State of the Hospital-Danville Regional Medical Center: How about some good news for a change?

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

How about some good news for a change?

Community Foundation gets $1.1 million grant
Charitable organizations and college-bound students will benefit from the Danville Regional Foundation donation.
Danville Register & Bee
Tuesday, May 8, 2007

DANVILLE - The Danville Regional Foundation announced Monday that it has given a $1.1 million grant to the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region.
“We’re very excited,” said Community Foundation Executive Director Debra Dodson. “This will pretty much double our grant making for next year.”
The Community Foundation, established in 1996, awarded $304,275 in grants to 41 charitable organizations in the Dan River Region earlier this year. It also awarded $200,000 in scholarships to 43 area students in June 2006.
The Danville Regional Foundation, which was formed with the proceeds from LifePoint Hospitals Inc.’s purchase of the Danville Regional Medical Center in July 2005, stipulated that at least half of its gift be used to fund projects in health care and human services.
Dodson said representatives from the two foundations have met several times in the past year. Danville Regional Foundation Chairman B.R. Ashby said the group will take advantage of the Community Foundation’s existing infrastructure as it builds one of its own.
“The Community Foundation can use its organization and grant-making process to address some of the short-term and more urgent charitable needs in our community,” Ashby said in a Monday news release. “In the meanwhile, the Regional Foundation will continue to focus on planning and putting in place policies and procedures for longer term grants.”
Dodson said the Community Foundation would use its regular grant making procedure to award the extra money it received from the Danville Regional Foundation.
The Community Foundation has granted more than $5 million to area nonprofit organizations since its formation.
Any 501c3 organization interested in applying for a Community Foundation grant should call (434) 793-0884.
“We think this is going to be a really good partnership,” Dodson said. “There are a lot of needs in the area and this money could help ease some suffering.”

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Shell game? Danville Regional Foundation gives money to the Community Foundation (because it has to give away 5% of its value each year). I suppose the Community Foundation could then give money to the Danville Regional Foundation to meet its give away requirements.; May 9, 2007 at 10:02:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: Ahhh....so there is a cloud to the silver lining.

Congrats to the Community Foundation. Please use this money to continue your good work.; May 11, 2007 at 10:00:00 AM EST
Anonymous said...: It(money) will all end up at the Institute anyway. The same bunch of fools run both Foundations.; May 11, 2007 at 5:23:00 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

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

How about some good news for a change?

3 comments:

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Letter to Employees, February 7, 2007