As we wait for word on the “replacement” hospital, it is business as usual at the Medical Center.
Already this year – and we’re not even into flu season yet – there are reports of not enough beds for those who need them. Some patients are being told to go home and come back later, while others are left in hallways. This is nothing new, as a friend of mine was scheduled for an induction in November of 2003 and received a phone call the day of letting her know they would have to reschedule…there just wasn’t enough room for her. In February of 2005, my mother was in the emergency room for more than 13 hours waiting for a room to open up. We received a room the moment we threatened to transfer her to another hospital.
I thank God every morning I have the good sense to avoid the Medical Center when it comes to my up-and-coming delivery. “Sorry son, you’re just going to have to stay in there for a while longer…there’s not room for us at the Med Center!”
Additionally, environmental (custodial) positions are now being outsourced to another company. Those who have worked for JCMC and MSHA for a long period of time are getting the “short end of the stick.” It looks like Vonderfecht’s “loyal employees” may be getting slightly disgruntled.
The “replacement” hospital is not going to solve the problems we are facing with the Medical Center, or any of the other MSHA hospitals. We need ADDITIONAL services, not replacement services, if we are going to avoid the utter lack of care offered at the Med Center. Unless you’re comfortable lying in the hallway of the hospital, waiting for someone to either die or be discharged so you can get a room…
October 17, 2006 at 10:55 am
Hello Jama,
Since you “seem” to know a lot about hospitals and how to run them, I thought I would let you in on same facts about the med center and how a hospital is run. First, it is always easy to point a finger at the person in charge and to forget that there are others who run different areas of the hospital beneath the CEO. Secondly, I can assure you patients would not be just waiting out in the halls, this would be against OSHA standards. Everyone complains about emergency room waits, but nobody seems to understand the concept of triage. This is where the hospital must decide who has the worst ailment/injury and will then admit that person prior to those who come in with minor conditions. Yes, I know this seems easy to understand, but apparently many people do not. For minor problems there are First Assist centers and doctors’ offices, unfortunately people do not utilize these facilities and instead go to the ER for the cure all and are hacked off about the wait. The ER is also a level 1 trauma center serving those with level one traumas such as heart attacks, gun shot wounds, etc. You may also go to the MSHA website and see the wait times for all of the E.R.s before making a choice as to which one to go to. The med center is adding on to the hospital to serve the community in better ways. There will always be a shortage of beds, just like there won’t always be a table at a restaurant, that’s life, that’s a fact. If someone is not happy with the service they get they should complain to the person in the area of the hospital they had trouble with, if nothing is done to improve the problem, then you are right, go somewhere else. Please think about the family members you affect when you point your finger to blame someone for the problems of one of the hardest industries to manage. This goes for the emails below about Mr. Vonderfecht’s employees. If people are not happy with where they work, then I am not sure why they work at a place that is so miserable.
Sincerely,
Kristen Vonderfecht
While it is true that there are many people below the CEO who run different areas of the hospital (just like in any other business), it, like it or not, still falls under the responsibility of the man (or woman) charge to make sure that things are running smoothly. That’s why bosses make the big bucks…they have a tough job. Whether Mr. Vonderfecht or his daughters like it or not, the ultimate responsibility falls on the shoulders of the man in charge. It’s a little like being the President of the United States…while Bush may not be directly responsible for everything that goes on in his government, he must take the ultimate responsibility.
As for beds in the hallways…not only have I seen it myself, but several employees over a number of years have spoken of the problem in the emergency room at the Med Center of having to place people in beds in the hallways while they wait for a room to open up upstairs. Maybe a phone call to OSHA is in order, as this appears to be a common practice.
