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Physicians discuss hospital's future
Published Sunday, March 30, 2008
NATCHEZ — A routine physicians meeting on Wednesday night sparked a number of scenarios for financially troubled Natchez Regional Medical Center including a partial purchase by local physicians.
And, while nothing definitive came from the meeting, it signaled a coalescing of physicians, each of whom has a vested stake in the future of medicine in the Miss-Lou.
The meeting came as Natchez Regional’s Board of Trustees awaited the governor’s signature on a bill allowing Regional to file bankruptcy under Chapter 9.
The hospital announced in late February that it was struggling to pay its bills and is restating its financial statement from last year to reflect a larger-than-anticipated financial loss.
Regional’s current debts are estimated to be approximately $25 million.
Meeting of the MDs
Wednesday’s physicians’ meeting was called by Natchez Community Hospital and was a monthly meeting of Community’s Physician Leadership Council.
However, all area physicians — not just ones on staff at Natchez Community — were invited, Community CEO Tim Trottier said Thursday.
“It was held to give the physicians an opportunity to voice what they feel are concerns in delivering care to the people of Natchez right now,” Trottier said. “There wasn’t even an agenda for the meeting.”
Trottier said he and Dale Armour, senior vice president and division CEO for Community’s parent company, Health Management Associates, were in attendance, but only spoke briefly, to outline the ground rules.
Several dozen doctors were reportedly in attendance.
Two Adams County Supervisors, board president Henry Watts and board member Mike Lazarus, were also present at the meeting.
Watts said he and Lazarus were in attendance only to hear what the physicians thought about the situation.
Further, Watts said he believes the hospital’s board of trustees, not the supervisors, must decide what’s the best avenue for the hospital.
Watts said the mood of meeting was serious with one, overriding theme.
“What are we, the doctors in Natchez, going to do about (Regional’s woes)?” he said. “They didn’t say that, but I think that was sort of the subliminal message.”
Nothing off the table
Trottier wouldn’t discuss specific options that the physicians discussed, but said many ideas were considered.
“There were many doctors who spoke throughout the night,” he said. “There were all kinds of thoughts thrown out on the floor last night.”
Dr. Randy Tillman, who spoke at the meeting, said the meeting was a first step in what he hopes becomes a larger dialog between the physicians, who often work independently of one another, and the people running the hospitals.
“Really, there wasn’t a solid idea that came out of it,” Tillman said. “It was a round robin kind of discussion among the physicians. There were all kinds of topics discussed.”
Such options included the possibility of a sale of Natchez Regional to a for-profit company, sale to a non-profit organization, restructuring the management and even a possible joint venture between local doctors and a for-profit company.
The consortium would, theoretically, help a for-profit company buy NRMC.
One physician said the option to have a company partner with physicians was quietly discussed after the meeting.
“They were looking for 10 doctors to sign on at $1 million each, then they (a private company) said they’d buy the hospital,” the physician said.
“They want the doctors to put up $10 million to help them afford to buy it and there’s no guarantee of getting your money back.”
Trottier said neither he nor Armour spoke at the meeting about having any involvement in a possible purchase of Regional.
Further, he said that if HMA had any such interest, the company has a group that works on such acquisitions and likely would not include Trottier or Armour in discussions.
Keeping beds available
Even if no definitive solution or plan was created at Wednesday’s meeting, several physicians say the important thing is that they’re coming together as a group to discuss the future and importance of NRMC and how the physicians might help the hospital.
“(Natchez Regional’s future) affects the health care of our patients,” Tillman said, adding that the high turnout among the physicians illustrates the importance. “It tells you the gravity of the situation, for them to all show up. There’s a higher level of concern from the members of our community.”
Tillman said Regional must survive in some form or fashion, if for no other reason than the community needs the hospital’s acute care beds.
“If Natchez lost those beds, our ability to be a progressive medical community is going to be seriously damaged,” he said.
Dr. Kenneth Stubbs agreed that Regional’s beds were needed in the community. Further, he was happy that physicians have begun to take an interest in Regional’s future.
“It would be ideal if all the physicians were unified,” Stubbs said. “And I think we are unified with the idea of one hospital. How to achieve that is still up for debate.”
Tillman said the financial problems facing Regional have forced physicians to begin asking themselves tough questions about how the future would look without Regional.
“If you lost those beds at Natchez Regional there will be less doctors here,” Tillman said. “(Natchez Regional) doesn’t have to be sold to survive, but it needs to survive.”
Tillman and Stubbs both said they believed additional meetings of the physicians would occur soon, probably through meetings of the Homochitto Valley Medical Society, a component society of the Mississippi State Medical Association.
Comments
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 7:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think the local doctors forking up a million each is an excellent idea.....not only do they have it but they got it because of this hospital! So those that turned their back on it and built their own clinics should now show appreciation to what gave them their start.
