Council grills hospital CEO

[bluemoon24]

The wait times were decreasing as the number of visits to the department during the same time period rose from 2,600 to more than 3,500, he told City Council members Tuesday night.



It sounded nice, but it was not good enough for Danville Vice Mayor Sherman Saunders, who said much of what Doloresco reported to him and other council members was not much different from what they were told several months ago.



"Show me progress," Saunders said at the end of Tuesdays regular meeting.



Earlier in the evening, citizens packed council chambers to hear what hospital officials had to say for themselves amid rumors of patient and staff dissatisfaction at Danville Regional in the wake of its purchase by LifePoint Hospitals Inc. in 2005.



At the invitation of Mayor Wayne Williams, Doloresco attended a special session of the council meeting. LifePoint Hospitals Division President Jess Judy was among three other officials who joined the hospital CEO at the meeting.



Doloresco began by reporting some "positive facts" about the hospitals status, but council members were more interested in learning the truth about concerns their constituents were reporting to them, such as the mass departure of nurses at Danville Regional.



Councilman Pete Castiglione cited research that stated the ratio of registered nurses to patients was a key component in a successful hospital setting.



Castiglione, who said he knew some of the nurses who had left the hospital, asked Doloresco what the average ratio was at Danville Regional. The CEO said he could provide no average because it varied by hospital unit.



"We do not apply a broad brush to … nurse staffing in the hospital," he said.



Judy admitted that the hospital had fewer nurses and patients than it did when its ownership changed hands. He said the hospital was currently recruiting, and that it was competitive in the marketplace in terms of pay and other factors.



Castiglione said the community wanted a "world-class" hospital. He also stated that trust was at issue because a former CEO - whom he did not name - lied to council in the past.



Doloresco cited the current emergency room statistics and recent patient satisfaction surveys as evidence of the beginning of change for the better.



"I can tell you that when I first arrived in Danville, those patient satisfaction surveys were not very good," he said, adding that January data from the surveys revealed "dramatic" improvements.



Saunders said he knew that Danville Regional had "wonderful" people on its staff.



"Theyre simply overworked and the stress level is high," he said.



Williams, who is a doctor, said Tuesdays dialogue was just a first step that will be followed with public and hospital staff input in finding solutions for the hospitals problems.



Doloresco said he was committed to seeing the hospital through its problems, saying he is not someone who "cuts and runs."



"Were committed to Art and Art is committed to us," Judy added.



Kaynak: SağlıkHaber