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Rapid AssessmentBy Jim Hall
Spotsy hospital cancels job fair Feb. 9, 2010 12:43 pm
The new hospital is under construction off Interstate 95 and is scheduled to take its first patient in May. (Tim Tobin, chief executive officer of the new hospital, is pictured during a recent tour of the building.)
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1265737381
Is it an emergency room if volume drops during a storm? Feb. 9, 2010 10:47 am
“Once the snow stopped, they were back to normal volume,” said Mahogany Hart, spokeswoman for Mary Washington Healthcare, the parent company. Granted some emergencies are caused by travel on the highways. And with the roads barely passable, ER business was bound to decline. As Kevin Van Renan, senior vice president at the hospital said, “Most of the community opted to stay off the roads during the storm.” But you can also look at the decline in ER volumes during bad weather another way. If it was truly an emergency room, treating only the injuries from falls, cuts and burns, car crashes, heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems, volumes would stay pretty constant. You could even argue that the drops that occur when people don’t drive might be offset from the weather–related problems like back injuries from shoveling snow. Apparently, the ER is not just an emergency room. It’s also everybody’s doctor’s office. Many people, perhaps a significant majority, go there because they don’t feel well. Their problems are not emergencies if they can wait until the weather clears.
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1265730473
Feb. 3, 2010 1:47 pm
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine attempts to define a “good doctor.” The authors The good doctor: · Has a solid fund of knowledge and sound decision-making skills. ·Is able to obtain knowledge from colleagues and technological sources and is a team player. · Embraces quality improvement and public reporting and delivers evidence-based care. The person with these skills would be an excellent doctor. But if we’re crafting an ideal, I’d like to add a couple of things. How about the ability to listen and explain, to smile, to recall some little detail about the patient’s life and to recognize the patient as a partner. The good doctor also displays a dose of humility, recognizing that diagnosis is often an art, the process of eliminating options until the cause is revealed.
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1265222875
Feb. 2, 2010 4:21 pm
Three local doctors--Clifton Sheets, Christopher Huesgen and Claudia Sussdorf--are in Haiti this week as part of a medical mission trip. Their visit was long-planned but took on extra importance after the Jan. 12 earthquake. The three have been able to call and text home since their arrival in Haiti Saturday. Here’s a sampling of what they’ve had to say: Huesgen, right, said that the patients he’s seen in Haiti differ “dramatically” from those he sees in the  emergency room at Mary Washington Hospital. “Most of the patients we see here have no other access to health care except for the visit we make,” he said. “I saw three people today who had strokes at a young age, in their 40s and early 50s, from high blood pressure.” “In the U.S. they can always find an outlet, whether it be an emergency room or a free clinic like the Moss Clinic,” he added. “These folks don’t have access at all.”
“One 5-year-old looked like a 2-year-old,” she said. Sheets, right, said he saw a man who appeared to have testicular cancer, several blind people “We’re here for a week then we’re gone,” he said. “We don’t feel comfortable handing them a year’s worth of medicine.”
For more on the doctors' visit to Haiti, see tomorrow's paper.
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1265145701
Spotsy hospital to take first patient May 24 Feb. 1, 2010 12:44 pm
The Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, pictured, is almost ready. Tim Tobin, chief executive officer, said last week that the new bridge across Interstate 95, which will serve as the hospital’s main entrance, should be ready next month. My colleague, Kelly Hannon, reports this morning on the road work being done on U.S. 17 and Hospital Drive, which also will serve the hospital property. Tobin said that the hospital will take its first patient May 24. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for June 7. The HCA hospital is the latest in a remarkable string of new health services. In the last 17 months, the region has added a full-service hospital in Stafford and a freestanding emergency room in Spotsylvania. New programs like the trauma service and stroke center have opened at Mary Washington Hospital. And new providers like Kaiser Permanente and MinuteClinic have arrived.
Kelly’s column can be found here. The hospital gives monthly tours of the new building. For more details, click here.
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Jan. 28, 2010 11:51 am
“Am I the only one that has noticed that their website has changed from an "org" to a "com"? I thought an “org” meant they were nonprofit, and a “com” meant for profit. Have I missed something?"
I passed along the query to Kathleen Allenbaugh, spokeswoman for Mary Washington. This was her e-mail reply: “Mary Washington Healthcare will continue to be a not-for-profit health system. We selected www.MaryWashingtonHealthcare.com because .com is what many internet users try first if they are not using a search engine. We selected the web address to make accessing our website as easy as possible. We also have purchased the URL www.MaryWashingtonHealthcare.org, which will take users directly to our new site as well. I hope this helps.”