Posted by loneconservative (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The main reason the hospital is in debt is because people think someone else shoul fork over money for their problems. They drink, are obese and ruin their own bodies and expect everyone else to fix it for free. Bring babies to the emergency room for thrush in there mouth or a runny nose.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Freebies always waste untold and tremendous amounts of money since they do not work or produce anything but more babies to waste more and more hard earned dollars,it is more of a convience store to them than a emergency room,instead of giving tylenol to the kids they bring them to the ER and let the taxpayers pay 1,000,s for a runny nose and they people who wait on them and see them know that,but that won,t change in our lifetime. Wait until they start giving all the freebies to the illlegals, then it will only worsen.
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen texasranger
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 9:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Now is a good time for the medical community to come together and work with the Board of Supervisors to overcome the situation that the Taxpayer owned facility is under! If a group of Doctors buy it out, well think they should run it like a business to the "T"!
Posted by resson (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When was the last time a community needs assessment was conducted by an independent group and used to make hard decisions? Is there a current resouce inventory? To make business decisions you need input tempered by data from every community group affected (not only physicians), but the needs of the community must take priority. Available resources need to take care of critical community needs first and as resources dwindle... services must also.
Planning for community needs and implementing those plans is critical to success.
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Added Point! That includes a new Board, also!
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 10:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
AMEN to that one rushinghjr!
Posted by Termite (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree as well rushinghjr. Bad management in the past equals the same for the future no matter how much money you put into a failing business.
Posted by NatchezEnema (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Boy it gets better all the time . First it was a profit last year, then 2.5 million debt, that went to 7 million . Now are they saying 25 million? These people and the board are talking out of both sides of their mouths! I bet when they file for bankruptcy and the true numbers come out on the debt (there won't be any estimates then it will be in black and white) it will be a lot more than 25 million. This just goes to show how much we were lied to by the hospital and board. If you think when they reported a profit last year that somebody there didn't know that was a lie. You have your head in the sand. I wouldn't drop a cent on this hospital without a new board and top management. This deception by this hospital and it's board was downright wrong and illegal if you ask me! Cut this white elephant loose. You can't stop a boat from sinking when all you see is the propellar!
Posted by NatchezEnema (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 1:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wish the Democrat would have put the members of the board on record by asking " did you people know the total amount of debt when the hospital said they had a profit last year?" or Wasn't it you job to know? After all isn't it their job to know these things?
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
the lunatics want to buy the asylum. Let them. ....
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 4:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are very correct NatchezEnema and I have NOTHING for that so called hospital board!
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 9:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Very correct enema. It reminds me of Worldcom a few years ago.....very sad...
Posted by sparky018 (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 11:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
All The Lies And Deception!
Posted by AGamma627 (anonymous) on March 30, 2008 at 11:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is a situation where the system is broken. The majority of blue collar workers in the Natchez Adams region lost their good employment. IP and Mandeville (SP) were good jobs with benefits.
Now it is almost impossible to find health care insurance that is offered in a job or affordable with the co-pay or even offered if you are an independent business owner or work for yourself.
As a result, those that have NO insurance and cannot pay for preventative care use the emergency room as a last resort Doctors office.
Of course the desperate people usually paying 10 cents on the dollar of their bill, if that. Also it would have cost 1 dollar to prevent the problem, if there was preventative care or basic treatment but the emergency room bill is 800.00.
As a result hospitals over charge for everything trying to make up the difference. Of course insurance companies hold hospitals at bay as well. There are many statements I read saying "charges"________ that is what the individual was charged then it says "what insurance will pay ________" Insurance gets to negotiate down their costs... but actual people if they did not have insurance and are paying in cash cannot argue down a cost like an insurance company can. Why should a procedure cost one thing for insurance patients, and one for those that could pay everything and a third cost for government patients?
There needs to be a preventative care system being worked in as well. This could save money.
I assure all. The doctors are not doing as well as people think, but are doing well/ However, the bodies that manage these care facilities are booming. They are making money because they are taking advantage of the patients, maximizing costs to the patients, minimizing costs to them (such as staff and healthy rooms) cutting all kinds of costs on care for the patients, tossing doctors aside unless they make profit not cure, and know they have little liability all the while thanks to their lobbying efforts.
AGamma
Posted by ntzslums (anonymous) on March 31, 2008 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Better wake up folks....
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on March 31, 2008 at 10:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If the public wants to pitch in and help the doctors buy the hospital, I'd put in $25.
Anyone else willing?
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on March 31, 2008 at 11:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Amend Peace!
Posted by lsumom (anonymous) on April 3, 2008 at 3:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't understand why noone is asking what is NCH doing holding a meeting about NRMC. Mr. Trottier had no business sticking his nose in. This was just a ploy by him to get info for HMA. But as i understand, HMA is in a lot worse shape because their bottom line is profit and not patientcare.
Posted by hopefloats (anonymous) on April 8, 2008 at 5:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Natchez Community and Riverpark work together. Something like that ...there was a billboard and article in the ND about a partnership. Mostly Dr. randy tillman andMR. Trottier i would image.
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