Does the current credit crunch bode well for Essent? For PRMC alone, they borrow to pay their payroll, and with a half-million dollar loss/yr, how does this keep them out of sub-prime status?
With the last financing, Essent included a rolling line of credit, possibly against such an event. Otherwise, in the current financial situation, the money might not be available. Hopefully the institutions that offered that line of credit are still able to fulfill their commitment.
If not, meeting payroll for all the hospitals might be a financial nightmare. Essent borrows month-to-month to make payroll--a fairly common practice. But with credit tightening.....
One wonders how other hospital groups that are also in the same category are able to maintain?
41 comments:
When the local facility has to resort to having cash in hand before the delivery trucks so much as drop off a box of tongue depressors, then you can start sweating.
I worked for a small hospital elsewhere that was so far into the red that they were on COD status- no cash, no supplies. Had they not gotten their house in order, the place would have been shut down years ago. It was stressful for that place to live hand-to-mouth for so long.
To have to constantly borrow money to pay their employees Essent (and PRMC in particluar) is skating on ice that is getting thinner each day. And Heaven help the communities when they fall through the ice.
I shudder to imagine the amount of red ink this so-called "for profit" company is amassing in their books. They should consider changing from "for-profit" to "for what-reason-are-we-still-alive?"
Thank you, Hud Connery.
At Merrimack Valley Hospital you receive a 3% raise once your evaluation is completed. Currently most of the employees evaluation are due in September. The Director's have been advised not to do the evaluation so the hospital does not have to give the 3% raise to the employees. Is that fair to the employees????
Just wait...and wait...and wait...they delayed evaluations for over a year at PRMC a couple of years ago. And then some only got a nickel an hour (CPR credit).
At Merrinack Valley Hospital they don't want the employees to be aware of the financial difficulty in details. See Mr Collins tells the employees everything is wonderful and that MVH is not in the "RED". So instead of "freezing" the raises he is having the Director stall!!!!!
Do you see the writing on the wall???? Good job Mr. Collins (CEO) and Mr. Crosby(CFO)
Another trick they use at MVH is that when it is time for evaluations all of a sudden you have a "Re-avalution of job preformance for and additional 90 days and then they forget that date and extented it further for what ever time frame they feel. There are a few people comming up on a year without their evaluations being submitted. Great way of saving money that way. They also like wasting money (Mike Collins)CEO and (Bob Crosby)CFO by hiring people who in no way are qualified to manage a department other then they worked in the Hotel Industry and by blowing $250,000 dollars on a Pedi Unit that from day one would not work but then come to the workers for suggestions on how to save money.
The Pedi Unit at MVH was never utilize. There wasn't one doctor the would admit to the PEDI unit and SMART parents do not send their children to MVH Emergency room for treatment even when it is an emergency. Mr Collin close the unit and didn't imform the employess the physicians or the public. He didn't want the staff, physician and the public to be aware of his short coming of idea.
Mr. Collins should resign or Essent CEO should make a trip to MVH and talk to the employees.
"YOU DON"T FIT THE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE AND IT IS A PUZZLE WE HAVE"
that is Mr Collins favorite saying to the employees that question his ideas and evenually he has the Director terminate any employee that question his ideas. employee.
Talking about wasting money at MVH. They paid a physician two sign on bonus in error and then she left after 6 months. Senior Management was aware of the error but was to embarrassed to ask her for the money back. The Directors of the departments only hold High School Degree and can't run the department. The Health Management Director has a high school degree started out as a file clerk and know is the Director. That is the department that is the gate keeper of everyone medical records. It is ran so poorly that no one record is safe. The physician are 1- 2 year behind completing their records. The Radiology Director came from Beverly Hospital were she had no Director experience but they hired her and keep her because she talks like a truck driver and has the same personality as the CEO. She can't even fill in for her staff if someone calls in sick she cancels patients appointment and closes the department down for the day. Not to mention she only work 2-3 days per work but gets pay for 40 hours. The Director of the Emergency Room has an associated degee in nursing but all her staff has bachelors degree.
