Saturday, October 11, 2008

How Does It Stay Afloat?....1/1


I have been remiss, and not checking the site American Hospital Directory (AHD.com). Some new figures have come in which make the Essent Healthcare Corporation's future a bit more uncertain. Only one hospital is listing a profit: Sharon Hospital. The rest are swimming in red ink. The rundowns are as such:


Sharon Hospital********78beds $1,889,467
PRMC*****************255beds -$508,231
NVMC******************57beds -$638,864
SWMC******************73beds -$2,411,841
MVH*******************138beds -$4,323,137

Total********************601beds -$6,001,606 net annual loss

The names of the hospitals are also links to the full listing for each under the free information section of AHD.com. Note: The information included is provided by Essent itself.

These figures do not reflect the current crisis. The disclaimers on the pages indicated that these are last year's figures, and in part 2006! So, it doesn't show the construction costs, the locums, the RHCs, and so on....

You would think that the various newspapers in these communities would have picked up on the downward trend, but, then again, they missed the firing of Hud (by almost a month!), and locally the Knizely dismissal. When I can scoop them, just using my limited resources, what are their reporters doing?

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

They have other things to do ( I mean the reporters) I think that wether the hospital is in red or white is not one of thier priorities neither should it be ,they dont report on other local companies going in loss or making profits do they ,just because you have a bone to pick with the hospital doesnt mean that every one should follow you does it.They can spend times at many other news items ,I think if you want to spend your times looking up wether Sharon hospital is making a profit or a loss is upto you and we have a choice of reading it or not reading it ,so I really do not think you need to criticise the newspaper ,if you feel that you are doing a good job for the community by posting this information I think there is nothing wrong with it but then you have no reason to complain about others and how they need to spend thier times is none of your business.
Quite honestly as long as I get reasonable and standard of care treatment how any organization spends thier money is not my concern now if the care was lacking then I think it is important to know for the community and in turn would be good information so that problems can be corrected and harm is not brought on to patients and that information would be beneficial information for all .

fac_p said...

Ah, yes, except they were outraged that they had not been informed when Hud was terminated...and were notedly upset when Knizley was terminated and they weren't informed. Something about being one of, if not the largest employer in town.

They were certainly quick on the trigger when the hospital sued Open Imaging, but less so when the suit was dropped. Wonder about that....

Maybe they should, if nothing other than rumour control ;)

See, Sharon hospital is making money, interestingly enough, since I've talked to nurses from the area that have little good to say about it. If you're satisfied with the care, you can keep on utilizing it. The deal in which Sharon was privatized had some interesting stipulations with the state.... I wonder how those are holding?

Anonymous said...

The local paper should report if the hospital is making a loss or a profit. I would rather be treated at a Hospital that is finanial stable then one that is not. At MVH I have been involved in meeting were the discussing has been focus on how we can treat patient for less or extend their treatment to be reimburse more. At one meeting it was discuss on how to up their treatment (even if it wasn't necessary) and charge the insurance. The Patient Accts manager along with the Emergency Room Manager was trying to stragize on how they can bump the charges up to bring in more money especially with the elderly. There are many issues at MVH that need to come out especially when it come to the safety of patients.

Anonymous said...

How does it stay afloat you ask. Well at Merrimack Valley it stay afloat by lies and deceit.

Anonymous said...

The CFO at Nashoba Valley Medical Center is no longer on the ship. CFO Tom Whalen went on his merry way last Friday. He probably took a serious look at all the ESSENT RED INK and decided to get off the TITANIC. Mr. Collins isn't the only one to leave the ship. General surgeon, Dr. Colette Whitby basically walked out about 2weeks ago. She came in on a Friday and announced it was her last day.( By the way, Dr.Whitby was a tennant in the new medical office building that was recently built. I guess a VACANCY sign will be up soon.) This put the hospital in a very bad situation because the only other general surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Janes was retiring October 1, 2008. Dr. Whitby has joined the medical staff of the competition,Emerson Hospital and set up her practice in Groton Center. About 5 minutes from Nashoba Valley Medical Center. Essent supposedly has a new surgeon on the horizon but rumor has it he is near retirement age as well.

Anonymous said...

Is Mr Collins leaving??????

fac_p said...

They'd have to make some guarantees, and come up with serious money to get a good cutter to move into that situation. Wonder if he looked at his investment portfolio and said, "Whoops! Time to come out of retirement."

I think that's going to happen with a lot of physicians.

As to Dr. Whitby, she was virturally trapped into staying in the area. With the other surgeon leaving, there might have been abandonment issues. Since she stayed close, that would seemingly be invalidated. If she dropped her privleges, it will have a tendancy to siphon off surgical cases, possibly medical as well. Emmerson used to be a pretty decent hospital.

Anonymous said...

Correction to 4:37pm post...Should have said Mr.Whalen is not the only one to leave the ship. Mr. Collins was a mistake. Sorry for the confusion.

Anonymous said...

