Wed May 2, 2007 10:53AM EDT
CHICAGO, May 2 (Reuters) - LifePoint Hospitals Inc., which has had a rocky past in assimilating acquired hospitals, said on Wednesday that acquisitions would again become an area of attention for the rural hospital chain.
Chief Executive William Carpenter told analysts at an investor meeting that the company had a list of a couple of hundred hospitals that it was grading for potential acquisition.
Carpenter said it had refined its approach to buying hospitals, having in the past grabbed at "low-hanging fruit."
He said not to expect anything immediately.
"As other companies lever up to a point that requires a unique focus on debt repayment .... there will be greater opportunities for us," he said. "We do expect that."
LifePoint shares were up 73 cents, or about 2 percent, at $37.19 in morning Nasdaq trade.
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41 comments:
Check out the front page of the R&B. "Hospital hires 21 RNS"....no experience but working for far much less $. That was one of the original tactics presented when Deathpt. came. How do we get rid of the experienced older nurses? This was discussed at several meetings. Their reasoning...less pay, younger people have more debt and they can physically work longer hrs. Evidently, knowledge and skill means nothing to Deathpt. Only the bottom line.....
Is the starting salary now less than it was say, in the year before Lifepoint? Anyone who can show for sure? I work there and I'm just curious.I've been there since right at lifepoint time and I know I make far less than the other staff, I'll be leaving too can't stand the constant threats anymore. If anyone can get their hands on these minutes for the meetings post them, please.
And If ANYONE has the email about boycotting the newspaper give it to the AG, that is an act of coercion(sort of like blackmail.
I don't know about the starting salary now, but what lfpt was referring to was top pay making $28 or more an hr vs new grads at about $16. an hr.
Register and Bee Editorial today:
With two of its three public hearings complete, the Citizen’s Committee investigating Danville Regional Medical Center has inadvertently raised a question that can’t be easily answered.
That question is: What’s next?
If Committee members believe the negative stories they’ve heard from patients and their families outweighs the hard work of the doctors, nurses and other staffers at Danville Regional, then what? The implications of that question are staggering for health care in this community.
Many of the problems heard during the public hearings in Chatham and Danville this week echoed similar complaints that have become a recurring theme in the letters printed on these pages. But at the Danville hearing, hospital employees defended it and offered their own perspective on the complaints.
Take, for example, this issue of the hospital’s cleanliness. One woman who spoke at both public hearings said she saw a cockroach climbing up a hospital wall and a blood-splattered toilet.
But a woman who works for the hospital’s environmental services department said at the Danville meeting that the cockroach in question could have been brought into the hospital - which is certainly true about cockroaches. As for blood on the toilet, that might not have been reported to environmental services in a timely manner.
Her explanations made sense, but it’s shocking that the cleanliness of Danville Regional has even become a public issue.
The debate over Danville Regional Medical Center has shifted in a profound way. People are no longer satisfied with being told LifePoint Hospitals Inc. recognizes that mistakes have been made and things are now being fixed.
What has changed is the hospital’s preliminary denial of accreditation - and the fact that the community hasn’t been given a clear idea of exactly what led to that finding. The preliminary denial of accreditation has given complaints about Danville Regional and LifePoint not only more credibility, but a newfound sense of urgency.
If the Joint Commission had problems with the hospital, why wouldn’t other people? That point was driven home by the speakers in Chatham, including county supervisor and attorney Hank Davis, a city police captain and a life member of the Danville Life Saving Crew.
The problem with promises is that people get tired of hearing them - and that appears to be the case with Danville Regional and LifePoint Hospitals. That’s why for all of its good intentions, the Citizen’s Committee may not be big enough to handle the real solution to the hospital’s problems.
"LOW-HANGING FRUIT"
I am appalled that, on top of everything else, the CEO of LifePoint would introduce one of the most vicious and racist taunts ever known in this area. To refer to DRMC as a "low-hanging fruit" is beyond the pale.
It proves either their utter ignorance or their utter indifference to us and this community.