I also agree with the comment regarding manager. They also like wasting money (Mike Collins)CEO and (Bob Crosby)CFO by hiring people who in no way are qualified to manage a department. One person came from the Caritas Christi hospital as a generalist and now is the Director of Human Resources. She is telling people they have two week to resign and then gives thema termination notices once they resign.
The only thing missing from Merrimack Valley Hospital right now is the “ FOR SALE “ sign, everything else is in place. All the unqualified managers are in there rightful departments. All evaluations are being held up to save money. Any major fixes that need to be done are now if it brakes, then we will attempt to fix it. Outside people do not want to give prices for work as they know it will never be done. If a price is given, that fix is put on the back burner then they are asked to price out again 6 months later and want to know why the price went up..DUH! There is only so much lipstick that you can put on a pig..and this pig has a lot of lipstick and in all the wrong places.
Obviously, the people who have been posting these comments are ex-employees of Merrimack Valley Hospital who were fired from the hospital due to poor performance and just want to cause trouble.
Just read the blog and you will realize that these people are uneducated and don't know grammar or spelling and their facts are all totally wrong.
If you talk to most employees, you will know that these are all lies.
Since Mike Collins came to the hospital, he has continually insisted that the directors of all departments complete their employee evaluations on time. He states that it's not fair to make them wait for their raises. He insists on customer service and respect to our patients and co-workers. If the employee's evaluation is late, the employee is given their raise retroactive to the date of hire, if there are no issues with performance.
If there are issues with their performance, the person is reevaluated in 30 days and given their raise if their performance has improved. I work in a department where this has happened and all employees were given their retroacive pay!!!!!!
As far as the management of some of the departments, this information is totally false. All managers have college degrees and have been in leadership positions prior to coming to Merrimack Valley Hospital. The Director of Radiology is very competent and has many years experince. The Health Information Director has a college degree and 30 years experience.
I believe that the hospital is better managed and the morale has improved dramatically since these disgruntled ex-employees have left.
These people should get a life and stop trying to cause trouble. If their credentials are so good, they should have no trouble finding a new position at another facility.
Hey a 3% raise I need to move there!!
Obviously, the people who have been posting these comments are ex-employees of Merrimack Valley Hospital who were fired from the hospital due to poor performance and just want to cause trouble.
NOT TRUE - THESE STATEMENT ARE MADE BY CURRENT EMPLOYEES THAT ARE SICK OUT THE "BS". Also isn't it true that Mr. Collins encourage the employees to go on the blog to vent!!!! Yes the raise is retro-active, but the true is it's delayed and the reason it is delayed is because with the hope that more employees leave.
Mr. Collins insists on customer service and respect to our patients and co-workers. How can he insists on customer service when he does respect the employees at MVH. Regarding the management at MVH - Obviously, Just read your comment that was posted to 7:13 am and you will realize that the Director's are uneducated and don't know grammar or spelling. Regarding the Health Information Director yes she has thirty years of experience as a file clerk not a Director. I can guarantee the many of the Director's DO NOT have college degrees and if they do it is not in the field they are currently working in.. Do not let the true get you upset!!!!!!
Signed
A current employee at MVH.
Do you see "FOR SALE"
The Director of Radiology is very competent and has many years experince. In what!!!! She can't preform an MRI or CT SCAN. She can't even show up for work everyday!!!!!
I am also a current employee at MVH and I can state that morale hasn't change. The person that wrote:I believe that the hospital is better managed and the morale has improved dramatically since these disgruntled ex-employees have left. Who are you kidding!!!!! The morale is at the lowest. The employees are treated so bad. FYI: My evaluation was due in September and hasn't been done. Prior to that it was 1 1\2 years over due. So maybe I will get my 3% by March 2010. Yes, since Mike Collins came to the hospital, he has continually insisted that the directors of all departments complete their employee evaluations on time. That's all he does "insist" that they get done. He talks about it - knowing that the Director aren't going to get them done. There are Directors that are 6mths-1yr behind.
