Monday, August 20, 2007

Boosterism

From MRH and WMC's Proposed Findings of Facts in the Appeal Against a Spring Hill Hospital:
Construction of a new hospital in Spring Hill is viewed by many as an important amenity for a growing town and a boost to the local economy. Such civic pride and boosterism, while certainly admirable and understandable, cannot substitute for the statutory criteria.

From the pages of Wikipedia:


Boosterism
the act of "boosting," or promoting, one's town, city, or organization, with the goal of improving public perception of it. Boosting can be as simple as "talking up" the entity at a party or as elaborate as establishing a visitors' bureau. ...The term has, in general, a negative connotation.

That folks, is how our friends from WMC and MRH have chosen to dismiss the support of over 10,000 signatures in support of a Spring Hill Hospital.

Friday marked the day that all parties involved in the appeal for Spring Hill Hospital were to have submitted their Proposed Findings of Facts to the general administrative law Judge Pogue, who is now tasked with reviewing the evidence and issuing an order within the next 90 days.

If you are interested in reading each of the parties' Proposed Findings of Facts, you may download them here:
State of Tennessee / HSDA
HCA / TriStar - Spring Hill Hospital
Maury Regional Hospital and Williamson Medical Center

Some highlights are included in the full post (I know, some of you are going to say that I am just cherry picking, but I couldn't resist...)


State of Tennessee / HSDA

1. Petitioners (MRH and WMC) have the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that this hospital is not needed, not economically feasible, or would not contribute to the orderly development of healthcare.

2. This tribunal has determined that the Petitioners (MRH and WMC) in this matter have failed to satisfy their burden of proof by establishing that one of the three statutory criteria in T.C.A. §68-11-1609(b) have not been satisfied on this record. Therefore, as a matter of law, the HSDA’s granting of the CON, # CN0604-028A, to SHH should not be reversed.

Maury Regional Hospital and Williamson Medical Center

1. Spring Hill is a Maury County municipality.

2. The majority of Spring Hill residents live in Williamson County.

3. In this contested case, evidence has been presented showing that there is strong
support for SHH among several residents of the Spring Hill area. Construction of a new hospital in Spring Hill is viewed by many as an important amenity for a growing town and a boost to the local economy. Such civic pride and boosterism, while certainly admirable and understandable, cannot substitute for the statutory criteria. The tribunal is charged with deciding this matter according to the criteria adopted by the Legislature. Community support and enthusiasm or economic development may not be considered in determining whether a CON should be granted.

4. The Court heard extensive testimony about Luke’s population projections from
Petitioners’ experts. As discussed below, the expert testimony demonstrated that Luke’s population projections are not reasonable, and in fact are implausible on their face.

5. Swanson provided the Court with a credible and reliable projection of Spring
Hill’s future population, which he summarized in a detailed and thoroughly-documented report. This analysis projects a future population of Spring Hill which is substantially lower than that submitted by Luke.

6. In sum, the evidence demonstrated that SHH’s population projections were
unreasonably high and project a level of population growth for Spring Hill that is unlikely to be sustained...If Swanson’s “high” population projections are substituted for those of Luke, then SHH is not needed.

HCA / TriStar - Spring Hill Hospital

1. MRH and WMC are competitors, and for several years each has explored the possibility of providing additional medical services in Spring Hill.

2. Spring Hill straddles the county line, and WMC and MRH have been wary of extending too far into Spring Hill.

3. Management at WMC believes that impatient services in Williamson County should be provided at WMC's campus in Franklin.

4. The growth between 2005 and 2007 exceeds even Dr. Luke's projections.

5. Dr. Swanson's "low" scenario has absolutely no credibility. That scenario is based on the Claritas estimates. ...Claritas estimated that the City of Spring Hill would have only 12,633 residents in 2005. The US Census Bureau now estimates the 2005 population of the City at 17,148.

6. Dr. Luke's projections are actually below the rate of growth in Spring Hill between 2005 and 2007. Dr. Swanson's would be even lower than that (Dr. Swansons's "high" scenario projects approximately 20,000 people in the city limits in 2010.)

