Saturday, February 03, 2007

Here at Essent...2/23

We make you read your own X-rays....

.
I'd say that's one way of taking the radiology groups out of the equation....
Is this how we make patients invest in their own care?
...and do they have to fee-split?

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paris Regional Medical Center
We don't have any radiologists on staff, but we don't need them! If you are admitted as a patient at Paris Regional Medical Center, we'll make you read your own X-rays!

It saves us money from having to hire all of those expensive locum tenens radiologists. Plus, if you misdiagnose yourself, you can't sue us!

love it....frank lol

Anonymous said...

At least if you read them you know they exist - ha!

Anonymous said...

See the cat? Stare deeply into his eyes.......

Now, look very closely at this litter of puppies.........

All done? Good.

You have just had you cat scan and lab test. Please take care of your co-pay before leaving the outpatient center.

Anonymous said...

If you are admitted, you can also make your own bed, give yourself your own meds, and send out for pizza if you get hungry.

If they run off cath lab, then you can put yourself to sleep, and hold pressure on your own groin. I can hear instructions on monitoring themself as well--if you see those lines on that machine going up and down really fast or in one straight line, bend over and kiss your a$$ good-bye.

Just call it the self service hospital. When they run off the rest of the staff, they can have these automatic voice message systems. Like the call light will give 4 choices. Do you have a need--press one. Do you think you are dying?--Press 2. All other person's stay on the call light for the next available service representive.

I'm sorry, all nurses are unavailable right now--please stay on the call light or try your request later.

Or like maybe they will have automated directions for certain things like--Take all pills, place enema in the anal opening as far as it will go and sqeeze all of the fluid in the bottle, or---It puts the lotion on its skin.

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for E$$ent to put in a "drive-thru" window off ER, healthcare-par excellence McDonalds.

Anonymous said...

7:00 PM,

With an ER the size of a hyperthyroid broom closet, it would look like one of the drive-thru coffee kiosks found in the Pacific Northwest.

Cappuchino? Latte? Espresso? Pain meds? Sutures?

Starbucks goes into healthcare....

Anonymous said...

Hey; If you happen to be a member at the Wellness Centers, next time you are in RACE look up at the Sky Lights. They have been busted out since the hail storm we had way back when. They are fixed with duct tape... no lie. Every last one of them is busted out, as are the holes in the roof of the pool enclosure from the same storm.

Everytime it rains, the men's locker room get soaked from the leaks. You would think they would at least fix the roof.

Come on, a coat of paint and....frank

Anonymous said...

you want fries with that?

Anonymous said...

If you happen to go back to the RACE center soon, you'll notice that the holes have been repaired using the finest quality materials affordable-

duct tape and black plastic trash bags.

As for the men's locker room, that's a money-saver. The showers don't work, so we rely on Mother Nature to wash the stank off of our male patrons.

See, you're looking at it all wrong- Essent is trying very hard to reduce costs in ingenious ways, and you're not appreciative of their efforts.

Anonymous said...

You do 'gooders' just don't get it? No amount of whining or crying about this or that on this blogspot is going to do one damn thing! All essent is interested in is a buck. They are going to spend the least amount possible for the greatest gain possible. This new CEO that just arrived...is a SCAB! You know what a scab is,right?It just covers up the sore. Peel it off and the sore is still there. Now, do you get it?!

Anonymous said...

Anybody have any new news on the cath lab? Last I heard a couple of them were hammering out the details with some travel agencies.

Anonymous said...

Rumor has it that Advanced Heart Care is on its way out. Also, heard that the old outpatient surgery bldg is going to be the new PRMC Cardiac bldg.

Anonymous said...

So 8:00 am. Your not a do-gooder? Are ya a bad-dooer?

That's what we are pointing out--the scabs. We see what's wrong.

The blog has already helped some people. At least it has helped with the hopelessness we have felt, and don't feel isolated because of it.

