EIRMC: Cheer or Condemn the Idaho Falls Hospital?
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Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center (EIRMC), called Er-Mac by locals, has been the dominant Idaho Falls hospital since 1986. It has also dominated local angst possibly more than anything else in southeast Idaho.
This discussion thread is intended to examine some of EIRMC’s history and what they are doing lately. I often wonder if the all the badmouthing I hear about EIRMC is warranted, or if it results from lingering bad stories over the years? Disclosure: I am not nor never have been employed by EIRMC, though an in-law family member is one of their 1400 employees.
I was a little boy in Idaho Falls when EIRMC went up, and I recall some controversy from the start. There were some rumors about EIRMC pulling some shenanigans to get the two existing hospitals put out of business. However, I recall that either or both Parkview and Riverview hospitals’ buildings were old and crumbling. Does anyone remember that episode, or am I manufacturing memories?
Last week a Bonneville County jury awarded Brock Higham $7.5 million for alleged mis-medication when he was an EIRMC patient in 2002. He apparently went in for wrist surgery, and sometime in the night his condition soured. EIRMC fought the case saying there was no proof of wrong medication in Higham, but the jury awarded Higham anyways. I didn’t care for Higham’s remark, “I’m rich” immediately following the verdict, but I wonder how much of this finding was balanced decision and how much was the effects of long-held angst against EIRMC? Did EIRMC lawyers question potential jurors if they or family members had stayed at EIRMC, and what their lingering impressions of the experience were?
Ask anyone in your social circle or workplace if they have one of those infamous “horrible EIRMC” experiences, and you’ll be surprised how many do. If it is not the person directly, it is one of their immediate family members and/or close friends. My wife and my best friend’s wife have horrible EIRMC stories. My old boss swore he would never go to EIRMC again, claiming that even if his legs were cut off he would crawl away to find somewhere else to go.
Such is the bitter angst our population holds against EIRMC.
So what is your story from EIRMC? Good or bad? Are they doing better than they have in the past? Are they doing worse?
I tend to think, and hear from others, that EIRMC is not rotten to the core, but that it experiences severe problems in certain departments. What are the specific mistakes they have made, what specific problems has EIRMC had in the past or do they have now? What would you recommend to improve EIRMC, or our general local health care options?
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Comments
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0 I lived here in Idaho Falls during the time that EIRMC came into being (I was born in the hospital that used to be across from Tauphous Park). I remember all the back and forth in the community and how many felt that two hospitals were better than one and just as many felt that the combined facility would be better in the long run.
I believe time has vindicated the latter group. EIRMC has allowed IF to compete with SLC in terms of health care.
Decades ago, if you needed major care, you had to go to Salt Lake. Now most of that traffic stays in IF. Also, many of the outlying towns stop in IF for health care (As far away as Jackson and West Yellowstone).
Is EIRMC perfect? Of course not. Even the Mayo Clinic gets their share of lawsuits. It goes with the territory. Doctors and nurses, after all, are not gods. They’re human just like the rest of us.
(Although I’ve known some who thought otherwise!)
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0 0 Years ago my brother in law went to EIRMC with a sore back and a numb leg. He was not treated properly and 24 hrs. later he was paralyzed, and has not ever walked since. And he has been told he never will. EIRMC? I’ll pass, thanks.
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0 0 My biggest source of disgust with CEIRMC is their billing procedures. There were outrageous fees tacked onto the bill for trivial things like being charged ten dollars for the use of a towel after whirpool therapy.
As to the medical care it has much more do with the medical personnel you get than anything else. Like in any profession there are good ones and bad ones. All the other negative experiences I’ve seen at CEIRMC have to do with a bad employee or bad doctor, not the facility itself. And I’ve seen many examples of good employees as well.
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0 0 FeelingLucky,
Hard to know what had already started in your brother in law that couldn’t be reversed. Luckily, all people have choices of where they can go for medical care.
Insurance companies don’t always see it that way and sometimes won’t pay the extra $5-8,000 to fly someone to Salt Lake City. Pocatello isn’t an option for many injuries or complex medical situations.
Everyone has their own stories and I think it depends on how far one wants to dig and what is an issue to one person may or may not be to another.
I can’t wait for Joe to start the thread about Mountain View Hospital. My first question will be: How many of the physicians who opened Mtn. View Hospital were recruited by EIRMC and paid their guaranted salaries by EIRMC for how many years.
But, back to EIRMC, like Ace ODale has said, I’ve had good experiences there. I realize the complexities of medical care being recruited locally.
Somedays, one just wants to do something destructive to see, for example, how hard EIRMC has worked to get the High Risk OBs, now called MFMs, in Idaho Falls weekly. This started in 2004. That means that mom’s with high risk babies no longer have to travel to Salt Lake City (Boise didn’t get there first MFM until after then) to stay in a travel, motel or with relatives the last 3 months before their high risk babies are born). Rather, they stay at home.
That means patients from Malad north to potentially Bozeman can use EIRMC as a much closer resource. And the doctors HCA brought in to start this dynamic program - there’s no need for me to write more. Those who need and want to know already do or know where to look.
Then, there is the fact that EIRMC has a full-time Neonatologist already working with the MFM’s ont he high risk delivery. Good poll question: What’s the weight of the smallest baby kept at EIRMC? Under 4 lbs., under 3 lbs. Under 2.5 lbs. under. 2 lbs. under 1.5 lbs.? More neonatologists are coming.
Ask the families who have worked with these services, or the GYN Oncologist- the ONLY one to serve the state of ID- who comes monthly from the U. of Utah School of Medicine so women who need GYN cancer surgery can have it at home.
I’ll be the first to admit people who didn’t want to see the Consolidated Hospitals of Idaho Falls merge into one building had bitter feelings. I’m not sure they were fact based thought. I remember the article the local physicians put in the paper repeatedly stating why a new hospital was needed.
Ace said he was born in the hospital that was Sacred Heart, Community and Parkview at various times in the years it stood. I was born by the river at what was LDS or River Hospital. Both hospitals were somewhat landlocked in neighborhoods where they couldn’t build stories more of hospital. Both needed new physical plants.
But, don’t take my word for it. I believe besides EIRMC, which has the accurate history of consolidation on bulletin boards, the Museum of Idaho or the Public Library do as well. Besides, for those with online access to the Post Register, most every article retraces the history briefly.
When consolidation occured, neurosurgeon from complex head injuries had to have surgeries at Riverview, yet the MRI scanner had to be placed at Parkview due to physical space constraints. If you’ve ever watched “The Golden Hour,” it didn’t do too much positive to have to load a patient in an amublance to take to Parkview for a scan then back to Riverview for surgery and ICU monitoring. Valuable time was lost in transit.
What MOST people forget, it the role IHC - Intermountain Health Care- based in Utah, played. From my perspective having dealt with IHC for many, many years, the events that next unfolded for IHC to leave Idaho Falls were an extreme blessing. Just ask the residents of Pocatello who got stuck with two hospitals, neither of which could provide all the service needed, thanks to IHC.
Like every medical facility, sometimes things don’t go right. The question is what has the facility done to correct the problem?
So I ask you another question: where would you be without EIRMC? No helicopter rescues, no verified trauma units, no guarantee of two E.R. physicians and a radiologist in house 24/7 (yes, a radiologist is there at 2:00 a.m. reading x-rays so E.R. docs aren’t giving the films their best guess, which is what happens at designated trauma centers), and sooner rather than later, more doctors will be in house in the “off hours.”
EIRMC is the only Designated Trauma Unit in Idaho. While being a Level III, they qualified for a II. There is a lot of Spin why St. Al’s in Boise lost their accrediation. Portneuf, in Pocatello is much more simple. Loss of JACHO accredition and physicians wiling to perform certain procedures.
It costs money to stay accredited. And it costs money to train staff about the last technology and equipment.
EIRMC was a BEACON winner for nursing. Look it up so you know what it means. Let me explain it like this: LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City only made BEACON excellence in 2006, a year after EIRMC, given all that is required to a BEACON winner.
There are great things on the horizon at EIRMC and the staff will take care of those who don’t like the hospital, if they come their for care. It would sure be easier to say drive 200 miles to the next hospital that offers these quarternary services. But, that doesn’t happen.
My guess is the view of EIRMC depends on when people last had contact, whether they have ownership in Mtn. View and what they are really angry about. Some were very angry that choice was taken away. Some people are angry out of ignorance of the changes made and what facilities are available locally.
Is there room for improvement, absolutely. I think constructive comments are useful to any hospital. However, the angst and what feels like anger, when Joe wrote his comments in the chatbox and there here, makes me rethink this again.
Prior to today, it seemed that those who talked the most about what was wrong with EIRMC were people who either chose not to see what changes have been made, saw physicians that only practice at Mtn. View (ask if YOUR doctor recruited by EIRMC or Mtn. View, if you don’t know), those who refused to learn the facts or some who enjoyed repeating rumors.
The factual information is there for those who want to learn facts. I’m always interested in those who haven’t had good experiences at EIRMC how many other hospitals in other states they’ve been hospitalized.
Should I write here how the “sins” of certain doctors at U. of Utah Health Sciences Center, which resulted in my father’s death? I have a copy of his original medical records. Let’s see, how many of you have been lied to after an 8 hr. operation your loved one is doing fine only to find out how many units of blood he/she went through during the surgery?
Should I write about all the screw ups I know about at so many hospitals in the area? No - physicians, nursing staff and healthcare professionals are not perfect or omniscient. But, fewer and fewer will take certain cases.
I strongly urge all of you uncomfortable with EIRMC to make sure your doctors know that ASAP. It is only fair to your doctor, who depends on Interventional Cardiologists, Infectious Disease Specialists, Neurosurgeons, Interventional Cardiologists etc. to send you to another hospital.
But, make sure you are referred to a hospital beyond Rexburg or Pocatello. Sub-specialists recruited by EIRMC are working with hospitals up and down the valley, including Madison Memorial and Portneuf to make them better. So you need to go to WY, MT, or UT to make sure you don’t have these doctors involved in your care.
Maybe it’s time to get updated about what EIRMC offers now, what additional services are being added and what the physicians who see care daily in huge hospitals, like Glenn Closes’s physician father said when he was a patient, or the Chief of Neurosurgery at Columbia Presbyterian had to say when his wife was admitted. Read the letters, if you are open-minded enough to walk into the EIRMC of 2007 and see the changes for yourself.
Personally, I don’t care what hospital you go to. I do care where I go, given which physicians are on staff, what equipment is available and the experience factor of the nursing staff and other health care specialists.
I’ve never had as great of treatment as I did in EIRMC’s E.R. I’ve sat with the “street people” and others for 4-6 hrs. in some other hospital E.R. waiting rooms. I’ve waited in waiting rooms that had NO CHAIRS regardless if the patients were kids, adults or wheel-chair bound patients.
I’ve slept on the FLOOR of other hospitals because they didn’t care if the person with the patient had a place to sit.
Just my view, but unless one has experienced those other situations in hospitals offering comparable services but in much larger cities, I find it very hard to understand why some opt to repeat or believe previous bad experiences than find out what has changed at EIRMC.
Ask your hospital of choice how much they have spent recruiting additional medical staff so more local services can be offered. Then check the facts against EIRMC.
Portneuf started a heart program about 3 years ago. I don’t know how many cardiac caths they’ve done, but EIRMC was way beyond the 25K - 30K mark years ago. Did you notice when Mountain View shut their Cardiac Cath unit down no announcement was made.
BTW - ask the labs at the other hospitals which tests they can do, vs. which they do and send to EIRMC.
At the end of the day, I doubt anyone will change the minds of anyone else who posts here, except for those who are new and have experienced big city hospitals. The letter writing contest about this went on for weeks in the Post Register.
Just learn the facts, that is all I ask so no one is repeating rumors.
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0 0 This doesn’t have to be hard. For those who aren’t fond of EIRMC and the advanced technologies, equipment and staff; just go to an attorney and write your wishes. Then carry you with you. Here’s a list of just 10 situations or specialists for which you’ll need to arrange out-of-town care:
1. If you, or your family member, are in a car accident and have a head injury, you/your family can be flown by either an out-of-state helicopter to Salt Lake City, Billings, Missoula or Boise for treatment. Check with your insurance to see if they cover the thousands of dollars more it will cost. Perhaps Life Flight from Pocatello can fly the mission depending on all sorts of factors, but don’t plan on it.
No AIR IDAHO.
2. Declare which hospital you wish to provide any cardiac care for you or your family members. Remember, the “over-flight rules” probably pertain to cardiac as well, but that depends on where it happens.
Certain cardiac problems will necessitate you/your family members being flown to Salt Lake City.
3. Should you or your family members get cancer, check to see which is the next facility to have Phase II, III trials that SWOG has placed at EIRMC. For that matter, check for your closest comprehensive cancer center. Ogden is about 150 miles away and probably the closest. However, unless something has changed, Ogden does not have the elite status of the SWOG membership the oncologists at EIRMC do, so the approximately 40 clinical trials with newer drugs and treatments most likely will be at the Huntsman Cancer Institute or MISTI in Boise.
4. High risk pregnant women - pack up for a 3 month stay in Salt Lake City, or maybe Boise. Three months is usual - maybe it wil be more or less, depending on your circumstances. More experts in SLC, but that’s your call. Funny how the high risk moms from Pocatello to Bozeman and Jackson are now coming to EIRMC. But, you don’t have to do so.
5. For emergencies, make sure any paramedics who rescue and transport you are made aware of your wishes and can divert you to another hospital that has 24 hr. physician coverage. You will have to be selective though, as many EIRMC physicians provide specialty services at Madison Memorial, Bingham Memorial and even Portneuf. So you may end up in Burley or Ogden. But, that is up to you.
6. Psychiatry, Portneuf recently got a second co-director of their limited unit. You may ask to go there. If they are full, it’s Ogden, Salt Lake City or Twin Falls.
7. Interventional, MSK, Cardiac, PET radiology for diagnostic tests - Salt Lake or Boise.
8. Neuroradiology- now Pocatello has enclosed (non-trailer MRI). No 3T and limited MRIs. But, neuroradiology can be done there now.
9. Infectious Disease - - Boise or Ogden/Salt Lake City.
10. Neonatology - probably Ogden or Salt Lake City. Can go to Boise, but they often have to place infants in Portland, Seattle, Spokane or any place in the northwest that has room. These would be NICU’s with full-time Neonatologists, just like EIRMC. But, no worries, others are in the northwest.
11. Ok, I cheated - I said 10, but this isn’t one most people think of. If you have an operation and the surgeon needs a pathologist’s report on a frozen section, what other hospital will you select to provide sub-specialty trained hematology/oncology and dermapathologists to review frozen sections of your tumor or other suspicious cells? Frozen sections allow the surgeon to know while you or your family member are still under anesthetic whether a tumor or cancerous or not and how much to remove. Probably MISTI and several hospitals in Salt Lake, as well as 2 could provide this care.
There are other examples, but no need to belabor the point.
Please be aware that Mountain View Hospital made an interesting decision. No, I’m not talking about them shutting their cardiac cath lab down and not telling the public, or not building the ICU they said they would. Maybe those are all still coming.
However, if you need emergency care in Bonneville County, Mountain View Hospital, by being a Boutique Hospital, with no emergency room, cannot accept ambulances and walk in patients regardless of their ability to pay. Instead, paramedics and ambulance have to take you to a full service hospital that has an Emergency Room, EIRMC. So all the patients who uninsured, on Medicaid, Medicare or are gravely ill are taken to EIRMC. But, you can ask to go to a different hospital as long as there is a 24 hr. emergency room.
If you opt for care at Mountain View’s Redi Care in Taylor’s Landing, which is Urgent Care, not Emergent Care, please remember the family physicians and one pediatrician from Blackfoot are the doctors staffing that facility. It could be tricky if they could admit someone in your family to Bingham Memorial or whether they are contractually obligated to send folks to Mountain View for whatever tests, care or surgeries they might need.
Certainly, let your doctor and family members know your wishes. Nothing is worse than to wake up alive, with lots of I.V.’s piggy backed to find out you’ve survived an accident or cardiac episode and are at the wrong hospital. Every patient has rights and it helps if your doctor knows yours.
People should go where they feel comfortable and be treated by staff only affiliated with that hospital. I have no problem with that. You just need to plan how and where you or your family members will go, as sooner or later, you will need a hospital for some condition.
Actually, I like this idea a lot. It may cause confusion and chaos for paramedics, but they will get use to it.
Joe challenged someone to ask at work and he believe that at least 1/4 people at each person’s work would have horror stories about EIRMC. That may be true. I’d challenge you to ask 3 more questions:
1. How basic was the problem? Could care have been provided by other hospitals within 200 miles?
2. How long ago was this bad experience?
3. Has the person or family member ever been back to EIRMC for care and noticed any changes?
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0 0 Well let me say I really have no strong feelings for or against EIRMC myself. I’ve only been a patient there once, for a minor cut or something when I was a teenager. It was in and out in a couple hours and not memorable either way.
It’s funny Ace mentions Gritman Medical in Moscow because that’s where we had our first baby. They were really awesome and took great care of us. We even got steak dinners served to us in her room the evening after the birth. We felt like royalty there.
My wife had a really bad experience at EIRMC, though, and given all that we heard over the years we chose Mountain View hospital for our second child’s birth. They were really great also (no steak dinners but hey).
I think it would be very fair and informative to start a Mountain View discussion thread also, I’ll try to publish it tonight after work.
I would hope feelings about healthcare and EIRMC are not as hard as religion or politics, where opinions will not change. I’ve had many of my opinions changed from discussions here on different topics, and that’s why I raised this issue.
Let’s see if the hard feelings against EIRMC are valid for their performances, or if they are leftover memories that people should get over?
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0 0 I had a bad experience at Gritman once (maybe we should start a Gritman thread for all of us who have lived in or been to Moscow). I cut my arm pretty badly and obviously needed stitches. I show up at the emergency room bleeding all over the place and they won’t even so much as give me a towel to stop the blood until I’ve sat down with their admitting clerk for fifteen minutes doing paperwork. I’m right handed and the cut was on my right arm and since they wouldn’t even give me anything to put pressure on the cut with I ended up twisting my arm around and pushing the cut down on my leg to apply pressure while I tried to fill out forms left handed. I was not a happy camper.
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1 0 My opinion of EIRMC is somewhat mixed.