7. The population growth in Maury and Williamson Counties, will more than offset the financial impact casued by those patients who choose to go to SHH rather than to MRH and WMC.

8. Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated Section 68-11-1610(i), "all costs of the contested case proceeding, including the administrative law judge's costs and deposition costs such as expert witness fees, shall be assessed against the losing party in the contested case."

52 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a total waste of taxpayers dollars. Why on earth are our Government owned hospitals are fighting against a taxable development project? One that will bring 300+ middle class jobs to Maury County. A project that will pay impact fees and property taxes in Maury County.

WMC and MRMC continue to amaze me in their blind desire to inhibit competition. Their "expert's" population numbers are so off they don't even line up with real counts done in in 2005 or 2007. Which is why they fought against allowing the 2007 special census number to be included in the debate. Which BTW they won, so that is why the 2007 count is not part of this case.

What that tells me is that WMC/MRMC don't care about reality. They only care about $$$ and protecting their monopoly. Keep that in mind next time you have to choose a hospital for well care or pre-planned insurance paid service.

DRM said...

anonymous - your last paragraph sums it up... well said.

Anonymous said...

anon 12:54

For the sake of playing devils advocate your first paragraph has a couple of holes in it.

"What a total waste of taxpayers dollars. Why on earth are our Government owned hospitals are fighting against a taxable development project? One that will bring 300+ middle class jobs to Maury County. A project that will pay impact fees and property taxes in Maury County. "

How do 300 jobs, taxes and impact fees for Maury County benefit Williamson County? It does not matter what census you look at the majority of all Spring Hill residents live in Williamson County. So if you take that potential block of paying customers and send their money fron Williamson to Maury County how does that not equal a loss of potential revenue. That in turn translates into higher costs to the rest of Williamson County tax payers that do not live in Spring Hill to make up for the lost revenue. From a buisness point of view I am hard pressed to see the incentive for Wmc not to oppose it. On a side note you better hope that the city govt cares about and fights for every penny it can if not service goes down and taxes go up.

As I said this is only playing devils advocate and for the purpose of discussion. I am neither pro nor con about the hospital.

ole fire fighter

Anonymous said...

Now that I do not work for WMC, maybe the nonsensical accusations that I only have the beliefs I do because I work for WMC can die out. I have reviewed the documents posted by Gorilla. There is a clear discrepency between the numbers provided by both sides. This is for the administrative law judge to work out.

What I take exception with is the fact that HCA actually deposed three people who were having medical emergencies, and rather than call 911, they chose to drive themselves to the hospital.

Nationwide this is a problem. People with chest pain, stroke symptoms, shortness of breath, and other emergent symptoms continue to drive themselves to the hospital rather than call 911.

Ole firefighter can back me up on this, the folks who choose to do this, are not only hurting themselves, (the hypoglycemic child could have been given D50, the kidney stone patient could have been given something for pain, and the ill child could have received PALS treatment) but also exposing every other person who is on the road to uneeded risk. What is the child seized and the mother let go of the wheel and killed a minivan full of kids? Who is responsible for that? The mother who chose to drive her child to the ER rather than call 911.

The truth is that these people made a stupid mistake and will probably continue to make the same stupid mistakes if the new hospital opens. Call 911, especially now that Spring Hill has its own service.

HCA has very valid reasons to promote a hospital here, the testimony of foolish people do not help their case.

If you have something serious call 911, do not attempt to drive to the ER whether it is in Spring Hill or not. You are truly driving while impaired. This is why people with severe medical problems are not allowed to drive for indefinite or definite periods of time.

HCA should pick a better argument. Thank goodness WMC had Rodger Klein do their most important testimony. I think just about everyone in the know there realizes he is the true leader in the structure. His knee has a little more control than Big Daddy D's does.


By the way, I still do not think a hospital is needed. But every issue has to have an antagonist, so here he is. Good to see the site up and running.

CA

Silverback said...