For two years, these people have made promises and broken them. Now comes a racial insult from the CEO in referring to us.
You would think that at least the newspaper would demand an apology, but no. Too many huge Lifepoint ads are pouring in for them to step to the plate for this community.
I will never knowingly set foot in that horrible place again. They have destroyed what we have spent a life-time as a community building--in two short years!
LifePoint and other for-profit hospitals have a standard of measure called Manhours per Adjusted Admission. Basically, it's a comparison of how many hours they pay the employees as compared to the number of admissions. This is the basis for determining how well the hospital is running. The lower the manhours per Adjusted Admission the more efficient it appears the hospital is running. How about someone asking Mr. Doloresco what our MHAA is right now and what our budgeted goal is? That will tell you how many more positions are looking to be cut or if we're in the plan to re-hire some of these positions that have left.
I will not believe that LifePoint has said that bloody toilet seats and cockroaches at DRMC are irrelevant. If they really said that, you need to prove it. It is a reckless and irresponsible charge. There's enough wrong with LifePoint (or DeathPoint?) without claiming that they think nothing is wrong with cockroaches and bloody toilet seats!
First , don't try to make a race issue out of the "Low hanging fruit" comment It is an insult to everyone patients, commmunity, employees, and the city of Danville in total. And you're correct
There should be an open apology from lifepoint to Danville in the Newspaper, especially since lifepoint funds this propoganda machine that our newspaper has become for them. I believe though that lifepoint made that comment in Chicago, I suppose lifepoint's gang thinks we can't read or travel since we have to work through break periods that we don't get to take and it is still removed from our pay to pay for their indulgences. Another loophole that lifepoint exploits.
As far as the Manhours per admission stupidity, evidently artie and the gang should go to Averett or DCC and take a cost accounting class and learn some basic, ethical skills.
24 hours is 24 hours .
If a patient is in the hospital for 33 hours, they need care for 33 hours not 12 and then send the nurse or secretary home and add the pt to someone elses load so artie can pay for his vacation in Danville and fly home.
This hospital and city in general has become a disgrace, a prostitute for anyone, Danville seemingly will sell it's soul for a quick buck with no forthought at all. Oh wait it was the 5 pimps that sold us out .
Ok, here's proof . Now there are so few environmental staff that at night when a room needs to be cleaned for a new pt admission , we are asked " Don't you have another room" or "can it wait" ?
"There's only one or two of us tonight" It takes forever to get a cleaning done.It's not the staff's fault there's just not enough of them . Like everything at night .
You see lifepoint doesn't think anything happens at night, no one eats and everyone's is asleep so there only needs to be one or two instead of 3 or 4. Guess it makes their stock quota for the day. It makes our lives, and the patients stay, hell.
If you don't think "low-hanging fruit" is a horrid racial epithet, then you are from somewhere else--probably from Arizona, or somewhere that these Lifepoint people come from.
They have attacked us as "DumbVille," made fun of the way we talk, called us stupid, ridculed us for trying to put patients first, and on and on. If you don't think such people are capable of racial slurs like "low-hanging fruit," go back and read the excellent series our newspaper did on the African-American experience in Danville. Our newspaper should DEMAND an apology.
We knew Lifepoint had contempt for this community, but Lord, don't take us back to the days of rich people making references like that.
We should be united in demanding that Lifepoint apologize for such an evil reference that they thought we would never hear about. Instead, you are making excuses!
And, what's up with the management staff making fun of the citizens while they were talking at the hearing Thursday night? They were seen "whispering and rolling eyes" while some of the folks were speaking.
If they can't show respect, then they shouldn't "show at all".
Yep, looks light they've all been sucked in to the LPNT way after all.
Actually I'm from Danville
Born and raised .
If it truly is a racial slur I apologize .
But I don't particularly like being called low hanging fruit myself, I DESPISE Lifepoint.
So I'm with you.
I'm not making excuses I agree with you, remember i said "an insult to everyone".
The lifepoint morons are capable of pretty much anything bad they couldn't even get an accredited hospital accredited .