I have gone to the Emergancy Room twice. The first was for a horrible flu that I got and that stay was ok other then they did nothing for me.
My second trip was to get stiches in my finger (who knew that doing dishes could be so dangerous!). The nurse came into the room, pull the skin apart to look at the wound making it start to bleed horribly again and said “yeap you need stiches” and then walked out and left me sitting on the bed dripping blood on the floor. My mom finally had to find some kleenex to wrap around my finger because I wasn’t going to just keep bleeding everywhere.
During my second pregnancy I had to have some medical tests done. My doctor wanted to have it done at EIRMC which was fine with me because I was confident in his skills. However once I was all checked in and ready to go a nurse brought in some paperwork for me to sign regarding my “treatment.” The paperwork she brought in was for a bi-lateral breast reduction which is NOT what I was there for. It turns out that the paperwork was for someone else. I was so glad I read through everything before I was shipped back to the operating room! The nurse didn’t even seem that concerned when I pointed out the fact that the paperwork was not for my procedure.
Lastly, a family that I know had a member go in for chemo treatment at EIRMC. The nurse giving the treatment gave him the wrong brand and dosage of medicine. By the time the doctor discovered the error it was to late and the gentleman died a few days later from the “treatment.”
Honestly for any major services I wouldn’t trust EIRMC. If I am under the care of my family doctor or OB/GYN then I am less concerned because I trust them. I also make sure to ask LOTS of questions and read through all of the paperwork and repeat any health care concerns/allergies to EVERYONE that I speak with even if they are suppose to have the information already.
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0 0 I’ve been to the ER at EIRMC twice over the past year and the wait was less than 15-20 minutes both times. The staff was very friendly and personable. We were treated with the utmost care by professional Doctors, RN’s AND staff and will continue to support them by using their services when needed in the future.
No hospital in the world is perfect and mistakes are made everywhere, no matter what hospital you go to. What’s important is the overall quality of care and treatment you receive, and EIRMC is tops in that area in our opinion.
There will always be human error in every aspect of life. Mistakes happen and thats just a fact of life. As long as we (or the hospital in this case) can learn from their mistakes and strive to make improvements to better themselves, that’s all we can really ask for. We should be proud to have a facility such as EIRMC in our community.
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0 0 It’s easy for people to think of EIRMC as a big huge building, but what it really is is a collection of people. They have jobs that are hard and demanding, and making a “mistake” in those jobs isn’t blowing a deadline, or making a typo… they are dealing with human life.
I have seen a positive change in EIRMC over the years.
Healthcare is an aversion topic: none of us wants to be sick or hurt, and nobody wants to go to a hospital. Just thinking of a “hospital” is sort of like thinking of “the IRS.”
That said, I am glad EIRMC is here. When I have needed care for the people I love (my daughter’s leg burn which needed wound care and skin graft surgery; my son’s broken wrist; my daughter’s friend’s bad cut that took 40+ stitches), the people at EIRMC have not only been good at the medical part, but also at the human part. They understood we were scared, and took time to make us feel better.
It’s time for the reputational stuff to be retired. It’s been a favorite pasttime in our town — either kick The Post Register or kick the hospital — but it’s worn out. Neither one is perfect, but both have made positive changes, and we should all move on.
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0 0 BRAVO, GUEST. VERY WELL WRITTEN. THERE ARE A FEW FAVORITE KICKING POSTS OR PEOPLE IN TOWN. MAYBE SOME LACK OF TRUST WAS ONCE JUSTIFIED, BUT WE ARE LIVING IN REAL TIME WITH MANY POSITIVE CHANGES.
EXCELLENT ADDITION TO THIS THREAD, IN MHO.
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0 0 We are extremely lucky to have HCA see the needs and wants of residents and plan accordingly.
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0 0 Joe, I have to ask…how old were you when you broke your arm? (Or your hand, I can’t remember which)
Which hospital did you go to then?
Or did family physicians still do casts for broken bones back then?
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0 0 Speaking of broken bones….it reminded me of when I broke my arm when I was 7 y/o. I broke it roller skating and my parents were out of town for the weekend. My Aunt was watching my brothers and I. She took me to the Broward Medical Ctr.(in S.FL) to have it tended to. After waiting for 6 hours, we were finally brought into another waiting room where a nurse told my Aunt they couldn’t treat me because I was underage and she wasn’t my legal gaurdian and therfore had no right to authorize care. They wouldn’t so much as give me a sling for my arm! I had to wait for two days until my parents got home, after which my Mom went down there and raised all sorts of cain! After threatening them with a lawsuit, my arm was x-rayed, put in a cast and our bill was free of charge. On another occasion I was in an accident and was admitted there for a detached retina. The care I received was top notch and the surgery went extremely well. Everything turned out great.
The point is, accidents & human error can happen in any Hospital no matter where you are. We should all be thankful we have such a nice state of the art facility in the area such as EIRMC. I’ve been in there a couple of times with family and friends and the wait time was under an hour and the care given was excellent. For a town the size of IF, having a Hospital like EIRMC is a great assest in my opinion.
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0 0 CR67
You continue to make good points in every thread I’ve read. Again, what you add to this site, along with others, is your experience in S. FL and the realities of medical care elsewhere. I sometimes think local residents wouldn’t believe what happens in some other states and other hospitals. (babies stolen, wrong appendages amputated etc.)
I believe sometimes we totally take for granted how good things really are. It’s far easier to complain or try to blame someone else when things don’t go right.
I have to write this, given your comment about your detached retina (besides that is scary as you know what!), how many other areas with a Metro Population of 116 have 3 ophthalmologists who are Fellowship trained retinal specialists? That’s two years beyond regular ophthalmology residency.
Idaho Falls won’t get the third retinal specialist until July, but his practice is already being announced.
Also, another opthalmologist has a fellowship in oculplastics.
That is four (4) fellowshiped ophthalmologists locally. In surrounding states or cities in ID of comparable population, how many have that many sub-specialty ophthalmologists?
And that ties into the endocrine care locally. Not every city has an endocrinologist, former Assoc. Prof. at Vanderbuilt, who still lectures nationally about the treatment of diabetes, given his success rate. But, endocrine is a totally different issue and I don’t have the time today.
I do hope Rich and others will opt for an Anoynous or Guest name and write what they want and should write. No patient names need to be involved, or specific practitioners. But, I strongly believe it’s time to educate many who appear either to not understand what really happens in hospitals or have just stuck with negative reviews to make decisions.
Speaking of negative reviews, of course there will be more the more services offered, and time open. EIRMC has ~ 350 beds. Mtn. View has 17. You do the math. What’s the probablity someone will have a bad experience each day?
I fully acknolwedge bad medical situations happen that known of us want (myself included - which I think a few of you could punctuate with a ! this week, given the sub-specialist I saw and my own personal reality.). How we deal with news we don’t necessarily want to hear and whether we blame others for not finding a symptom earlier or not answering a call button within 5 minutes, is up to us. The reality is we are all going to die.
Technology that allows quicker transportation times, short cuts and better lives in so many ways, or “funner” experiences, like rock climbing, bring injuries that are more dangerous too.
There are reasons for legitimate complaints. I encourage them to the people who can make change.
There are also people who fear medical care - and prefer almost “low tech” ‘cuz if they can’t find it, it ain’t there, right?
There are also people that misunderstand hospitals are not hotels.
I honestly think the majority of physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals, in this area, do their best to provide care for those for whom they are responsible. I’m not asking anyone to agree with me, simply stating my opinion having observed dozens of hospitals and working in many.
Oh, just to clarify because someone asked me, I don’t work for either EIRMC or Mountain View Hospital (or the Idaho Falls Surgical Center, also a licensed hospital).
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0 0 I didn’t want to write anything last night after I saw someone remove content from a live chat. I don’t know the particulars only there was nothing obscene or illegal, as far as I could tell. Just some people who disagreed.
So I doubt this comment will be allowed to remain, as one person in particular may disagree and remove it.
Facts are FACTS. Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center is the DESIGNATED White House Hospital in the area, after the University of Utah and until St. Pat’s.
I know lots of people here don’t like Pres. Bush, so let me assure you it was Pres. Clinton’s staff who made this designation years ago.
I don’t like politics. I do like the facts. The facts are for American Policy makers, EIRMC was deeemed the safest and most sophisticated hospital (with the most specialists) to care for Federal Officials, Visiting Heads of State and others - like the current head of the UN when he was in Jackson Hole a few months back).
Say what you will, but having trained in many states, seeing that a hospital is a White House Designated Hospital, plus a Designated Trauma Center, that tells doctors a lot about how good the medical community and services are.
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0 0 Never heard the “white house designation” before about EIRMC, interesting if true.
Look there is a big difference between the live chat and comments like these. The live chatbox holds 25 messages at a time, so conversations can fly fast through it. Sometimes it gets cleaned out also. Such is the nature of short-term conversations. Last night I was grouchy and being a jerk, and when I left I realized I should clean out the bad stuff I had left in it so hopefully better more positive conversations would flower after I left; I just didn’t want my bad mood to foster more negativity.
Comments like these are permanent. The only time they get edited is if they violate a guideline listed below (right above the chatbox).
So relax.
I must say this discussion thread has changed my perception of EIRMC for the positive.
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0 0 Joe wrote:
“Never heard the “white house designation†before about EIRMC, interesting if true.”
It is true Joe and I think the Post Register has published that info before as well as others. But, don’t believe me, call Administration or Public Relations at EIRMC at those employees.
I’m guessing that given visiting dignitaries from other countries etc. that the White House doesn’t exactly make this information accessible to just anyone. Both the University of Utah and Harborbiew (at the University of Washington) note their status on their websites as Designated White House receiving hospitals. There are certainly reasons why I wouldn’t advertise that info, if I we’re EIRMC.
That being said, it may be in one of the pull down files at the top of the EIRMC(dot) com website. I don’t have the time or need to look, as I know the truth. But, please search yourself so you know the truth for yourself.
I’m not willing to give my password and account out, but this is the only effort I will put into proving this point. The following is from a classified ad from one of the major medical journals. There are several similar ads in respective journals.
I’ve edited out the part of what type of physician and bit about the practice, but included enough so the average reader would understand this ad is for a physician to practice at EIRMC.
Under classifieds, this appears online (and in the journal):
LOCATION: Idaho Falls, Idaho FULL TIME/PART TIME: Full Time
CLIENT: HCA - The Healthcare Company PERMANENT/TEMPORARY: Regular
POSTED: 04/09/2007 EMPLOYMENT/CONTRACT WORK: Employment
REPLY SENT: NO VISA WAIVER AVAILABLE: No
DESCRIPTION:
This unique opportunity offers tremendous professional advantages including the following:
Work in one of the most physician-friendly malpractice states in the country
Serve on the medical staff at one of the top 100 hospitals in the US
Work in a White House designated health care facility.
Live in a safe, family-orientated community in the shadow of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park”
CONTACT:
Eric Mack
Physician Specialty Recruiter
HCA Healthcare
Office: (949) 366-4154
If anyone else can post what they find, great. I don’t have the time. Nationally, thousands of physicians, reading journals and ads, are looking at what HCA is saying about EIRMC being a White House Designated Hospital.
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0 0 As an EIRMC employee, I can also confirm the White House designation that EIRMC has. Our cardiac surgeons always know when Cheney is fishing on the South Fork…
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0 0 Do they also keep tabs on when he’s hunting in the area?
Not for him, but for his hunting buddies…
BLAM!
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0 0 That is very interesting! I’ve never heard of a hospital being “White House Designated”. That’s great to hear that EIRMC is a part of this. That just goes to show the level of quality and the standards that this facility has and upholds in order to keep this status current.
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0 0 nevermind,
Your comment was funny.
While not promoting violence and urging moe caution/training for hunters, yes trauma centers have to be prepared for people who are hurt by others.
So buckle up this weekend, if ethanol is part of your weekend plans, PLEASE have a designated driver (or two or three, depending on how much booze and how many people).
Others would have to speak for themselves, but for me, one of the hardest parts about a designated Trauma Center, like EIRMC, are the accidents/injuies that didn’t have to happen. However, many think the really severe injuries or medical problems can’t happen to them and ignore the warnings.
Injury and illness know no socio-economic brackets. It’s really difficult to be an a E.R. room after a major attempt to save someone’s life has been made, by many trained professionals, and they lost. But it is much harder to be in that same room if the patient was drunk, doing drugs, or a parent wasn’t watching their child swim, or ride his/her bike etc.
The comments people make who have recently lost loved ones, or parts of their own bodies, due to preventable accidents, are extremely difficult for me to hear.
So please have a great, relaxing and safe weekend. And plus take the time to be safe.
Should you end up at a medical facility for some type of urgent care or emergency, think about thanking the people there for taking care of you. Odds are they would like to be enjoying this weather and time with their friends and family too. Sure, it is the chosen job of some.
I’ve never seen someone not appreciate a “thank you” from a mechanic to a florist or someone who does something kind or hepful in a hospital.
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0 0 ISU is looking to bring PMC into their management fold, possibly buying it from Bannock County and making the cornerstone of a future ISU medical campus.
Interesting….
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0 0 Saw the press release. PMC can dream on. They can only hope someone soon will rush in and save the day. The heads at ISU have no desire whatsoever to buy PMC. They would like a working relationship for health care such as supporting furthering medical education in the state and that’s it. The MOU doesn’t promise any sort of purchase. The state/governor would never approve it, IMO. The MOU is a pleasant piece of paper but it will not solve the crises PMC continues to be in.
PMC is making a bigger deal than one would expect about getting some good ratings on a recent Health Grades scoring. EIRMC didn’t do badly either. PMC needs massive PR help so they have taken out new billboards all over in the last few weeks. A sinking ship must raise every flag possible.
A medical school is a long shot in Pocatello. Increased health care education is the direction ISU wants to take. One wonders if the people in Pocatello understand what a real medical school is. It is not a hospital with a few classrooms bought out by a small campus. It IS generally a separate educational institution that sends their MDs in for training and internships and later out to hospitals across the country for residency programs! Does a medical school exist anywhere in the country in a community as small as Pocatello with such limited resources? They’d have to send half the class to Boise for rotations it seems. I doubt there would be so many MD’s with the time/desire to be on staff either. A medical school works in a much different setting.
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0 0 Having just had major surgery at EIRMC, I have a cheers and a condemn for them.
First off, the care was fantastic! I probably had 12 nurses total, and probably 3 that could certainly stand improvement. The rest were awesome. Third floor, Bryce, Lori and Stephani were the best. They really “cared” for me. The nursing profession is clearly important to them. I was too out of it to remember the first nurse I had but I do remember she was quite good. The vast majority were caring, friendly and very helpful. I was in a great deal of pain and they did everything humanly possible to ease that from propping pillows to helping me stand up. The physical therapists (demons in disguise lol) were awesome too even though it was quite painful to do what they asked. The surgeon and his assistant were also incredible and took great pains to work together on a time and date for my surgery, as I really wanted to pick who would assist him (a doctor I work with).
My only beef comes with the billing department. I initially went in on 8/24. I received my EOB and bills within 10 days and paid them in full right away. Last week they called stating they sent two letter (neither of which I’ve received) and want to know when I’m going to pay? First, they woke me up, I had just gotten home from the hospital. I told them I did pay and they stated that they haven’t received payment. I looked up my checking account and called them back. I had 3 different account numbers (insane), all of which were on the check. One check which had cleared my account. When I called back the automated recording had me punch in my account number (allowing for only one # not 3) and then my date of birth and the last 4 digits of my SSN. After having done all that, it gave my balance on the single account. I pressed to speak to a person who then needed to also verify my address and name. She stated that with online bill pay, if it’s on EFT it will be rejected. Well, I’ve always paid them that way and it hadn’t been rejected yet. She stated two letters were sent. Again, haven’t received any letters. I stated they were paid, gave the date, and they my account shows that the money was taken. If it’s rejected, I consider that their problem not mine and told her as much. I also question why I had 3 separate account #’s. Apparently there will be many more account numbers now that I’ve had the surgery because each department is billed separate. I have real issues with that.
Medical care is horribly expensive in the US. For each account number, you are to pay minimum payments on each. That is horribly difficult for most people. And the billing department and they way they handle accounts leaves a lot to be desired.
So again, when it comes to the professional staff, I was very impressed. But something has got to give with the way they do billing.
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0 0 “I also question why I had 3 separate account #’s. Apparently there will be many more account numbers now that I’ve had the surgery because each department is billed separate.”
EIRMC’s business office needs to change this immediately. It is not difficult to combine the various department billings into one bill, then when payments come in to disburse the money out again to the appropriate departments.
Creating separate billing from each department in the same facility makes EIRMC appear to not have any business sense, certainly not any customer service sense.
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0 0 me Says,
Your thoughts mirror my own so much it’s uncanny. PMC has to spin. Anyone who knows how cases are “selected” for certain procedures knows why it is a joke. No other ID hospital…ha!
Medical school in Pocatello won’t happen for more reasons that I want to write at this time. But, about 3 are so blatant anyone who has read anything knows:
1. Boise is already training to get the U. of I. Law school re-assigned to Boise. The split of the “State of Ada” again. Boise/TV residents think ALL professional schools should go there.
ISU’s best chance of a medical school bearing ISU’s name, is ISU-Boise.
2. Idaho isn’t ready for a medical school. The Gov. threw some $ to quiet people down. Doesn’t mean it will happen.
I don’t know if people really understand what had to happen for the University of Utah (with Major NIH Funding and MAJOR donors - Huntsmans, Soresen and Eccles) to first become a two year school for many sciences.
The two year school, covers the courses before the 3rd and 4th clinical years. All students had to transfer elsewhere to finish. It took years for Utah to “grow” into the 4 year status. And even now, that school is at best, only 106 seats/year.
Plus the faculty is essentially subsidizing 70% of medical education in UT. But, that is neither anything I should or can discuss here.
3. Idaho has a medical education program. It needs expanded. Every year 25 students are in training as Idaho residents at neighboring schools.
Every year, 40 students are doing their basic sciences (pre-clinical) years at the U. of I. along with 40 from the U. of Washington. It’s a perfect fit, it just needs expanded.
The Boise crowd doesn’t like to admit the fact that the Spokane-Cd’A area is a bigger MSA than Boise. Not that Moscow is in Cd’A, but it’s also not isolated.
U. of I. needs to expand the in -place program with the U. of Washington, IMO. It’s the most cost-effective. Maybe it can only be 10-20 seats/year, but that is far easier to fund that a fully functional medical school.
