Danville Register and Bee
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
DANVILLE -- Art Doloresco resigned his position as the CEO of Danville Regional Medical Center this afternoon citing a desire to rejoin his family in Arizona. The decision was announced in a Wednesday afternoon press release issued by LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.
Doloresco is the third CEO to work at Danville Regional since LifePoint purchased the hospital in July 2005. Ruth McDaniel, the hospital’s interim chief nursing officer, will take over Doloresco’s duties until LifePoint can find a new CEO.
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Quote of the day...
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
"Hospital board `hoodwinked'?"
"Art Doloresco, president of NewCare Hospital Corp., says he understands why the local board is hurt and reacting with anger, and he doesn't blame them. "But the harsh reality is that they didn't get what they wanted," he says. "They're just going to have to get over it."
http://danvilleregionaltruth.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=2
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Doloresco_Art_136902224.aspx
"Doloresco said he doesn't have any plans to radically change Danville Regional. He expects to spend most of his spend his first days finding out how the hospital fits in with the community.
"It's important that I get to know the people both inside and outside the hospital," he said, "
WAKG:
AFTER ONLY ABOUT 9 MONTHS ON THE JOB, THE CEO AT DANVILLE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER (DRMC) HAS RESIGNED. ART DOLORESCO'S LAST DAY WILL BE JUNE 29th. THE EMBATTLED HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR HAS BEEN CRITICIZED FOR HIS FAILURE TO RELEASE SPECIFICS OF THE JOINT COMMISSION'S PRELIMINARY DENIAL OF ACCREDITATION TO THE HOSPITAL BACK IN MARCH. HE HAS ALSO BEEN CRITICIZED FOR NEVER PURCHASING A HOME IN DANVILLE AND RELOCATING HIS FAMILY HERE.
IN A PREPARED STATEMENT, DOLORESCO SAYS HE IS RESIGNING TO REJOIN HIS FAMILY IN ARIZONA. HE SAYS HE DID INTEND TO RELOCATE HIS FAMILY HERE WHEN HE ARRIVED NEARLY A YEAR AGO BUT, SINCE THEN, HAS CHANGED HIS MIND. IN HIS WORDS, "THE CEO OF THE MEDICAL CENTER SHOULD LIVE WITH HIS FAMILY IN THE AREA, SO IT IS APPROPRIATE THAT I LEAVE."
SOURCES SAY THEY EXPECT LIFEPOINT, INC. TO PLACE JESS JUDY BACK AT THE HELM, AT LEAST FOR AN INTERIM PERIOD. JUDY IS PRESIDENT OF LIFEPOINT'S GATEWAY DIVISION AND SERVED PREVIOUSLY AS AN INTERIM CEO AT DRMC. HE SAYS LIFEPOINT REMAINS COMMITTED TO DRMC AND WILL WORK WITH THE BOARD AND THE MEDICAL STAFF IN FINDING A NEW CEO.
Funny...in that sick sort of way...this was the article we found on the front page of the ol' Register & Bee exactly one year ago...
"New hospital CEO hopes to bring stability
Danville Register & Bee
Friday, July 21, 2006
DANVILLE, Va. - Art Doloresco flew in to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport at 12:05 a.m. Thursday. After traveling to Danville and getting a few hours sleep, the new CEO of Danville Regional Medical Center was meeting with the hospital’s physicians and nurses at 7 a.m.
“My goal is to lead DRMC into the future, not only for itself but for the community,” Doloresco said Thursday morning, adding good schools and a good health system are key a region’s future.
With Thursday being his first day on the job, Doloresco said he did not as yet have specific plans for the hospital’s future. Doloresco did, however, admit he has quite a task ahead of him.
Doloresco, 56, is the third CEO since LifePoint Hospitals Inc. purchased the hospital in July 2005. He replaces Michael S. Boggs, who became interim chief executive in March following the departure of Tod Lambert, the first CEO installed by LifePoint.
Many people in the community still view the sale - when the hospital went from a stand-alone, not-for-profit entity to being a part of a 53-hospital group operated by a public company - with skepticism.
“Change in general has been an issue for the hospital, but that’s upsetting to any organization,” Doloresco said, adding he hopes to provide stable and direct leadership.