CA,

Welcome Back!

In the Findings of Fact, did you find it odd that WMC and MRH's whole main argument for the appeal is that Luke's numbers were errant and that the need was inflated, yet US Census Bureau and City of Spring Hill Special Census in 2007 shows that even Luke's numbers were low?

Anonymous said...

Silverback,
I do think that the basis for this appeal are the numbers. I think that has been the main argument between the two parties since the hospital was first mentioned.

I honestly think that HCA did what many companies do, they jumped at an opportunity without fully preparing for opposition. I think just about anyone who has monitored this would agree.

I can tell you that some of HCA's arguments are weak, AKA the access depositions.

My position remains this: If a hospital is so badly needed, why not put in a full service hospital? At the least this hospital should have a peds floor to treat dehydration from the GI bugs that every kid gets and to treat RSV and other respiratory things that do not require Vandy level care. If they want to do this hospital, then they should want to do this right.

I have made my argument about the cath lab previously. The hospital needs one because it is the most effective way to stop an MI. 64 slice CTs cannot put stents in, so it will be of no use in the emergent setting.

I do not profess to know the business aspect as far as taxes, etc, etc. However I do know the bedside care side of things and I know that this will not be full service, which I think, if it is done, it should be as close to this as possible.

CA

DRM said...

CA,

Did WMC start with a full service hospital, or did it grow as the needs of the area grew?

I'm sorry, but I cannot buy into that line of thinking when WMC started off as a tiny medical center that grew as the needs of the area grew.

Anonymous said...

drm

That is exactly how WMC started. It was a community hospital. IT grew into what it is today. The problem is that too many people do not know the difference. that is why you have too many either on their own or by ambulance go to places that cannot treat their condition. People do not understand that all hospitals cannot do the same things. You can see it already around here. I have seen too many comments about going to the nearest hospital regardless of the problem. Most times that is not best and is not the way it is done. Bottom line it will be up to people to educate themselves about the capability of each hospital and make the best choice.

ole fire fighter

Anonymous said...

I agree. Williamson did start as a small community hospital that grew as the needs of the community grew. However, if you will think back to the marketing and PR for this proposed hospital, the tagline was "a full service hospital." Now those of us involved in this discussion are well aware of the limitations related to the hospital's scope of service; however, think about average Joe. He will have no idea that the hospital cannot effectively treat an MI or effectively treat his very ill child.

Keep in mind, the same people that tried to drive themselves to the hospital with a kidney stone, a hypoglycemic child, and a critically ill child will be the same people who will be showing up at this hospital expecting the same services that they would receive at WMC or MRH, because they will remember Danny grinning and proclaiming that the hospital will be full service.

The truth of it is that regardless of socioeconomic status, most people have little to no education about healthcare and that is why this hospital was so strongly supported. I remember my Channel 5 interview and how it was followed by people at Kroger stating " Well how in the world can a hospital be a bad thang?"

Ole fire fighter is right, if this hospital goes through, which it may, there needs to be a clear explanation of the scope of services, so that the average Joes of the world do not do themselves a disservice by showing up at the Spring Hill ER expecting to have emergency angioplasty within 90 minutes.

I think Ole firefighter can back me up on this, most people watch TV and get information regarding the latest and greatest treatments and then assume that every hospital can provide this. It takes someone who has knowledge of the inner workings of a hospital to be able to sit back and look at the possible problems with a new facility in order to troubleshoot ahead of time. If not the same people who stood in the Kroger parking lot pondering why a hospital would ever be a bad thing will be the very patients who complain because the new hospital will not provide the same services as WMC or MRH, or more commonly because they do not provide the services that Vanderbilt does.

I hope this makes sense as I just awakened from a decongestant induced nap before typing this.

:)
CA

DRM said...

So how do you define "full service"? Personally - I don't consider WMC or MRH to be "full service", do you? I know that depending on what kind of medical situation I have - I want to go to St. Thomas, Baptist, or Vanderbilt.