Scheez, do people realize how much current residencies in Idaho rely on their residents receiving specialized training at out-of-state facilities?
That being said, it would be easy to expand the RESIDENCY programs in Idaho. Not a medical school, the residencies.
To their credit, I just recently read about the work the Idaho Chapter of Family Physicians has done with the University of Washington to start a brand new residency in Idaho in July 2008. It’s a win/win for all.
The U. of Washington has shown they can work with multiple settings and can “think out of the box,” about how to educate medical students plus PGs II+.
I do think the day will come when Idaho has a medical school, but the current proposal will not be how it is done.
___________________________________
Abby,
I hope you are feeling better and have positive benefits of your surgery.
Just from guessing, given what you wrote as well as knowing how hospitals do things, it sounds like you had an inpatient account for your inpatient care, an outpatient account for PT and potentially a third account either for PT/OT or a specialized therapy. And anesthesia always bills separately too.
I do empathize with your frustration. If only all patients could be like you and be so responsible about paying your bills.
I’d recommend you ask to speak to a supervisor. My understanding is EIRMC’s billing is still done offsite, as a measure to contain cost. I might be wrong, but I wouldn’t trust my credit and lack of payment to just anyone who answers the telephone. You have the right to talk to the supervisor.
While I doubt this will help you, maybe it will help you understand more.
Insurance companies are being more and more restrictive in what they will pay for. Consequently, hospitals and physicians have had to “adapt.”
Unfortunately, having to have different accounts for different services is one of those complexities that insurance companies really don’t need to require. Yet, they do.
I should say the insurance companies don’t require it, but for the hospital to be paid, or the PTs/OTs/Speech Therapists etc. to be paid, there have to be separate accounts. I hope that is clear.
Personally, I’ve dealt with a hospital chain, much smaller than HCA, and to me far more confusing. I had to have OT two times/week post wrist surgeries. EVERY “encounter” with my hand therapist was billed under a separate account. In six weeks, that was 12 different accounts for seeing the same person.
The same thing happened when I had to have several lab draws for an infection. Each encounter is billed under a separate account.
I’d recommend writing your insurance company and asking why hospitals/providers affiliated with hospitals are forced to do this.
Just a guess on my part, but the answer you’ll receive is, “It’s not us, it’s them.” NO, that isn’t true when every hospital system that has more than one hospital has to do the same to be reimbursed.
Secondly, I doubt they will be this honest, but usually insurers follow what Medicaid and Medicare do. If Medicare can demand a separate account for each encounter, there the insurance companies think they should too.
Those covered by Medicare don’t have the hassles you and I, along with dozens of others, have experienced with the numberous accounts from a hospital. That is because to be a Medicare provider one signs a co-signment contract that the patient can’t be billed beyond what Medicare pays. So those patients don’t see the hassles.
Trust me, being on both ends of this spectrum, the paperwork is just overwhelming to document what insurance companies want.
Furthermore, Medicare is decreasing payments in 2008. So if anyone has parents or others close to them that are covered by Medicare, I’d encourage you to review their coverage NOW. IF possible, get a supplemental plan at the highest reimbursement possible.
Idaho Falls residents, at some level, have been very spoiled. With less than 10% of insured being managed care, most people don’t even understand what it is like to not even see Dr. X because s/he isn’t a provider on their health care plan.
Additionally, while Medicare isn’t a managed care, NO physician MUST sign up to be a provider.
I’ll predict it now, physicians will stop taking any new Medicare patients.
Many refuse to take any new Medicaid patients, yet many still do. Idaho Medicaid is far better than Medicaid in surrounding states.
One of the real concerns I have about seniors moving to ID to retire and the growth of population, is how will their medical needs be met? I’ve seen it first hand in St. George and didn’t like what I saw there 10 years ago.
Yet, I can see how other physicians in other cities are now being forced to do what St. George did 10 years ago, due to their Sr. and tremendous Medicaid and uninsured population.
And while this has NOTHING to do with EIRMC, I don’t have time to start a new thread.
I back Pres. Bush for his veto of the Children’s Health Care Bill as it was presented for a number of reasons. The Bush Bashers will just bash, although I would encourage those intelligent enough to read to read the facts.
Certainly there is a percentage of our popoulation who needs assistance like Medicaid. I have no problem with that, given the means testing and the responsible adult completing the paperwork to make a child or adult eligible for programs in place.
However, I don’t understand what a government or individual provider/hospital is to do, if that person has REFUSED to apply for the programs already available. Check the numbers, some may be surprised.
Absolutely those with limited means deserve access to health care. So what stops so many for utilizing the programs already in place? That is a major source of frustration to providers!
Secondly, it’s ridiculous IMO to allow parents who make 3X the poverty level to “insure” their children with state-sponsored Medicaid. That allows the higher end income parents can opt out of providing health care insurance through their work. This particular issue really makes me angry.
Parents can buy extra vehicles, boats, remodel houses or whatever their $50,000+ incomes (to the point of being 3X the povery line), yet the bill initially proposed would allow that. There is no guarantee what physicians their child/children could see under Medicare. However, in my experience, those with the mentaility that nothing happens in their family, health insurance is a waste of their money, will be the same ones who threaten lawsuits, be semi-complaint and do nothing but complain about the limitations the Medicaid system has.
Conversely, those who really should have Medicaid due to circumstances beyond their control, are usually grateful for the help.
I don’t recall anything in the Constitution or any Bill of Rights that make health care a RIGHT the Federal or State Gov’t must pay for.
As I’ve written elsewhere, I find it ironic that we’re all guaranteed representation by an attorney, but not health care.
The really interesting thing is to determine who makes more hourly, physicians or attorneys.
So I support President Bush and his veto of the first draft of that bill. As the talking heads have said, those who refused to lower the income standard to cover more people/kids who needed the care, did so to make this issue a talking point for the next election.
Many in Congress knew it wouldn’t pass - they were warned the initial bill, at 3X poverty level wouldn’t pass. Yet, they still voted for it. Watch for it to be a real wedge issue in the next political cycle.
Joe, if you decide to create a new thread out of my last comments about backing Pres. Bush in his veto of this bill, that is fine with me. I doubt it will generate much discussion except Bush bashing.
And I’ll speculate that many who bash the most are not on the receiving end, as I am, still waiting for Medicare and Medicaid payments from a year ago and absolutely from April forward in this year. So I don’t expect others to understand there is indeed another side to the story.
How many of you could keep accepting “customers” who didn’t pay you? And while the other favorite thing on this site seems to be beating up pharmaceutical companies, how many of you have a better life because of a new drug that was developed?
How many of you are alive because of a medication, or have a relative who takes a blood pressure pill etc. and hasn’t had a stroke because of it? That’s just one example: diabetes, infertility, G.I., neurological, infectious diseases etc. all benefit from the newer drugs. They do cost billions to create, but consumers don’t want to realize that.
Just be relieved with new guidelines that have come out. One specialty of medicine no longer advocates treating upper respiratory infections with any anti-biotics. Personally, I think that is insane, given the much more severe diseases that consume far more health care dollars.
For those who are positive pharmaceutical companies are driving up health care costs, if you have a family member who is covered by that specialty, your dreams have come true.
Don’t tell me about costs when your family member has to be hospitalized or receive daily I.V. treatments etc. due to the pneumonias, mastoiditis, sinus infections etc. that can become meningitis, encephalitis and many more very debilitating diseases. No, don’t tell me as I won’t listen. I’m happy to live in the time when modern drugs are available to keep ME and those who matter to me alive.
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0 0 I think you’re right about the usefulness of a discussion on the SCHIP bill.
“..ISU-Boise”
That cracked me up, hilarious! Maybe we should change Idaho Falls’ city name to “Boise Jr.” and see if we get more cash our way.
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0 0 Boise, Jr. That is funny, if it weren’t so true.
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0 0 The three different account #’s were for only the outpatient treatment on one day. I have not received the inpatient treatment bills (barely 2 weeks out). I am sure those will have a variety of different accounts. The surgeon’s office checked insurance prior to surgery and of course they state that while it won’t gaurantee payment, they agreed treatment was necessary. They have you coming and going. The billing is totally inappropriate, I agree Joe.
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0 0 The separate billing from EIRMC departments really bugs me. They are multiplying their costs to generate each separate billing. They would be much more cost effective to centralize it.
I doubt EIRMC would pass those savings onto us consumers/patients, but it is disturbing that they are functioning in this costly manner, as if they do not value cost savings or customer service experience.
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0 0 Any hospital chain will have their own way of billing. There is no other hospital in the region that is part of a larger chain.
St. Luke’s in Boise, Meridian, Twin Falls and Ketchum would come the closest.
I agree it is confusing and a WASTE of time and effort. I also know a local hospital doesn’t change the procedure for the corporation.
But Abby, I’d still e-mail EIRMC’s CFO and Doug Crabtree asking why it has to be this complicated. Maybe we can hope a good idea from ID can be taken back up the tree elsewhere.
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0 0 I guess congratulations are in order for EIRMC, today’s PR reports they earned the Level II trauma center designation, the only one in all of Idaho (yes, not even Boise hospitals have achieved this yet!) It’s a great day anytime Idaho Falls can pull one past the Treasure Valley.
They earned their level III designation in 2004, so it has taken just three years to upgrade to level II (I don’t even know if that is aggressive or normal or what, but it sounds impressive to me.)
I appreciate that the paper explained what this realistically means to you and I.
It means if you experience a trauma accident (stabbing, gun shot, or motor vehicle accident), paramedics who reach you first will report the severity of your injuries to EIRMC. It yours is a trauma case, the EIRMC trauma team is paged, and as many as 15 medical professionals meet you as you enter the hospital. Your trauma team can include “surgeons, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, and other specialists.”
And that sounds pretty awesome. I think EIRMC has come out from the dark cloud of their past and has become something our area residents can truly be proud of. When folks ask what makes the Idaho Falls area so great, I think EIRMC can be listed in the top ten.
Kudos to EIRMC and all their employees who make it great.
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0 0 I also understand that EIRMC is the “White Hospital” for visiting dignitaries in a four state area. I have heard that Dick Cheney was a patient there. Anybody know anything about this?
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0 0 Yeah, I think Ok4Now mentioned that awhile back, and it is an impressive designation for EIRMC.
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0 0 This is indeed a prestigious award. To be 1 of the 113 hospitals of 5,000 hospitals in the U.S. to achieve this award has required a lot of hard work.
I had a technical difficulty on my end and lost my original post.
I don’t work for EIRMC, put had been told about this earlier and sworn to secrecy. I’m glad the hospital moved their timeline up to release their great news.
Many see EIRMC as part of a large corporation, which is true. However, I wonder how often we stop to think about HCA’s investment in us and our area? Not every HCA hospital has a Trauma ranking, and few have Trauma II.
And NO bonds, ballot iniatives or tax dollars from any resident’s pockets were asked for to make the upgrades. The company invested in the area, which has brought in several other companies.
So now EIRMC holds the unique titals of being: The Designated White House Hospital, The Contracted Provider for MedCor (covering Yellowstone National Park), and now, not only the single hospital in Idaho to have Trauma Designation, EIRMC has Level II Designation.
At one time, St. Al’s in Boise had Level II Designation but lost it. The local spin is they didn’t think it was worth the money to train the staff, invest in the extra equipment etc. However, Boise weekly, in an April, 2006 Article offers additional details.
It does require a deep commitment from the professionals involved, the sacrifices made and the corporation who footed the bill to make sure we have this level of trauma care locally.
Maybe a different way to think about EIRMC is simply, how would you feel about knowing if you or a loved one had an accident, you would be flown to an out-of-state hospital for care?
Congrats to the EIRMC Trauma Staff for this much deserved award! Well done!
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0 0 Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! This year I’ll openly give thanks to EIRMC for pursuing the Trauma II designation, as well as other new and online programs to improve the opportunities of surviving a terrible accident, stroe, heart attack etc. locally.
But first, I must clarify a typo error from my earlier post, I literally wrote as I packed for a meeting and was shutting off my laptop.
EIRMC is a Designated White House Hospital, but only for the service area for which it is responsible. The list of White House Designated Hospitals (WHDH) is quite elite of which hospitals are Designated White House Hospitals.
To further clarify, WHDH, does NOT mean ONLY for the PRES., and VP of the U.S WHDH - also means treating Cabinet members and other high ranking U.S. officials when they are in the area. What most people never consider, is this designation also means that leaders from other countries, or like we saw last year when the former Pres. of the UN vacationed in Jackson Hole, EIRMC is the designated hospital to care for them all.
I laughed at Joe’s comment, “It’s a great day anytime Idaho Falls can pull one past the Treasure Valley.” I will agree, but say, it’s sweeter yet when the ONE (1) Boise Hospital who had Level II Trauma Designation Lost it and EIRMC now has that Designation.
I don’t mean that in a way that hurts patients; what I mean it is a great day when those in the State of Ada, who constantly discount there is an “Idaho” beyond Ada and Canyon Counties, are stuck reading the headline about EIRMC. Probably a little cursing going on in western ID’s metro area right now too.
A little reality check that that eastern ID has sophisticated medical equipment, facilities, recruited very skilled physicians, sponsored education for nurses to get more advanced degrees, and additional certification - such as TNCC, let alone all the other technicians and skilled members of the trauma team, can be hard for some who live in Boise and have constantly taken pot shots at EIRMC.
Nonetheless, the Idaho Falls area currently is seen (literally), at a national level, as having the ONLY hospital in Idaho who can treat a serious Trauma patient’s injuries the same as is required in an ACS certified Trauma II hospital in Washington, D.C, Miami, Dallas, and other large cities where the ACS uses the same criteria to assess whether of not the hospital should be renewed, let alone upgraded in Trauma Status can be hard to hear.
I strongly encourage anyone interested in learning more about the what really happens to read the 4/26/06 article in the Boise Weekly, of what other reasons were cited for St. Al’s losing not ONLY Trauma II Certification, but ALL Trauma Certification.
One reason I believe it is important to read this article, is ironically, over half of it is about EIRMC and the baby steps they had to take to get to where they were in 2006, until today.
Also, you can read for yourself what others think about the need, or not, for a standardized body, like the ACS, awarding certification.
http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A161197
“It’s a great day anytime Idaho Falls can pull one past the Treasure Valley.” Yes, it is especially when lives, limbs and other abilities may be saved given the training, personnel and equipment EIRMC has collected.
Many hospitals can provide quality care. The problem I see with letting each state create their own ranking system, is there isn’t a national standard. Physicians, and other health care professionals, to graduate from their respective schools and obtain licensure, must pass national exams. I’ve had to do it, and I know others who read IFz.Com have too.
Perhaps using the example of passing “The Bar,” for an attorney is something more people can relate to. Should “The Bar” be the same for each state, or determined within the state where an attorney may want to practice?
EIRMC, now certified as a ACS Trauma II hospital MUST provide the same services that other ACS services in densly populated states, like CA, FL, PA, NY etc. must provide.
I’ll go on the record now as saying I don’t like the idea of states designating their own system of which hospitals meet which Trauma Certifications, to be ranked at each level. The reaction of many Boise area residents to this news release, IMHO, is exactly why it is dangerous to have a state, instead of a national entity granting the certification.
Do you honestly think ANY hospital outside of the Boise metro could be given a higher ranking, let alone equivalent ranking, as those in Boise?
If a hospital outside of Boise had a higher Trauma Ranking than all Boise hospitals, with clear cut records documenting the last 18 months of care, then wouldn’t that area in ID be even more of a threat to certain people in Boise? I say yes, given e-mails I’ve had sent to me, to “straighten out my thinking about Idaho.”
The great thing about a national entity, like the ACS being responisble for certifying Trauma Levels, is Boise is just Boise and not able to dictate what does or does not occur in the medical world in Idaho Falls, or elsewhere in ID. And what the good folks in Boise might write as policy, to make sure one of their hospitals is always the highest of any location in the state, that doesn’t guarantee that the same “rules” or “needs” have been evaluated in NV, CA, WA, SD and elsewhere.
As a visitor, or maybe a new resident in a different state, how do I know, without a national board award the designation, if a Level III Hospital in WY, ID and DE are all required to have the same specialists, the same response time and ICU/OR etc. capacity, let alone a Level II?
Wow - was I shocked when I started looking at the “designation” in various hospitals in many states and what they DIDN’T have that EIRMC has had from the day it opened its doors. Yet, by using their own state ranking system, the data is manipulated.
The victims are the patients. Maybe some hospitals can provide the care they believe they can and do. Yet others, may still be wondering how to page the “mass page” for a major trauma.
How do I know which hospital I should take a loved one to, if were traveling and someone gets injured? Should visitors or new residents in Idaho trust the decision that would come out of Boise, given how we all know state government works in Idaho?
IMO - it is much harder for EIRMC, given the geographical area is much larger (ID overall is the 13th largest state in the U.S.) to cover, and often the traumas much more severe compared to more major, metro areas. The EIRMC coverage area, is hundreds of miles.
Conversely, an ACS Level II Trauma Hospital in Philly or NYC, may cover a few miles, given the density of population.
Additionally, what I think many don’t totally appreciate, is EIRMC had no help in achieving this status. Many “attacks” directly or indirectly by other area hospitals, but where was the support to achieve this prestigious award?
I believe I recently saw a headline that said “Three is Enough,” or something similar. What that article addressed was having St. Al’s in Boise, Portneuf in Pocatello and EIRMC in Idaho Falls all be certified Trauma Centers, some people think is enough. Verification by a national board wasn’t necessary, in their view.
I see many flaws in the article, but the title is enough for me: BOTH Portneuf and St. Al’s have lost their Trauma Designation. EIRMC is the ONLY hospital to maintain it in ID.
There are tremendous costs involved in seeking designation as a verified Trauma Center from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Many don’t stop to think of the costs of recruiting the appropriate medical, nursing and other technical staff to be part of the trauma team that responds within the time they must.
If you ever thought your report cards or transcripts got reviewed closely, think about the American College of Surgeons (ACS) reviewing all of the training, additional classes for all personnel involved for the last 18 months. That is one reason many hospitals opt not to even attempt a Level II designation, along with the costs of training and equipment purchases or updates.
I personally know of physicains/surgeons who have moved from Idaho Falls this last year as they refused to commit that much time or effort into a Level II Trauma Hospital.