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Jan. 27, 2010 9:51 am
Fred Rankin, president and CEO, used this breakdown of his company’s revenues in a recent talk to the Fredericksburg Rotary. The breakdown shows that the federal government is Mary Washington’s largest customer by far. Nearly 50 percent of company earnings come from three federal health insurance programs: Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare. (States help fund the Medicaid program.) Medicare, the program for the elderly and disabled, is the largest of these, and as Rankin pointed out, its influence is far-reaching. Medicare tells hospitals and doctors what it will pay; there are no negotiations. This amount is less than the cost of care, so hospitals charge private insurance plans more to make up the difference. And what it pays is usually the starting point for what private insurance companies pay. Since it is such a big player, Medicare can require hospitals to practice medicine in certain ways. A recent example, according to Rankin, is the possibility that hospitals and doctors will have to use electronic medical records if they want to be paid. If local doctors did a similar revenue breakdown for their practices, it would look a lot like Mary Washington’s. Many doctors don’t participate in the Medicaid and Tricare programs, but most of those who treat adult patients take Medicare. It’s an important source of revenue for them. So why the fear that the reform legislation will lead to government-run health care? Don’t we already have government-run health care? This is where Mary Washington Healthcare’s revenue comes from: Medicare-31.5 percent
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1264603875
Jan. 26, 2010 10:53 am
Dr. Cliff Sheets wrote late last week with an update on his attempt to get to Haiti. His e-mail is reprinted below with his permission. Sheets, right, had been scheduled to join a group from International Allied Missions on a "We are a "go" for Saturday, Jan 30. It is a little convoluted, but here is how we are getting there: We will fly Friday night to Chicago. Once there, we will get on a United flight (after sleeping overnight in the airport) and will fly on a humanitarian flight directly into Port au Prince early Saturday. "We will attempt to return on Feb. 6 as scheduled, but we are not sure we will make it home that date as we do not have guaranteed seats. The State Department determines who gets on each flight. The worst-case scenario is that we travel overland to the Dominican and fly home from there. "We will be somewhat limited by the airline on how much weight we can bring, but I think we will get enough into the country to be effective. As it is, we will not be allowed to take our whole team in. There will be a total of six doctors on our trip: Drs. Chris Huesgen and Claudia Sussdorf of Fredericksburg, myself and three surgeons from Atlanta. "Drs. Mike Goeden and Tim Powell of Fredericksburg are getting into the country by an American Airlines humanitarian flight Jan. 25 out of Miami. So over the next two weeks, there will be five local doctors in the country. "Cell phone coverage has been restored, and I should be able to call and give you a report and perhaps even text some photos out. "The public response to your previous articles has been tremendous. Individuals as well as corporations have donated supplies and cash for our trip. One of my favorite sayings is "Adversity does not build character, it reveals it." The character of the people and the business community of Fredericksburg has been revealed, and I am proud to have a chance to represent them in Haiti." A previous blog posting about Dr. Sheets can be found here. Previous stories about his attempts to return to Haiti can be found here and here. The Web site for International Allied Missions is here.
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1264521184
What's with all these capitals? Jan. 21, 2010 5:23 pm
Even so, I’ll still have to be alert when writing about the hospital. Kurt Rabin, one of our copy editors, noticed Wednesday night when he was editing my story on the name change that the hospital’s choice violates Associated Press style. The AP Stylebook is our bible when it comes to spelling and punctuation. It says simply under the listing for health care: “Two words.” A story about MediCorp’s name change is here.
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Jan. 21, 2010 9:42 am
On the reimbursements paid by Medicare and Medicaid: “Every Medicare patient that we serve we lose money. Every Medicaid patient we serve we lose more money. The game that is played is that we shift it. We shift it to the Aetnas, to the Anthems, to the Cignas of the world and we charge them more. It’s a game that’s played nationally, and I submit to you it’s a hidden tax.” On the trend for private health insurance companies to reimburse hospitals and doctors at the lower Medicare rate: “Our reimbursements will be flat at best, probably declining. The payer-mix will disappear within 10 years and everyone will pay what Medicare pays. I think that’s where we’re headed. And later, on the same topic: “I’ve charged my organization to break even on Medicare in three years. I’ve got to tell you, that ain’t going to be easy and that will result in real changes in care.” On the challenge of making a hospital a customer-friendly business: “None of our customers wants to be there. They are all there under duress, every single one of them. They would choose to be any other place, but in the hospital. We understand that.” On the Sept. 18 ceremony in the hospital atrium, when Mary Washington was recognized as a Magnet hospital for superior nursing care: “The atrium erupted in pandemonium. It may have been the most satisfying day of my life to see hundreds of people proud of the work they have done.”
