February update of the Hospital
The new addition at Floyd has been open nearly a month. Many readers may recall statements made publicly in the Courier Journal and elsewhere by the CEO about how the new addition was going to take care of the bed shortage situation and our frequency on diversion.
Even though all his reassurances were touted in the media, the fact remains that the majority of the weekend from Friday the 10th through Monday morning, the hospital remained on critical care diversion because of lack of beds. Our patients that required monitoring were either diverted to other hospitals or remained on hold in the Emergency Room awaiting a bed to open.
The problem remains with bed shortages, and we have yet to perform the first open heart surgery.
In addition to the above ongoing problem, the rumor around administration is that Mr. Hanson is inquiring about where certain physicians live. There is evidently talk between the commissioners and him about trying to get a physician back on the Board. I guess they are considering the implications from their previous decisions as well as the criticism from many different sources.
Now the key for Mr. Hanson will be to find a physician willing to serve who lives in Floyd County and is sympathetic to his viewpoints. Again, there are many competent physicians in Floyd County, but only a handful are willing to serve as well as be supportive of his viewpoints. There are several who would serve and be fairly complacent, and there are several more who would serve and really be proactive about making the changes necessary. Who to choose???
In addition, I believe that Mr. Hanson manipulated the Medical Executive Committee composition this year and many of the physicians serving are ones more sympathetic to his views. This leaves very few available to serve on the Board because he has stated emphatically that he believes physicians shouldn’t serve on the Board and on the Medical Executive Committee at the same time; at least he believed that when the physician serving was me. So we will see how all of this shakes out in the coming weeks.
Where the Commissioners stand on this issue is another question. How will they decide on who to appoint and when remains a question? Adding just one physician to the Board would make the composition only eight members. We really need an odd number to break any tie-votes. If the number goes to nine members, the consultant we paid a lot of money for stated there should be 2 physicians on the Board if there were nine members. This would make the composition much better for the hospital, but it would make Mr. Hanson’s job more uncomfortable and the Commissioners are likely to hear more ongoing complaints from him. So it is doubtful they will choose this option.
If they wait until next year when Mr. Mill’s term expires, they have a possibility of losing one of the two of the democratic seats on the County Council. This would shift the focus of the County Council and they may not be able to appoint who they would choose if they did it this year.
Again, if they would just do what is in the best interest of the hospital, all of these other issues would be mute. But my bet is they end up doing nothing this year because that would be acknowledging a mistake was made.
Even though all his reassurances were touted in the media, the fact remains that the majority of the weekend from Friday the 10th through Monday morning, the hospital remained on critical care diversion because of lack of beds. Our patients that required monitoring were either diverted to other hospitals or remained on hold in the Emergency Room awaiting a bed to open.
The problem remains with bed shortages, and we have yet to perform the first open heart surgery.
In addition to the above ongoing problem, the rumor around administration is that Mr. Hanson is inquiring about where certain physicians live. There is evidently talk between the commissioners and him about trying to get a physician back on the Board. I guess they are considering the implications from their previous decisions as well as the criticism from many different sources.
Now the key for Mr. Hanson will be to find a physician willing to serve who lives in Floyd County and is sympathetic to his viewpoints. Again, there are many competent physicians in Floyd County, but only a handful are willing to serve as well as be supportive of his viewpoints. There are several who would serve and be fairly complacent, and there are several more who would serve and really be proactive about making the changes necessary. Who to choose???
In addition, I believe that Mr. Hanson manipulated the Medical Executive Committee composition this year and many of the physicians serving are ones more sympathetic to his views. This leaves very few available to serve on the Board because he has stated emphatically that he believes physicians shouldn’t serve on the Board and on the Medical Executive Committee at the same time; at least he believed that when the physician serving was me. So we will see how all of this shakes out in the coming weeks.
Where the Commissioners stand on this issue is another question. How will they decide on who to appoint and when remains a question? Adding just one physician to the Board would make the composition only eight members. We really need an odd number to break any tie-votes. If the number goes to nine members, the consultant we paid a lot of money for stated there should be 2 physicians on the Board if there were nine members. This would make the composition much better for the hospital, but it would make Mr. Hanson’s job more uncomfortable and the Commissioners are likely to hear more ongoing complaints from him. So it is doubtful they will choose this option.
If they wait until next year when Mr. Mill’s term expires, they have a possibility of losing one of the two of the democratic seats on the County Council. This would shift the focus of the County Council and they may not be able to appoint who they would choose if they did it this year.
Again, if they would just do what is in the best interest of the hospital, all of these other issues would be mute. But my bet is they end up doing nothing this year because that would be acknowledging a mistake was made.
posted by Anonymous at 6:01 AM
3 Comments:
Welcome back, HB.
The best solution would be to have two physicians on the board, which would allow an odd number for voting purposes. What were "they" thinking when they removed the only physician from the board? Are there any other hospitals that do not have a physician on their board? Do the commissioners and administration think the absence of a physician on the board is in the best interest of the hospital? How about promoting physician relations? If "they" are not careful, physicians may want to practice at a facility where their input/concerns are heard all the way to the top. Currently, without physician representation on the board, is that facility Floyd Memorial?
Reading you blog lately has been very enlightening considering. My understanding is that the Mayor's mother sits on the Board, is this indeed the case?
It's unfortunate that Floyd Memorial has ALWAYS been the hospital that is known as the one you never want to be taken to.
I'm not saying things couldn't be better there than I've ever given it credit for, but it has been a shame that it's been the only choice we've had.
What a shame to see the "politics" and/or "power struggles" (same thing in my opinion) within the organization (city) will allow it to fail before they'll give an inch. Too bad.
By the by, I see you allow anonymous posting.
Good choice.
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