Doloresco says he will maintain open communication with the doctors, nurses and staff. He says communication is key to dismissing rumors that surround hospital operations, such as a recent one claiming Doloresco was coming to Danville on behalf of a Richmond firm negotiating the sale of the hospital to the Duke University Medical Center.
“If you want to believe a rumor, go ahead and believe a rumor,” Doloresco said Thursday in answering how he would address such matters with employees. “But if you’ve got a question, let me know and I’ll tell you.”
Besides being a great communicator, Doloresco says the keys to managing hospitals are patience, determination and stamina. But the most important quality, he says, is a sense of teamwork with everyone involved.
“It’s really everybody working together that makes this thing work,” he said.
Danville Regional has approximately 140 physicians on the medical staff and employs approximately 1,500 people.
Doloresco, a native of Virginia Beach, has worked with Hospital Interim Management in Phoenix for the past three years. He has served as president of Richmond’s Metropolitan Hospital and as an assistant administrator for Portsmouth’s Maryview Hospital.
He has four children and will be joined in Danville by his wife, Beth, and their 10-year-old daughter when the family’s house in Arizona is sold."
Maybe we should change our logo from a dogwood to a revolving door.
Hmmm...another hospital CEO resigns...must be June in Danville.
Well it is about time they rolled him out of here. Now let's make some postive changes for our future.
Ah yes, June in Danville.
Time for the annual Running of the CEO.
Mr. Doloresco never had any intention of staying in his job for longer than a year. He was never a Lifepoint employee and is a partner in a health management consulting company that places interim CEOs. He was essentially off the job for the past couple of months anyway. He hadn't been to a Med Exec committee meeting in 3 months or a Department of Medicine meeting since January. The only Lifepoint officer who attended these meetings with any regularity was Ruth McDaniel, who happens to be the new interim CEO. With Michael Moore no longer CMO, there is essentially no leadership in the hospital now. Perhaps that's what is needed?
It's hard to think anyone with any accomplishment or leadership in the healthcare industry would want to step in to become the 5th CEO since Lifepoint took over.
Nothing but window dressing .
No more , no less.
Keep the change constant and no one will be accountable for the needs of the facility but rest assured all of the "O" will get their big bonuses and huge paychecks, where did your differential bonuses go hmmmm part of it's on it's way back to AZ.......
Lifepoint was spun off by a company that is still being investigated for fraud.....
Are you kidding me??? You people called for Art's resignation months ago...and now you even find fault with that! You're complaining about it! What will make you people happy? I don't blame Art for leaving - the man had a target on his back from the day he got here. Why would anyone want to move his/her family to a community that has treated him the way he has been treated? I hope you will give the next CEO a chance. Look, LifePoint is here to stay - you might as well get used to the idea.
"get used to the idea"
Complacency is the game and I'm not going to play it.
Why settle for less than the best?
Dan river was here to stay also.
Now it's owned by a foreign company and is being torn down.....
Read about art's and Lifepoint's history they have raped and pilaged plenty of communitites ==
Fl Wva Az Colorado Danville..
Looks like the great director of 3B Anita Finney has resigned too. Guess she has caused enough destruction by running off all the good experienced nurses. Guess she got what she wanted a floor full of travelers and inexperienced new graduates on a telemetry floor. Now its time to move higher up the ladder since she is staying within the hospital. Maybe now she can take over the CNO postion since Ruth will be the acting CEO. Boy we are really making progress with the managment at DRMC
LifePoint is not here to stay. This community has at last taken a stand. We will not rest until LifePoint is gone. You cannot fix what is wrong with LifePoint.
I said:
Competence is never noted ,
Incompetence is promoted.
Exactly. Doloresco, in westward flight with his tail between his legs, represented everything Lifepoint thinks is good. Any deviation from that is pure deception. Don't forget it.
So how many CEOs does this community plan to chase out of here?
Very easy for community members to critisize while doing nothing to contribute to improve it.
This community is helping the hospital's death become a self fulfiling proffecy. At the rate it is going many of our very good physicians will be leaving town. replacing them will not be easy.
Once that happens it will only get worse. This hospital is the 2nd largest employer in town.
Help fix it, or shut up and get out of the way!