Perma-link: http://www.fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=57&p=1264084931
Jan. 20, 2010 8:58 am
MediCorp officials won't talk about the change. They promise to talk about it tomorrow. But employees throughout the company have been asked to attend one of a series of meetings today to hear about a new direction for the company, including the new name. Mary Washington Hospital will keep its name. But the 11-month-old Stafford Hospital Center will be now be simply Stafford Hospital. MediCorp has been the parent company's name since 1983 when it was founded. In a video on the company's new Web site, Fred Rankin, president and CEO, says in explaining the change, “Before we decided to change our name, we talked to many people in our area. We found that people generally prefer the name Mary Washington. Mary Washington is associated with advanced medical capabilities and a warm and caring atmosphere.” Stay tuned. (Some of the details of the name change, including the video with Fred Rankin, can be found on the company's new Web site here. The picture above is of one of the posters in the hospital, inviting employees to the name-change announcement. )
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Jan. 19, 2010 11:17 am
Fred Rankin, right, president and chief executive of MediCorp Health System, spoke to the members of the On the arrival of HCA and its Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center: “We provide 72 percent of all health care in the region. We are the dominant health care provider. Even with competition coming, we will still be the dominant provider, and we intend to maintain our dominant status.” On the sale of Potomac Hospital to Sentara Healthcare, Prince William Hospital to Novant Health and Culpeper Regional Hospital to the University of Virginia: “Our market place has changed dramatically in the last 12 months and will continue to change and will affect the way health care is practiced in this region.” On the addition of previously uninsured people to the Medicaid program, as proposed in both health care reform bills: “You add 35 million people to the rolls, they’re going to demand care. We as providers are going to have to find a way to care for them.” And later on the same topic: “There’s not enough primary doctors in this world, certainly not in Fredericksburg, to take care of the onslaught. All of those people are going to end up in one place, because they’re not going to be able to be seen by primary care doctors. They’re going to end up in the emergency room.” On the push to electronic medical records: “It will be mandatory within the next five years. You will not get paid by Medicare if you do not have electronic medical records. So we will be spending millions and millions of dollars on the electronic medical record.”
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The Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center has canceled its job fair, scheduled for tomorrow. Debra Pouliot, senior leader for human resources, said in an e-mail this morning that the threat of bad weather forecast for later today and tomorrow, was enough to force a cancellation. The company will reschedule the fair but has no date yet, Pouliot said.
It’s interesting how the number of people visiting the area’s three emergency rooms declined during the weekend snowstorm. The emergency rooms at Mary Washington Hospital, Stafford Hospital and the Freestanding Emergency Department in Spotsylvania County had drops in volume while it was snowing.
offer this list:
Sussdorf, left, a pediatrician, said she’s treated many children with respiratory infections and skin conditions. She also seen many malnourished children, including a 2½-year-old who weighed 14 pounds.
, and many who had extensive heart disease. There's little they can do for those with chronic problems, he said. 
Visitors are asked to wear shoe coverings to protect the waxed floors. Landscaping is being installed outside the emergency room. Punch lists are posted on the doors of the patient rooms.
After seeing the news about MediCorp Health System changing its name to Mary Washington Healthcare, one reader wrote to ask:
Both reform bills now being debated in Congress will expand the federal role in health care. Just how big that role already is can be seen in these numbers from Mary Washington Healthcare.
I’m 
For some reason, hospitals and other health businesses favor these showy spellings. NextCare, UnitedHealthcare and MinuteClinic are other examples. When Healthsouth, the rehab hospital, came to Fredericksburg, I noticed immediately the sensible way the company spells its name.
More from Fred Rankin, left, president of MediCorp...uhh, sorry, Mary Washington Healthcare, on running a hospital and other topics. Rankin offered these thoughts to the Fredericksburg Rotary last week.
MediCorp Health System is changing its name.
Fredericksburg Rotary last week. Rankin talked about MediCorp’s future, but he also touched on a number of other topics. A sampling:
Jim Hall is health reporter at The Free Lance-Star
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