At the hospital you can't talk about it. If this site has done nothing else, it has helped with the PTSD caused by the Essent administration.

Anonymous said...

What happend in the Cath Lab?! They have screwed them around before on call, hours and overtime.

Then they rectified it to keep them. Are they doing it again?

Nobody is touching my family if they loose what's left down there. Takes too long to learn that job, and if no one is there to teach them--great big ooops.

Pretty obvious to me, they aren't in it for the long haul. If they are messing with the hospitals biggest money maker, they have no want for the future. They are cutting their losses and fixing to haul a$$.

If not--they are just dumber than I think they are, and I don't think that's possible.

Anonymous said...

Ahhhh, so the old outpatient surgery center (remember ya'll, the one that every time it rained it flooded the building soaking carpeting and whatever else, due to the contractor building below grade that could NEVER be fixed..........perfect environ for mold problems) is going to be the NEW and IMPROVED cardiac center. Know I'd want ANY cardiac care I needed to be done there. Uh-huh, again what moron came up with that brilliant idea, oops, forgot, grab the paint boys, it'll make everything alright! E$$ents answer to EVERYTHING!

These morons take stupidity to new limits on a weekly basis. Wonder what famous line Hud & Dickie will come up with to encourage the locals that those problems have been taken care of, know the Snooze will buy into it. Seems the local rag just loves to quote these jerks, don't know who is more disgusting the Rag or Hud and bumbling entourage!

Oh and Hud for your info, the surgery center was cussed and discussed many times over at all of the local cafes here in Paris. Our local Texas downpours kept the hospital maintenance crews busy sucking out the excess water, and trying to cover it with many varieties of air fresheners, which of course only made the stench worse!

Anonymous said...

8:00 AM,

OK, the question begs itself- what have YOU done lately to change things? Have you accepted the status quo, accepted the brainwashing, and bought into the BS? Or are you actually doing something yourself towards a change in ownership?

Condemning us as whiners without offering any viable options is ineffective.

In case you haven't looked too closely, two other communities have turned Essent down. The spycam-in-the-smoke-detector scam was busted, and is no more (as far as anyone knows). Complaints were made by Essent to the Texas Attorney General (which is like listening to cockroaches complain when a light is turned on in a room).

Do you get THAT?

Anonymous said...

The cath lab equipment won't stand a move. It will break down before it gets over there.

If it gets warm, it will break down. If it gets wet--guess what--it will break down.

They will be spending a fortune, and will be broke down more than they are running.

I wonder if the crew has let administration in on this little secret, and they aren't listening.

Maybe it's another one of those feedback problems that they don't want to hear, from people who know what they are talking about to people that do not.

Anonymous said...

AHC is set to move and from what I hear, the physical therapy clinic is going to go in over there right next to RACE

Anonymous said...

Where is AHC moving to?

Anonymous said...

AHC a bigger building in town is what I hear.

Anonymous said...

I thought they were buying property off the loop at 195.

Anonymous said...

Thought I'd bring this one forward, since it applies here as well. Was posted to "NE Essent":

I am one of those employees of the old .."The Nashoba Community Hospital" I worked there for 18 years, I watched it go from "The Nashoba Community Hospital" to "Deaconess-Nashoba Hospital" to "Beth Isreal/Deaconess Nashoba Hospital" which was part of the failing "Caregroup" alliance. Then finally I lasted one year into the "NVMC", until I could not take the philosophy of the money=everything....patients/employess mean nothing. I too moved onto greenier pastures. There was a very smart guy I used to work with there, who use to quote Andrei and his cloanies as saying "You mean nothing to me!!"

When Essent first took over their first hospital forums was laced with comments as "We are going to do this, and that..if you do not like it leave...we will not have unhappy employess here." I watched as a once great friendly hospital that I pretty much grew up in ...turn into a mis-managed shell of a hospital. I went back there to work only per diem, the only reason I did that was to see old friends....then those friends also started to "see the light" Now if I would ever to go back there to work a shift...,I would only know about 10-15% of the employees.