Per the comment: All managers have college degrees and have been in leadership positions prior to coming to Merrimack Valley Hospital. This information is totally false. I know for a fact that all managers do not have college degrees and haven't been in leadership positions prior to MVH. Take for example: Mr Collins was a Controller at Emerson and now he is the CEO.
The comments about MVH are true and are from current employees. The only reason why we are still working at MVH, is because other facilities will not hire people from MVH because of the reputation the hospital has and the inadequate leadership from Director to Senior Management.
You can tell that these people shouldn't have been working at MVH by reading their blog.
Read what they type:
"Re-avalution of job preformance for and additional 90 days and then they forget that date and extented it further for what ever time frame they feel."
It should be "re-evaluation"
It should be "performance"
It should be "entend"
Great spelling and grammar, Donna Z.
Please, just read all the blogs and you will realize that the people who are writing these comments do not have an education or the degrees that they state that the current management don't have.
What do you hope to accomplish by writing these untruthful statements?????????
If you dislike your current position and have the qualifications, you would be able to be hired in another facility.
Many hospitals are looking for qualified employees, maybe you don't have the qualifications and you want to blame MVH!!
The last 3 employees that were fired, were let go to improve the hospital's moral and to improve the hospital's reputation.
The Registration Director didn't know how to run a department and aliented many physician offices. Her department was so poorly run that at least 6 Directors went to Administration regularly to complain. Her staff was treated very poorly. She had constant employee turnover because of the treatment that they received. One of her staff was told that she couldn't have surgery on her wrist and was not allowed to take time off. The day she left, there were many very happy employees that were celebrating!!!!
The security supervisor was not competent and the management replaced her with a person with many years of security experience.
The human resource assistant that was let go had many years of experience but was so nasty that many employees would not go to the department for help. She even made the new physicians feel uncomfortable when they went for badges because of her attitude.
Instead of blogging, why don't you spend the time looking for another job and take your poor attitude with you.
I am the Director of the Health Information Mangement Department at MVH and I am tired of being lied about by ex-employees.
I have a college degree and have been in a supervisory position for over 25 of the 30 years that I have been in the medical record profession. I passed my examination in May 1978. My credentials are RHIT.
As far as being a file clerk, I was never a file clerk, but if I had, what is wrong with that?? I have file clerks who work for me and I treat them as equals.
My department is run very well. The physicians never complain about my department and I always do well on JCAHO reviews.
I have a very low employee turnover because I treat my staff with respect.
Instead of trashing current employees, please find a job and get on with your life.
Regardless how much lipstick you put on a pig, it is still a pig. This is what it’s like here. When it comes to spending money for repairs on the infrastructure we are told there is none and we have to cut back on spending even further. However; there seems to be a bottomless pit for any dog and pony show that is wanted. What is more important, how the pig looks or whether the pig is healthy enough inside to be able to put lipstick on it? A Hotel Manager, with no healthcare experience and running a vital section of the hospital is not what is needed. A person that has healthcare experience is what we need.
This company can’t handle the truth. They are now operating on a fear and intimidation style of management. If there is any negative opinions, there is retribution called “re-evaluation of job performance” I know this as it has been done in a department. There is also the holding up of any job evaluation for upwards of 6 months or more for raises to save the company money. TEAM work is gone; it’s now “I” as far as this manager is concerned and if you don’t like it, you can go right out the door you came in. We need a person that knows healthcare not one that knows hotel management.
The new cardiac center is opening here--will they have enough nurses to staff it? Job vacancies show 11 ER/ICU, and who knows if they're just hanging out a permanent posting.
When they started calling the ER the chest pain center, they hadn't bothered to tell us--and we were buried, without the staffing to handle it.
Ms. Dipietro (and all you anonymous posters who love MVH):
Has it ever occurred to you that your hospital is drowning in a sea of red ink? Did you ever bother to ask other employees outside of your respective departments WHY they feel the way they do? Could it be the reason they feel thay way might just be based on the harebrained management decisions, both locally and at Essent?
