Print this story | E-mail story | This story has 22 comments Add your own | iPod friendly
County interviews consultant to review hospital
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2008
NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors spent nearly three hours Tuesday interviewing potential consultant company Butler Snow to conduct a study on Natchez Regional Medical Center.
The study, which is mandated by state law, will determine whether the hospital should be sold, leased or retained.
At the last supervisors meeting on May 20, the board passed a resolution to hire a consulting group.
Now, steeped in the interview process, the board has three potential candidates and will continue the interviews over the next week, board president Henry Watts said.
The interview took place during executive session.
“We had them explain how they would help the county with the hospital problem,” Watts said.
After the interview process, Watts said the board voted to interview another consulting group today.
The interview is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
The consulting companies are well informed of NRMC’s situation and are generally experienced in handling struggling hospitals, Watts said.
He said he hopes to be done with the interviews by the end of the week, as the process needs to move quickly.
“The supervisors understand that time is of the essence and we have to work speedily on this thing,” Watts said.
Supervisor Darryl Grennell said he thought action was supposed to be taken Tuesday and a vote to be had.
“We basically had a long lengthy discussion,” Grennell said. “We discussed a whole lot of things so that the board could understand the mechanics of the whole thing in order to make a decision.”
He said he hopes a decision will be made today.
Board vice president S,E. “Spanky” Felter said he hopes the board doesn’t speed through the process too quickly.
“I know we have to do it quick but we’re going to do it right,” Felter said. “And the right thing is not jumping to the first (consultant) that comes along.”
“We want to see who’s got the best deal.”
Hospital attorney Walter Brown said the county and hospital board desire to have the determination on whether to sell, lease or keep the hospital coincide with legally declaring bankruptcy.
Brown has said that potential buyers would find purchasing a hospital under bankruptcy appealing.
Overall, Brown said the process is about 90 days long if everything goes smoothly.
“If it’s delayed it could take longer,” he said.
The board of supervisors also needs to approve the $3 million interim loan requested by the hospital board and hospital CEO Scott Phillips.
The amount of the loan was decided by hospital officials, which is based on monies that will need to be spent on the cost of the hospital study itself, the cost of the consulting company involved, the cost of legal counsel if need be and much more, Brown said.
Though the amount was determined by the hospital board, it’s protocol that the supervisors vote on it.
“They will vote on that tomorrow,” Brown said.
Comments
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 4:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why the "big rush"? A big rush sounds too fishy. There also needs to be at least 3 consulting firms interviewed (without the influence of Bland or Brown). Mr. Watts, don't mess this up because some may be too quick to get this over with. Listen to Felter.
Posted by nursegal (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 5:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
yea Grennell wanted to vote on tuesday. what is the rush? I don't see how they can vote on keeping it the existing way...things are being run so poorly up there now..maybe thats the plan. we will look so unorganinized they will say get rid of it! But then thats Philips fault.
Posted by Preacher (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 8:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It has already been determined by Phillips and others that the hospital should be sold. This study is evidently a legal requirement of the overall plan to get the hospital into private hands. I don't think it will take any consultant very long to see the need to sell the hospital, hopefully to a competent national firm. It's now, just a matter of how much a consultant will cost. Legal hoops. Time will tell.
Posted by theoracle (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Phillips was hired by Bland and Brown to sell the hospital, so of course he is going say the hospital should be sold. I also think that the hospital should not be run by the county, but there are more than one option on how to do this. I think the study should be taken seriously so that all options get the chance to be considered.
Posted by topper (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
what bank is going to loan 3 million to a hospital that can not manage money?
Posted by bland (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
please let me correct something. Phillips was hired to run the hospital and not sell it. He came back to the board and said the hospital should be sold because the hospital did not have the money to run it in the future. He was not hired by the board to sell the hospital. I wanted to take the hospital to a not-for-profit so that politics from the county would not interfere. Also i am not paid any big money to be on the board, $40.00 a month which is donated to a local charity. The problems with the hospital was the lack of payment and probably the management that was hired over 10 years ago that i did not get to vote on. thanks.
Posted by lsumom (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
bland, why can't anyone on the board explain why Phillips is being paidso much money to run the hospital? A good administrator could have been hired without using a management company. Also, why are there still doctors on the payroll? If all of these people were taken off the payroll that would free up a lot of money. Maybe then NR would have a chance to get back on its feet. I think it is all part of a carefully orchestrated plan to get NR out of PERS. Phillips is not running the hospital, he is running it in the ground by running off all the staff, leaving areas without adequate help.