I'll finish off by saying I seen the hospital go thru all sorts of changes from a place I was proud to work at.....to a place that I'm ashamed to have worked (under NVMC).

I respect the employees working there...just not the system.

fac_p said...

Rumors are floating around as to Joe Xavier and Essent. Apparently he and Essent have parted company. An email supposedly states it, from the hospital.

Dr. X has a lot of supporters, and it doesn't hurt that he's a heck of a nice person. He does have an office for outpatient treatment, I'd say that referrals would be in the spirit of the blog....

So, anybody interested in an specialty rehab facility not affiliated with the hospital?

Anonymous said...

There are alot of things that are not like at the hospital and will never change. You know a lot of nurses and ex employees bad mouth the place but we know they needed to be gone. Bad attitudes, sharp tongues with the patient. Wake up people it is not all the hospital faults. you hear about all the bad experience people have there, well why don,t you talk about the good things that have happen to our patients. If it was so bad, why do we see the same people returning. Myself for one. CRY,CRY,CRY, CATH LAB. You are being treated like the rest of the employees in special areas. NO 8 AND 80 any more. We would have liked it to.

Anonymous said...

551

Have you ever worked cath lab? I have. They deserve 8 and 80. If you don't think so, you give it a whirl, and see how much money its worth to you.

They take your life. So what's that worth to you. For me, there is no amount of money.

I haven't heard many stories that were good. I have heard a few, and the good ones have been in the ER with some of the good nurses that work the night shift.

I haven't heard of one good experience on the floors. It's probably not the nurses fault, as much as it is they are short staffed. You just can't do it right, if there aren't enough people.

Yes, I agree there were some bad attitudes before Essent took over, and some of them are still there. Some of them, have been the last to go. Some people are miserable no matter how well you treat them.

It still doesn't take away from the fact that Essent has shown no care for its employees or its patients. I've seen and heard of countless doctors sent their pt.s elsewhere for treatment that we can take care of here, simply because we are short staffed, which leads to nocoscomial infections, and complications, and med errors.

Your attitude doesn't seem that great either, if you are calling your fellow employees cry babies.

Anonymous said...

5:51

I know that you have the right to your opinion, and I do respect that. I respect the fact that you went against the grain to speak your thoughts, and I appreciate the fact that you do care for the hospital.

But your statement reeks with contempt for fellow employees, that apparently had better benifits than you.

It's true that there are some employees past and present that have had bad attitudes, but maybe you might look in the mirror.

Some of the leadership has been breeding this contempt. I wish they would get a vasectomy, or spend some time in the cath lab without lead- to nuke some nads. Their breeding needs to stop.

Anonymous said...

5:51,

Are you familiar with the phrase "put up or shut up"? Since you seem to be full of positive stories, please tell us one.

I am an ex-employee, true, but I never badmouthed the place, nor was I short with patients- matter of fact, I look at them as if I were in their place. I would want good treatment and respect, so I give it in return.

It's rather naive to think the folks who are gone are nothing but dead wood. Had you bothered to read a few posts, you would have read tales of committed men & women who got burned out by the ridiculous policies. We're not the useless people you think we are- in fact, we're still doing whagt we've been trained to do in the healthcare field, in better environments.

Are you getting good care at PRMC? Good for you- the folks there do their best to make that happen. When I was there, so did I. Just because we left doesn't make us useless or bad employees. There IS life beyond the city limits- if you wish to keep getting healthcare in Paris, it's certainly your right too do so.

It is also the desire of the folks who write to this blogsite that you and your neighbors will comtinue to recieve good care, but not under a system that puts profit ahead of all else. We don't feel Essent is competent enough to pull it off, and we've all been in healthcare for quite some time.

I wish you see what we see every day.....then again, I'm glad you don't.

Anonymous said...