It's ok CA, I see you trying to talk here, but it's not like I expect you to all of a sudden support this hospital, even if you thought it might be needed. So I'm still gonna take your comments with a grain - or two - of salt ;-)

Anonymous said...

Drm, what is your definition of a full service hospital? As a consumer.

You mention St T, but they do not have OB services or Peds. Yet you guys fault WMC for not having Peds. I do not see how you can state that you view St T as a full service hospital, yet they do not have the services that MRH does.

One important concept here is the consumer's definition of full service, so help me out drm and give us yours.

Watch the salt, it will increase the BP and may cause an MI, and this hospital will not be able to help you. Even though you are the opposition I do not want anything bad to happen to you.

:)

CA

Anonymous said...

Holy havoc Batman! So drm, you are saying that even with the new place you would still travel out of county? So what would you come to the new hospital for? Honestly, as a consumer, when would you say, "OK I am going to Spring Hill for this?"
CA

DRM said...

CA said:
"Drm, what is your definition of a full service hospital? As a consumer."

*My* definition is irrelevant, I am merely pointing out that the argument against HCA coming here based you and others saying it is not a "full service" hospital is really an arbitrary term that you can define any way you like.

And please pay attention to where I said "depending on what kind of medical situation I have". St. Thomas doesn't have to have a Pediatric unit - I don't look to them if my kids are sick. Then again - according to your "full service" mantra, I guess we don't need St. Thomas because they aren't "full service", right?

As to what I would go to the SH hospital for? Not sure yet. But I bet I'll go there for things like: having a fishing lure removed from my hand.

Since that's the first thing I went to a tiny little WMC for back 10+ years ago.

And the fact that SHH will be less than 3 minutes for my house... well - do I really have to explain why that is a "good thing"?

Anonymous said...

This hospital thing is about like Charlie Raines (alderman) and Donnie Cameron (felon) telling some smaller developer they can not develope land that they have bought. Why? Because they want all the money. WHOYA

Anonymous said...

A) ST Thomas has never advertised themselves to be a "full service" hospital

B) Was I the only person who saw the ads for this hospital describing it as "full service?" The town hall meetings had a huge display with the words "full service" on it.

C) No one is saying that the hospital should not come because it is not full service. My argument is that HCA is already trying to mislead people by advertising this hospital as full service.

Having the hospital three minutes from your house is a good thing if you have something simple (that just about anyone could handle at home) like a fish hook in their hand. My point is that we need to make sure people with serious illnesses such as MIs and Sick Kids call 911 and do not try to drive themselves to the hospital three minutes away, only to discover that they have actually PROLONGED the time it takes to get definitive care.
This would be like taking your Chevy truck to a Ford dealer, waiting two hours to get service, only to be told that you have gone to the wrong place. I can see people now "But the sign said hospital!"

Anonymous said...

SPRING HILL — City officials were hit with a financial bombshell Monday evening when they learned they had overspent by $3 million last year.



Maybe the HCA ordeal cost a little more than they thought. Kinda takes the air out of the argument that WMC and MRH are wasting taxpayer dollars! At least we keep up with what we spend. HAHAHA

Anonymous said...

I think the financial problems that the city is currently involved in can be tracked back to ONE person. That person is no longer sitting at city hall.

Thank God!

Anonymous said...

Hey Ken!!! Can we have that $20k back?

Anonymous said...

Didn't the honorable Mayor Leverette suggest the retirement $$$$ and didn't the board vote for it. Now who's hand is really on the money. My bet is ther Mayor and some Alderman are not as honest as they propose to be.

Anonymous said...

As much as I do not like york, all the aldermen was aware, hell he told them in the meetings, then they would still vote 7-1 or 6-2. Again I am not a fan what so ever of York, but I will stand up for someone when they are in the right.

Anonymous said...

Surely not good Ole Danny. He would never do anything wrong. He is just there for the good of Spring Hill. I mean he reached out to the benevolent HCA to come save the ill of Spring Hill. Surely he would not do something inappropriate.