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
A bank that accepts taxpayers as collateral, topper.
Posted by theoracle (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 1 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Bland, perhaps I was mistaken by what was printed in the May 1 article "New CEO optimistic about hospital" that contained the following comment: "Hospital board attorney Walter Brown said Phillips is eventually expected to recommend the hospital’s conversion to a non-profit entity." If from day one, this is what the boss expected of Phillips, then it makes since to conclude that this would be the outcome. I am not arguing for or against selling or leasing, but from where I see this, this is the path that was set when Natchez hired Healthcare Management Partners. I do think it is good the board of supervisors is having an independent consultant come in to give an unbiased opinion to the board on how best to resolve the NRMC plight. I do thank you for posting!
Posted by bland (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
theoracle- i agree with you about the supervisors. as a matter of fact, i have to be at a Supervisor meeting at 2:00 to discuss this. Thank you for the positive comment. To LSUmom- Pers is expensive and at present the hospital cannot pay the monthly contribution. Please remember that i am one vote on a board of volunteers who really care about the employees and healthcare in Natchez. Both of my parents died in that hospital and all of my children were born in that hospital. If you want to contact me, please feel free to double click on the username above. thanks
Posted by nursegal (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MR. Bland ...what doesn't make sense to a lot of us at NRMC is this: the hospital is on diversion because there are not enough nurses to handle the patients. How can there be enough money when there are no patients? Please explain that to us and if Surgery is the biggest money maker in a hospital why was the surgery outpatient unit closed and the surgeons have to walk all over the hospital to find their patients. Then you pay the staff overtime to staff the units that are left. Why?
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 6:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
SELL IT!!
SELL IT!!
SELL IT!!
The county has no business trying to operate and own a hospital. Leave that to people that are professionals and really have incentive to make it work.
Posted by bland (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 7:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
nursegal, great question. What does Phillips say? I have no idea why your are on diversion. Please call me and explain the comments about surgery outpatient being closed. Have you talked to Lana about this. she is capable of handling anything, i think. Thanks for the info, if we trustees don't have anyone to tell us we will not know.
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Bland, why is so much money tied up in keeping around six doctors on regular payroll? That money would go a long way in nurse staffing and keeping services open.
Posted by bland (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 7:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
ntzmom, something will be done about that soon i think. are the six doctors Anderson, Wolfe, Han,Ingram,and Hopkins . who is the other ones.
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on May 28, 2008 at 10:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dan...I don't know much about the current state of affairs regarding the hospital, except what I read in the paper and here in the blogs, but I want you to know that I think that you've done as good a job as can humanly be expected. I particularly want to commend you for your forthrightness and attempt to communicate here with the people who matter most...the citizens.
You've taken a great deal of unwarranted and unearned derision and handled it in a responsive, considerate and controlled manner...I've not always agreed with your actions or methods in the past, but you've grown inestimably in my eyes through this ordeal...bon chance!
Posted by hopefloats (anonymous) on May 29, 2008 at 1:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Is keeping the hospital an option?
Posted by hopefloats (anonymous) on May 29, 2008 at 1:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why doesn't the Board have 2 representatives from Natchez Regional sitting on the board to help with decisions and just try keeping the hospital for 1 year? Of course the board members would be someone elected by the hospital not selected. Theses people need to be someone familiar with the doctors and every day operations...one nurse and one department head in an ancillary dept. These people offer their services and the people elect them to represent.
Posted by nursegal (anonymous) on May 29, 2008 at 1:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
great idea hope...that way the board would understand the operations and how some decisions are not profitable for the hospital.
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on May 29, 2008 at 3:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Mr. Bland, I believe there is another doctor but I do not feel comfortable placing his name on the post. I will say that I do believe he has a practice in Louisiana, though.
Posted by nursegal (anonymous) on May 29, 2008 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
NtzMom..i am sure mr. bland knows of every dr. on the Natchez Regional payroll. It would have been voted on by the Board of Trustees. Right? That was always a mystery to me..exactly how much does the board know? I read on one blog that the Board of Trustees sends a report to the Board of Supvs. Sometimes it feels like none of the Board members know anything the Adm. does. But then i guess all hospitals are that way we just know more because of the financial situation. EnKiKur that is the funniest thing i have ever read on the blogs..taxpayers as collateral for the $3 mil. loan...lmao
Posted by rushinghjr (anonymous) on May 29, 2008 at 11:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You will only know what the Board wants the public to know or the attorney also.
Post a comment (Terms of Use Policy)
(Requires free registration.)