It was reported to me by a friend in the hospital that medical personnel neither washed their hands upon entering or leaving their room. Another friend's sister just had emergency surgery last week and already has an infection. It can happen anywhere, but too often happens here.

Anonymous said...

I WAS an employee at PRMC for about one year, looks like I left just in time for the big lay-off??!!! We are already so SHORT staffed, how can they manage this one? Someone had better pull a rabbit out of their ass!! The quote in the paper was BEYOND ridiculous, something like, we will provide the best health care possible for the least amount of cost??!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! My mom, WITH a history of severe heart and lung problems was being brought into the ER with upper chest/abdominal pain on her right side..I called on my way in, got there first and had her all signed in....she still sat in the waiting area with only a gown on, crying and hurting for about 20 minutes before she could be triaged!!! I KNOW this is not the ER staff's fault, but SOMETHING should have been done here!!! She has a calcified aorta and sclerosed arteries...is 70 years old and has severe COPD. The nurse at triage desk couldn't find her paperwork and when we finally DID get her back there...she was shut up in the room, and she has HIGH anxiety levels, and not shown where the call light was. She was yelling for someone to come unhook her so she could get to the restroom because she suffers from incontinence, the lady who came to the door told her "I am not your nurse, let me see if I can find her" My mom was BEGGING just to be unhooked to go to the bathroom, she ended up urinating on herself furthering her embarrassment and her situation. Yes, she had to have contrast to get some testing done..but she was in the ER EIGHT hours!!!!!!! AND THEY WANT TO CUT STAFF???? SOMEONE PLEASE...OPEN YOUR EYES!!!

Anonymous said...

4:33

I'm so sorry to hear of your mom's experience. The people that care are helpless to get anything done. It has been that way since Christus left.

When they cut staff in the ER from 1-3 ratio to 1-4, then sometimes they couldn't find anyone to come in if someone called in-and then the ratio's increased.

Patients are supposed to be triaged within 5 min. They get by with this by not putting the pt. in the computer until they are back in the triage area.

I'll bet when it comes down to it, and the hospital goes down, administration will blame their downfall on the blog. But the truth is, the ones that were trying to give good pt. care, and were trying to get someone to listen, about what wasn't working and why--that was the downfall. The blog is for mental health for the people who felt so helpless for so long.

Our eyes are open, I assure you. It could have been my family as easily as it was yours.

Anonymous said...

I'm a former employee that left for health reasons, not Essent. I became elegible for Medicare in Feb. It is a real shame that the hospital that I would normally go to for care {PRMC} does not accept all of the Medicare Advantage plans. The last time I was sick enough to come to PRMC I was astounded at the lack of care that was actually given. I thought it might be that since I was an RN in the past, maybe they thought I should take care of myself. I don't blame the staff. Essent has cut, and cut till there is not enough staff, that are qualified, to do pt. care. The few that are left from before Essent, are so stressed and stretched to the limits that there is no room to teach new employees or even point out where the restrooms are. I have gotten into conversations with several people about the poor service they got there. They say that if you come to the hospital, just call your funeral director and let them know to expect you soon. I still feel like this is my hospital, but if I need anything more than a bandaid, you better believe, I'm on my way to Tyler or Dallas. It seems that my chances will be the same if I come to Paris or try to get to another place. Maybe my chest pain will not be a major heart attack, and I can get there in time. I'm so sorry that some think of this as whining. It is pure fact.

Anonymous said...

Seems the radiologist issuses are getting worse again. They have started to bring the recruits through and they all have been clueless and unable to speak ENGLISH. Even some of the locums that were coming on a regular basis have either read the blog or have finally opened thier eyes. Guess we will be left with the scabs again.

Anonymous said...

4:33
You need to follow the JCAHO link and file a complaint. They have a database and check it as new complaints come in. Enough complaints, and presto: A visit.

Even if it doesn't rise to the level of a visit, they will have their list when the do inspect.