Dear Sir:
So you need a picture of a cockroach and a bloody toilet seat in order to believe it? Can't help you with a picture or a cockroach.
But I took my mom to the emergency room 2 weeks ago to be checked after she had a fall. Her regular doctor is not open weekends. We waited 3 1/2 hours. During the first hour, I went to the ladies' rest room and found blood on the toilet seat I started to use, a small amount on the floor that might have been something else, and a LOT of blood around the sink.
I complained about it and was told it would be seen about at once. In the second hour of our wait, I took my mom to the ladies room, and NO ONE HAD CLEANED IT!!!!!
We finally gave up and left. The good news is that I did not see a single cockroach.
Signed Melinda
So, Melinda, why didn't you clean up the mess yourself? Without a spirit of cooperation, LifePoint cannot be expected to get its act together.
As a 20 yr employee, I have seen alot-some good, some bad. We had issues before LPNT took over. The bad has taken over. Not sure what happened. It all seemed to snowball overnight. In my opinion, LPNT had left people in charge who were trying to make a good impression on the bosses in Brentwood. One was our dear division president who was from the company that owned Martinsville. I had heard alot about their cost cutting strategies and he certainly seemed to eager to support that same strategy here. Good people were lost and no one knew or had the authority to pick up some of their job duties. Hindsight is 20/20 and now we are left to straighten this all out. We failed to show continuity in meeting Joint Commission standards. Something as simple as a standing committee had not been meeting regularly until a few months before the inspection was a one of the deficiencies. A rule is a rule. Staffing is an issue. Getting positions approved is a major ordeal for the department managers (should be a no brainer if someone resigns). Even hiring PRNs is like asking for a FullTime position now. PRNs have their drawbacks, but they do help provide staffing. We do have 2 colleges in town with kids who are on their parents' health insurance and do not need all the benefits. They would be an asset for areas that need someone trained to work to cover for vacations, medical leave, etc. Supplies is another thing. I realize that you cannot always buy the most expensive item on the market, but if the least expensive is of poor quality, more labor intensive and constantly on back order or only shipped once a week, how is this saving money? But, hey, who am I? Not someone from management authorized to correct these problems. I do the best I can every day with the tools and rules I have as always. But those of you who can make a difference, the onus is on you to correct the problems and not just bring us to the level of service we once were, but exceed it. Are you willing to take the challenge to do what is right????
To the person who asked why the lady didn't clean the toilet herself: are you ignorant?
I assume that you have heard of infectious diseases, HIV, Hep-B,Hep-C etc etc....
The cleaning of bodily fluids is not a game you don't just wipe it up with a tissue .
Individuals with your level of apathy about such matters is frightening indeed.
Seems that whoever Melinda is ,has listened in the past 25 years and knows there are things out there ,especially in hospitals, that will kill you quite efficiently, Good for you Melinda your intelligence has outweighed that persons ignorance and so-called spirit of cooperation.
To the individual :would you wipe up just anyone's blood and body fluids? If so you're either suicidal or just plain stupid.
Amen! Even LifePoint knows that bodily fluids are dangerous. Or do they? The woman at the hearing the other night from LifePoint stated that you could not judge a hospital by cockroaches and bloody toilet seats. This is not a good situation, but I agree that Melinda absolutely should not have touched the stuff.
Well folks, there you are and there you have it. It was one thing for an "o" who couldn't roll into town and throw her weight around as she was accustomed to, to label us Dumbville. Its an entirely different matter when the Captain calls his crew "low hanging fruit". You now have written evidence exactly what Lifepoint thinks of each and every one of us. And remember all of you supporters, you are included in that description by the head man of the company you now represent.
I had to agree that as DRMC we had our share of problems, but as a 22+ year employee, even when I didn't like or agree with admistrations decisions, I still felt valued as an employee and part of a proud team. I will have to say even when I questioned administration, I NEVER felt like anything they did was contrary to excellent patient care. While their actions weren't always "pro" employee, they were ALWAYS "pro" patient care.
