Danville Register and Bee editorial
Monday, June 4, 2007
Danville Regional Medical Center’s preliminary denial of accreditation has been a dark cloud over the hospital since it was announced in March. While Danville Regional remains accredited, the public can’t help but be shaken by the news.
Last week, Danville Regional CEO Art Doloresco met with members of the local business community to talk about the hospital’s accreditation status - including some of the factors that led to the preliminary denial of accreditation - and what he expects to happen in the future.
Doloresco has come a long way from stating that the hospital’s accreditation status was a “private matter between me, the hospital and the (Joint) Commission.”
“This is only the second time in the United States that a hospital has revealed a Joint Commission decision,” Doloresco said last week. “… This is a unique opportunity for businesses to take a look … There are more than 500 standards and we have 21 of those not in compliance.”
Danville Regional Medical Center isn’t required to explain the preliminary denial of accreditation, but the community served by Danville Regional isn’t required to take what Doloresco and other hospital officials say at face value. Having a national accreditation organization issue a preliminary denial was a shock. Not knowing exactly what the Joint Commission found lacking at Danville Regional has been an additional frustration.
Doloresco should be congratulated for his address to the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce - if the speech is the start of a more open dialogue with the public.
Dan River Region residents have to make up their mind about Danville Regional, and the best way for them to be able to do that is with more information, not less.
Hospital officials should continue the dialogue started by Doloresco during last week’s speech to local business leaders.
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Sites of Interest
- DRMC's "Here for our community" site
- LPNT - company news/profile (answers.com)
- LPNT news on the web
- Consultant's report to Commission
- Citizens Commission
- Danville Regional Foundation
- DRMC Wikipedia
- LifePoint Company History
- Danville City Council
- Nashville Biz Journal
- DRMC "Danville News & Views"
- DRMC Advisory Board of Directors
Blog Archive
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2007
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June
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- "Reidsville a cure for Danville patients?"
- Competition is good
- More LPNT news
- So...how many hours are you going to lose?
- Final Citizens Commission report to be delivered J...
- News from Nashville.....
- Another great day at DRMC...
- Joint Commission: Requirements for Improvement
- "Hospital Ranks Low in Study"
- "Commission readies hospital report"
- And the good news just keeps rolling in...
- "Citizens Commission working on final report"
- "Another changing of the guard"
- "Hospital CEO Resigns"
- Consultant's Report to Commission available online
- 'High level of discord'
- "Hospital stands alone"
- "Status of hospital remains the same"
- "Consultant bothered by problems"
- Exactly...
- "An open meeting"
- "Mayor: Hospital meeting will be open to board"
- Closed meeting angers group
- Reminder...
- A good start
- A post worth repeating...
- To the Chamber of Commerce Members
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June
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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
8 comments:
I still find it hard to believe that only one other hospital has ever revealed the findings of a Joint Commission survey to the public.
I find it hard to believe that a CEO would discuss the findings of Joint Commission with the Chamber of Commerce before holding employee meetings to discuss the findings and chart the course for improvements.
The first tactic smacks of PR spin, while the second would suggest a team player who also realizes the value of employees who can 1) pitch in to make positive change happen and 2) become 1,500 positive PR machines.
....And that's how things go.... when large corporate for-profit healthcare is allowed to operate as a dictatorship masked in a democratic consumer driven market-..where consumers hope its all good
and find out that some of it is not.
But this is America...by the people; and for the people...
which people are we?
How can anyone remotely wonder if this DeLoresco is telling the truth? Of course he is not telling the truth. He's in the lying and spinning business, and only fools would believe anything he says.
"I find it hard to believe that a CEO would discuss the findings of Joint Commission with the Chamber of Commerce before holding employee meetings to discuss the findings and chart the course for improvements.
The first tactic smacks of PR spin, while the second would suggest a team player who also realizes the value of employees who can 1) pitch in to make positive change happen and 2) become 1,500 positive PR machines."
GREAT OBSERVATION!
How could the "Art"ful Dodger even know that this is only the second time results have been revealed??? What a crock full of ----. Dixie Doss
Yeah thats kinda what I was thinking Dixie.....but what do we know, maybe there is an agency somewhere that tracks ALL communities in the USA and reports each time a hospital chooses to reveal something about Joint Comm. findings. Bet they've been bored as hell until Art gave them a second chance to report something.
Research Joint Commission-an indepedent commercial agency? Look up the latest report for DRMC-look at the date and information released. Then research new transparancy laws. Then look up state of Virgia regulations regarding healthcare. Express your concerns to Dept. of Health and Services about services you've witnessed. Report patient abuse or neglect, and less than quality care issues. Then contact your legislatures.
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