Catch on, Cat: When you got cancer this bad, you cut it out. Sooner or later a business decision will take them out of here. Then, with some civic leadership, we might be able to build a decent hospital.
The destruction to this community by people pretending to care is awesome at many levels--the hospital being only one. Still, no one is calling on those money grubbers to help.
Danville does it again.....tightens the noose on it's very being. Tearing apart the local hospital instaed of working toward improvemnt IS NOT a remedy.....but, then again, DANVILLE CAN, right ?
This situation is the bank boys and lifepoints fault not the community, give me a break. The Bank Boys sold a(Non-Profit) hospital that was making money, but a group of consultants magically looked into the future and told them your going to start loosing money, your only solution is to sell the hospital. LifePoint is going to run DRMC the same as they run the other 50 hospitals. Cutting the work force, and using cheap supplies. All of that equals a pissed off community that goes out of town for there medical services. Heck alot of the doctors are telling people to go to another hospital.
Danville citizens cannot do a damn thing about a private business but offer recommendations. Hospital leadership and employees can make changes, but don't go blaming the community for the complaints that you hear. Use those to fix something in your private business. The hosptial is no longer a community asset ... any more than Dan River was. It remains a big employeer (though smaller than before), but it's still just another business in town that takes profit out of the community rather than re-investing in it.
Just a thought: If your customers are not happy with you, should you really blame your customers for your problems?
"Very easy for community members to critisize while doing nothing to contribute to improve it."
"Tearing apart the local hospital instaed of working toward improvemnt"
I am so tired of hearing how this is Danvilles fault. The community has absolutely NOTHING to do with the decisions being made within the hospital. Lifepoint made the "adjustments" causing their downfall; Pool running off good people, replacement of technology with antiques, allowing accredidation problems and not responding, cancelation of services and coalitions. Yet if we complain of an inferior product or seek out quality healthcare WE are "Tearing apart" or "doing nothing to contribute". Give me a break! Danville's hospital had a remarkable history pre-lifepoint, Lifepoint is the one with the checkered past; law suits, abandoned hospitals etc. Hell the ONLY constant with them is poor, revolving leadership yet those of us pushing for better are the problem????????
Amen Amen.......
Lets hope the last 3 posters are a trend for the folks in Danville.... Folks are finally getting it!
The ONLY changes the community can make is where it "buys" its healthcare, after that its up to Lifepoint to provide a better product and win us back. We don't OWE Lowes, Sears, Woodall, or Applebees our business. At least they have figured out quality products, exceptional service, and competitive prices increase their market share...heck Lifepoint only has to worry about 2 out of 3 of those.
Have you noticed all the "O"'s use the excuse....."I wanna go home"?
Kinda a convenient excuse, beats the heck out of "I can't do this no more"
I never worked with Larry Depriest but have only heard good things...and living locally amongst your customers, where your family and friends are dependent upon your facility is never a bad thing.
My Danville Doc quickly recommends Moses Cone, and that shows that he/she is a person of integrity. He/she tells me that while no Doc, no matter how skilled and confident, can promise good care to a patient in a facility with so many things as wrong as they are at Danville Regional.
What dumb-a-- comments beating up the community for the haspital going to the dogs. You can blame the Bank Boys for making it happebn, but lay off the rest of us. We are the VICTIMS of the Bank Boys and Life Point!
I never knew DePreist, but i thought Warren Callloway was terrific. He was framed about something, took the fall and left. But he was a good guy, though he let Ashby push im around.
Where's he?
It is not the fault of the community that the hospital is in such "discord". The fault lies with Lifepoint. It is not up to the community to fix DRMC/Lifpoint's problems. What the community can do is support a movement to unite the Registered Nurses and bring in safe staffing for all patient's. Every patient deserves to have a Registered Nurse
assigned to their care, but that does not happen at Danville Regional Medical Center. Staffing is so bad at DRMC that many times you will find 1 RN and 2 LPNs assigned to a floor with 30 patients. For the RN who is legally responsible this is a nightmare. And yes this happens more often than you think. Not to say that LPNs are not good nurses, we have some of the best LPNs you will ever find, but it is not in their scope of practice to be the primary caregiver to such acutely ill patients. There are so many things that they cannot do that the RN must do and be responsible for according to the nurse practice acts of Virginia. Danville Regional Medical Center has been allowed to short change their patients and staff for too long. It is time to change that. Registered Nurses, we have a voice and it needs to be heard. We CAN enforce change. It is not an easy road, but neither is working in such terrible conditions and allowing our patients to suffer at the hands of such a greedy corporation. Please take the time to visit www.calnurses.org and see what your voice can do to enforce changes.