Since Art and his superiors have failed to listen to our physicians, city council, and board of supervisors I tend to think they aren't very likely to listen to a citizens commission. I am tired of taking one for the team. It's time to call on some of those who went before us and see if there isn't a better opportunity elsewhere. And before any of you supporters say "where's your sense of cooperation?" Or "you should support your community", I will do both, just in a different community, be it Greensboro, Winston Salem, or Roanoke.
I just can no longer support a company that is so profit driven that it ignores the needs of its customers and considers its "team" low hanging fruit.
I am to the point that I think the only good that will come out of this will come from Lifepoints investors. We are an annomaly for Lifepoint. Everywhere else they bought a hospital had a captive customer and employee base. We are their largest acquisition and with so many hospitals close by, our staff and patients have other options (a luxury Lifepoint was ill prepared for). I would think wise investors are looking at us and asking Lifepoint officials "why in the heck did you go so far off what you were used to and buy Danville?" or they might just phrase it "What bunch of clowns convinced you that Danville was a good buy?"
Either way, Will Carpenter spoke volumes when he called his latest acquisitions low hanging fruit, both about what he thinks of his new team members and about his corporate decision making. Maybe the investors will catch on to this and either invest other places or convince Lifepoint to rid itself of its last piece of low hanging fruit. Which begs the qusetion "Mr. Carpenter, If DRMC is in fact a piece of low hanging fruit, and bearing in mind we are one of your largest acquisitions, and you can't seem to figure out how to operate us effectively (insert failing to be accredited) on a shoestring budget, what makes you think you can run a bigger (high hanging fruit) operation?
Sorry to be so negative but enough is enough.
No one in my family works at DRMC, and we try hard not to use it since what has happened over the last year or so. But maybe someone can answer this: could it be that things like bloody toilet seats and cockroaches are why the Joint Commission refused to give its seal of approval?
I would think cleanliness would be a major concern in a hospital. Just wondering.
We were sitting here thinking about the idea of 21 new and inexperienced nurses all going to work at the same time. What management idiosy is at play here? I wouldn't want 21 new waiters, or truck drivers, or you name it, all starting at the same time. These new nurses, and bless their hearts for going into it, will all start at the same time???? And this is supposed to be a hospital??? Why didn't these wizzards think of that when they were firing all the experienced nurses!!!!
That's what my wife and I were talking about when we saw this incredible reference on your webpage. I'm talking about the Chairman and CEO of the whole Lifepoint chain reeferring to us as low hanging fruit. Are we as a community going to accept that assault? Where's the mayor? Where's the newspaper?
These Lifepoint people have been insulting us and lying to us and playing us for fools for two years. They have shown there contempt in every way possible, and now the head guy in the company has uttered this most demeaning of all insults in public! On the record! In a way that shows he think's we can't even read!
If our leaders socalled will not raise hell with these people, then your website MUST print the address of how we can write this big boss and tell him what we think.
I'm ready to see all of them thrown in the Dan River. Maybe they would make good catfish bait.
We Actually were told the 24 +/- things that failed DRMC at a staff meeting and cleanliness was one of them.I would love to get that list.
People love to kick around our newspaper, but they did point out their particular alarm about the cleanliness issue. That's an excellent sign.
My question is whether bloody toilet seats in the public areas really comes under 'cleanliness' by the Joint Commission standards. Given the enormous public fear of the deadly diseases that can be caused by body fluids, I would think blood smears and splatters in public restrooms in the hospital would be considered in a class by its own in the Joint Commission report.
Cockroaches at the hospital are another thing, I mean they just emerge from and thrive in everyday filth. To me that comes under the category of cleanliness.
The long and short of it is that Doloresco made a horrible blunder (by our standards of decency, not his standards of arrogance) by refusing to tell the public what was in the JC report, even saying that it was none of our business!
I know it's a small point in the larger picture here, but does someone happen to know if the Joint Commission considers bloody surfaces in public places a 'cleanliness' issue--or something else?