I tried to tell you all along that he was to dumb to be in that role. Now he is trying to state the money is all there. Let's see Gorilla post about this! I will be waiting to see if equal time is given to this story. I have a feeling that it will be a long wait.

Anonymous said...

Since Duda and Danny are so tight, and that is Glass's inside track (DUDA) it won't.

Anonymous said...

Bill Rusin, you really should be less obvious.

Anonymous said...

The fact that the cities budget was totally ignored is only a part of the problem.

Even though the city had an administrator, the responsibility of insuring the cities financial stability and compliance with state law falls on the shoulders of the Mayor and Board.

Ken York was doing exactly what the Mayor wanted and allowed him to do. If the Mayor wanted something, Ken York would find a way to please him. Money has been wasted on projects and studies that the Mayor wanted. How much has been spent on traffic studies and pet projects of the Mayor? That is part of the reason the budget was blown. The Mayor new that funds were being transferred to cover the excess spending.

Another part of the budget crisis is directly related to the waste of some of the departments. Why are employees allowed to drive city vehicles home, and allowed to make unnecessary trips riding all over town? Even if they are subject to being called in, some live such a great distance away that they would not be effective even when they got here.

We have the most expensive taxi cabs in the state being operated by the fire department. They can eat their meals at the fire hall or drive their personal vehicles to get lunch. Why do we need to pay for four to five vehicles to enable them all to eat lunch at resturants the furtest distance from the fire hall as they can go.

Has anyone even checked to see how much mileage is being placed on city vehicles for private use?

The average citizen has to pay for his own transportation to and from work as well as for any personal needs such as going to eat lunch. What makes city employees special?

The Mayor and his administration has turned down quality developments that would bring in revenue to the city. He needs to quit giving special treatment to his friends. Growth is what pays the bills. Spring Hill can continue to grow, and the growth should be allowed to occur equally in all areas of the city.

The fair treatment of all developers in the past and the conservative expenditures by the late Mayor Williams and the aldermen, is what led to the ability of Spring Hill to drop the property taxes. Now due to the wastfull praticies of Mayor Leverette and the poor oversight of the financial dealings of the city, we have wasted 3 million dollars.

Anonymous said...

Could someone please clarify. It is my understanding that the city didn't SPEND more than budgetted. The failure occurred because the city's INCOME didn't meet what was budgetted. Both would be issues, but the failure is different.

Please clarify.

Anonymous said...

That is correct. The City did not overspend their budget. Nor did they borrow money and go into debt to cover the shortage.

Anonymous said...

OK, I received this email yesterday from someone who is just as concerned about the free spending current batch of ring leaders that run our city as I am.

Since The Gorilla/Duda is ignoring us on this, I thought that I would post it here.

This is from the real Bill Rusin to all of the aldermen. Guess what??? No response from any of them, not even Duda!

Mayor and Alderman,

I can not understand how you can say you didn't know about spending 3 Million over your budget. That is your job as the Mayor and Alderman for the city of Spring Hill. You should know everything about the finances of our city. I know I was only an Alderman for one year, but as I recall, everything financial had to be approved by the Board of Mayor and Alderman. With that said, if you are approving all the financial expenditures, how can you not know about this situation? I believe in your monthly packet, that is delivered to your door by our police department, is a financial statement. Why do I read in the newspapers that you need to put in place a process for this if it already exist? Don't you read the information in your packets?

When I served on the Board of Mayor and Alderman, I was always told the state laws require all monies collected from Water and Sewer to be placed in a reserve fund. That money could only be used for water and sewer projects. How did you circumvent the State laws on that?

If the city was over budget, why have we spent so much money on the Miles Johnson parkway. In my opinion, that road is a waste of our money, and was unnecessary at this time. We have a much greater need for that money to have been spent widening highway 31. You know the road that is backed up in the mornings from Thompsons Station road all the way to Miles Johnson Parkway on some days. Most days only to Tocobell.

