Note from employee
I've been asked repeatedly why I have been so vocal and placed myself in the path of such venom. The answer comes from cards like the one shown here.
The card above was part of a very nice note sent to my office. This card, along with the emails, letters and and dozens of personal comments I receive, is the reason I speak out. I care about patients and employees and want a long-term successful hospital.
I've not been fitted for my concrete boots yet, but I think a few out there are sizing me up!
posted by Anonymous at 6:06 AM
11 Comments:
I am not sure who you think your critics are or why they disagree with you, but I would like to explain why I have so much trouble with what you do.
In a world of limited resources, everything can't be done at once. Management has to make hard decisions about how best to use resources and, at any given moment, there will things that could be better but simply lose out in a prioritization process. That is not unique to hospitals or other large organizations—we have to do the same thing in our personal lives as we budget for children’s education, home improvements, food, vacations and everything else.
You focus only on what is not yet perfect instead of looking at the decision making process and explaining what you would have done differently (for example, what you would have given up instead). You give yourself the easy job of standing back and simply finding fault instead of working within the system in a responsible way.
When decisions have “trade-offs” it is very common for individuals to feel differently about the decision based on how it affects them rather than how it fits into an overall system. That is almost always true when several people compete for a promotion and only one person winds up happy. The earlier posting from a neighbor of the hospital complaining about construction material stored in front of his/her home is a good example of what I am talking about. The fact is that if you are doing construction, you need to have materials available on site and debris has to be placed somewhere until it is picked up. So what do you do? Well, you try to make a decision that has the LEAST negative impact. That won’t make the neighbors happy, but it is probably the best decision overall.
As an outside observer of the hospital for quite a few years, I have seen remarkable progress and improvement in the physical plant, the professionalism of the staff and the commitment of the management team to creating a first class hospital. Considering the reimbursement environment and the critical shortage of available staff in several clinical specialties, I think they have done a terrific job of balancing what can be done within the limited resources they have.
Your repeated view that you don’t like the hospital CEO and that you want him out seems to drive a lot of your comments. You make highly personal accusations about the honesty and competence of his management team. Considering the relative success of Floyd against its competitors, what in the world do you think another team would do better? Reimbursements aren’t going to go up for services. Professional schools are not suddenly going to spit out tens of thousands of new nurses and ancillary service specialists. Frankly, the only specific suggestion that you have made is for the hospital to share revenue with doctors. That might be a good long term decision, but it will only put that much more stress on what is available for solving all the other things you criticize.
I think you need to get off your high horse and work within the system to lobby for the things you think need to be accomplished. If you think that didn’t work for you, and smearing the integrity of some really fine people is the only tool you have, then I would hope your readers would ask why you think you have to destroy the reputation of the hospital in order to save it.
If you are truly an outsider looking in or an insider pretending to be an outsider, and if you really have read the detailed information and stats given in earlier blogs, you should understand that there are numerous problems that exist.
Many departments as well as I have tried to work within the system and cannot get anything to change. Decisions are made without adequate input from the people directly affected or doing the work.
Three critical areas that are continually problematic are the ER, Radiology and Surgery. There are many wonderful ideas from staff and physicians on how to improve the current situation but these are not considered because they don’t fit the current agenda.
Patient care suffers and patient satisfaction remains low. These are the facts and supported by the surveys. The Board gets the numbers every month and they have not been at the goal level for approx. 2 years. Blame continues to be given to the ER staff and physicians yet their suggestions on remedies are ignored.
Pointing this out and trying to get solutions is in the patients and hospitals best interest whether or not you are willing to acknowledge it.
Your hidden agenda and anonymity continues to bolster my claims that there are those who really don’t want to address problems.
I have no hidden agenda at all. I simply am fed up with your Lone Ranger approach to decision making. So, what is so special about your agenda versus anyone else's? Should everyone who doesn't like a decision or would like to see something changed start a public tirade against the decision maker? Talk about a recipe for chaos!
You were on the board. You had input and I am sure you got some of your ideas through and some not. That is the way the world works.
You are coming off as a spoiled child who doesn't get his way and starts screaming and stamping his foot.
My agenda is for better patient care at FMHHS and that respects its employees and physicians and values those relationships.
After 4 years of watching the patient satisfaction numbers remain below the goals, name 1 single major initiative to improve them.
Here is an idea I voiced:
If we are not going to do anything with the patient satisfaction numbers other than look at them month after month, why don't we quit doing the surveys and save the hospital $50-100,000/year.
That was fiscal responsibility but it was not accepted either.
A $60 million addition that replaces outdated patient rooms and other services is "nothing?"
You can rationalize all you want, but what if every disgrunted employee or doctor went off and worked outside the system like you do everytime they didn't get their way?
Again, what is so special about your opinions? You have appointed yourself as the final arbiter of what should be done. Unfortunately for you, there is a board of directors who make those calls.
How do you know we go outside the system everytime we do not get our way. I've been on staff since 1992 and have tried working with the system.
Just becuase I have chosen a different path now does not validate your claim and in fact, it invalidates it.
What would have to happen before you chose to address known problems, or would you never address them and simply just sit back and anonymously attack?
In a world of finite resources, problems get addressed through a process of planning and prioritization that, hopefully, winds up making the best use of the resources available. Obviously, if your projects get funded, you are happy and if not you are much less happy. That doesn't make the process wrong.
What you are pursuing is anarchy. No planning, no balancing of priorities, just a desire to have your way whether it makes sense or not within a strategic plan. And then you criticize and question the honesty of the folks who do follow an orderly process.
You've tried long enough Dr. Dan.
The critic is just like the other one or possibly the same one with just a different name. Employees or customers are not allowed to complain or bring up glaring problems.
They want us to continue to suck it up and act like everything is fine. Well its not fine. Its a screwed up system and finally someone is speaking up.
if diogenestrainee is so brilliant, what is his/her solution to the problems that never gets fixed and the leaders who won't accept the problems
I commend you, Dr. Dan, to have the fortitude to stand for what you believe. It is not easy to be the messenger. Far too often there are many who see the same but do not have the guts to speak . I truly believe you have the best interest of FMH, the community and the health of everyone. I just wish there were others who would have the courage to speak. As someone who has been a former employee of FMH, I can attest to the truths of which you speak. To diogenestrainee I ask the question: How can you speak to the issues unless you are actually not on the "outside"? How can someone on the "outside" possiblity have the same knowledge as someone who works at the hospital? What do you have to gain to criticize Dr. Dan? As a citizen and potential patient, you should be thanking him. You seem awfully defensive for the hospital's administration. You obviously do not know how the top management functions. Are you perhaps personally involved or affected. Your anger and vehemous attact seems overkill. As a former employee, I can tell you that Dr. Dan speaks the truth. And before you suggest, I did not quit as a disgruntled employee. I left for a better opportunity.
As a Floyd employee, in one of the three problem areas, I think that it is great to have a well known physician, who happens to sit on the board, speaking for the nursing staff. I believe that if more of the medical staff made their feelings on the situation known to administration, then maybe Mr. Hanson and the rest of administration would do something about the situation that is facing FMH. I know of many nurses who are looking for, or have already taken, better paying jobs at some other facility. Thank you Dr. Dan, try to get more of the medical staff to speak up as well.
you are right the er is now invested in a computer system that slows patient care down several people were given the wrong and double medicine in the er. Staff morale is at a all time low several dangerous events have happened to patients they are more concerned with making us have a formal uniform policy for the er only then solving the problem of staffing As a ER nurse I would not feel safe taking any family there to be seen The staff is tired and several people are looking for new jobs There is talk throughout the hospital of forming a union. Thank you for speaking up for us.
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