State of the Hospital-Danville Regional Medical Center: "Leaders discuss hospital panel"

Friday, August 10, 2007

"Leaders discuss hospital panel"

Danville Register & Bee
Thursday, August 9, 2007

DANVILLE - A new Health Leadership Council will be formed to communicate concerns between the public and Danville Regional Medical Center, which is owned by LifePoint Hospitals Inc.
The Citizens’ Commission, which explored what is good and bad about services at the hospital through public forums, recommended the formation of a permanent council.
Mayor Wayne Williams; George Ward, chairman of the Caswell County (N.C.) Board of Commissioners; Caswell County Manager Kevin B. Howard; and Coy Harville, chairman of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors, met with representatives from Danville Regional and concerned citizens Wednesday to discuss the new council.
No decisions were made on who would sit on the council, but nine people - two each from Danville, Pittsylvania County and Caswell County, as well as two physicians and one LifePoint executive - will be appointed to two-year terms.
The purpose of the council will be communicating the public’s concerns to the hospital and making sure the public is kept informed of what Danville Regional is doing in response to their concerns.
Williams said he hoped the council could operate autonomously, create their own bylaws and work at regaining trust in the hospital.
The panel will meet again in about two weeks to discuss their candidates for the Health Leadership Council.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Will it really matter? I appluad the mayor in his efforts, but, Lifepoint has already proven that they will not do any of the recommendations from the first committee. When given the task of improving nurse-patient ratios they stated that their patient grid numbers would not change. Sad.; August 10, 2007 at 2:22:00 PM EST
Anonymous said...: LifePoint wins every time the Mayor sets up another yakkity-yak committee or panel. That's the oldest trick in the jungle. I look you in the eye and talk to you while I eat off your legs.; August 11, 2007 at 7:03:00 AM EST

Post a Comment

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

Friday, August 10, 2007

"Leaders discuss hospital panel"

2 comments:

Sites of Interest

Blog Archive

Letter to Employees, February 7, 2007