I find it very ironic there is no mention about any of this on the Gorilla In The Corner website (http://springhilltn.blogspot.com). You know the website that trashed all the incumbents and Jim Gabriel, except for Elliot Mitchell of course, from the last city election. Maybe that is because I am hearing the person that runs that web site is the front runner for the city administrators job. Many of you have talked about removing the "Good Ole Boy" network in our city government when you ran for election. I find that funny, since it is prevalent in our city government now more than ever.

I hold all nine of you accountable for our city being 3 million dollars in debt. I want to know what you are going to do about it? What projects are not going to be completed, that is on this years budget, in order to make up the 3 million over budget from last year?

I encourage all people copied on this email to forward this to all their friend in Spring Hill. Make sure you do a reply to all, so our Mayor and Alderman can see how upset we are with their lack of responsibility.

Anonymous said...

Gorilla,
I am truly saddened by your lack of commentary on this issue. Although you and I have been on opposite sides of the hospital issue, I have always thought that you were a fair person, despite the occassional rants to the contrary. The lack of coverage of this topic makes me wonder how reliable the other information is that you post. It seems like there is a million people posting when Spring Hill is supposedly being attacked by MRH or WMC. However when something is seriously wrong here in Spring Hill, the folks who complain about a waste of taxpayer dollars and all that nonsense seem to be mute.

Come on, be fair and balanced. :)
CA

Or at least admit that this is YET ANOTHER Danny mistake. Maybe more people should have signed up to boot him out last year, rather than getting him the cushy postal job.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post about being the front runner for the City Administrator job. Maybe that is why this site has been so mute on this issue. Hmmmm. CA

Seems someone has taken the "How to excel in the TriStar system' course. How appropriate that TriStar was invited here, this is the perfect example of their values being displayed on a larger scale. Make all the money you can while appearing to be out for the good of everyone, then COMPLETELY IGNORE any scandal.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Bill Rusin the guy who intentionally misled the citizens by running for office knowing that he would be stepping down after being elected so that Ray could control the seat by appointment?

Anonymous said...

Then you all should love him. If he did intentionally mislead everyone, you should be running to his rescue as you did HCA, who advertised a hospital as being full service when it was not. Maybe he is not greasing the right palms!

Gorilla in the Corner said...

Don't you worry, I will not shy away from this or any other question or issue regarding this issue. I have been out of town on a family vacation for a little bit, but I am back.

I think you will find that there is now a very good reason that Ken York "retired" and I will share the whole story with you all as soon as I catch up a little at work from being out of town. I also think that you will be a little bit suprised to find out a few more specifics on this particular topic. We will get every little bit of this out on the table.

Anonymous said...

There's the Gorilla we all know and love. CA

Anonymous said...

Just a quick comment as I catch up on posts since early August.

All the ranting and raving about a "Full Service Hospital" is nuts, you guys. A hospital offering some services is better than no hospital for a community the size of Spring Hill. Hospitals can grow. Lots of hospitals specialize over time. Lots add services as time shows a demand for them. No one will put a gun to anyone's head to make them go to a new hospital. Education can prevent all these sick people from driving around the countryside while they're dying. Maybe the "Don't call 911" public service announcements have been too successful?

As to the $3 M shortfall for the city, I'm sure the Gorilla will let us in on all the gritty details when he has the picture clear before him. He's done more than an admirable job for the city and it's good to know he's still on the job of keeping the truth in front of the city's residents. I'd loan him money to start a newspaper if he asked.

Anonymous said...

DO NOT ADVERTISE FULL SERVICE IF YOU ARE NOT FULL SERVICE. The argument is not about whether it is full service or not. The problem is everyone was told it was full service. Gosh, what is so freaking hard to get. We know hospitals have to grow, just as WMC did. However the community needs to know it is not full service. Thats the point!

Anonymous said...

At this point, I must wonder who you are working for. A hospital is a good thing. HCA builds their facilities with the expectation to expand.

As far as the budget - there was no overspending of the budget. Nor was there any debt accrued. if ou must relate this to your personal life, think of it as transferring money from your savings account to your checking to protect yourself from an overdraft.