Or do you still live in a fantasy world where it's all sunshine and puppies?
Guess what- there is a whole world outside of your respective departments, and other facilities outside of Merrimack Valley. Now, if you would rather see a crew of mindless drones who actually swallow the BS and think it tastes like honey, who knows? It might just happen.
Bottom line is this, Sunshine- your hospital is running in the red. The company that owns your facility is running in the red. They can't expand, because their reputation (and that of the founder and former CEO) preceeds them.
Just because you don't like the grumbling doesn't mean there isn't something wrong.
Here is a conundrum: Perception is more relevant than actual events.
If everyone has their degrees, frame and show them. My alma mater is usually glad to send new documents, and there are always color copying services.
Oh, I did forget about Photoshop, now didn't I?
The hospital here is seriously lacking in degrees, as well.
TO ALL THE NEGATIVE BLOGGERS:
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH??
Do you want to close down the hospital that is needed by the community, and have over 500 employees lose their jobs?
Most of the negative comments are false and it serves no purpose except to vent your unhappiness.
There are a lot of companies that are struggling in this economy. If you look at the facts, you will know that the hospital writes off millions of dollars every year because of all the self pay patients that we have to treat.
There are probably many who are self pay because they have lost their jobs due to the struggling economy.
The other issue is the insurance companies don't pay the hospital what it costs to treat patients.
If you are not aware, the hospital has a large percentage of Medicaid patients. The state Medicaid program pays one flat payment to the hospital regardless of the bill. If someone is extremely sick and accumulates a very large bill (Ex. $50,000), the state only pays the hospital a little over $6000.00. The hospital has to write off the difference.
Read the news, Governor Patrick want to cut the Medicaid reimbursement to hospitals even more.
The private insurance companies will not negotiate higher rates due to the competion in the area. If the ins. companies agree to a 2%raise and the employees are given a 3% raise, how is the hospital supposed to run in the black.
If the current employees are not happy, then they should look elsewhere instead of adding to the bad morale.
Most of the employees in the departments that I work with are content. Most people think that they deserve more money than they earn but reality is the hospital can't pay them more.
I am a current employee who does not wear rose colored glasses but am glad that I still have a job in today's economy. No one said that the hospital was perfect but it doesn't help to keep writing false negative information.
I know that there is another world out there. I worked at another hospital for 11 years before coming to MVH. The grass isn't greener on the other side.
I personally know that other companies are closing every day.
My husband lost his job because the company moved to another state to save money.
Many of the staff that I work with, have had spouses laid off and are glad they still have their pay checks from MVH.
If you check all your facts, you will see that most hospitals in Massachusetts are hurting financially. There have been many layoffs at the other facilities. We have just hired some employees who were laid off from anoother local hospital.
There are rumors out there that another hospital in the Merrimack Valley is struggling and might close. We are not alone!!!!!
If you are current employees, why don't you try to help the hospital and improve morale.
Most of the complaints from our patients have nothing to do with their care. They complain about the attitudes from hospital employees. In order to stay in business, we need our patients to leave happy and spread a good word about us or they will go home and tell their friends and relative not to come to MVH and this will hurt us more.
signed: A content current employee who does not believe everything is great and rosy but knows the reality of running a hospital is not easy.
To Worried in Paris....
I wondered the same about the staffing of the new Cardiac Center of Excellence...still love the name...
But I'm no longer worried, I've been told that they have contract/travelers coming in!!! That's the answer!!
So that means that the north campus will survive for what...13-26 weeks...isnt that the length of a contract?? Assuming that they dont walk out of contracts like several travelers did a few years ago when they brought them in.... you know it has to be bad for a traveler to walk on a contract.
6:59,
We aren't trying to shut down your local facility- Essent and Medicaid are doing quite well without our help. Turn your wrath toward Essent and your legislature.
I’m a current and loyal employee of MVH and have been reading the various writing here. Just because my English and grammar are not up to the standards of other people here, doesn’t make my opinions any less significant then those who think there grammar and spelling is beyond criticism.