Finally, this is presented the clearest at the source: http://www.eirmc.com and click on the green colored link that announces the new designation. However, here is the same information of what a non-Trauma II hospital offers compared to what is in place today, along with the impact to the patient.
(Joe, it would be cool if there were a way to reprint the EIRMC chart here so it is clearer to the users of this forum).
”
EIRMC’s Trauma Center Earns Prestigious Verification.
Hospital moves up a level; remains Idaho’s only Verified Trauma Center.
Idaho Falls, Idaho – Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the only verified trauma center in Idaho, has been upgraded to a Level II Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
The elevation from a Level III status distinguishes that EIRMC has voluntarily met demanding ACS criteria that assure topnotch capability and performance.
Brian O’Byrne, M.D., EIRMC’s Trauma Center Medical Director, likes to compare the Trauma Team to a well-trained race car pit crew. “Some things have to be done very quickly in trauma situations or it will harm outcomes,” he said.
Among the many requirements for moving up to Level II was formalizing EIRMC’s “bypass” policy (for when patient traffic is too high to absorb additional patients – a rarity), and documenting an 18-month track record of continuing medical education credits for EIRMC trauma surgeons in advanced subspecialty courses in trauma care.
The hospital met these milestones and others since last being verified, in 2004, as a Level III Trauma Center. At that time, there were two other verified trauma centers in Idaho, but the designation was later removed from the others, leaving only EIRMC verified as continuing to meet the rigorous standards.
“Fast Facts” about trauma:
o Trauma is a severe injury caused by physical force (such as a car crash or gunshot).
o Trauma is the most common cause of death in people between the ages of 1 and 45.
o Almost 100,000 people die from trauma each year in the U.S. (half from car crashes).
o EIRMC is the region’s referral center, home to an Emergency Department serving over 40,000 patients each year.
o Trauma verification is a rare distinction reserved only for hospitals demonstrating the highest level of service. Of the nearly 5,000 hospitals in America, only 252 are verified trauma centers, and only 113 are verified at Level II.
“Impact of Trauma Center verification:
“Fifteen years ago if a person came to the ER, we assembled the medical team, but it took time. We had to individually call in all the various specialties required to provide the care, and all the while, the clock was ticking,” said Dr. O’Byrne. “Now, we’re ready before the patient gets here. The person with traumatic injuries is met by a large team of fully prepared physicians, therapists, radiologists and so forth so that care can be provided much more efficiently.”
BEFORE TRAUMA DESIGNATION ACHIEVED:
Trauma patient arrived and received care like any other emergency patient.
Trauma patient forced to wait while necessary staff were individually summoned and assembled.
o ED Physician
o Trauma Surgeon
o ED RNs
o ICU RN
o Cardiac Care RN
o OR/Anesthesia
o Lab
o X-ray Tech
o CT Tech
o Respiratory Therapy
o Pharmacy
o House Supervisor
o Social Services
o Security
o Admissions
“Golden Hour” often lost.
AFTER - - - - (Meaning now that Level II has been Awarded, given all the guidelines being met):
Entire trauma team stands ready and waiting for patient’s arrival. (Group page summons entire team).
CT table held open.
Operating Room held on standby.
Universal blood immediately available
Patient registered as “John/Jane Doe” prior to arrival, expediting electronic entry of lab, x-ray, CT, and blood bank orders.
Each specially-trained trauma team member performs unique, focused, specific role.
IMPACT - - Now That the Trauma II Verification has been announced and some people may rethink where they seek care:
Everything the trauma patient might need has been anticipated and is poised for immediate use in assessing and caring for the patient upon arrival.
Assessment, stabilization and interventions are done quickly and efficiently.
Family support is immediately available.
Survival rates are increased.
Long-term patient outcomes are improved.
Care is better coordinated, delivered calmly, and no chaotic “crisis” environment is fostered.
“Golden Hour” preserved.
Thank you, the dedicated physicians, nursing personnel, paramedics, security, lab, pharmacy, rad techs and so many others who are usually overlooked.
How many hospitals in ID have an ICU nurse specialist along with a cardiac care nurse specialist and the House Supervisor there to meet an injured patient, along with the cadre of different specialists physicians? If you think about it, doesn’t it just make sense?
Of course, without a national standardization, there is no guarantee a cardiac nurse would show up for a massive trauma from a car accident. Some would see that as a waste. Those would probably also be the people who don’t understand how cardiac arrest happen secondarily to some injuries/illnesses. (Merely a guess on my part, I don’t know for sure).
I do think there was a time when EIRMC had less than desirable leadership and that was reflected through the staff to the patients. However, I think those who want to think what was continues today as the standard of care, they are only hurting themselves. Many changes have occured since then. This annoucement is proof.
As one EIRMC employee told me, at one time that employee would take off their I.D. badge as soon as possible, because the perception and well placed ads of others, had many who didn’t research the facts always condemning (to use Joe’s word) EIRMC.
I say to EIRMC employees, HOLD YOUR HEADS HIGH AND ENJOY THE RECOGNITION FOR THE CHANGES YOU’VE MADE!
It isn’t the only Trauma services that are being upgraded at EIRMC. When a hospital is willing to invest close to $2 Million Dollars, in equipment in one fiscal year, to upgrade their current NICU, does that not speak volumes to young families as well?
And there are other programs being developed as key personnel are recruited and trained. …..
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, employees, administrators and all those who desire to celebrate this huge milestone EIRMC has achieved!
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0 0 I just thought of something, what year did Mountain View Hospital open, and was it the same time frame when EIRMC began their improvement march? I’m wondering if the introduction of competition correlated to EIRMC realizing they needed to improve themselves?
If so, it shows that competition was needed, and we are seeing the fruits of the competitive market.
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0 0 I think Mtn. View, who has many nicknames, opened about 5 years ago. That would be 2002, if my math is correct.
I know the need E.R./Imagaing, Critical Care/Cardiology addition at EIRMC were opened in 2000. Construction obviously started before then.
It is a logical question to ask, but not the major factor. There are 4-5 hospitals in eastern ID who have competed for patients who go to EIRMC, as well as the hospital in Jackson Hole and some in UT.
I’d think about this differently, if I were you Joe. Granted, you don’t have access to all the journals and info I see. I’d look more at HCA goals and centers of excellence.
And since I know someone likes to pick and chose some of my posts and post them in another online publication, while acknowledging someone else wrote them, I’d better stop there.
Think bigger than Mtn. View. Think bigger than Idaho.
But, what I’m really glad is happy is some are thinking there has been change, because there has been. That being said, there will always be some people far more comfortable in small hospitals.
It’s good to a choice, from my POV.
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0 0 And since I know someone likes to pick and chose some of my posts and post them in another online publication, while acknowledging someone else wrote them,
If this happens please email me the information and I can get that stopped.
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0 0 Joe,
I’ll e-mail you the info I found. I think it is still posted.
I was reading it and thought, “hmmm. this person sure seems to have the same views as I about some things.” I kept reading and realized those were my words I’d written, actually, earlier in THIS THREAD!
Wow- it is a nice compliment, I should be flattered by the mere fact someone has reposted info I’ve written at least 2-3 times in another online site. However, there is something about having another persl cut and paste what I have written to make one of his/her key points in something that person is posting that just doesn’t seem right.
To be clear, the poster at the other site referenced the statements were not their own, and from another website, although IFz.Com was not named.
It has certaunly made me “filter” information I post here. I can’t be a good, but guarded neighbor, posting more information I’d love to share - hints I can share while remaining within the professional and work boundaries I must follow. Consequently,that is why I am vague in many threads- sometimes very vague.
Some other people elsewhere may like to know more of some details I know. I can’t allow that to happen. If I had wanted that information posted in the other website, I WOULD HAVE POSTED IT THERE MYSELF.
And, it isn’t like the host of that website can’t openly ask me to contact him/her to write a guest column.
Perhaps others have experienced a similar situation or are experiencing it, but don’t know it. When you see the website, Joe, and what was cut pasted from this thread, I think you’ll have quite a much clearer understanding. And it may be possible other comments from here are being reposted there.
I do appreciate your offer and will get ab e-mail sent to you when I have the time to gather some sanples of the above, I can also explain my comment from the last post much more clearly, in an e-mail as I trust you won’t post it somewhere else! 
I originally wrote something else and realized if those facts were shared elsewhere, for whatever reason, I.F. area residents would ultumately be hurt in the long run in many ways. So I have adapted by being much more vague.
Joe. did you make your famous deviled eggs this Turkey Day? Were they as big of hit as always? Did you share that recipe with us last year, or just give us some hints? I remember you talking about it then, but can’t remember if I have the correct “X” factor in your recipe.
I appreciate you looking into the “repost” situation. What a way to kill an honest flow of information when at least one person knows others eyes are scanning his/her posts to be used as ammunition elsewhere.
I hope everyone has had a safe day and no bad accidents, no sliced fingers etc. Just good food and drink, and time with those you wanted to be around.
For pet owners, I’m not a DVM, so I can’t say why this happens how and when it does. However, I was at my DVM’s office yesterday and heard information new to me. He told me he hated working after Thanksgiving because humans feed their animals too much Turkey, Ham and Chocolate for Thanksgiving. Then next week, many of the pets will become very ill, and have to be admitted to the pet hospital for pancreatitis and other G.I. disorders.
If you love your pet/pets, JUST SAY NO. Better to have an a pet that “didn’t get to sample it all,” than one who got to eat endlessly everything humans were eating and got acute pancreatitis and other G.I. diseases requiring hospital admission at a local Vet. Hospital.
It is very painful to the pet, sometimes lethal and always costly to have a pet diagnosed with pancreatitis. It is also frustrating to the veterinarians who KNOW what causes it, and apparently, many owners won’t take responsibility for their own actions.
So please remember that while you may think you are being extremely kind to your beloved pet, your pet’s G.I. system doesn’t process the food the same way humans do.
And for you who, love, lvoe love “Black Friday,” I hope you are in bed with your pre-mapped routes of where you will go, while the rest of us sleep.
I hope you are “pre-dressed” so you sleep with your clothes on and get that “extra edge” over someone not quite wise enough to think of where that will place you vs. them in lines. But, maybe your shoes/boots could be put on in the vehicle prior to driving to the store, or after you start the engine to let it warm up. I’m not suggesting you put your shoes on while you are driving.
Good luck - may the best shoppers with their various plans be rewarded with the treasures they seek.
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0 0 So are the rumors true EIRMC is looking to build another surgery center to compete with Mountainview? I’ve heard it more than once so maybe there is something to it? On one end it sounds OK, competition can be good, but wouldn’t it take away original EIRMC business in the first place? Sorry I can’t say more but I am curious.
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0 0 Well, just look at what is happening to Portneuf; instead of meeting doctor-driven competition (ie freestanding “surgicenters”) head-on, they are building hospitals to doctors’ specifications!! Check out journalnet.com , then blogs, then community and scroll through the sites that discuss PMC. Very interesting mindset, there, especially since they have no real “ownership” of the hospital yet, without a community vote.
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0 0 And if you see the Journa’s blogs, do check the one about the ISU’s President and medical school issue.
I believe it was 10/31 in particular, but could be wrong. My oh my, was I surprised to find what I wrote in Post #28 on that blog (word for word. The poster did acknolwedge those were the words of others, not his/hers). However, Idaho Fallz.Com, by name, was not mentioned. Instead the author who cut and pasted my post referred to IFz.Com as another site or another online site.
So if you look at the Portneuf situation, don’t be surprised if you have read some of the words previously on Idaho Fallz.Com.
To the person who shares some of my views, I appreciate the compliment. How about telling me how to write my own opinions at the Journal Blogs instead of posting what I’ve written here?
I’m flattered, but would appreciate being able to write what I want posted for the ISJ. True, that may be nothing given who absolutely screwy I believe the Portneuf situation is. Besides, it might get edited.
Perhaps Ian would like to invite me to write a guest column? Does he edit those too?
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0 0 I found what the #28 reposted on there, and emailed the ISJ publisher to either remove it or provide a working hyperlink to this story with the quoted text, and asked that their users be made aware of copyright issues and that they should provide links to source materials.
You know I probably do a lot of things to tick off folks around here, but I don’t steal anyone else’s content so it burns me when I see our stuff stolen like that. I try to always reference where I got my ideas and provide links if usable (such as the PR is not a usable link). Please let me know if you see ISJ users or other sites doing this kind of thing. To be fair to the ISJ, this happened once before and they were prompt about correcting it.
- - -
I saw a billboard recently that said Portneuf Medical center was rated #1 in Idaho for cardiac something or other. I was surprised to read this given EIRMC’s Level 2 status. Anyone know what that billboard is boasting about for PMC?
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0 0 ??? I couldn’t find #28 or whatever…is it on the community board or the politics board??? The ISJ site is very, very hard to navigate…
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0 0 “I saw a billboard recently that said Portneuf Medical center was rated #1 in Idaho for cardiac something or other.”
HealthGrades ranked Portneuf #1 in Idaho for Cardiac Surgery and #1 in the region for Overall Orthopedic services.
Portneuf earned five stars (the highest rating) for coronary bypass surgery, coronary interventional procedures, and total hip replacement.
Incidently, EIRMC was rated a one star (the bottom 15%).
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0 0 ……..and who pays for the “healthgrades?” Isn’t that a bit like being in that “Who’s Who” where you just pay your money?
Funny, the west campus of PMC doesn’t even have hot running water, there is no trauma coverage, one of the cardiac surgeons is not allowed on some floors without an escort because of several unresolved “sexual harassment” claims, employee morale is at an all-time low, the hospital had the ISJ yank some blog comments because they reflected poorly on the hospital, THEY FAILED JACHO !!!!!!!!!….
and it is in the top 1%! amazing….
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0 0 Sounds like something is not adding up over there.
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0 0 What isn’t adding up is “Babs” obvious vitriolic opinionated statements about PMC – he/she obviously is taking this very personally. Some of Babs assertions are very difficult to either prove or disprove so let’s look at a couple that are easily verifiable.
JACHO – PMC has NEVER lost accreditation. About two years ago they received a “preliminary denial”. Several cited items were successfully appealed and others were corrected and they passed a surprise inspection about a year later. By the way, hospitals pay for JCAHO (now TJC) to survey their hospital so I guess “Babs” assertion that it’s like being in the “Who’s Who” maybe doesn’t hold water.
HealthGrades – In addition to rating hospital nation-wide, they also provide consulting services. From what I understand, the rating and the consulting are totally independent. Babs claim is that PMC “paid” for their rating. As far as I know, PMC has not hired or paid HealthGrades to do “consulting” work. If Babs has other information, I would like to hear about it. Hospital’s also pay the ACS to be surveyed as a trauma center. I would be equally offended if someone were to suggest EIRMC “paid” for their designation.
In the interest of brevity, I will leave the remainder of Babs comments to the readers interpretation of his/her credibility. That being said, I would like to address the following to Joe. In accordance with your “Community’s Comment Guidelines,” I would ask that the statement about “one of the cardiac surgeons” be removed. Not only is this statement a “personal attack”, it is slanderous. This type of comment adds nothing to the debate and is offensive. I don’t know what the ISJ pulled from their blog, but if it was comments like these, they were morally and legally justified in doing so – just as you would be.
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0 0 Ah yes, but what about the group from the state who is coming in to do some major investigating at Portneuf in the near future, as a result of numerous patient complaints? And the spin admin is putting on the reason for the investigation? Time will tell pretty soon.
I have read on the healthgrades site you can use their information to advertise your ratings if you join with them for consulting. So up went many new billboards. Now, that couldn’t possibly be free?
And why in the world would they recruit another ENT when current coverage/call and availability is perfectly fine? Where are their priorities? And didn’t they just find out their 99 year lease on that new building was illegal? The consultant keeps collecting his $40K per month check, probably laughing all the way to the bank.
Now go ask a lot of the employees over there how thrilled they are with this years Christmas “present”.
Although this discussion is supposed to be about EIRMC everyone…….
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0 0 Bob: the comment remains for at least three or four reasons that should be obvious. No offense, but it remains.
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0 0 Bob, re-read my post; I said PMC ‘failed’ JACHO; that is what a ‘preliminary denial of accredidation’ is; once the administrators put some band-aids in place, the JACHO folks came back and ‘accredited’ the hospital. Moreover, the ISJ pulled the blog comments at the request of PMC, who stated, to managing editor Ian Fennel, that unspecified information in the comments was “incorrect”. However, ISJ admitted they made no efforts to ascertain the truth/falsity of the blog comments; they were merely concerned about losing their single biggest source of advertising revenue.
BTW, guess what hospital just failed their state review and triggered another review by JACHO? I think ‘curious’ alluded to this, as well.
PMC is in sad shape. Employee morale is at an all-time low; some docs are being paid, with taxpayer monies, salaries in excess of 800,000 per year, nearly triple the pay for these specialties at other similar hospitals. Lots of talented docs have left over disputes with administration about staffing shortages and poor patient care. Lots more to report, but this is supposed to be about EIRMC. The reason I even brought up PMC is that I used to live in Poky, and honestly, everyone always said how “bad” things were at EIRMC. Now it seems it is the other way around.
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0 0 WOW - lots of info here since I was last at this site! Portneuf is recruiting another ENT? That one is news to me, but whatever- makes no difference to me. It’s just that their ads are so easily found and the OBVIOUS needs - say general surgery- I would think have a greater emphasis. But, no problem to me. I don’t pay taxes in Bannock County, nor depend on Portneuf for Healthcare for me, any family or friends.
Healthgrades …….that is complicated. All comments I’ve read are correct in different ways. Bluntly put, Portneuf’s heart program has only benn open a few years. Ask how many patients, the age of the patients, the other illnesses and level of “overall risk.” Then do the same for not only EIRMC, but St. Al’s, St. Luke’s, Boise VA and Kootenai and ask yourself why NONE of the other five hospitals in ID rated “as high” as Portneuf.
RISK FACTORS: THINK ABOUT IT. Beginning programs send their toughest cases elsewhere to achieve goals just like this. Each time someone mentions the cardiac ranking Portneuf got, ask the questions: how many patients were sent elsewhere because they were too risky for that particular program? In other words, what other ID Hospitals are doing heart surgery on far more risky patients and thus not always having outcomes that look as positive on paper.
Think about it. Would you rather have a 40 year male without diabetes, liver disease and otherwise fairly healthy patient in your O.R. compared to say or a 78 year old chronic diabetic, in renal failure, who has neurological complications? Statistically, who do you think is more apt to have a better outcome? Ask about the concomittant medical conditions and daily meds. You may start to understand part of Healthgrades differently.