unionnurse.blogspot.com
With the current CNO being placed in Doloresco's leadership position, DRMC is definitely "down the tubes." She's the individual who NEVER gives answers asked of her. Her arrogance follows with the rest of LifePoint's mindsets. Sympathy to all of us who must seek medical attention and to those "few" at DRMC who have tried - note "few." Even Dr. Moore did not last long; just long enough to lose a lot of good employees. Since taking office, how many employees are left in his department. Obviously, those in the "leadership" positions do not have a clue what they are doing, and, we, the citizens of the city/county reap their arrogance and ignorance.
What nonsense about Doloresco. He had a contract that expired on June 30th and he did not want to renew because he has failed to beat down the people who are determined that we have a good hospital--not a LifePoint excuse for a hospital.
Don't miss the Danville Disaster's editorial. It is the most groveling appeal for advertising to appear in a long time.
STaff reports Finney to stay within the hospital with Adm. functions. Is this true, tell us it ain't so..
Well if she's staying that would be a great tragedy.
LifePoint is a consummate purveyor of tragedy.
What could they possibly be thinking putting Ruth in charge after her blunder with the commission?
Finney did not " run off ALL the good experienced nurses on 3b. we take offense to that comment. there are still a few " good experienced nurses " on 3B. now apologize.
"“The word ‘morale’ is such a nebulous thing and it’s hard to characterize that,” McDaniel said"
Okay, McDaniel...you are now the big dog. We would highly recommend trying to get a handle on that nebulous morale concept as it relates to employees, community leaders and...most importantly...COMMERCIALLY INSURED PATIENTS who are going to continue taking their $$$ out of town.
Oh, well, here we go again waiting on permanent Os. Someone will come in full of promises. I wonder how long before they spout the same rhetoric we are spending too much or losing too much money. I want to tell them to just "STOP!!! Look at what you are doing. It is stupid". What worked at another hospital will not work here. Danville is different. We don't ship people off as much as other hospitals do. We have the skill and knowledge to treat these people here. Does it cost more? Absolutely. But if they receive great care under emergency or life threatening circumstances, they will return for elective or scheduled hospital care. There seems to be no "big picture" anymore. They are chasing dimes and letting the dollars fly away. Get a grip. Listen to the people in the trenches. Granted some will try to snowball you and say they are so busy. But many of us do know the scoop and will be honest and tell you if we can trust you to be honest to make DRMC the healthcare institution it can be without fear of retaliation. If the people Lifepoint sends in here can do the right thing, we can turn this horrible situation around.
And for those who wish to unionize nursing may need to really investigate this a little bit more. I have friends out west. It's not all roses. There is alot of smoke and mirrors. It may work here, but you gotta pay the piper and dance to his tune once he comes to town.
"If the people Lifepoint sends in here can do the right thing, we can turn this horrible situation around."
I have come to the conclusion they wouldn't know a "do the right thing" person if they were sitting right in front of them.
When you sprout up from the ashes of deceit (fraud and lawsuits) you can't help but absorb what you are growing from.
"Danville does it again.....tightens the noose on it's very being. Tearing apart the local hospital instaed of working toward improvemnt IS NOT a remedy.....but, then again, DANVILLE CAN, right ?"
Once and for all PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE explain how the community is at fault, and what WE can do to "work toward improvement".
You guys keep popping on here to blame a lack of unity, lack of cooperation, and saying we should be "working toward improvemnt". But NEVER EVER have offered one concrete thing the citizens of the area can do.
It's not the citizens fault, well not entirely.
Danville has a long history of patronizing "good 'ole boy networks" primary example the "Boys". They know everything ....bull..
The unholy union of lifepoint and it's legacy nationwide of fraud and deceit coupled with the Boys history of use and abuse of the citizens led to this hell.