Yes we are swimming in a sea of red ink as are most hospitals in the area. But some of the red ink we are swimming in is do to our own fault by mismanagement of available funds. Wasting monies on projects that would not work from the get go. Hiring managers with no healthcare experience and using the hospital as a training ground for them. While disregarding the amount of information from the staff they have around them to go their own way, costing the company money.
In my travels through out the hospital, I have listened and found yes the care the patients do get is great and there would be no doubt that in my mind if I was ill, that this would be my hospital of choice. The biggest problem is the low moral in certain departments that filtrates outward to other departments stemming from one persons know all attitude who usually stays sequested behind a closed door for the day, spouting out commands that can never be accomplished with the little monies if any to spend and wondering why the task has yet to be accomplished.
While having lunch in the café and looking around, it’s hard not to blame these people for their dismay. Who can you actually go and talk to about what is really happening in the hospital, when the very person that is causing most the grief in that particular department is very chummy with the one person (CEO) that should be neutral and above the fray and be able to listen to there help. The workers, they are the ones that are the life blood of any hospital, not managers with know all attitudes that know nothing at all. What is the old saying? If you can’t Dazzle Them With Brilliance Then Baffle Them With BS. That is what seems to be happening here right now.
A known fact while keeping my ear to the pulse of the hospital as the CEO should be doing, I have heard that now outside contractors are now having second thoughts as to whether they want to do any work here, never mind coming in to look at any jobs. Could the slowness in being paid (purchase orders sat on for months) or shopping for pricing on jobs that will never be done be a reason? It’s funny what you will hear in a café during coffee and lunch. This department has lost the respect that it has been cultivating for years with outside sources due to repeated delays in both work being done as asked even by city department, very slow payments on jobs already preformed and asking department personal to obtain pricing on jobs that will never be done.
These are all know fact’s that the CEO knows or should have known. However when you are carrying that department head in your pocket and protecting him, this is the only outlet that he has given any member of his hospital staff to vent their grievances. I know from listening to other people that management at MVH does read this blog and do discuss what is in it, but alas like a employee survey of a few years ago and more then like the current one, they will not listen to the staff crying out for help. They will just stick their heads back into the sand and say everything looks good from here
To 4:42 PM,
I have heard from healthcare recruiters that Paris is at or near the bottom of their list of places to send folks on travel or permanent assignments, if not on the list. This is mainly due to the low salaries as compared to, say, hospitals two countirs over or several counties southwest. When a recruiter, who makes his or her living matching prospective employees with job openings tells you that in all honesty, what does that say about the facility?
The Snooze can trumpet all they want util their lips blister about this Cardiac Care Center, but sadly unless their management philosophy changes, it'll all fall down quicker than a house of cards.
The Essent apologists and brainwashed tail-smoochers can holler to the contrary, but it is what it is. And more's the pity for the PRMC employees trying to do the best they can, and the public in the area the hospital serves.
How;s that saying go? You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
I think all of you so called employees of Essent should start looking for a job. Essent is in deep crap and it is only a matter of time before all these BSing CEO's run out the door with their hair on fire (if they have hair)
All their hospitals are in big trouble and I am tired of all of you trying to make it look so rosey and wonderful. They lie. They lie right to your face. They took classes on how to maintain a poker face when in front of the employees and answering questions about the status of the hospital. OPEN YOUR EYES AND DONT BE SO STUPID! How can you believe all this shit!
To Kathy DiPietro and the rest of the bloggers. We know that the reason we come here is to let others know what is really going on. Kathy-please your just another buffalo'd employee or just another liar. Everyone who is employed by an Essent hospital-your job is in jeopardy. Take these blogs seriously. Essent is sinking into the bowls of a financial toilet.
It is no joke. None of the hospitals are in the black, not even the hospital in CT. The CEO's did take a class in how to lie to your face and you stupid people who believe them make me sick.
As of this date 1/18/08- you can expect within the next few weeks to see many more of you laid off, unemployed or your positions have been eliminated.