Mr Collins isn't going to jump ship!!! Remember the Boston globe
Two senior executives of Emerson Hospital in Concord created documents that misstated the hospital's financial condition over parts of its last three fiscal years, the hospital found after an investigation and audit that concluded last week.

The two senior executives - Dana P. Diggins, Emerson's chief financial officer, and Michael Collins, its controller - left Emerson last year. Officials declined to say whether they resigned or were fired. A third financial executive, who the hospital would not name, was let go.

The matter has been referred to the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley, said John M. Lowe III, chairman of the hospital's board of directors

WHO IS GOING TO HIRE HIM!!!!

Anonymous said...

Um, Sharon isn't doing so well any more either. Seems they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar by one of their big insurers, who is now demanding a big, big discount. Word is that it will cost them about $1 million this year. Sharon also lost one of its two general surgeons this summer. It's Chief Nursing Officer was canned, its CFO resigned and the pink slips have been coming fast and furious.

Looks like the wheels are coming off this bus.

Anonymous said...

To the 8:46 AM poster- the financial health of the local medical center is a concern, and should be a concern of the community. It's definitely more important than talking about the local (name your flower here) Ball, or who got married where.

I don't expect the local fishwrap to print anything more than tea-and-cookie news, so why should they start being subjective now?

Anonymous said...

Consider, if just for a moment, that these are the losses that Essent Healthcare is admitting. As with any for-profit company, there is a real vested interest to make these income statement numbers look as favorable as possible. Corporations run the substantial risk of losing investors when the numbers don’t match the hype.

I‘ve seen first-hand how easy it is to overstate the bottom line. A simple way to accomplish this is to manipulate the contractual adjustment line item. This income statement line item changes the bottom line substantially by taking into consideration the contracts (deductions from the retail or “self pay” price) a hospital has with its payers.

While I’m certainly not stating that Essent Healthcare has done such a deed … Mr. Collins does have a history of such “mistakes” per the Boston Globe:

Emerson Hospital misstated financials - The Boston Globe

Even given the current figures, Essent is admitting to about a $10,000.00 loss per bed per year. Ouch.

Anonymous said...

PRMC/Christus has been running in the red for years, so this listing is nothing new. Only thing that's changed is the "leadership".

I don't see this being published in the Snooze any time soon- why, we can't aggravate the big boys in town, even though they have no idea what they're doing. The Snooze will print an article about PRMC that is similar to making chicken s*** taste like chicken salad, and there are enough folks that will buy it.

Anonymous said...

They must have money coming from some where because I have seen them waste more on Bull^%IT or should I say to cover their half baked ideas. EX to take out a cath lab just to rent a mobile one? Can you say think first?

Anonymous said...

I just read under the other post that the "Cardiac Center of Excellence" was going to be populated by travelers.

Darn, what happened to the PRMC policy of limiting travelers?

And who is breaking them in? Will they be training the new hires that replace them? Hmmm, hiring travelers at about three times the money--and the advertised hourly is $19-24 for new hires. Someone put a lot of thought into this logic bomb.

Was going to comment on the other post, but it seems to be more germane to this purview.

Anonymous said...

As a former traveler, I focused more on the job I was sent to do. I've been in some real loser situations in my traveling career that made me happy when my contract was up.

I would ask you regulars to be civil to those travelers that may be coming in to staff the Cardiac Center. The agency bills the facility an awful lot of money, but only a small part of that goes to an agency employee.

Why does the phrase "Spend a dollar to save a dime" come to mind when I read the last couple of posts? What does that say about the facility, (mis)management, or anything else?

Anonymous said...

The cardiac center has not been opened and you already know it will be populated by travellers ! My foot I am one of the ones who will be working there not only are there no travellers but even amongst us we had to go through almost a rigirous reinterview process to be able to work there .Sometimes it is nice to acknowledge good work done rather then be an eternal complainer.This is the first time in years that Essent has finally done something good for the community ,they really didnt have to .so give at least some credit for that .

fac_p said...

Actually, I've heard that it was the carrot that brought Hashmi up here from Florida. Just took a few years.

I guess there are 11 ICU-ER spots that are open, so where are they going to get the increased staffing for the North ER and CCU? If you are going to the North, who is taking your place???

Credit is given when credit is due.

Anonymous said...

6:50,

This would be the FIRST TIME EVER Essent came close to doing anything good for the community. That's not a complaint, that is fact. Unless you've had your head buried in the sand, or you're an Essent apologist, you should know this.

Anonymous said...

Word is out that Whittier Assc Physician's are no longer sending their patients for outpatient service at MVH (including radiology).

Anonymous said...

Fact Check.... I am a patient of a doctor in the Whittier Associates medical group and he is using the outpatient services of the MVH. Maybe it is only one doctor who is not sending his patient's to a closer medical building. So don't publish half truths as facts condemning the action of an entire group because of the actions of one of their doctor's.