What difference does it make what the Joint Commission says about cockroaches and blood splatters in public places in the hospital?
What matters is what Lifepoint says, and they made there postion load and clear at the public meeting when a Lifepoint employee named Betty Walton, in defending Lifepoint, told the Commission:
"You can't [judge the hospital] by a roach going up a wall, or a little blood on a commode!"
That is what she was quoted as saying on your blog. If that's incorrect, you have duty to correct it, or to give Ms. Walton a chance to correct it.
But if she is correct about Lifepoint's position on cockroaches and blood smears, that's all you need to know to make sure your loved ones never set foot in the place.
We are Low Hanging Fruit?!?!
I can only guess that such a vicious comment from the chairman and CEO of LifePoint is calculated to provoke rage and indignation from our community.
Maybe they want out? How do we accommodate them?
--Dry Fork
Quickly ,and with 100 million dollars .
Lifepoint has devalued DRMC so much so half price is about right.
Please help me, I do not understand. What is meant by "low hanging fruit" from a racial perspective? I thought Carpenter simply made an innocent comment about hospitals being easy to acquire (ripe for the picking).
FYI, a compliment to many of the nurses who left DRMC and are now working in specialty areas at Moses Cone in Greensboro.
A well respected physician within the health system was overheard commenting to peers and management: "we are fortunate to have all the Danville nurses here. I have never seen such strong work ethic as they bring. What can we do to hire more of them?"
You should all be proud of your representation at Moses Cone.
Way to go!!!!!!
WHY IS EVERYONE SO OBSESSED WITH BLOODY SEATS AND ROACHES, YOU HAVE THEM IN YOUR OWN HOUSE PROBABLY AND IN EVERY STORE YOU GO INTO. YOU NEED TO SEE MORE OF THE OVER ALL PROBLEM. JOINT COMMISSION COVERS A BROAD AREA NOT JUST CLEANLINESS, AND NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE HOSPITAL THAT WAS A GOOD PLACE TO WORK AND SEE GROW AND NOW GO SO FAR BEHIND AND LOOSING GOOD DRS AND EXPERIENCED STAFF. THIS HAS JUST BECOME A NAME CALLING GAME WHICH CHILDREN PLAY AND NOT ADULT ENOUGH TO SEE WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON SINCE LIFE POINT CAME AND ALOT OF PROMISES MADE AND THE EXACT OPPOSITE DONE. SO STOP DOING THE CHILD GAMES AND ACT LIKE ADULTS AND SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO AND WRITE TO WHO EVER YOU CAN FOR IF YOU WERE REALLY CONCERNED YOU COULD DO BETTER
The old adage is "The best fruit is at the top of the tree". Meaning you settle for less when you merely pick the "low hanging fruit". The lower hanging fruit usually ripens first or is "over ripe", just a little better than the fruit that has already fallen to the ground and begun to rot. I'm not sure how that equates to racist, but it is a slur in the fact that we are considered less appealing than what else is available.
Which makes me wonder what Lifepoint was thinking as they were grabbing for the low hanging fruit? What must their investors think of this admission? What makes them think they are suddenly capable of handling a larger more valuable hospital. They certainly haven't proven their capabilities here. If they can't manage to get accredited and operate a "low hanging fruit" without being investigated by city council and attorney generals office why do they suddenly think they can operate anything bigger and better? That would kind of like being a losing little league coach and thinking you could coach the Yankees.
Ahhhh, entertainment still ......
As a Danville native reading this babble.I am constantly reminded of how ignorant of a town Danville was, is and will continue to be.
well that was prophetic. Thanks for your help.
So we are all ignorant, and you're a Danville native.
So by your words :
Danville's current native population = ignorant ,you are a Danville native So you = ignorant.
Welcome to the club.
Other hospitals and cities would not hire our "ignorant" people if they were truly ignorant and it sure seems alot of them work in other places ....So for someone to think that the jeopardy of a city, any city , especially as it relates to health and welfare, is
"entertaining" well that truly is "ignorant" I guess you thought Hurricane Katrina was downright hilarious, Who is more the fool: the fool, or the fool who follows him ?