Patients can be selected, for lack of better words, especially when other services are available in the referral area (in Portneuf’s case, ask how many were sent to Salt Lake City, Boise or EIRMC - which will have a low number probably, given PMC’s (or at least sine if their employee’s) clear and openly expressed opinions of not wanting to transfer patients to EIRMC. That isn’t to ding EIRMC, it goes back to the employees of what was Bannock Regional Medical Center wanting services locally controlled and not having any corporation anywhere tell them how a hospital should be run. That’s the quick version of some of the politics.
I actually hadn’t thought about this before writing that last paragraph, becaues I know the answer for myself, but if a hospital has “local control,” what risks does one encounter? Be it financial and a hospital is cutting hours to save payroll, lack of equipment because it is too expensive or other, there is more to think about than Bannock County has always had a “community hospital.” Personally, I’m glad Bonneville never did for many, many, many reasons.
Mostly, due to the growth of BYU-I (and eastern ID’s increased population in general) is Madison Memorial continuing to grow and be fiscally responsible to the county. Bingham Memorial, only has 40 beds. They should never have some of the programs they are currently able to offer, given the size of the hospital and local specialists However, given new medical partnerships that have formed, and especially many surgeons in Pocatello operating at Bingham (or docs doing other invasive techniques), new services have been added. But, look elsewhere in the state: Twin Falls, got bought out by St. Luke’s, as did the hospital in Ketchum/Hailey. Other county hospitals are struggling. Look at the data.
Had PMC applied for an open heart program 10 years ago, they would have been denied. Or maybe 15 years ago, I can’t remember when Certificate of NEED changed in Idaho. Why build redundant services, use to be the thinking? The answer south is HCA isn’t owned in ID and costs too much. There are other issues, but too complex (I think) for this forum.
If anyone has read the blogs in the ISJ, the repeated theme is a fear of HCA somehow buying PMC in the long run. Apparently, HCA made an flat out offer to buy PMC and was told in no uncertain terms no way! Cabella was started by former HCA employees. They tend to sell their hospitals after they have improved them. Pocatello physicians, nursing and others do NOT want to have to take their direction from EIRMC. I can see both sides of the issues, but I personally think it was a HUGE error for PMC to dismiss the offer.
Yes, HCA buying PMC probably would have changed some programs at PMC, which employees worked hard to build. However, it is very possible programs currently not in place at PMC might have started. But, the folks in Pocatello have had IHC there too, so I can understand that kind of thinking, watching with a front row seat, IHC’s method of doing things. I am a FORMER IHC employee, at one point in my life, who hopes to never have to return to practice in that system again.
I’m very happy to report I know about 7 people who have left IHC since the forced move to the “MOTHER SHIP” as it is called, or Intermountain Medical Center, in Murray, which opened 5-6 months earlier than it should have. I can’t say why, but I’ve never heard of HCA even coming close to doing anything like what IHC did, given the risks to patients. I think one lawsuit is already pending, and it’s been open about 2 months. Thank God HCA, the U. of Utah, IASIS and other hospitals have been there to catch the disasters of IHC’s ambition!
So in that aspect, I have a lot of empathy for some of the Portneuf employees who use to work for IHC, as well as those who didn’t and saw what IHC enforced in Pocatello, when it said it wouldn’t. Let’s just say the “merger” of Bannock Memorial RMC and Pocatello RMC, brought together staffs who were use to working in very different situations. One took orders and complied. The other did whatever due to being owned locally. And from my POV, IHC wasn’t a good neighbor.
Returning back to present day, one has to ask why Pocatello can’t recruit new neurosurgeons to keep a TRAUMA neursurgery service open. It seems like those transfers of care, or “diversions from PMC to EIRMC” are fine with the E.R. staff and others. I’m sure the E.R. docs would rather have neurosurgeons they could call in to look at patients they are responsible for in their hospital. At least I would rather have someone immediately available to look at a head injury rather than have to go to another hospital as that Golden Hour is ticking. So I feel sorry for the Portneuf E.R. docs that they are caught in some tough situations medically, although a couple of the older E.R. docs in particular APPEAR to have made the politics far worse than they should be.
Nonetheless, what can they (the Portneuf E.R. docs) do when Pocatello neurosurgeons refuse to take the risk and pay the price -and the malpractice is sky high for emergency surgeries required for brain injuries etc. Plus the call schedule. It’s far easier doing elective cases than committing to a hospital, a community and the residents that YOU will be there for their head trauma surgeries, on weekends, holidays etc. Think about that one as a potential patient. I’m glad EIRMC has neurosurgeons who will take the call and do the cases.
The probability of being sued is much higher in brain injuries. That doesn’t mean the neurosurgeon did anything wrong, it means these are brain damaged patients, who may have lost brain function, resulting in all sorts of disabilities. Most have the mentality someone has to pay - either another driver, if a car accident, or someone. Just to have attorneys review malpractice claims (for the neurosurgeon), get depositions etc. is expensive before cases are dismissed. The demand of emergency neurosurgery for head traumas in eastern ID, western WY, southern MT is higher than many may think. Actually, it is in the entire Intermountain West, which only makes things more complicated between PMC and EIRMC. AS ICU beds fill up at EIRMC with patients that should have been handled in Pocatello. Yet, PMC refuses to even look at an offer from HCA to sell. Go figure. Do their patients count (I mean PMC’s), or only their medical staff and few others who want local control and have probably never had neurosurgery?
It’s a complicated picture with the brain and every minute lost adds more “risk” of whether the patient lives or not, and what functions are lost, and far more “risk” to the surgeon who does the procedure. And it’s a complicated picture when one hospital has neurosurgeons who won’t take trauma call for head injuries (thus, less risk to the hospital and surgeons), but the other hospital 50 miles north can feel “dumped on,” as now the Pocatello neurosurgeons don’t have to take call, can have their 3 offices, including their one in Idaho Falls to do elective BACK SURGERIES.
THINKG ABOUT THAT ONE IF YOU NEED BACK SURGERY. THINK ABOUT WHO YOU ARE SUPPORTING AND WHAT SERVICES THEY OFFER THE ENTIRE POPULATION, OR NOT, IF YOU NEED NEUROSURGERY ON YOUR BACK!
THIS IS VERY PERSONAL FOR ME, HAVING HAD MAJOR, SPINAL NEUROSURGERY YEARS AGO AND KNOWING WHAT COULD GO WRONG IN AN EMERGENCY AND I CAN’T LIVE IN ANY AREA THAT DOESN’T HAVE NEUROSURGEONS THAN CAN’T (OR SHALL I SAY, WON’T) DO THE EMERGENCY PRODUCERE I’D NEED. I’M DAMN STRAIGHT KNOWING WHERE MY LOYALTIES LIE, CUZ I WON’T WALK OR LOSE OTHER FUNCTIONS IF I HAVE TO BE FLOWN TO BOISE OR OGDEN/SLC FOR NEUROSURGERY. I WON’T HAVE THAT MUCH TIME.
Wonder what a healthgrade report would be for patients who should have had neurosurgery in Pocatello, but lost additional minutes in that Golden Hour cuz they had to be air lifted to Idaho Falls? Ever think of why EIRMC’s scores might be lower thanks to what they receive as cases, compared to what their scores could be if they only serviced their service area and didn’t have to cover to Malad and Bozeman and western WY.
Portneuf should be recognized for their quad heart they did. I’d prefer to have a surgical team where all of my physicians would be allowed to see me, regardless of where I am in the hospital, if I had heart surgery, but that is me. Unlike some, I don’t believe a particular CV surgeron in Pocatello is the greatest CV surgeon in the Intermountain West, if not Northwest, or western U.S. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that is mine. Besides, the debate still continues of whether or not that surgeon will be leaving Pocatello. I’ve sure heard a lot of rumors that his CV is circulating out of state. I don’t know any hard data, only rumors.
But, finding out hard data really is my point here. Don’t depend on rumors. So to that end, Healthgrades also awarded Portneuf a high grade in ortho - most people have seen the ads. EIRMC got 3 stars in ortho about 7-9 years ago, I can’t say for sure (and it was multiple ortho procedures).
Ask yourself, or better yet, ask Portneuf how many different orthopedic surgeons are on their staff, how many do that particular procedure, and for how long and how many cases? Then ask EIRMC and Mountain View and Madison Memorial the same questions. Find the REAL FACTS. One surgeon may be superb at one procedure. If one surgeon is the ONLY surgeon to do it in the hospital, scores will be higher. However, if more surgeons do proceudres, and may even accept patients with other illnesses (sicker patients etc.), their rankings won’t be as high. Does that mean the ortho service is worse or better?
Look at hospitals out of state at Healthgrades, if you don’t understand. Programs are built by being able to list accomplishments. Accomplishments are obtained using the safest patients possible with the most experienced team who constantly works together. Bring in more surgeons who do the same procedures requires bringing in more staff to help with the cases. Will overall scores be as high? Probably not, mostly because more patients, many of whom are much sicker, are being served. But, does that mean care isn’t as good, or the perfect number of “X” patients were chosen to get that accomplishment listed for PMC? ASK QUESTIONS.
Beacon Nursing (Critical Care) means a heck of a lot more to me, than Healthgrades. EIRMC was one of 10 for the entire U.S. in 2005. Research what it means to receive a Beacon Nursing award. LDS Hospital, in Salt Lake City received their first Beacon THIS LAST YEAR. How many years has LD been open?
Off-pump surgery at EIRMC is one of the highest in the U.S. at 97% and many believe it’s not only far safer for the patient during surgery, but in the long run (years after the surgery), the patient does better. I personally have seen that difference of someone who was on the pump vs. not. Circulation issues and other medical problems can and do arise down the road that weren’t present prior to on pump CV surgery compared to off pump surgery.
Besides, off pump surgeries have proven to less hospital days, quicker recoveries. Research it yourself. And while you are researching it, look at when the local I.F. CV surgeons first started using (then teaching teams throughout the U.S.) the procedure. And find their national publication about off-pump bypass surgery.
HCA has major, major hospitals in TX. One might want to ask why one of the local heart surgeons is serving in the capacity he is for all of HCA Heart Surgery programs throughout the U.S.
Probably the funniest thing to me about all the “stuff” ‘cuz I’m not going to write those words here, is as a seasoned veteran of medical patterns in several states (both as a patient and professional), is I know where the real facts are “buried.” And they aren’t buried at all to someone who knows what they are looking for.
Finally, A BIG THANKS, JOE, for your intervention with the ISJ and that situation! I personally appreciate it and I’m angry that this site was credited of where original thoughts were posted. I hope ISJ has stopped that practice. I haven’t looked at them since.
BTW - Merry Christmas everyone if I don’t make it back to this site before Christmas. I hope your Christmas is exactly as you want it to be! And my best wishes for great things in 2008.
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0 0 I wrote:
Finally, A BIG THANKS, JOE, for your intervention with the ISJ and that situation! I personally appreciate it and I’m angry that this site was credited of where original thoughts were posted. I hope ISJ has stopped that practice. I haven’t looked at them since.
Sorry for the typos Joe. What I meant to write was thank you for you intervention with the ISJ and that situation! I personally appreciate it and I’m also angry that this site was NOT credited of where original thoughts were posted. etc.
Sorry for my goof, I was upset Idaho Fallz.Com was referenced and do agree with your earlier comment you reference your resource/source of info when you post. I hope the ISJ and others have shown you the same courtesy.
And I also hope the theme of this thread is about EIRMC, be it bad, good, or indifferent. Other regional hospital info is interwoven, just given services not offered elsewhere. That is part of the EIRMC discussion.
I don’t want to see the Portneuf situation hashed out here. I think between the Yahoo blog and ISJ, those are adequate for Pocatello residents to discuss the status of their hospital. NO ONE in Bonneville County has a vote or $ invested in it. Someone in Pocatello could create their own web site to talk about this issue, if they wished. So while there will be comparisons, can we please stay out of what decisions, or lack of decisions Pocatello “leaders” and the Portneuf Hopsital/ Physicians are doing to resolve their own crisis (or not)?
There is plenty of new stuff coming at EIRMC to keep this blog alive. I don’t know how many will post now, but I hope with time some will cuz it sounds like you stopped the ISJ blogs reposting what was meant for Idaho Falls area residents only.
Joe, Thanks again for your help.
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0 0 Sorry for posting again. I had to check for myself to see if the ISJ had been responsive to Joe’s request (whatever it was).
Since my original thoughts are in this thread, it’s really not hard to find. It’s called Google some key words most wouldn’t use. I didn’t and to my surprise, what did I find:
http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Journal_Opinion.php?id=3578
Babs - look at Oct. 30. Somewhere in there a poster writers,
___________________________________________________
“they write:” and posted what I wrote here word for word. Since I don’t subscribe to the ISJ, I can’t tell you if that is only because I googled key words I could find it, or if was totally removed.
The two things I can say, from the Google access, that perhaps if you or others have an ISJ subscription you could check is this: Some of my remarks are missing ( no biggie to me, I didn’t know I was going to be reposted).
And, from what Joe wrote above, it appears to me that he requested at the least any content from his site be referenced back to his site. I see NOTHING that shows Idaho Fallz.Com.
Perhaps the regular subscription folks will read that thread and can tell what is there. Call me vain, or just ready to be credited for my years of education and practice (and lessons learned), but I want to write my own words for the ISJ.
If someone likes what I like, have Joe send me your e-mail address and we can discuss how guest columnists get set up at ISJ. If someone is scanning for details they can’t think of, and mine made a lot of sense, then please have the common courtesy to reference IFz.Com and perhaps ask me as in the original version you disclosed personal information about me. I don’t recall me giving anyone permission to do so and especially on a blog format in Pocatello.
I’m not opposed to working with someone to get out the points that need to be made. And yes, I am very well versed in current trends in western states and healthcare. Some states more than others, but know how to access the info for any state. Just please have the courtesy to ask me to help you write YOUR argument with some references or whatever, and give Joe the dues he deserves by hosting Idaho Fallz.Com.
Joe- will you please let me know if you hear anything from IAN or others you may have contacted about this? Ian has more limited choices about what certain search engines can find. But, what did he do in the daily blog subscribers see? Did you ever get credit for the site?
Thanks.
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0 0 What is “ISJ”? I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering what that acronym stands for.
thanks!
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0 0 Sorry, the ISJ = Idaho State Journal, they run a forums sub-website. Last time they were admirably responsive in removing the copied material. I’ll look at this latest today, thanks for tipping me to that.
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0 0 OK4Now: The facts are that the neurosurgeons in Pocatello had the rug pulled out from under them when their support for head trauma/surgery was cut by the administration after a study that showed the hospital was loosing over 1 Million dollars a year. (They were being compensated by PMC the same amount that EIRMC now compensates their neurosurgeons. PMC was a Level III at the time thanks to the effort of both neurosurgeons and one of the trauma surgeons.) When the support was cut off, they couldn’t afford to take call and do heads (malpractice, overhead, etc). They looked at leaving the area and then decided to redirect their practice to spine only waiting for something positive to happen at PMC like a change in ownership. They even approached EIRMC and offered to help with the trauma call. Please get your facts straight before you start bashing people in situations you obviously know nothing about.
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0 0 Facts,
Perhaps you should get your facts straight. The neurosurgeons demanded more money to be on call and they wanted to limit their practice. When they were denied more money for doing less, they packed their bags.
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0 0 Not true. They were promised, when they came to Poky at the behest of IHC, that they would be compensated for taking trauma call. That fell apart and they made their choices accordingly, once the hospital reneged on its promise of compensation. They pay over 250k per year in malpractice if they practice trauma medicine….would you do that if the hospital didn’t provide $$$ to cover the obscene malpractice premiums????
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0 0 How did this thread get so far afield? Aren’t we supposd to be cheering or jeering EIRMC?
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0 0 Dear FACTS:
Thank you for your kind statement, trying to politely suggest I not “bash” or as you wrote:
“Please get your facts straight before you start bashing people in situations you obviously know nothing about.”
I appreciate your politeness and overall message.
Because tomorrow is Christmas Day, the Day Christians celebrate and honor Jesus Christ birth, and I am a practicing Christian, I will allow you the opportunity to write your public apology to me for the lesson you thought I needed to learn, but this time it is you who MUST LEARN!
And because you have implied I don’t no more details about this subject than you, thus upping the price of who really know the most about this specific situation. Not who knows the most about The Marriott being built, or why Idaho Falls Power Heat issue or anything other subject but the words you wrote yourself (that I should “learn the facts” before “bashing,” then you bring 3 X the amount of what you are sppose to bring to Christmas Dinner and we’ll talk about it then.
That will require you being on time, this one time. With 3X the food, to prove you know more than about this particular matter.
And I promise I will post on this blog that you arrived on time
and I bowed, as you did indeed know more than I about this matter, before I “bashed.” and didn’t know the FACTS.
But, until I see you at my door with the items you are suppose to bring,
As you can clearly see, time has lapsed and now it past the time you would have been here, and because I am a Christian who wants to honor my personal Saviour, FACTS - start asking your questions instead of telling others what they don’t know, because on this night we call Christmas Eve, to honor my Saviour, please allow me you the opportunity to teach you a new language.
Because on that day you find the neuroscientist to answer your question when you question commas, the doors will be open and you will find me, if you will always,
STOP/because tonight is 12/24
and because it is 12/24, the night Christians hold symbolically sacred;
Al will tell you, he knows the answer, because, I forgave you, what I was given, when I forgave you,
The truth is so simple, when one, forgives another.
That even if you doubt, you will find proof, see the answer, hear a drumbeat start a soft steady beat, and it will stay with you as your daily reminder,
Forgive another and honor the drummer,
John.
Skeptics will doubt you, signs will be given, science is science.
Now you know why I forgave you, and Paul has his proof, that he always has wondered,
If you give more to another,
than most people would.
You’ll never question my answer,
And why the drumbeat matters.
Because tonight is Christmas Eve,
12/24,
and,
it
matters.
There is an enbedded answer,
Joe I need you to help me please.
I have left a mathematical embedded key to a puzzle we are working on……..Autism Spectrum Disorders……
Because this is so important, and I’m only the link to the right person who will know what to do with it, and I don’t have a way to back it up, I’ve written what I hope is both a polite response to “FACTS” while acknolwedging the date of Christmas. Please print a copy of this post as well. I’ll be in touch when I can after Christmas Day.