Anonymous said...

ow, in all fairness, you are going to see quite a few hospitlals run in the red due to Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement policies. Essent has nothing to do with those policies, so it is here I hold them blameless. However, given their track record of mismanagement, poor service, terating empoyees and medical staff like idiots, etc., the reimbursement issue is not all that is wrong. PAtient tend to vote with their feet, and a lot of footprints are headed southwest to the Metroplex. You can bamboole the local fishwraps (which, given the Snooze, is pretty easy given their editorial staff), but you can't fol the locals for very long. Bad service=low business=low income=high deficits= eventual closure. Same principle as in any McDonald's. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

Anonymous said...

Fact Check.... I am a WORKER of a doctor in the Whittier Associates medical group and AND it is not half truths it is a fact.

Anonymous said...

Fact Check..Don't want to get into a pissing contest on the subject of Whittier Medical Assoc. however; after my last vist which was last week, my doctor wanted me to have blood work done at the MVH.

fac_p said...

I did get a nice note from a Sharon Hospital employee--that the blog was found (didn't know it was lost) and being viewed there. As the only one that's in the black, I can understand the previous ambivalence.

However, being the bobber attached to a hook that has been swallowed by a six-million dollar carp doesn’t bode terribly well. Even bobbers get tangled up in lake trash when the fish heads for the bottom.

Anonymous said...

Don't GET IN A PISSING CONTEST BUT YOU MUST WORK AT MVH!!!!!

Anonymous said...

THE RED OR WHITE WHAT KIND OF BOOKS DO THEY KEEP?

Anonymous said...

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THEY GET RID OF PEOPLE THAT KNOW THEIR JOB "HEALTH CARE" AND KEEP THE ONES THAT CAN TALK BULLS$%IT ALL DAY! WHY IS AN UNDERLING THE ONLY ONE THAT KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON AND ?? MAKING ?????????? IS THERE SOME PERSON IS THIS "GREAT" ESSENT THAT KNOWS WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON WITH THIER MONEY? I CAN'T BELIVE THERE IS!

Anonymous said...

AND AS FOR THE "REPORTERS" ARE THERE ANY? WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SNOOZE?

fac_p said...

Don't SHOUT!

What would probably get the most attention is the decision in the Essent vs Doe(s). And then, only if it didn't go back for appeal.

fac_p said...

There was a comment by an Essent spokesperson that I happened to run into: According to Jarrard, discussions of a possible sale have been tabled for the time being noting that “every Essent hospital is profitable and growing in their markets."

That was David Jarrad, to the Nashville Post just over a year ago, when the world found out that Hud was fired. So Browder has taken the company down the toilet? From "...profitable and growing...", to $6 Million of red in one year! Maybe GE Capital will need a bailout, if that's typical of their loans....

Anonymous said...

Frank, you and I both know that NashVegas reporter was out-and-out lied to- the only thing Essent is growing in all areas is the amount of red ink. Connery already had this ship headed for the bottom, Browder wound up taking over when the stack was still barely above water.

Essent and their suits reminds me of an old Texas saying- "He'd knock you down and tell God you fell off a horse".

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Nashville, seems to be an awful lot of for-profit firms (CHS, Capella, HCA) based out of that area. Not sure if this is coincidence or not.

On another subject (travelers), I work for a travel tech firm, and when my recruiter/babysitter/jobseeker and I talk, I mention to him about Essent's failing health, and that he'd be wise to steer clear of any hospital in that chain. He's told me the same story has been told to him from other sources.

News moves fast in the traveler's underground......we get together, we talk, we swap stories........we also pass along great places to go to and palces to avoind like the plague. As much as I like New England, I wouldn't work at any of the Essent facilities there for any amount of money, based on what I know.

Anonymous said...

As for Sharon:
Our "picture" may be better but our working conditions are terrible and getting worse.

Wonderful employees are leaving and most of the rest are job searching. The physicians in the facility are all wonderful and employees feel that they understand but are limited as to what they are able to do. They see good employees leaving and ability to give adequate patient care declining.

People that work at Sharon Hospital loved the friendly, small feeling about the hospital. At this point it is not a friendly nor pleasant place to be!

It would appear that this is a common trend among the hospitals. More stick than carrot.

With Paris, the trend had started with Christus, however I blame that on the inefficiency caused by the merging of the two hospitals. That is truly when the decline became noticeable....frank

Anonymous said...

I wonder how Essent sleeps at night knowing at MVH they have a physician making 6 figures who doesn't have the practice to support his salary, much less his staff. He's bleeding the hospital dry and nothing is being done about it; while the rest of us sit and wonder if we will be the next to be let .

Anonymous said...

As far as Sharon Hospital stands is all a mystery to everyone. Just this week they terminated 9 employees and all good, loyal employees. One of them happened to be one of the best directors in the hospital (radiology.) I think they have the whole hospital's anxiety level raising day by day and many employees are being proactive and looking for other jobs. It makes one wonder- what is really going on. Are they getting ready to close? Is it time for Essent to tell the truth??? Are they really in BIG trouble?

Anonymous said...

Essent doesn't know how to tell the truth???? Yes, they are in big trouble. MVH has a CEO that has a history of changing number????