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The Deadly Choices at Memorial – Part 3
Further exploration of the reasons why this couldn’t happen at Baptist Health South Florida….
We do not contract any part of any of the clinical functions of our hospitals or outpatient centers or any of our other functions for that matter. Each hospital has only one medical staff organization, one CEO, and one nursing staff that all report to the same structure. The circumstance described at Memorial included the renting out of a floor to an independent company which had its own medical staff, nurses, pharmacists, and administrators. This caused a breakdown in communication, no clear chain of command and fractured decision-making. Some life and death decisions were being made remotely from corporate offices in another state. According to the article, confusion reigned between the corporation that owned Memorial, Tenet Healthcare, and the company that rented part of the hospital, LifeCare Holdings, Inc. The combination of a lack of a central function, out of town decision makers, conflicts of interests between the two for-profit corporations, and different leadership for two groups of patients contributed to the tragedy.
Even though we are a large complex organization that is nationally recognized on multiple fronts, we are a local, faith-based, not for profit community organization. Local. Whatever is happening in a disaster we will have first hand knowledge on the ground, because this is our community, where we live.
Amen! Thanks for the nod to the Plant Ops/ Construction management folks…without them we would be in bad shape. Everyone in the system has an important part to guarantee our success and not have a repeat of new Orleans…. what a sobering tale of desperation.
Your leadership is visionary and inspiring.
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this is a good forum in the sense that as physicians we sometimes don’t see the logic behind certain decisions not to buy equipment, perhaps a little more open discussion like this would make it easier to understand the decision making process.
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wow Bob and Bobbie Carroll, good people, where are they these days?
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Dear Manager,
No doubt about that, without them we are sunk.
Dear Doc,
The more you know about the way these decisions are made the better in my opinion. The problem in the end is that the needs always exceed the cash, and worthy projects sometime get put behind other worthy projects. Still good to hear from you and if you ever want to talk specifics email me.
Dear Kid,
Sue Kuryla at HH keeps up with Carrolls and if you send her an email I am sure she will be in touch.
Dear Everyone else,
Yes there are several more parts to this Memorial comparison series, soon come!
WB
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Wayne,
Thanks for the nod. Thanks also to the Fl City Kid for their comment. Bobbie & I are living the good life in Ft Walton Beach, Fl.
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I like the fact that sometimes we have to revert back to human ingenuity to get things done. As a society and in healthcare we over depend on technology sometimes. My job depends on tech and I love the things it can do, but we need to always have a fall back plan clinically for when equipment fails. Younger nurses seem to rely on equipment more than compassion. Are the baptist scholars being taught the right way? Would you please ask my CNO Becky M. and Deborah Mullaney from the system to respond. Thank you and personally I wouldn’t touch a public pay phone with ten foot pole.
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that is incredible, a pay phone saves the day
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It is not a clinical area, but don’t we have Marriott running the food service in some of our hospitals?
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Fact Checker, in the past we did have Marriott Sodexho providing managment services for the food service in two of the hospitals, but we amiably parted company with them and brought the two people in as regular employees, but I give you credit for having a sharp eye!
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Dear “tech who likes low tech”:
Even though it seems that healthcare has become much more technologically-driven, I would like to assure you that we will always teach and foster a nursing culture of patient safety and quality care. We do, in fact, educate all the nursing scholars on the “technological components” of caring for patients but the most important aspect of the curriculum is devoted to clinical skills, knowledge and how to deliver compassionate care with dignity and respect for all involved. I appreciate your insight and concern!
Debbie Mulvihill
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what is the story? No storms we know but we are used to getting some updates, if we were as slow are you are, you would write us up! (just kidding boss) take it as a compliment
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I really would like to hear some facts about why this could not happen at Homestead Hospital in particular.
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