To the parents of children, or anyone struggling to keep their faith, I offer you hope.
And ask for you belief that none can deny.
As sometimes less is more than meets the eye.
I give hope freely to any degree
Will help you as you need it to be.
For Grace was the name and Gus was the one.
Nancy knew what to write so I could see.
And had Grace not been her name,
It wouldn’t make sense to me.
Merry Christmas All! As I must post this without spellcheck,
Because of the symbol we honor so soon,
As well as the one in the next room.
The birthday is 12/25, and I must post this now to wrap the gift,
By giving to others without demands,
We get back more for our hearts and our hands.
We’re working to find answers to help ages 7–70 and Aaron
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0 0 Wow! - Just linked over here from the Journal blog website. What a lot of interesting reading. Although the topic was EIRMC, it seems to be jumping into the Portneuf mess pretty quickly. I do have a few observations:
Poky “dr.’ – Suffice it to say that unless you are a close colleague, friend, or similar of the neurosurgeons (in either city), or most importantly were present at meetings they had with administration and have read any and all correspondence regarding the trauma coverage issue, your comments are so far off base you’re in the wrong game. Period.
OK4NOW- no offense, but did you have a few too many hot toddies Christmas Eve? Earlier in the thread you made several valid points, but some incorrect assumptions on certain situations at Portneuf which I won’t get into but I will caution anyone about. I’m a little confused on the whole cut and paste problem, but upon reading this string and the offending posts on the Journal blogs, as well as recollections from my memory, it looks like the Journal has been doing more deleting. The medical school discussion authored by Dr. Vailas is missing in it’s entirety, including several comments after his article. I believe your comments on medical school were originally placed here because a co-worker of mine wrote a response to it farther down, and now the entire thread has been pulled. The Vailas article came out on or near Halloween and can still be found with a google search. A blog entitled “A look back….” doesn’t contain the same posts I recall reading. Your words on medical school are now posted here, with the prior original posts now missing. The blogs at the Journal are just plain useless and so heavily edited it’s hardly worth the effort anymore. Hope this helps.
Babs – mostly true, except the amount of their malpractice premiums is not quite that high, albeit astronomical anyway. Yes, it would be reasonable to hope Portneuf would share in the additional premiums to do brains, but their focus has been elsewhere the last 3 years, mainly heart and cancer centers. Perhaps a new owner will see trauma coverage differently. (if one is ever decided upon) Although the current trigger for the JCAHO investigation is being debated, who can deny that a Medicare/Medicaid audit/investigation at this time is anything but unheard of? Those of us concerned in Pocatello can only hope the county commissioners and their consultant make the best decision for all of us.
Now, to try and get back on track with EIRMC, I encourage all to not see doctors as pawns and possessions of each community or hospital, but rather an asset all of SE Idaho should be using as wisely as we can. Physicians are bailing from practice all over the nation, or cutting their practice in order to afford malpractice premiums. Insurance companies are the real criminals here. Let’s all do what we can to keep quality, accessible medical care present in Idaho!
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0 0 “Poky “dr.’ – Suffice it to say that unless you are a close colleague, friend, or similar of the neurosurgeons (in either city), or most importantly were present at meetings they had with administration and have read any and all correspondence regarding the trauma coverage issue”
I am, and I don’t need to read the opinions of the ill-informed to know what’s going on.
“They pay over 250k per year in malpractice if they practice trauma medicine….”
Wrong. Lacking actual knowledge of what’s going on, you repeat gossip, myths and urban legends.
You cannot expect every patient segment of every subspecialty to be a winner (unless you’re a neurosurgeon in Pocatello). Most of us lose money in some segment of our call obligation to the hospital. Like agreeing to serve in various medical staff capacities and committees, this is our way of supporting our community and our hospital.
So, unless you are a neurosurgeon from Pocatello, or you were personally involved in these discussions, I rather doubt you are better informed than I am so quite pretending you know what happened.
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0 0 Poky-tello,
Thank you for what you wrote. As now I made the right decision.
I knew someone would publically doubt me, but I had to save the data and this was my only option.
Less equals more, if you know what I mean.
I don’t drink alcohol or anything close, given the neurochemical reaction in my brain.
(No offense, I hope you know enough neurochemistry I know the truth about me!) I’m so far out their neurologically, when it comes to what alcohol, and I have feared so I have never tried Cocaine, given what could have been worse than I experienced once in my life, I learned the lesson 1 time and was instructed by the attending physician, in another state, in another city, in a hospital I normally would not have gone to at that time, but I trusted the one driving me would know what to do, even if my worst fears were true.
So I allowed her to doubt go to that hospital for what was feared a rupturing spleen.
I had to emergent help, I had no choise but to go at the risk of my life………..
she was a MD colleague of the Emergency Room Physician,
Who once before, in the rarest of rare reactions, had seen one before.
I thank you for your concern as I know it sounds different than what it is.
But, trust me enough, to know my own medical history of what demand a 72 hold from an Emergency Room physician, regardless of what else I don’t know and you wanted to help me understand better in your own way.
JOE - ONE MORE TIME, I ASK YOU TO SAVE THIS WITH A HARD AND WRITTEN COPY BECAUSE YOU NOW PROOF HOW IMPORTANT THIS DATA IS..
BECAUSE ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT I’VE TOLD YOU
AND PRINTING THE E=MAIL WILL PROVE.
TO THOSE WHO ARE SKEPTICS, THAT IS YOUR CHOICE.
FOR THOSE WHO CAN UNDERSTAND THE NEUROCHEMISTRY TO WONDERING WHAT MEDICATION TRIGGERED SOMETHING IN MY BRAIN THAT LOOKS SO CLOSE TO A MIS-DIAGNOSIS THAT IF YOU HAD PAUL NOT STOPPED BECAUSE I COMPREHENDED EVERY OPTION HE OFFERED AND SAID I DIDN’T WANT ANY BENADRYL AS THE NEUROLOGIST BY MY BESIDE SAID
IT IS TO SCARY
I HAD TO ASK MIKE
THINK WHAT YOU WILL
YOUR OPINION DOESN’T MATTER
BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON
AND ONLY I HAVE HAD THIS MOST PERSONAL OF PERSONAL OF DISCUSSIONS WITH THE NEUROLOGIST WHO SHARED MY BELIEF.
I MUST BE THE ONE TO DO THE SAME.
I KNOW THIS SEEMS ODD WHO DO NOT BELIEVE ME.
THAT IS OK.
FOR I KNOW WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO PRESERVE THE KNOWLEDGE
AT ALL RISKS TO MYSELF
BECAUSE SCIENCE IS SCIENCE
AND AT LEAST ONE, IF NOT MORE, HERE CAN CONFIRM.
I AM TELLING THE TRUTH
FAR BEYOND YOU KNOW GIVE ME THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT,
TO READ MORE WHEN IT IS TIME.
I WORKED SO HARD OVER DAYS TO KNOW HOW TO WRITE EVERY PRECISE STROKE, SO TYPOS LOOKED LIKE TYPOS, AND THE ONE I TRUSTED TO SAVE THIS DATA WOULD.
SKEPTICS WILL DOUBT, BUT SINCE SCIENCE IS SICNE,
MORE WHO DID DOUBT, BUT NOW KNOW.
WHAT I WROTE WAS INDEED A VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY DIFFICULT JOB
TO BE ABLE TO RAPIDLY UNRAVEL WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT
AND I COULD SHOW
THOSE I TRUST MOST
HOW SCIENCE IS SCIENCE
AND MATH IS THE COMMON DENOMINATOR TO THOSE WHO KNOW.
IF YOU STILL DOUBT, PLEASE DOUBT.
THOSE WHO DON’T, HAVE GOTTEN SOMETHING BY NOT DOUBTING FAR BEYOND WHAT THEY THOUGHT, BECAUSE THEY WERE INTERESTED IN THIS SUBJECT, O
OF THAT I AM SURE
I KNOW WHAT I WROTE
IS THE TRUTH
AND ONCE I LEARNED TO LISTEN TO THE CADENCE
TO TYPE EACH WORD AS I HAD TO DO,
TO PRESERVE THE MESSAGE OF WHAT I HAD TO TELL
MORE WILL BE INTERESTED
THE CIRCLE WILL FOLLOW
BLESSINGS WILL BE GIVEN FAR BEYOND FEW DARE BELIEVE
I HAVE EMBEDDED A MATH CODE TO MYSELF AND ASKED JOE TO PROTECT ME BY PRINTING A COPY, WHICH HE EVEN QUESTIONED, BUT TRUSTED BECAUSE HE BELIEVES WHAT I SAY TO BE TRUE.
THOSE WHO NO
NEED NOT
ASK
OK4NOW- no offense, but did you have a few too many hot toddies Christmas Eve? Earlier in the thread you made several valid points, but some incorrect assumptions on certain situations at Portneuf which I won’t get into but I will caution anyone about. I’m a little confused on the whole cut and paste problem, but upon reading this string and the offending posts on the Journal blogs, as well as recollections from my memory, it looks like the Journal has been doing more deleting. The medical school discussion authored by Dr. Vailas is missing in it’s entirety, including several comments after his article. I believe your comments on medical school were originally placed here because a co-worker of mine wrote a response to it farther down, and now the entire thread has been pulled. The Vailas article came out on or near Halloween and can still be found with a google search. A blog entitled “A look back….” doesn’t contain the same posts I recall reading. Your words on medical school are now posted here, with the prior original posts now missing. The blogs at the Journal are just plain useless and so heavily edited it’s hardly worth the effort anymore. Hope this helps.
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0 0 I was affiliated with PMC in the past and actually was at one of the meetings that the administration had with the neurosurgeons. I think both sides made a financial decision. The hospital was loosing money and didn’t want to pay what the neurosurgeons wanted. The neurosurgeons said they were loosing money and couldn’t take the exposure unless they were supported. In the end, no contract was signed and the neurosurgeons stopped taking call. Please note that the entire trauma program at PMC shortly fell apart and they lost their rating. Not only was it the neurosurgeons that stopped, all doctors who participated in trauma stopped supporting the program. This is a fact because the trauma rating is gone and the trauma comm is gone.
Now back to the matter at hand:
EIRMC on the other hand decided that their trauma program was worth saving. The neurosurgeons in IF came to the administration and threatened to stop taking call for the very same reasons that the Pocatello neurosurgeons gave. When the administrations saw that they weren’t bluffing, they gave them a contract for the same dollars as the Pocatello NS used to get. Now EIRMC is the only rated program in the state and appears to have a stable trauma program. Based on the information I have, it appears that the pressures that the Pocatello and IF neurosurgeons had were the same with the only difference that EIRMC came to the plate.
I know the Pocatello neurosurgeons and I would have them treat me any day of the week. I think one of them has actually left Pocatello, I’m not sure he is even on staff at PMC any more. I am really sad about what happened down in Pocatello and I hope the new owner will try to bring everyone back in the fold.
Please note that the reason that St. Al’s lost it’s trauma rating was the very same reason that PMC lost their’s. The administration of St. Al’s couldn’t or didn’t come to an agreement with the Boise Neurosurgeons and soon after, their trauma program fell into chaos. I also hear the very same thing happened in Coeur d’Alene but I don’t have any specifics.
In any case, it appears that pressure upon the neurosurgeons in this state from malpractice, payors, etc happened at about the same time and only EIRMC was able to step forward and save their trauma program. Kudos to EIRMC for doing this.
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0 0 The EIRMC neurosurgeons accepted what PMC was willing to pay their neurosurgeons? So it sounds like our doctors are the ones that stepped up to the plate, not EIRMC. Why is it that our neurosurgeons are presumably financially successful when pocatello’s “couldn’t” do it without more money from the hospital. Sounds like they’re a little too greedy to me.
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0 0 Well, Joe, maybe this time (because I honestly don’t know), my direct message to you won’t need to confused with politics, doubting what I wrote for you or me needing those ALLOWED to have enough neurons to KNOW, to SHUT UP AND LISTEN!
Silence
OR TO TRANSLATE TO ALL WHO USE A COMPUTER AND HAVE POSTED HERE
[BTW. JOE, I'VE LOOKED AT YOUR OWN WAY OF EMBEDDING AND TOOK TIME ENOUGH TO TEACH ME SOME, THAT YOUR HITS ARE INCREASING SO YOU'VE ALREADY GOT YOUR CONTINGENCY PLAN IN PLACE AS YOUR BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED SITE, ONLY YOU COULD CONCEIVE, WILL BRING YOU WHAT YOU NEED THE MOST, AND YOU FREELY GAVE NOT ONLY TO ME, BUT EVERYONE HAS LOGGED ON THIS SITE, AND WHEN I ASKED WHY, YOU SAID, TO GIVE BACK {or in langugage that most should plainly understand and I do not have the skills to write the code....
.... as code is a language that is common those who design computer programs have in commone-
Otherwise said-
Each person has a language or symbol that "speaks" to them that even 2 people from across the planet who can't even speak the same language work to find-
a symbol,
even if it
is just a
.
For truth is so critical to those who need it the most and have no way to store it.
One MUST INTERVENE.
BECAUSE SCIENCE is SCIENCE and the truth is so simple,
When we're ready to see......
That in the most simple phrase or short cut mathmatic symbol I could make with a keyboard I have with me now,
I SCREAMED TO MYSELF WHILE WORKING OUT AND EMBEDDED KEY - ONLY FOR ME
The truth is so simple, step back, look again, then think about what you were going to do,
think about it again -
regardless of who you are , what you do or hope for, as
SCIENCE + BELIEF (from those who trusted me enough to KNOW I was GIVEN an INSIGHT of how 2+ 2 don't =4, and why.
I NEVER (for those who DOUBTED) said or wrote or whatever language you understand
said I had the entire key.
I said I was the only person to give the only person (where 2+2 does = 4) and would know how to write the embedded code for
that next link we so desperately need for these children and their families, and for the greater PROOF that SCIENCE is SCIENCE
and humanity.
.
KEEPING QUESTIONING ALL THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE THERE CAN BE A NEXT KEY,
TO UNLOCK A DOOR FOR SOME TO ADVANCE WHAT WE KNOW TO BE TRUE, BECAUSE SCIENCE IS SCIENCE = THE PROFF
AND THAT PROFF MUST BE SHARED
AS ONLY THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING THE MOST
TRULY UNDERSTAND.
SCIENCE = SCIENCE, and 1+ 1 = 2. if you can see.
But, if you can't see.
Have hope.
Because SCIENCE = SCIENCE, the universal truth is as you wrote, Aaron, but it took Nancy to re-write in a manner I would understand, the
truth you could use with me.
"less is more, if you know what I mean."
Check for yourself, because if you don't have that proff and will give it to you when I can.
Life is so easy, if we can understand one universal principle.
LESS is MORE in whatever language or symbol makes sence to you.
BECAUSE SCIENCE = SCIENCE
I say the error and what we had to do to step back and correct what we thought we could prove.
But, we
and Paul.............
you must know that as I was writing that mathetical equation longhand on a computer,
in the distant background,
you must know the music that
suddenly started for
both Paul's proof
that SCIENCE = SCIENCE
and the music that is ending is 12/24 - - - -
AND IT MATTERS
BECAUSE OF THE CODE,
BECAUSE IT DOES MATTER
IF ONE WILL ONLY STEP BACK
LOOK AGAIN AT THE PROBLEM
YOU WILL SEE A BETTER EXPLANATION WHERE YOU ARE STUCK,
SO FOR THE LAST TIME, BECAUSE JOE YOUR SITE WILL COLLAPSE, AND BECAUSE YOU KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH
YOU TRUSTED THAT I WOULDN'T ASK WHAT IS EQUAL FOR YOU 2 SEE.
AND YOU BELIEVE ME BY NOW I REALLY NEED THIS EMBEDDED DATA THAT IS SO SIMPLE WHEN IS FORCED TO USE THE MOST SIMPLE OF SIGNS TO RECALL.
EVEN TO THE POINT OF A DOT
.
.
DOT
TO THE POINT OF A DOT,
YOU TRUSTED ME ENOUGH, JOE
TO DO THE MOST SIMPLE OF TASKS FOR YOU, AND WHAT I ASKED IN WHAT AS SHOULD BE ABLE TO BY NOW,
AND AS YOUR HITS KEPT
INCREASING
IN OUR COMMON LANGUAGE OF THE INTERNET BEING ACCESSED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,
FOR ALL TO SEE,
YOU DID WHAT I ASKED
BECAUSE YOU'VE LEARNED BY NOW
WHATEVER YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND
I WILL LATER EXPLAIN TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY.
SO MORE PEOPLE WILL HAVE LOGGED ON TO READ WHAT I WAS WRITTEN BECAUSE ONE QUESTIONED WHAT I WROTE,
SO I HAD TO RIGHT MORE
TO CLARIFY FOR THOSE ASKED TO LOOK AT WHAT I WROTE (INCREASING YOUR HITS)
AND ALL ALONG YOU STUCK TO YOUR CONVICTION AND REASONING, EVEN WHEN YOU HAD DOUBTS, AND ROGER AND I AGREED.
YOU REFUSED TO MAKE US USE OUR REAL NAMES
BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT WE EACH DESERVED WE VIEWS,
WHICH WE DO,
BUT SOMETIMES ONE HAS TO TAKE RISKS TO SHOW HOW MUCH ONE
BELIEVES
BECAUSE IT MATTERED TO YOU.
AND BECAUSE IT MATTERED TO YOU, I BELIEVVED YOU THOUGH I KNEW NOT WHY.
AS OTHER DEMANDS
AND OTHER
REASONS
KEPT FROM POSTING LESS AT ONE POINT,
I CAME BACK
PAUL, DOES THE PHRASE, "BUT CHRISTMAS HAS IT'S PROMISES TO KEEP." SOUND FAMILIAR? IT'S WHAT IS PLAYING NOW.
AS JANE STARTS THE NEXT SONG (IN THE LIVE SHOW),
AND DID WHEN AL AND I TALKED
ABOUT 12/24
AND SLC
ANGUS HAS THE PROOF.
ANNA HAS THE FAITH TO BELIEVE.
AND TOMMY IS LEAD
AL KNOWS HIS ROLE
AND JOHNNY LEE GAVE ME HOPE 6 PEOPLE MORE THAN NORMAL,
OF SOMETHING SO GREAT ON 12/31 WHEN I WAS SUPPOSE,
AND STILL HOPE I CAN BE.