Anonymous said...

I disagree with the statement that there was no overspending of the budget. According to the figures that I have been told the expenditures exceeded the budget by over $200,000.00. The revenue side of the budget also showed that the city took in close to 3 million dollars less revenue than was projected in the budget.

A budget is an estimate of income and expenses. A budget is a plan for coordinating income and expenditures. Budget adjustments should have been made as soon as it was determined that the income side of the budget had a shortfall. If the Mayor believes it is permissable to have a 3 million dollar overdraft, I believe we are in deeper trouble than thought.

I believe that a more accurate comparision would be that if you were in an aiplane at 20,000 ft. and you saw that you were out of fuel long before you were going to reach your destination, you would be wanting to land, rather than trying to continue flying as if there was no problem.

Anonymous said...

OK Mr. No overspending. I work for myself. I used to work for WMC, but I do not now. I think the guy over the place is a huge ass and his hillbilly rants costs him a great employee. Now, on to HCA. HCA is not the great company you promote them to be. I must question your defense. CA

Anonymous said...

CA-I believe there is probably a good reason that you do not work at WMC anymore. Maybe the "hillbilly" knows what he's doing!!!

Anonymous said...

I do not work at WMC anymore because I graduated from FNP school and went into private practice. I was going to hang around longer but the hillbilly really tried to screw me over once he found out that I would not bow down to his every request. Here are some of the truths about WMC.

1. The have the best Cath Lab in Middle Tennessee relative to staff. When I was there, they got there door to balloon times (the time from the point the patient walks in the door to the time the artery is open, which only about 1/3 of hospitals achieve within the 90 minute goal time) down to 35 minutes in some cases.

2. They have the best EMS team in the State.

3. The ER staff, while suffering from poor leadership relative to managerial personnel, has great physicians and great staff.

4. Their Cardiologists are tremendous. I send all my patients to WMC affiliated physicians.

5. Their Radiology department does a great job despite have zero positive reinforcement from their department head. Their Assistant Director clearly is the leader.

6. If you have an acute MI, the cath lab staff will be ready and waiting to take you to the lab, that is only if the lab is not tied up by an ELECTIVE Epidural Steroid Injection, which is typically not done in the Cath Lab. Hillbilly decided that it was worth delaying opening a vessel, in order to keep the ESI business at WMC, despite my clear documentation of the reasons why this should never happen and the objection of the physicians.

7. The COO and CNO at WMC are the best I have ever worked with. They are very intelligent and extremely talented. However, they too must work around the Hillbilly.

8. You can compare the Door to Balloon times, community classes relative to heart disease, etc, from when I was there and now, and you will clearly see a decline in performance. This is not because the employees are not still giving 110%, it is because Hillbilly does not understand that the number one killer in America is Heart Disease and that you must perform at an exceptional level. Again, the staff there is excellent and you will get exceptional care; however, the Hillbilly driving the bus is so disconnected with reality that the staff ends up frustrated with the rules he sets forth and his knee jerk reactions.

The best thing that WMC could do is put the COO in the CEO spot, as he is clearly the more talented of the two. Just ask anyone there!


So yes, you are right, there is a great reason I do not work at WMC anymore, I have a spine and I do not need to injury it by tiptoeing around the Hillbilly or bending over to kiss his ass. In closing, WMC is an awesome hospital, it just has the worst possible person in the CEO spot. Thank goodness that his decisions really do not affect care all that much.


So to the person who wrote the comment, go back to your Tuesday morning meeting and report that you have been reading the web and that you were a good little girl and posted to defend Hillbilly. Then after he offends you with some off color remark, think about this, I got out because I furthered my education (a 4.0 in an FNP program - had to throw that in). What will you do to get away from him? CA

DRM said...

I guess I will have to admit - I never heard HCA or anyone else claim this was going to be a "full service" hospital. Then again - with an arbitrary term like "full service", I would have probably dismissed it as marketing hype anyway.

I thought gas stations were the only places that advertised as "full service"?