I think and hope that in this day and age of the enlightened consumer and employee that this blight (lifepoint)can be REMOVED from danville, not pacified , REMOVED
The installing of Ruth is nothing more than attempt of lifepoint to install a "one of us"
to attemot to pacify the RN's so some of the discord will alleviate.
Won't happen . We all know about this disgraceful corporation and it's history along with it's founders and parent corporations history of fraud and deceit,
The sooner they're gone from Danville, and indeed the US as a whole, the better......
So, how many nurses at DRMC have felt comfortable going to administration to demand safer staffing?
Probably not many if any at all. They would have you fired immediately, or at the least make your life h!@#.
With the right Union things could change. Nurses would have the ability to stand up for what is right without the fear of retaliation.
I don't disagree that Unions are not perfect. Unions are only as good as the members that form them.
Nurses have always had the obligation to speak up for patient safety, but have never had the right to do it without fear of retaliation.
All I ask is that the RNs of DRMC take the time to puruse the research and materials available online.
I have spoken to many nurses that work in California. Is it perfect there? No. Nowhere is perfect. But the nurses in California now have the RIGHT to speak up for patient safety with protections by law.
Forming a Union is a way to accomplish that protection right here in Danville.
No one can deny that ALL patients deserve to have a Registered Nurse assigned to their care. Safe staffing regulations are a must to patient safety.
Please take the time to visit calnurses.org and see for yourself the changes that can be made.
unionnurse.blogspot.com
No, actually "the community" can influence changes in this situation...
DANVILLE CAN.... spend all of their healthcare dollars at other facilities.
It's that simple!
The headline should have read "Hospital CEO makes Resignation Official".......
.....He quit working a long time ago.
To unionnurse...
I can tell you from a staff nurse perspective, that there have been complaints of unsafe staffing assignments voiced. However, because there was an admission coming from the ED, and the ED has received such bad press (because they are worthless), we were told by administration to essentially "suck it up" and take the admit and deal with it. It just stinks for the sick patients that have an overstressed nurse who honestly cares for their well being but is so overwhelmed with their workload.
I don't beleive that any of our departments are "worthless". We have to stand together united to make positive changes for patient care and safety. If we as nurses cannot do that, then we have already lost.
I do beleive that we have a hospital full of great, caring, and compassionate nurses that want nothing more than to take excellent care of their patients without fear of speaking out against the corruption.
Let's stand up for patients and ourselves.
unionnurse.blogspot.com
Where is the "CITY LEADERSHIP"????
The leaders sold off the hospital and are hoarding the ill gotten gains. Only the Mayor is taking a stand but none of the boys at the bank are sounding a peep. No eggs thrown at Ashby's house yet but as the titular figurehead he should get a lot more grief than he has to date. There are no leaders here. Only hucksters who sell off what doesn't belong to them and them remain silently on the sidelines. SHAME SHAME SHAME
I miss the good 'ol rail ridings! Send the son of a guns packin and rebuild our hospital. That includes the sorry few given the "right" to sell off the place. Lets see how many of them are coming here for medical care. Why are they silent??? Unfortunately whoever buys DRMC from Knifepoint will be a bottom feeder who will sell off anything of value and then leave the town. It is unrealistic to expect DRMC to care for you in an emergency if it cannot care for you for elective care. Emergencies cost money, usually funded by elective procedures. If you scare away the elective people, the emergencies are not going to have a chance. So.. when you have your stroke or heart attack, and Greensboro is too far away, and time is brain or heart, sorry because you did not stay in town for your "elective" care. You have 60 minutes to save your brain or heart. I would not want to count on Moses Cone. So don't give up, make DRMC the place to go!
"Where is the "CITY LEADERSHIP"????"
It wasn't the city leadership that sold off the hospital, the hospitals own board did that. What can you do about it? Very little except refuse to give them any of your money by supporting their businesses and seeing to it that NEVER again assume a position of power.
Mayor Williams is doing all he can with the citizens commission. Lifepoint is private now and beholding to noone but themselves and their investors. If Shorewood Packaging, Comodore Homes, or WalMart was having trouble, losing employees, and customers would you expect City Council to be able to do anything about that? I think not. So long as Lifepoint is open for business and providing a reasonable amount of care it's out of all of our hands.