From a financial perspective, "low-hanging fruit" is "easy profit." Many of the hospitals Lifepoint and Province picked up in the past had horrible financial records and they were able to slap a new computer system in the hospital, clean out some dead wood, and starting making money. Danville, on the other hand, was already profitable and was already cashing in on savings made with automation. Danville was already profitable (for a non-profit) with high quality focus. Danville was Lifepoint's wake-up call that they were no longer dealing with "low hanging fruit" and they choked. This is one of the reasons that they halted their purchase of new hospitals shortly after DRMC. DRMC was not the "low-hanging fruit" they thought it was. But from a financial perspective, it might be going in that directin ... especially if some smart non-profit group were to wrestle control from the financial hacks.
Well said...
Maybe the analogy is right, (low hanging fruit being easy profits), but if that is the case, and they were able to make profits off the low hanging fruit and are struggling with us why wouldn't they stick with their former business model? Based on their results here why would it make sense to take on more like us? Surely if they are moving up the scale they will not be able to do so in isolated markets where employees and patients have no choices.
Imagine if you will if DRMC was in fact located in Greensboro or Durham, who would go there?
I guess my point is I understand the concept but not the rational from Lifepoints perspective, unless of course they have learned they should have bought us and left us alone to continue generating profits. Had they left our staffing levels, computer system, pharmacy, pain clinic, ICU, and endoscopy alone we would probably be accredited and still generating profit.
Because of sheer greed and narcissism. And evidently they skipped that semester of business school.They had the ideal situation but now they have to pay HUGE bonuses to individuals that produce NOTHING, no care for patients, no usable statistics, no research and now fewer MD's with loads of experience, no affiliation with a teaching facility for networking and growing the hospital, Nothing. The
"O"'s CEO's,COO's,etc., produce nothing in benefit to anyone but themselves and large stockholding groups, remember when Lifepoint was telling us that they didn't have stockholders it was "share holding associates" semantics and lies as always.
The reason LifePoint broke from its model is because they were hoodwinked and over-sold by the Boys at the Bank and Ashby--men who were blinded by their lust for the highest dollar possible. All they could think of was the fun they would have with $200 million to play with our lives with their foundation.
For a parallel, look what's unfolding before our eyes in terms of "economic development." Because of the flagrant over-selling of our workforce, many of these newly recruited companies can't find workers who are skilled or sober. Yorktowne has even talked about suing.
This is what happens when you lie, cheat and steal. It'll come back and bite you in the ass every time.
--Dry Fork
That's one of the most intelligent comparisons I've seen on this site. It is the mentality of short-cuts and quick-fixes. Yes, it will bite you in the ass every time. What a bunch of losers we have for "civic leaders." What is this "bank boys" reference? We've been here for over a year and I keep hearing people talk about the bank boys.
Hey call me stupid, but what is racist about "low hanging fruit" please explain several of us would like to know. thanks
"Because of the flagrant over-selling of our workforce, many of these newly recruited companies can't find workers who are skilled or sober."
Not to change the subject of this board, but our economic development folks are damned if they do and damned if they don't...first, people bitch and moan that nothing is being done to replace the dying textile and tobacco industries, and now everyone can jump on the "they oversold our region" bandwagon? Puh-leeze...
Whose responsibility is it to fix the rampant drug problems? On a smaller scale, whose fault is it that many of those in the employment pool don't even know how to interview for a job?
This is a huge problem that calls for major changes to the system. Too many people were asleep at the wheel for too long, just 'hoping' that textiles and tobacco would never go away. Now that they have, we have to play catch-up pretty quick.
Now, to bring this back to the topic at hand...people who are looking to bring their business to town read the paper and do their homework before they ever visit. Major issues at the regional hospital, coupled with the workforce issues, can add up to a pretty challenging sales job. What are we going to do to make it easier for those doing the recruiting to 'make the sale'?
The first thing you do is stop painting false pictures and lying to them, while at the same time doing something basic about education.
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