Sunday, June 17, 2007

If You Snooze.....6/21

Well, campers, this is what greeted us in the Snooze on Sunday. More pap from the top, or actual changes? YOU decide:

CEO has big plans for PRMC

By Mary Madewell
The Paris News

Published June 17, 2007

Christopher Dux, Paris Regional Medical Center's new chief executive officer, told Rotary Club of Paris members Friday he plans to ignite a fire under hospital staff members who may have lost their passion for “care and compassion.”

Speaking about the hospital’s 1,000 employees, Dux told Rotarians the majority chose health care because “they have a burning compassion to help others.”

“In some of our employees that passion for care and compassion is burning brighter than others, but I believe all of them have an ember inside them,” Dux said. “We can rekindle that fire, and we will do that.”

In Paris a little more than a month, Dux said he has had many discussions about a number of issues.

“A lot of things need to be fixed,” Dux said. “I don’t believe anything I have seen here is unique to this facility because all the problems we have exist in other facilities as well.”

The administrator said he plans to put into place measures to encourage employees ”to start taking risks in terms of challenging the status quo.”

“Health care is constantly changing, and we have to adapt,” Dux said. “I don’t have the answers. The answers reside in the front line employees."

“You have to empower them to help us make the changes we need to make to stay current,” Dux said.

The administrator spoke about process improvement and said industry is ahead of health care in process monitoring and improvement.

“We have to teach people to see things through the eyes of their customer,” Dux said.

Change is possible, Dux said.

“It takes a culture change with people wanting to be the best and making a commitment to that,” the administrator said.

Dux said he is encouraged about the number of people who want the Paris facility to be among the best hospitals in the country.

“If we can get employees, physicians and the community to want that also, we can make it happen,” he emphasized.

Asked to give an example of a hospital he may have turned around during his career, Dux spoke of one in Virginia that was barely breaking even when he took the helm.

“Four out of five employees said on an opinion survey they would not recommend the hospital to a relative,” Dux said.

Five years later the hospital received Hospital Joint Commission Certification with a perfect score and patient satisfaction scores were in the 95th percentile, he said.

“The hospital went from a break-even situation to an operating income of $9.6 million and from a 27 percent to a 72 percent market share,” Dux added.

He has worked in hospital administration since 1977 with his career taking him to several states from North Carolina to Iowa to Arizona.

“I’ve been everywhere, man, I’ve been everywhere,” Dux joked, using the words of a once popular song. “Hopefully my traveling is over, and I will be here for quite some time.”


To which I replied-

In re: Christopher Dux's recent comment in the News on improving PRMC:

He is correct in that the desire to serve the patient must be rekindled, but the question is, how and why did that desire get lost in the first place? Granted it took a hit when the two hospitals became one, but it really came under fire when Essent bought the facility in 2004.

Ask yourself, if you have the guts, why a facility who claims itself to be a for-profit organization is losing money in four out of its five facilities; is turned down for ownership in its last three acquisition attempts (two of them being Muskogee, OK and Weatherford, TX); and has had three CEOs in town in the last 3 years. Couple this with the conditions Essent has let the facilities and equipment go to, and the low patient census, and then ask yourself (if you dare) if this is the right ownership for the area.

Attitudes must change, true, but in this case so must the management, from Machavellian policies to pro-employee, pro-physician, pro-patient policies. If the ownership cannot make these changes, perhaps it's time to change ownership.

Now between you, me and the fencepost, this letter has as much chance seeing the light of day in the Snooze as a snowball in Hell. But, again to keep the pressure on these clowns to do some journalism, letters like this one must be written, not by me, but by everyone (And I mean EVERYONE) who wants to see the truth out in the light of day.

No time for idle cynics, folks- start sending those letters into the Snooze via their website, snailmail, hand delivery, or however.

This comment was too on the money not to put in now...frank

8 comments:

fac_p said...

Yep, a 92 bed community hospital that is now losing $3,234,868 per year. Another one that should have kept DDux.

Anonymous said...

Another feel-good article from our local BSL(Bull _hit Liberal). Too bad she won't ever be anything but a candy dish reporter.

Anonymous said...

Based on my friends and my family's experience with the hospital and the observation of how they have treated their employees, I think it is a pretty tall order for the administrator in Paris to do the things in Sunday's paper. Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

As the writer of that letter, I am somewhat surprised this was posted as a blog post, but no, I don't midn a bit. As it is, I used my real name & address on the letter, so in case this ever sees the light of print, you will know the identity of at least ONE poster, but since there is nothing E$$ent can do to me other than kiss my a$$, it doesn't matter.

I was an employee until June 2005, and left behind quite a few coworkers from both campuses (I'm a former McCusition hand myself) who were and are not happy with how Hud and his FUBAR Fairies are doing things. Their only hope to retire happy is for this hospital to change ownership, which may not happen unless it's in bankruptcy proceedings. And folks, Paris deserves better.

If the letter never sees print, you'll know there are some folks outside of Paris (I live 2 counties west) who still care.

And oh yes Hud, Big DIck, and Duckboy, if you are reading this, go **** yourselves.

I don't know how the retirement would be handled, unless the plug was pulled before any bankruptcy. Wonder if that's a dangerous subject, although I don't know how they could tap into the vestment funds from Christus.

Like I said, it was too good to pass to just a comment, and if it was sent to me by email, I could have modified things a bit.

But, have no fear, if it was here first, it won't be in the Snooze....frank

fac_p said...

We know the identity of four--three if you don't count Dick. A former pharmacy tech, a former xray tech, Dr. Eliz, and Holly, of which Holly got the worst deal--and she never worked here....frank

Anonymous said...

Duks already said in a Dept Head meeting that he wants no BMW--no bitching, moaning and whining. In other words, he wants Paris Snooze News: sunshine and puppies.
Now he's saying he wants the truth and and he wants employees to be brutally honest. Sorry we're not THAT stupid, Ducky Boy!

Anonymous said...

You shall soon know the ID of this poster, and by the looks of things so will the legal beagles at E$$ent. The comment I made will be printed in the Snooze.

Wonder if they have my ticket punched for the Gulag.......

Anonymous said...

Kinda funny when you think about it.............used car salesmen buying into their own tired diatribe.............as usual,poor babies,it's not their fault, it's the failings of their own unimportant, uncaring, unmotivated staff. Wouldn't have a blasted thing to do with p@## poor management! BUT, plumpin their own pillows via the local Funny Paper make 'em feel good about themselves and all their wondrous accomplishments. Man, whatever happened to REAL leaders, someone you could stand proud and say I work for these folks, it's been a long, long time since that's happened here folks! And it ain't comin back anytime soon I'm afraid.