Jump while you can!
Ha Ha I love that comment. "If they have hair". I know one that is rubbing his off now as he is reading all these blogs.
Thanks for the adventure!!!!
Kathy DiPietro, RHIT said...
I am the Director of the Health Information Mangement Department at MVH and I am tired of being lied about by ex-employees.
All I can or want to say to Kathy is blah blah blah...bs, after bs...what kind of pill are you taking?
I am the Director of the Health Information Mangement Department at MVH and I am tired of being lied about by ex-employees.
IT IS NOT EX-EMPLOYEES IT IS CURRENT EMPLOYEES THAT ARE AWARE OF YOUR QUALIFICATION (LACK OFF). YOUR MANAGEMENT SKILLS ARE A JOKE!! What kind of pill are you taking? OR WHAT SHOULD YOU BE TAKEN. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF POOR ESSENT HEALTHCARE MANANGEMENT TEAM.
Ms Kathy Dipieitro states: I am the Director of the Health Information Mangement Department at MVH and I am tired of being lied about by ex-employees. Wake up it's not from x-employees and they aren't lies. I understand the true is hard to hear. The comments are coming from current employees that have been bullied by you. You are very unprofessional. You sit in the cafteria every day for a 30 minute morning break and one hour lunch with the Director of Patient Accounts, Director of QA (who happens to be senior management) and the patient advocate and gossip about everyone. The other Directors also take part in the gossip. It is a known fact thru out the hospital of your little gossip group. You talk some much _____!!!! about everyone and their departments.... You are so focus on whatever one else is doing and not what you should be doing. Maybe you should rethink your skills and realize you are a Director and start acting like one. Again the only managers still employed there are the useless one.
Signed
Current employee
Everyone the works at Merrimack Valley know the biggest joke is the management team.
donna, sue and bobby
get a life
IT IS NOT EX-EMPLOYEES IT IS CURRENT EMPLOYEES THAT ARE AWARE OF YOUR QUALIFICATION (LACK OFF). YOUR MANAGEMENT SKILLS ARE A JOKE!! What kind of pill are you taking? OR WHAT SHOULD YOU BE TAKEN. ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF POOR ESSENT HEALTHCARE MANANGEMENT TEAM.
Good example of lack of education. LACK OFF-- LACK OF NOT OFF, TAKEN SHOULD BE TAKING.
GET AN EDUCATION AND THEN YOU CAN GET A JOB AND STOP BLOGGING.
Dear Ms Diepietro,
You wish it was an x-employees but again you are wrong. The blog is being type so you can understand it. Remember you are the one with the high school education and a file clerk that became an Essent joke.
Why are the directors relatively uneducated? Essent wants them. Why? So they don't have to pay them as much. Degrees=$$$.
Experience in the trenches is important, but a junior college 'degree' doesn't earn the big bucks. That's why Essent mans their corporation with those that are MBA wanna-bees. They cost less, and since they get the 'title' they wouldn't have otherwise, they're loyal.
The morning Koffee Klatch where people's reputations are trashed is not only unprofessional, but demonstrates the level on which you operate.
the person writing most of these blogs was fired due to poor management. She can't find a job because the hospitals in the area already have heard of her poor management skills from her employees who left before she was fired. I can tell that she has nothing to do but complain about others and write lies to make her feel good. She needs to get counseling because blogging is not going to get her a job.
If these people WORK at MVH then they should be trying to promote the hospital to keep their jobs instead of putting it down all the time.
Degrees aren't always a good measure of a person knowledge and experience. There are plenty of people in this world who can take classes and memorize the info to take the test but cannot relate it to the real world. I have personaly worked with lots of people with many initials next to their names that have no clue how to run their departments. Some people with no degrees have more smarts working with people than the ones with their heads stuck in the books. If their departments are run well, low turnover, passes all the reviews by outside agencies, then who cares what paper is sitting in their personnel file. If these people who are blogging think they are better because they have a higher degrees then why aren't they working??????????????
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