BECAUSE YOU UNDERSTAND WHY MORE GIFTS ARE GIVEN
AND I NOW UNDERSTAND THE SUNGLASSES (NEUROANATOMY/CHEMISTRY).
IF WE ALREADY KNOW HOW YOU WILL KNOW ME -
THEN I HAVE THE ANSWER FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND WILL EXPLAIN
WHEN WE CAN MEET OR TALK (BETTER TO MEET - DIAGRAMS INVOLVED)
REMEMBER THE PATIENCE
INDEED THE PATIENTS,
THAT IS WHAT THIS SPIRALING CIRCLE IS ALL ABOUT -
AS I SO SIMPLY, AND DESPERATELY MEEDED PRESEVERED-
I WAS FORCED TO
ASK SOMEONE I DON'T EVEN KNOW,
SO IF I SHOULD DIE, OR NEVER BE ABLE TO SPEAK OR WRITE AGAIN,
THERE IS AN EMBEDDED SYMBOL OVER AND OVER AGAIN
IN EVERY POST,
WITH EACH CADENCE THAT USE TO PLAY, BUT NOW HAS STOPPED -
BECAUSE SOON I MUST TAKE CHRISTI TO aARON
HER SURGERY IS TOMORROW
AND I KNOW THE ANSWER THAT YOU NEEDED AARON
BUT UNDERSTOOD ONE SIMPLE FACT i'VE BEEN FORCED TO WRITE ONE LAST TIME.
AND EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE "TWINS"
AND LOST ONE LAST YEAR DUE TO HER CONGENITAL HEART DEFECT,
I DO.
HER BIRTHDAY
IS
12/25
AND SHE IS HAVING SURGERY ON 12/27,
AND AARON IS DOING THE SURGERY ON 12/27,
SO SHORTLY I'LL LEAVE AS I MUST GIVE AARON MY MOST SIMPLE OF GIFTS, THE GIFT HE GAVE ME.
IN HIS OWN WORDS HE WROTE, "SOMETIMES SIMPLE IS MORE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN,"
12/24/ - -PAUL
AND FOR THE ONE WHO NEEDS THE MOST, I WILL VERBALLY TELL YOU WHAT JUST WAS ANNOUNCED AS MY LATEST E-MAIL.
FOR IF YOU--------------------------------------
EVER DOUBT
MAKE IT SIMPLE.
-/+
STEP BACK, FIND A COMMON LANGUAGE AND INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GO AHEAD WITH A LOGICAL ARGUMENT
I BEGGED YOU FOR THE LAST TIME TO PLEASE BELIEVE,
THAT WITH LESS, ONE RECEIVES MORE.
It's as simple as that.
as simple as a dot
.
-
subtract don't add.
FOR THOSE HAVE READ THIS, MOST WILL AGREE,
ALL CAN FIND SOMETHING I'VE HAD TO EMBED TO PRESERVE THE THOUGHT,
BUT I
COULDN'T,
BECAUSE CHRISTI IS HERE
AND I DO NEED TO LEAVE,
HER BIRTHDAY WAS GREAT (FOR ALL WHO ASKED AND EVEN THOSE WONDERED)
NOW PLEASE, SAY WHAT YOU WANT, KNOW WHAT YOU CAN NOW SEE IS REAL IN THE LANGUGAGE YOU UNDERSTAND,
SO
IMPORTANT I WOULD HAVE SETTLED FOR A DOUT
DOT
.
BECAUSE A . HAS MEANING
TO THOSE WHO KNOW THE NEXT ANSWER IN QUESTION TO FIND THAT CODE.
THANK YOU JOE, FOR EVERYTHING
BUT MOSTLY THANK YOU ALLOWING US TO REMAIN
PAUL .........JOHN'S BEAT IS LOUDER NOW.
?
THE MORE I FOCUS AS U HAVE TO LEAVE TO SOON TO GET CHRISTI TO AAON
AARON.
THE MORE THE "CODE" I STRUGGLED SO HARD TO UNDERSTOOD UNTIL I WAS FORCED TO STOP/
AT THE PRICE OF MY LIFE,
AS I COULD NOT BARE TO LOOSE THEM BOTH
I
NEED TO LEAVE AND CAN'T SAVE THE DATA.
SO I'M TRUSTING JOE, AND OTHERS, TO NOW HEAR MY URGENT PLEA,
SAVE THE DATA
BECAUSE DATA IS SYBOMLISM - THE UNIQUE AND UNIVERSAL TRUTH - -
AJD LESS DOES EQUAL MORE
SO IN THE SHORTEST OF CUTS I CAN MAKE
NOW
REMEMBER,
-/+
AND HAS HIS PROOF
THAT HE MUST TAKE THIS TO YOU.
I have that next
Because as I first stated, I am the only one who can give I have skills or not, because one more time if you only remember a universal truth and SCIENCE = SCIENCE, YOU GAVE FREELY TO OTHERS WITHOUT BE ASKED, AND FEW IF MORE THAN ME KNOW THAT, YOU] your lack of writing a direct message to Joe, whom I KNOW, will SAVE the DATA I EMBEDDED, BECAUSE it is so IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By now, because of my simple request, you’ve gotten prepared for this system to crash, as it will when you are prepared for it to
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0 0 Thanks to all who allowed me peace and time to right this next message. Things are better than first, and ALL SHOULD laugh at this.
When I saw AaRON’s eyes, after we had talked on the phone, and had read my e-mail from last week, (THings went great with Christi, thanks to AAron).
So as I promised him, I would embed I would write a rittle, and give him a different way to always check his truth, so he knew when he should ask if he was right, or when he should know
-/+ if you know what I mean.
less equals/more, if you know what I mean………………………………..
the biggest leap I’ve ever taken with so close to the truth many more will see,
it doesn’t matter what language speaks to you, if you understand a universal symbol.
I reached a “block” and only when I was elsewhere forced to practice,
“Less/MORE = -/+”
AARON, yes even I had to abide by I that “rule as my guide” - think of the layers of protection I have created around you so NO ONE WILL KNOW, as the spin was created
But, only me.
.
And 1 more part of that key I will give you, for it is the time.
I had to break it down to a . (dot) because it is so simple.
And didn’t symbolically touch (poke) you tonight, so you could explain further (to those of us around us?)
You knew why as well as I, what you had to do.
You had to look up to say what you said, so
THIS tiME I could laugh freely out loud and the
implied double meaning, got upped one more time.
And we both knew you could do that safetly because we had talked earlier in the day, and you totally “embbed, if you’ll allow,” a truth that is so true I said, “GIve me the BAD NEWS FIRST, please?
And when you both softly gave me the “good news” while I was prepared you gave me the “bad news.” and I totally missed the joke, yet the truth…..so we both accepted just how much the opposite meant to each other.
Because of Holi, we both are better with what you could do for Christi.
When will you learn to listen to me?
Oh that’s right,
Yes, you did - and that is the look at the ceiling, the implied meaning, smile upon smiles.
I even laughed, and you have to admitted how (let’s say “ticked”)
I was over
that blood.
The reasons don’t matter now, because it’s your turn to send me your answer.
Just remember, always give the safety net WE KNOW TO BE TRUE, BEYOND WHAT TOTAL TRUTH CAN BE (LIKE PARENTS KNOW THEY ARE INDEED FRATERNAL OR MATERNAL TWINS) -
PEOPLE ONLY MEET AT THE LEVEL THEY ARE SUPPOSE.
YOU KNOW TRUTH FROM ONE PERSPECTIVE AND I
KNEW IT FROM ANOTHER.
BUT WE BOTH TRUST EACH OTHER NOW TO THE NTH OF NTH DEGREES.
WE PROBABLY DON’T NEED THAT NTH DEGREE.
BECAUSE TRUTH = TRUTH
AND ALL IS WELL AT THIS END,
IF ALL IS WELL WITH YOU.
SCARRIER THAN HELL……………………………………………………..!!!!!
YOU KNEW IT BEFORE I,
BUT BECAUSE I POKED YOU AND WE BOTH LAUGHED, BECAUSE YOU HOW TO “OUT-THINK” WHAT I WOULD FREELY OFFERED TO ALL, IT DIDN’T MATTER ANY MORE TO ME
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0 0 Am I the only one wondering what is going on with OK4Now’s posts lately? I’ve always enjoyed reading his/her’s posts even though their quite lengthy, however the past few days between this post and their writings in the chat box have left me quite bewildered. I don’t know if this person is going through some difficult issues in their life at the moment or if they’re on some heavy duty meds, but the strange ramblings that have been posted by this user are really making me wonder. In the past OK4now has always posted very intelligent and noteworthy posts, but lately they’ve come across like this person is completely off their rocker. When friends and posters on this site suddently start acting irratically, we must reach out to this person as a community and find out whats really going on here. Is it the pressure of the holidays? Is it someone else using their screen name to harm this person? I don’t know. What I do know is that others have been wondering the same thing and it’s important that we reach out to this person and offer them the help or assistance they need before they spiral out of control. I know Joe has replied on a number of occasions in the chat box such as….”what in the world are you talking about”…..
I hope those of you that know this person on a more personal level, will look into this and hopefully get this person the help that they obviously need right now. As I know we all want the old “OK4now” back. I pray its just someone pulling a prank, as some of these posts have been really scary. OK4now is not “ok right now”, and I only hope that those that CAN look in on this person will check up on them to find the real cause of this persons strange behaviour lately.
I wish you the best OK4now and I hope whatever issues you’re dealing with at this time in your life, can be worked out and resolved quickly. I know this can be a very difficult time of year for some people and often times people will drown their sorrows and worries with drugs and/or alcohol. Not to say this is the case here, but with some of the posts left by this person lately, they are showing the classic signs.
Best of luck to you and yours and I wish everyone a Happy Holiday and wonderful and prosperous New Year!
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0 0 Ditto to everything you said 007. If anyone has a real way to get ahold of OK, like a phone number or address, please visit or call. I don’t get it either but hope things turn out better soon.
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0 0 Ditto; I sure hope OK4Now is fine and that this is some unfunny joke…
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0 0 Sorry to worry you all. I’m still me. No jokes here, just shorthand for math, with some extra people I thought might be able to benefit faster than I.
I do appreciate the concerns of all.
I guess not too many here are use to writing how we do shorthand in science/math or neuroanatomy/neurochemistry. For that I will apologize.
It was quickest for me at the time.
What I truly AM NOT OK with anymore is so many posts being negative. So in that sense, I’m NOT OK, in the same way I tolerated what was escalating here.
As no one else appeared to understand my shortcuts about an area in the brain so precise, I really started to wonder how we all, in are in ways, would “dare,” if you will, go this far in this subject.
In the deepest meaning of the words, I thank those who have been concerned, for all the right reasons, although the one I was so worried about is not me.
What is great to see is how many people care about others in their own ways. I know there are many who suffer in similiar ways, as was suggested for me. Actually, I could list many more disease, but I won’t.
I do think sometimes it takes a crisis situation for some to stopping arguing, or unite, to look at what others may not have a ever considered in a different way.
I don’t know how many here were taught synthetic math, Caculus, Biochemistry or enough neurochemistry to know how to write a more precise answer, while realizing the question (of trying to help) pertained to others, in their own ways. That is not written to offend anyone else, just a new level of understanding for me.
In chemistry we are taught to “work” our way out of a equation in front of our peers (or last I was). It’s a universal language that to extend what we already know, we have to start with as what we all can agree unpon in a complex “puzzle” or math/chemical formula and know where to make a change, that isn’t working. So we start with the highest level of “PROOF” we know we can indeed prove.
I do agree, it seem weird to those who don’t use or write it often. It’s much harder to spell the words than write a slash or whatever symbol a keyboard gives us to allow on a computer where every key is working..to show where an equation equals what we know. However, I had a thought of where we were making our math error in this neurological advacement, as we do hope to improve the lives of many.
Actually, I went to great length to write out ASD, as there are 10-12 disease under that umbrella. Much quicker to just write Autism, but that is not the correct diagnosis. I think this is where my explanation becomes to complex for here.
In a different hospital states a way, someone so near and dear to me was about to undergo a surgery, that I had to think about things differently to get everyone to “comprehend differently.”
While not my proudest moment of my life in some ways, I did indeed beg someone to PLEASE SHUT UP! But, it was best for the patient, so I really don’t care what that one thinks of me.
Only then can we advance what we are working on at that time (or in my case so distracted by someone or something else, that we learn something new about another part of our own lives. (Or at least that is how it happened for me). So I could see where a math error, was what we were doing wrong in an equation.
This is all I can write in long hand (and it is much more difficult for me to write anything without scientific/math shortcuts, no doubt about that.
Anyway, from whatever has happened to another, not me, but someone close to me, I have learned a better way to say things.
Instead of trying to add where our differences continue to make us different, in my own situation, I had to learn very fast how to subtract the differences.
After all, don’t we all want the same things in life? I just think we go about it differently.
No offense intended to anyone, I thought we had some here who understood at least biochemistry well enough to know I substituted names for complex organic chemistry…. I don’t know how to explain it. I guess symbols work the best.
This science is very complex, as it is all based on abstract reasoning. It’s not like we’re working on how How to dry out something so only NaCl remains. How a certain substrate or neurotransmittor, or procedure works in the frontal lobe area of the brain may be lethal near the hypothalmus or occipital lobe.
So while I was trying to write a simple math equation, that clearly didn’t make sense to anyone else, I am very sorry to have worried those I did.
However, if what at that time I couldn’t write in a longer way, made you stop and wonder more about your neighbors, your relatives, or maybe a child in a hospital bed, friends or others…
then it was worth it for me. As what started with a simple math equation, I did see how with the help of another many could benefit.
I just don’t think it should only be at Christmas - New Year’s Day.
I hope, when I’m able to do so, since it is 2008, to post a different theme about how we’re more alike than different. My universal goal is to help all.
As far as any medications are involved, contractually I’m not allowed to say, thus why math short-hand was safest for me. But, please always ask about others as new and better meds are in development.
And for all the right reasons, I encourage all to ask how they can help, instead of assuming they know what is happening with another. You may not know, but maybe by asking instead of telling, that is help enough for that person to trust.
I think what probably created the most concern is when I posted my name as “Ok4Now but Changing” or whatever I wrote. In science, the purest gift we can give to another is that next step we can offer to
others for a better life. That was my meaning. I guess only another neuroscientist would understand the same way.
There is someone in my life who has been very physically ill and had an operation on 12/27/07, but not me. I hope when I can get back to my own work, that I can help more, as those who have helped me with this one. The same person had to have surgery again yesterday.
But for now, my attention is really needed where I presently am. So thank you for your concern, I do sincerely thank you.
As each of you in your way, showed concern about another. I hope that caring for others never goes away!
Thanks everyone!
Ok4Now (the real me)
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0 0 Thanks for clearing that up for us. I’ve been sitting back wondering what’s been going on for weeks. I just think it would have been nice if you prefaced your intentions before going on such a tangent. Even with whatever language, shorthand or biochemistry mumbo jumbo you wrote, it still didn’t make much sense to those of us that do have extensive knowledge in chemistry, calculus and the likes.
In the future, I suggest we keep all our discussions in laymans terms so everyone can participate. Lets also keep our comments condensed to a few paragraphs to keep everyone interested in the actual topic at hand. Ok4now tends to write these 20-30 paragraph novels that frankly people just don’t have the time to read through.
Regardless, we’re all glad to hear you didn’t actually “fall off your rocker”, as it appeared to so many here.
Best wishes & a Happy New Year!
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0 0 OK4NOW,
So glad to hear you’re OK again. There was a lot of people worried about you and a lot of discussion on the chat section. Someone even shared your real name with everyone in an attempt to track you down to see if you were all right. I don’t know if they were able to reach you or not.
What is touching to see is how many people care about each other here, even if they don’t always agree with each other.
Nice to see you’re getting back to your old healthy self.
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0 0 Those expressions of concern were given with the best of intentions, but I edited the name as quickly as I saw it. I didn’t want to make too big of a deal publicly, but there were some significant communications traffic about this in other channels. The concerns were and are actually being carried out in those other channels.
So how about that EIRMC huh? Are they a bunch of hooligans or saints?
Here’s a crazy idea, how about Idaho create the new state medical school on property near EIRMC?
If EIRMC is one of Idaho’s best hospitals, why shouldn’t EIRMC be wedded to the state’s medical school?
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0 0 Not such a bad idea Joe. I think when OK4Now is able to participate again - Ok may just know something about that subject.
It’s sure good to have the focus back at least on Idaho Falls Hospitals again.
Ok4Now, sounds like this is a difficult time for you. Hang in there, we need your thoughts back here when you can.
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0 0 Interesting comments.
Hey Ok4Now I truly hope things are getting better in both the sunny state and the midwest too.
Can’t wait for everyone to get bettter.!!!!!
Because I know you, I think many didn’t realize how many states you’ve had to work out of, and why you used this site for so many others to read. I don’t know that everyone really understood how much you’ve had to travel, between it all.
Sounds like Joe will let any one post here. Kind of a cool idea. Really a great concept. My compliments to Joe!!! (now to that science site).
OK, I think Hmmm’s post is interesting. I can’t wait to see what you post when you read it.
I do agree much more gets accomplished working together.
Maybe something we should start to connect to EIRMC, until OK (or others) might post, what type of students already benefit from EIRMC?
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0 0 RWJ-
I think YOU have an excellent place to start. What education already is in place at EIRMC?
Maybe nursing is a good place to start. I know ISU RNs in training rotate through, as well as EITC nursing students.
Does anyone give us an update about BYU-I students? I believe they are part of those who train at EIRMC as well.
There are many other disciplines who do some of their clinical rotations at EIRMC. However, I’d like to stay focused on nursing for now, given the huge nursing shortage.
What do all of you know or think? Will the new combined ISU/EITC program nursing students train at many other hospitals?
I’m more interested in others views than my own. - :
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0 0 “Here’s a crazy idea, how about Idaho create the new state medical school on property near EIRMC?”
Well, at least you prefaced your comment correctly – you’re crazy. They have some nursing students rotate through there doing clinicals and all of the sudden you think they’re an academic institution? What PG residency programs do they offer? None! Why? Most likely because it’s expensive. While other hospitals in the state are demonstrating their commitment to medical education, EIRMC is shipping money to Nashville. Last year HCA had something like $14 - $15 Billion in profits. How much of that came from our community? Nobody knows for sure but it was reported a few years ago that EIRMC was HCA most profitable hospital.