Additionally, when the problems to which I refer are much more serious than someone with the sniffles having to wait several hours to see a doctor in the emergency room. (Someone, by the way, who goes to the ER with the sniffles should have to wait several hours as anyone without the good sense to go to First Assist for a minor ailment should have to suffer a bit…). I could tell you several stories of absolutely pathetic treatment in the Med Center, but I’ll keep it to just two:
I took my mother to the ER and it was determined – rather quickly – that she had diverticulitis, pancreatitis, and needed to have her gall bladder removed once the diverticulitis and pancreatitis was under control. The surgeon ordered – from the ER – antibiotics and fluids so that the surgery could be done as soon as possible. Twelve hours later, she was still in the ER and had received no fluids or antibiotics. It took a phone call to Kathryn Wilhoit (the head of nursing) and a threat to take my mother to another hospital to get antibiotics, fluids, and a room. What would she have done if she hadn’t had her family there to fight for her? How many people lay in that emergency room without a voice?
On another occasion, my niece was involved in serious car accident. She was air-lifted to the Med Center and actually received adequate care in the ER. The problem this time? Although she was in critical condition, there was no room in ICU, so she was placed in a regular room on an adult floor (despite the fact that she was 16 years old at the time). Had she died that night, I can guarantee that we would have never known that she had been ordered to the ICU, only to be placed elsewhere because of lack of space.
Your comparison of lack of beds in hospitals to lack of tables in restaurants is trite at best. We’re talking lives here – not hamburgers. All I want is another option in Johnson City so that, if MSHA is not providing the care that is needed, patients have somewhere else to go. As it currently stands, it’s MSHA or travel to another city…and that is no kind of option.
-J
October 19, 2006 at 10:37 am
Okay, so you obviously will never listen to what the facts are so I won’t bother saying anything more. You would rather be right and have people who agree with you rather than have an opposing opinion. Good luck with that.
Sincerely,
Kristen Vonderfecht
October 19, 2006 at 5:51 pm
“Sorry son, you’re just going to have to stay in there for a while longer…there’s not room for us at the Med Center!”
I’ll start calling you Mary…
October 19, 2006 at 8:00 pm
As a member of another healthcare system, (want to guess where?), you are rather loose with your facts for what I have found is an intelligent person who sells Mary Kay and very involved in the political environment. You make assumptions based on your limited information or that from some people within their organization. As for having to travel to “another city”, for goodness sakes, we live in the Tri-Cities region! People often travel between Kingsport and Johnson City, or Bristol and Kingsport, you get the idea. You see, while some of my colleagues look at MSHA like an enemy, we need each other. I used to complain about my place but one of my top dogs was right when he emailed that life is too short, be happy.
Sorry about your family member but it could happen at our place or many other hospitals. It is hard to run the place when you do not know who is coming for dinner. Sometimes it is a quiet night on the floors or in the ED but sometimes, everone including your mother comes at once. To build more beds is not the answer as we do not need them all the time. To educate people on how to use the ED. Your mother needed it. Not to be cold, but many hospitals have much longer wait times than we endure around here. We are so spoiled here in how we use our emergency services. You want to guess how many people come to our Level I ED that should not be there? I was told over 30%! Those people bottleneck the ED rooms when they should have gone to their ED or urgent care center.
It is even harder when you charge a fair price but the government and insurers decide to pay you less than it costs to do the service. Healthcare is a messed up industry and people like you griping without using your gray matter to understand what happens, just blaming the top, that does not help. I am hoping that their guy, Mr. Vonderfecht and our man, Dr. Salluzzo, will work together one day and really shake things up. Do you know either one or just some political philosopher who rants and raves without logic. As it is that most likely will not happen. We are spending $100 million to renovate Holston Valley and the rumor is we are looking to buy a Greeneville hospital or part of it. That will only increase the tension I am sure but we all need to survive and to do that we compete. Every day.
So lighten up and realize you could be part of a solution with your brains and presentation style. To be a complainer is a waste of time. Life is short. Be happy. My thanks to Mr. Kane at Wellmont for the advice and you might think about it too. Work for good, not to just make noise.
TC