But, assuming it was a marketing campaign that took place - does anyone actually know someone who is under the impression that the SHH would be the only place you'd need for any and all medical services you might require? Seriously?

Oh, and CA - While I don't think the "Hillbilly' reference was the most professional approach, I do appreciate your candid response re: the current state of affairs @ WMC. Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

DRM, you obviously were not at the TOWN HALL MEETING. There was a big huge sign in the room that stated it was a full service hospital. I saw it with my own two eyes.

By the way, the problem is the marketing hype. People will go there and think it is full service.

The Hillbilly approach keeps me just vague enough to stay out of trouble. WMC could mean anything, Waste Management Corporation! :)

DRM said...

So the handful of people at that meeting were *possibly* misled, is that what you are saying?

Do you actually KNOW anyone who was misled?

Anonymous said...

This will have to be a prospective thing where we wait and see what happens and how many people show up thinking it was full service. I also feel pretty sure it was in the paper as well. My argument is that we have to be diligent to make people aware of what the hospital can and cant do. I dont think that is unreasonable, do you?

DRM said...

Has MRH dilligently attempted to make me aware of the services they offer? I sure don't see it.

WMC gets some credit here - as I have seen commercials and billboards advertising new or improved services they offer... then again - I drive by there every day, and stop by a few times a month to call on clients.

But really - how educated can the general public be about what services are offered where? Are you supposed to pull out a "list of services" card to check which hospital to go to based on your symptoms?

People that know what they need will have likely already decided where they want to go, and people in an emergency will get taken to the closest one that the Ambulance service takes them to.

Anonymous said...

all you have to do is check out www.mauryregional.com or www.williamsonmedicalcenter.org

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think WMC is a wonderful hospital. I have heard only good things about the care and servies they offer. I can't say the same about MRH. I think that WMC does deserve the credit for standing up to the big dogs.

Anonymous said...

Why do we keep arguing whether the HCA hospital will be a full service hospital. Maury Regional and Williamson are not full service. The only hospital that I know of which would come close to being a full service hospital would be Vanderbilt.

Maury Reginal and Williamson Medical just do not want the competition.

Anonymous said...

I recognize that this may not be a popular viewpoint. That being said...

The only reason, the ONLY reason, HCA wants to build a hospital is money, lots of it. Needs, capabilites, etc. are nothing but lawyer speak as WMC, MRMC and HCA elbow each other to get theire spot at the feed trough. There's billions to be made. As it now stands, everyone over 65 is forced into (or enjoys considering your viewpoint) into socialized medicine from a third party payer. Neither the patient nor the physician is worried one bit about the cost as "the other guy", that is the government, which leads to the taxpayer which, given our ongoing deficits and resulting debt will be the future taxpayer, will end up footing the bill. But I digress. That's another conversation. As the feds are more than willing to continue this charade (and even increase the stupidity given the prescription drug bill), there is an endless amount of money to be made. HCA will say anything, do anything, commit to anything to get a hospital open even if nothing more than a trailer with a gravel parking lot because they know that, once open, they're set. The foot is in the door. It will never be closed. They'll have a nice steady stream of income coming in from Uncle Sam. That is, until the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. But I digress again, that's another conversation.
A hospital on the south side of town means little to me between 4 and 6 in the afternoon. I won't be able to get there on Main Street.

I'll duck now.... fire away.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, can you substantiate your conclusion with any facts? You may be right but you have not proven a thing by simply stating "The only reason, the ONLY reason, HCA wants to build a hospital is money, lots of it." I am also interested in proof of any kind to justify your statement "HCA will say anything, do anything, commit to anything to get a hospital open even if nothing more than a trailer with a gravel parking lot because they know that, once open, they're set."

SDesforges

Anonymous said...

Of course its about money. Its a "for profit hospital" but, WMC (as much as I really do like them) and MRH are also concerned about losing any money so is it not about money on all sides considered? This is a mute argument.

Anonymous said...

Correction, that would be "moot" not "mute". :)

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