Something the Bank Boys should have considered more before they started raking in the cash.
stop looking for city leadership to solve this...hey union nurse when can we meet we need to start rallying for the cause...
Dateline.....4:00pm -
ER Director has turned in her notice, effective July 20.
another one bites the dust....and another one's gone and antoher one's gone..
Ruth is a professional interim...lets see how many jobs can she hold at one time! She only has ten fingers to stick into the hols of the dam. And she ain't that competent doing that. oops antoher leak!
Interested RNs visit and show your support.
There is power in numbers.
unionnurse.blogspot.com
Ruthie...are you listening? they are talking union...why do you ask? they don't have a voice. they don't have your ear....they don't have Your respect....oh and if you haven't noticed you don't have theirs. Those that hang all over you....they don't respect you they are afraid and are searching to position themselves.
those that do respect you...have lost all their own self respect. why don't you leave too....you flew Art out of town on your broom we would have been so lucky if you had gotton lost on the way back.
Sorry for saying all the good nurses are gone from 3b. Yes there are still some left but if Finney has anything to do with it you'll be gone soon too. Thats her intention to run everyone off and get a new crew she can make respect her because none of her current staff does!!!
To the above blogger who said the personnel in the ED were "worthless"; We took a poll in the department and we all pretty much agreed that you can kiss all of our respective "worthless" asses.
To whoever from the ED:
If you are reading the blog while working, then you pretty much proved my point about being worthless!!
Who said I was working when I read it? It can be accessed from all pc's, even from home genious...
Hey genius'
Maybe if we could stop griping with each other and start holding the hospital accountable we could accomplish something.
Stop the back biting and work together for a solution to this mess.
Well spoken...Well said!!!
What a novel idea....We have been struggling and trying to float for so long now that the only way that we can communicate with each other is by snapping heads off... it is not because we do not enjoy the work we are in because if that was the case we would have all found new professions by now... we are in survival mode... if we want something to change we have to make it happen. Frankly I think that the administrators have lost sight of what true work is like
My point for the initial comment was that there are unsafe practices being voiced, but because other departments are in the public eye more than others (the ED) and there is more emphasis for patient satisfaction in that department, other departments and their patients have to bear the brunt! Additionally, not all nurses are in it for the patient and their well-being... That's the sad part; we all know of people in our department who could care less about the welfare of their patients.
Then that's probably what you should have said, instead of insulting (wrongfully) another department.
Well, the CEO resigned, the director of the ER resigned and the director of the telemetry resigned. What's next? What a combination. That's not all bad!
What needs to happen next is a movement of the RNs standing together with one voice to force change. Safer staffing for patient safety and whistleblower protections for all who expose unsafe conditions.
Patient's Needs, Not Corporate Greed!
unionnurse.blogspot.com
I along with several other nurses tried to start a union in 2005. We met with a represenative from the steel workers union, and we brought back the information. Everybody was afraid and did not want to hear any of it. All we were met with was fear!Needless to say this plan fizzled out, and died. I am all for a union number one it ensures patient safety and good patient care. And it protects the nurse, but I alos know that this subject has not gone over well in the past. I will say I wish you luck I personally hope you succeed an will assist in anyway that I can. You have my support and I am not afraid.
I agree. I have been at the hospital long enough that I have heard the horrible stories about when there was a union for a short period of time and then it just died. I am "not afraid" and if there is anything I can do to faciliate a forward movement to improve patient care by way of staffing, supplies, and using the voice that I have then lets get on with it.
Well I'm certainly glad that there is an interest. I remember talks of unionization in 2005, but at that time there was no publicity of it. A lot of nurses were never aware that there was talk of forming a union. Well now I say let's bring it out into the open. The United Steel Workers is a great union and they also represent nurses in other states. I would however like to talk to nurses only unions as well. But the main key is support. We need the nurses to band together and know that they DO have the right to form a union. The hospital has NO right to intimidate or threaten you for supporting a union. There are laws in place to protect your rights to unionize. Nurses need to look over the information that's out there about nursing unions. Without the nursing unions in California, they would have never been able to get safe staffing laws. It's time to stand up for our patients and ourselves. Speak out for patient safety and demand safer staffing.
unionnurse.blogspot.com
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