Doctors Memorial Hospital - Part 4
A new modern facility with a history of management and monetary problems. What solutions are available for the betterment of health care in Taylor County? Each week I will post a specific question or comment for discussion concerning our hospital. I ask that your comments be civil and directed to the specific issue raised for that week. Should you have any questions that you feel should also be addressed beyond those presented forward e-mail them to me and they will be considered for future postings. DMH employees are welcome to participate with anonymity. The future of our hospital should be taken seriously by all of us and your input is valuable.
Part Four - Since the county took over control of DMH following the departure by Crest Management in '93 there has been a multitude of physicians that have came and went. Two cardiologist, two surgeons, one rheumatologist, one EENT specialist & surgeon, 3 radiologists, 2 orthopedic groups, one from Tallahassee and the other from Gainesville and a multitude of internists and family practitioners to name a few. Usually when a physician opens a practice and establishes a patient following he or she has found a permanent home but that has not been the case locally. WHY?
Part Four - Since the county took over control of DMH following the departure by Crest Management in '93 there has been a multitude of physicians that have came and went. Two cardiologist, two surgeons, one rheumatologist, one EENT specialist & surgeon, 3 radiologists, 2 orthopedic groups, one from Tallahassee and the other from Gainesville and a multitude of internists and family practitioners to name a few. Usually when a physician opens a practice and establishes a patient following he or she has found a permanent home but that has not been the case locally. WHY?
Questions:
Taylor County offers a relaxed environment to call home and the people are great so why can't we keep physicians? Problems are?
What needs to be done to attract physicians to our community?
Should DMH continue to contract with physicians and chance yet another contract dispute as has occurred in the past thus incurring sizable legal fees and a continued drain on DMH resources?
Taylor County offers a relaxed environment to call home and the people are great so why can't we keep physicians? **They Are Greedy and do not appear to have any level of respect for the patients or community. Problems are? **Docs are a poor fit for our community, they must be here purely for financial reasons..bills to pay.
What needs to be done to attract physicians to our community? **what about the DMH sponsered medical students? Are they coming back? Partnering with a larger medical system would attract Docs.
Should DMH continue to contract with physicians and chance yet another contract dispute as has occurred in the past thus incurring sizable legal fees and a continued drain on DMH resources? **No, what "best practices" are other hospitals implementing. Take the BOCC out of the equation!
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Has anyone checked out the cost of a medical education? Who blames docs for not staying with a hospital that is essentially bankrupt and unable to support new practices? Physicians are business men with bills to pay... The economy is sinking and with the new proposed healthcare bill of Obama's, the medical healthcare crisis is just beginning...
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This is not even a fair question. I can't imagine why a young English speaking American doctor would not want to bring his family to Perry. Why with all kind people, the smell from Buckeye, a hospital circling the drain, and the inability of most citizens to hold an intelligent conversation without talking about slapping their wife/cousin after they went and burried a truck in the mud, I can't imagine why they would not want to live here.
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I believe it would be in the hospital's best interest to ally themselves with a larger institution which might be willing to route some of its physicians to Taylor County on a regular basis. That would be a win-win situation... It is unrealistic to think physicians would come to an underserved area with a hospital in financial jeopardy and a high Medicaid/Medicare population and be able to make it financially (especially if he still owes for school loans) and is trying to start a family, etc... I love Perry, but that is a HUGE gamble to ask someone to make.
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New EMS Directors at DMH.
Well he is back Marty Thompkins (and Chad Bush as deputy) is new EMS Directors
Yes Marty is back once again ( #3) as the EMS Director. The new CEO appoints Marty as EMS Director and Bush as his assistant.
Thompkins is also a new deputy on the sheriff's department too. How many jobs will the county pay him to do?
Mike McGowan was let go last Friday and Chief Thompson and sidekick Bush took over after all EMS ambulances were shut down by the state inspectors last Thursday. No news from the DMH management to the newspaper. The DMH board was not notified until tonight. I see the new CEO has been taught the back room deals already.
The county commissioners did not know of this new appointments ( Thompson and Bush) either.
