is only a result of the complete destruction of safety by lfpt. in their first year at the helm. And the last 6 months has not raised the bar, only picked it up from the bottom of the steps.
Hard to offer last minute desperate soulutions to impossible problems from millionaires that want to be billionaires at your expense.Especially when the funds needed are being spent on jets to fly back and forth to Arizona.
And yes pt safety is GONE.
Kinda funny there haven't been many open hearts and catheterizations done lately.
Post a Comment