The management kept it out of the paper as usual. TMH has sent us another person who will play along and turn a blind eye and who can be lead around by the inside cronies at DMH.
No way TMH can stop the madness no matter who or how many they send down to Perry. So Sad, so many back room deals. More money will be needed from the county commissioners , so call your Commissioners and the Sheriff to stop the double dipping from the county.
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A lot stays out of the mullet wrapper. More of the same. Kind of like selectively enforcing the rules on students at TCHS...isn't that right green teeth.
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Is Tomkins still working for helicopter company as well?
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WELL AT LEAST WITH THESE TWO IN CHARGE MAYBE THE NARCOTICS WONT GO MISSING OFF OF THE UNITS AS WITH THE LAST DIRECTOR!!!!!!!
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You will find out it may have been the drivers not the old Director when the smoke clears. Hte director was always in Quincy or at NFCC
The EMS squad ( new directors included ) should have to pass a drug screen. I beleive if that happened 95% the Ambulances would be parked again.
Did anyone hear about the EMS being shut down in the Newspaper NO NO NO
and we never will.
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THAT MAY BE THE CASE THAT HE WAS IN QUINCY ALL THE TIME. SOOOOOOOOOO THAT EXPLAINS WHY HE NO LONGER HAS A JOB THERE BECAUSE THE NARCOTIC BOX WENT MISSING WHILE HE WAS IN CHARGE OF IT????????????GO FIGURE!!!!
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All the comments certainly have their valid points.
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Another valid point: Why rehire the same old crew and not look for someone new to improve the EMS?
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Lysander,
I agree. It seems that EMS and the hospital are just repeating a previous mistake. These posts say that with the last director, narcotics went missing off of the trucks. Has he been charged or arrested? The answer is no. If all of these slanderous comments were true, something more than losing a job would have taken place. The bottom line is things will not change at the hospital, until some new faces turn up and many of the old ones leave. Find a qualified administrator and give him or her some freedom to make decisions, instead of a puppet. Find a qualified/educated EMS director, from outside of the "good ole boy" circle. The reality is however, that no one with half a brain would want to be in charge of the hospital or any of the departments.
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I am not sure if this has anything to do with the questions But I was just wondering why the county pays fot the ems, fire dept and all county cars trucks etc to used for personal business they use them to go out to eat pay bills and shop at Wal mart. thisjob should be as any other job use you own ride for personal things. If you need to eat bring your lunch from home. Pay your bills on your days off.Then maybe that would save the county money, could use it where it should be used. for the county. Just a Thought.
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Recruiting physicians for a rural area is tricky, but there ARE physicians that have a heart for the small community and these are the physicians that we need to target. Recruiting should be a community affair. The Chamber of Commerce, politicians, business leaders and the Economic Developer are a few that should be working with DMH to attract new healthcare providers for our community. Instead of lising all the reasons why we can't get physicians, why not get together and come up with a plan to attract those that would love the lifestyle we have in Taylor County? If you are interested in helping I'm sure you could contact one of the DMH Board members or the CEO of DMH.
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THANKGOONESS MARTY TOMPKINS IS BACK. I FEEL 100% SAFER NOW. Having worked with Marty for many years I know he knows his stuff and I know he gives it his all. I applaud him serving in two worthy capacities which alot of times overlap. Yea Marty! Blessings Marty! And Chad, learn everything you can from Marty! You will make a good chief one day.
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Marty will sink the hospital deeper in the hole. again.
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I do not know "Marty" or his skills, but doubt his single actions would "sink" the hospital. There is a DMH CEO, DMH Board, County Commissioners and greedy doctors that fail to sail or bail out the sinking ship known as DMH. If Marty can tolerate all of the fiascos and lack of leadership, kudos! He will be doing the impossible for the ungrateful and uninsured! LOL!!!
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Kudos for sending TACO residents on needless, and expensive, helicopter rides? And needless ambulance runs? How do the uninsured pay for those needless trips? They don't, but we do. No one is grateful for being ripped off. No one is LOL.
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http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/enforcement/highlights/index.html
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