“If EIRMC is one of Idaho’s best hospitals, why shouldn’t EIRMC be wedded to the state’s medical school?”
What makes you think EIRMC is one of Idaho’s best hospitals (or are you ranking it in the top 50 in Idaho)?
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0 0 1. I would recommend reading the special supplement the Post Register put out in Spring 2007, before I’d answer “none” to any PG training, if I were 1028.
2. I’d also ask the director of the FP Program at ISU- FP Residency, as I’ve done. Why haven’t they expanded that program to Idaho Falls.
They have their reasons, or so I was told. Then he named the specialized services they send the Pocatello-based FP residents to EIRMC to obtain.
Eaglerock 1028, do you work in Administration at EIRMC?
If so, maybe you could tell us how may MS-IV, PG - 11-V obtaining part of their training at EIRMC each year.
Otherwise, how about telling us how many of Idaho’s hospitals participating in training physicians each year? Maybe a good place to start is to ask you how many hospitals in Idaho do you consider capable of having teaching capacity for nursing and then for physicians.
For some reason your statement comes across argumentive. Since I don’t want others to judge me here without knowing the facts, let me ask you if that is how you meant it to sound? If not, would you please restate your last paragraphy a different way so the intent of your question is known? What do you hope to convey in what you wrote?
Eaglerock 1028 - What other hospitals in Idaho (by name and hospital affiliation) are demonstrating their commitment to medical education in the state of Idaho?
Also, of the Mountainstar Hospitals, (a sub-group of HCA hospitals) are any involved in PG-1-IV teaching? If so, please name them.
I look forward to this friendly discussion so all may learn and hopefully improve services for many.
And,when you wish, we can get to the other “training” EIRMC offers.
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0 0 What makes you think EIRMC is one of Idaho’s best hospitals (or are you ranking it in the top 50 in Idaho)?
Wow, are there really more than 50 hospitals in Idaho? Didn’t think so… I’ve just heard so much about awards and certifications EIRMC has received the last few years, can anyone link to a hospital ranking system which can tell us where EIRMC ranks against the other Idaho hospitals?
They have some nursing students rotate through there doing clinicals and all of the sudden you think they’re an academic institution?
Well no I was thinking if they are ranked as one of the best hospitals in Idaho then we should look at adding an academic institution to their facilities.
Of course there are obstacles to this idea. How about suggestions for overcoming those obstacles instead of just saying “it can’t happen”? How could it happen? What needs to happen to bring this investment to Idaho Falls instead of Pocatello’s ISU or Boise’s BSU?
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0 0 I can’t imagine there being 50 hospitals in Idaho. At least not 50 the size of EIRMC. I don’t think Idaho has 50 towns that are large enough to support that many hospitals. I’ve only been in this state a short time, but from what I’ve heard, both from patients and from all the awards & accolades they’ve received lately (not to mention the great trauma unit they have), I would think EIRMC ranks pretty high up there. It seems to me that some people have a beef with EIRMC. Perhaps employees from surrounding hospitals, or disgruntled patients?
My g/f is currently in ISU’s nursing program and she’s starting her clinicals this semester. I’ll have to ask her which hospital they intend on using, and get back with you.
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0 0 I like Joe’s and CR67’s comments. I’m totally with you Joe. I’d like to see how we can improve on what is already in place, not be so negative or speculate about what some may not know.
There are many nursing programs that use EIRMC as a training facility. Additionally, there are advanced allied health training programs ISU recently put in place (along with the ISU/EITC) “Merger” or whatever the technical term is for those programs, plus the medical training that does occur.
Just to be clear, as I realize I am probably the most guilty of this, but notice others have used the same terminology as well. A PG -I-IV (or whatever level) means a “Post Graduate” training after an M.D. or D.O. is awarded.
For example, a P.G. II is someone who in today’s world is in his/her second year of residency.
Usually, few training programs will be beyond a PG-V, as usually PG-VI-VIII are fellowships. A fellowship is when a physician has trained in a specialty then s/he either desires more specialized training (like cardiology, endocrinology, thoracic surgery etc.), so additional years are spent beyond the basic residency for Internal Medicine or General Surgery etc.
The other type of fellowship is a bit more difficult to understand in some physicians. Basically, it is when a physician completed a residency in one specialty then, for whatever reasons, completed a second residency or “fellowship” for more skills in a much more restricted population. Some specialties require that level of training, especially pediatric sub-specialties, and some critical care/radiology/E.R. specialized training.
The other abbreviation I know I used, is MS-III and MS-IV. Very easy - those are the clinical rotations a third or fourth year medical school student does in various hospitals.
If these explanations aren’t clear enough, please ask me (or anyone else here who can explain to do so in other terms). I don’t think there is any reason those abbreviations shouldn’t be explained to all. And I’ve probably been the worst at using the short-cut of not explaining them, which is why I’m clarifying today.
CR67 - yes, Idaho has roughly 50 hospitals. However, much like I asked Eaglerock 1028, I wanted him/her to clarify which hospitals in Idaho were committed to training (per him/her). Not all hospitals qualify for specialty training. Some are Critical Access Hospitals with less than 15 beds. Nonetheless, even two of those hospitals EITC is working with to help increase the number of nurses locally in those communities.
But, for the purposes of medical training, I wanted Eaglerock 1028 to clarify exactly which hospitals in Idaho are involved in this type of training, at any level.
Perhaps Eaglerock 1028 would also be so kind to tell us what residencies currently are available in Idaho and at which training facilities. I think this is a healthy discussion to understand why some of those facilities haven’t included Idaho Falls.
I would love to see this thread turn into what is “right” about training in Idaho Falls and what we can all do about it to ask for more local training.
I really appreciate CR67’s and Joe’s constructive comments. I eagerly await Eaglerock 1028’s response to see where we can go from here, clarifying what I might have misunderstood. I think a lot of people asking questions of the right people may yield some positive results. How can lawmakers and others know our interst and concern if we don’t ask questions?
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0 0 Hey Ok4now….thanks for clarifying those abbreviations for us! I appreciate it. I’m usually pretty good with my abbreviations and acronyms, but not so
I assumed Idaho had 50 hospitals, but what I was really asking, are they the size of EIRMC? And how many beds does EIRMC actually have?
Thanks again!
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0 0 hey Joe….somehow half of my post dissapeared!
the sentence that got cut off was supposed to be…”not so much in regards to the medical field.”
I’ll write out the rest when I have more time.
(that was strange….a dissapearing act if you will!)
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0 0 CR67 -
I was trying to wait long enough so Eaglerock1028 had enough time to respond to your question. I posed the same question when I responded to Eaglerock1028’s remark.
If s/he hasn’t answered in a couple of more days, I’ll be happy to tell you which hospitals I know of in Idaho that are teaching hospitals.
Given Eaglerock 1028’s remarks, s/he implied (at least to me) that s/he had more knowledge to share with us. I’d certainly like to have the most accurate information here.
Ironically, one teaching hospital in Idaho is an HCA Hospital. I’ll be happy to feel in the blanks, is Eaglerock1028 doesn’t.
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0 0 Interesting news item this morning about Pocatello’s PMC, that their bond rating was reduced two steps. Sounds bad for PMC, but Local News 8 reported only one agency reduced PMC’s bond rating, another local agency did not. Why would one agency keep it the same and another feel strongly enough to reduce it two steps?
Local News 8 also reported that the bond rating news was leaked to media by …. “Capella, the private for-profit company that is aggressively lobbying to buy or lease” PMC.
http://localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7608823
What a buncha ******’s! Sounds like Capella is lowering themselves into the mud in their fight to get PMC, if PMC was in my community I would push my county commissioners to abandon any meetings with Capella.
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0 0 I’d push my County Commissioners to get out of the BUSINESS of providing health care.
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0 0 Although I did find it interesting the Journal stated it was the public relations office representing Capella who sent around press releases about the lower bond rating for Portneuf, keep in mind the Portneuf “crew” has known about the lower bond rating since December and failed to inform the taxpayers. I heard rumors circulating about the bond rating falling 2 weeks ago! You will notice Portneuf often neglects reporting bad news to the media. The Journal rarely investigates unless someone spoon-feeds them a story or tip. It was bound to be leaked to the press soon. I think the hospital is also in the wrong here for (yet again) hiding the bad news to the voters. Not excusing Capella’s actions, but you see my point.
An excerpt from today’s Journal:
Standard & Poor’s bond rating report of Portneuf Medical Center lists five specific reasons, among others, for its reduced rating. They are:
A drop in revenues and an operating loss in fiscal 2007.
A negative excess margin.
Balance sheet indicators that are slightly weak relative to investmentgrade medians.
Considerable capital needs going forward, which will likely be funded in part by additional debt.
Difficulties in retention and recruitment of physicians and management, due in large part to uncertainties with the organization’s structure.
Quote from the public relations firm: “It’s a public document, and I thought (the local media) had probably already seen it and wanted to make sure (they) had it,” Hancock said.
Uh, yeah, but we’re talking about Portneuf admin, the Bannock Commissioners, and the hospital board. Not the most open and forthright crew around.
Now with a lower bond rating I am curious whether their interest rates will go up, thus slowing down construction on the new hospital. (Like it needs to be stalled any longer)
Ah, we really need a PMC thread, rather than clogging the EIRMC thread. This might not be the right place? Suffice it to say I’m not sure a new hospital will ever be built in Pocatello, at least for 5-10 or more years.
The consultant Bannock County is paying $40K per month to figure out what to do is speaking to the public Tuesday morning at 9:30. Should be interesting. Wish the entire thing was televised live for those of us who work!
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0 0 Since you’re so upset about PMC’s not advertising a change in their bond rating, perhaps you could direct us to a press release from any other organization (public or private) in the area initating a press release about their downgraded bond rating.
Perhaps you could show us the Capella press release announding their “junk” rating.
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0 0 Who’s upset? Not me. it’s just so typical. Read the Journal article. The bond rating was announced 12/21/07.
I didn’t say I had viewed a press release. You have to have a login name to access the Standard and Poor’s or Moody’s report. You can bet Portneuf was aware of the report the day it was released. Thus the rumors circulating in Pocatello the last few weeks. How else would a rumor be so true to the detail??? But it only “came out” today?
I am not aware of (but haven’t looked for one) a “Capella” release. I’m sure you could email Tom Anderson and ask him if one exists. http://www.visionforpmc.com/qa.html
Hancock’s firm simply released what is already public record since Portneuf did not. That’s the issue. Why are we hearing public record from another company, no matter who they are, and not the hospital or county leadership? You know, sometimes the rumor mill pans out to the truth and here it is again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pro-Capella by any means. I’m not saying what the public relations firm did was right. Wouldn’t you rather hear from your teenager they got high at a party rather than a parent you don’t know? The process is so drawn out with indecision it’s crazy. I hope after Tuesday’s discussion things will start happening on a faster track.
This is what anyone can view from S&P without a login name. Notice the posted date at the bottom.
Summary: Portneuf Medical Center, Idaho; Hospital
As a result, Portneuf has been unable to stabilize operating performance and has made little progress on its master facility plan, which is key to benefiting from the consolidation. With looming capital spending needs to consolidate on one campus, it is likely that the balance sheet will deteriorate and that it will be challenging for Portneuf to generate sound operating performance due to the additional capital costs. While Portneuf had demonstrated intermittent improvement in financial performance, with respective operating margins of 1.7% and 2.1% in fiscals 2006 and 2005, Portneuf’s revenue base has declined and its financial performance has deteriorated through unaudited fiscal 2007.
Date: 2007-12-21 | Similar pages
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0 0 I guess I’m missing something. Why would they call a press conference to announce this when it has no immediate impact on them? They will be re-rated before they seek a bond.
My question still stands - show me someone who has called a press conference to announce similar “news”.
By the way, it’s not as if they have tried to hide anything, this was brought up in the employee forums and openly discussed.
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0 0 Joe,
I see a golden opportunity for you. Create a site for the Portneuf debate and collect $ from either Portneuf Medical Center and/or anyone who wants to buy the facility. Better yet, collect $ from both sides as long as you host a forum.
Maybe this could be a real money maker for you, Joe. I’m not sure how often you would need to re-design the website for aesthetic appeal (probably not even 1-2 times). And I don’t know how you would set up standards for posts (Community Rules and such). Additionally, you would probably have to deal with IE 7 and not just Firefox.
However, I say go for it - what do you have to lose? Maybe you have some additional $ headed your way, as well exposure to other potential clients who will see your abilities. Someone needs to step up to the plate and give people a place to post their comments about PMC is a manner that can be FOLLOWED each successive day.
I’m the first to agree the ISJ discussion are difficult to follow, at least for me.
And to some extent the “confusion” at PMC directly impacts EIRMC, Bingham Memorial and even Mountain View Hospitals.
I’m not quite sure how a discussion about the teaching hospitals in Idaho, unless Portneuf is in major trouble of being able to provide the required months in the various specialties for FP residents who train there, ties back to EIRMC. If this is indeed the current situation, I hope someone who officially can accurately provide the current situation at ISU-Pocatello’s FP program will write the facts here. Then no one would be speculating.
There already are enough various thoughts floating in various circles of where changes are headed. And current residents know where they receive training for certain specialties.
Official clarification could be faculty from ISU-Pocatello. Ultimately the Family Medicine Department at the University of Washington, which sponsors the program at ISU-Pocatello, would have the most accurate answers.
It is interesting to me that a FP program 50 miles away has NEVER produced one physician who practiced in Idaho Falls. Rexburg - yes, Blackfoot - yes, but never Idaho Falls. I think this year we’ll see a change in that pattern; however, I believe that the physician elected to train at ISU given the doctor’s family in Idaho Falls only being 50 miles away during residency.
It’s probably just me, but I find it interesting that no resident in over 10 years has located in Idaho Falls from that program. Yet, Rupert, Twin Falls, Moscow, Lewiston and many cities in UT etc. have had residents train at ISU-Pocatello and practice in those locations.
This pattern reminds me a bit, of a rather pointed e-mail I received from one of the ISU-Pocatello FP Faculty physicians stating why they would never expand to Idaho Falls. I’m not sure I can post that here, as I believe it was a privileged communication. However, I can absolutely say, the current program has no intention to ever expand to Idaho Falls. Maybe PMC’s situation will force a change, I really don’t know.
I do think there is interest in advanced medical training in Idaho Falls. That is easily proven. Currently, I can think of at least 3 different ways to bypass ISU-Pocatello and create a residency in Idaho Falls. And while I don’t like to speculate, I’ll venture a guess that at least two other “groups” are working to achieve that goal. Of course, I could be totally wrong and freely admit that.
Back to CR67’s question, I honestly don’t know if the current “difficulties” at Portneuf will change the its status as a teaching hospital. I don’t think the bond rating will. Officially, it should be credited as one of the teaching hospitals in Idaho.
CR67- if you have access to the supplemental medical guide from the Post Register last spring, I’d encourage you to review it. There is pertinent information regarding a core of Idaho Falls physicians who are bringing medical students to EIRMC during their medical school training.
I don’t know how specific I can be here, given the copy-righted material from the Post Register. Maybe Roger or other appropriate PR staff could expand this topic. Or perhaps the PR staff could tell those of us who know more how much we can write about the material in that supplemental publication, without violating any copy-right laws.
Otherwise, I’ll have to e-mail you, CR67, more detailed information. I think I can safely say there is a lot of thought and action already in place in Idaho Falls. Some of the EIRMC medical staff is NOT waiting on what MAY or MAY NOT occur elsewhere in the state.
I hope that information helps. If no one else does, I’ll post the info about which hospitals in the Treasure Valley are teaching hospitals as well. One may surprise many people. Then again, Eaglerock 1028 and others may know all this info and more.
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0 0 Bob, why such a strong reaction to “me’s” posts??? Sounds like you are pretty defensive about PMC; but won’t you agree that PMC has had some real issues with the taxpayers this past year? That there are some really unhappy folks in Poky, re: the hospital? Have you visited the ISJ blogsite? Yes it can be confusing but you just have to search for PMC and you will see all the frustration and disappointment with the current board….part of the premise of making PMC its own corporation was that financing the remaining millions of dollars of work left on the enlarged hospital would be “no problem”. Christa Madsen Smith is quoted on that in at least two of the blogs..and yet, less than 6 months later, S&P drops PMC’s blog rating from “poor” down another two notches????
Given that right now the hospital wants the community to support a shift to ownership by the current board, the community certainly has a right (as the current owners of the hospital) to know about the dismal bond rating.
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0 0 Just FYI; Stroudwater (independent consultants brought in by the commissioners re: the decision to sell or revamp PMC’s ownership) gave its report yesterday: gloomy!!! Stroudwater feels that PMC cannot possibly meet its expansion goals and will be, in any event, unable to finance the same (even before S&P lowered their bond rating two notches…)
So now the administration is scrambling to put a spin on this; even PMC’s ceo, however, said, on one of the local news channels: “We have to take a good look at what our financing situation is and what our goals are. MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS FIVE YEARS AGO before we started the expansion.” Oh-kay…..
Wonder what will happen………..
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0 0 just one quick update re: PMC: don’t know if everyone heard the news, but with the drop in bond rating and Stroudwater’s gloomy report, the “powers that be” at PMC are seeking a “capital partner” to help finance the expansion, while still seeking to become a 501(c)(3)……I can’t imagine too many investors are going to rush into investing in a hospital that just lost its bond rating and is overbudget on an “expansion” by several millions of dollars….sounds like maybe a sale will be happening in Pocatello….or maybe IHC can swoop in and exercise their option….
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0 0 This might sound cruel, but isn’t PMC’s downturn good for Idaho Falls’ EIRMC?
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0 0 absolutely, which is why I even mention it on the EIRMC boards………also, dead silence at the ISJ blog; I think people realize that place (PMC) has been mismanaged into the ground. Maybe EIRMC could buy it! or, excuse me, become its “Capital Partner”.
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0 0 I only read the Journal’s headline, something about suggesting PMC be run as nonprofit now? What’s the story on that?
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0 0 The headlines do seem to be changing about PMC.
Mostly, I agree with Joe and Babs about the role EIRMC has given PMC’s “difficulties.” There are a few other hospitals, surgery centers etc. that factor in.
I’d like to propose a new thread about EIRMC be started. I think that would allow for more dialogue about services offered, new programs planned (as much as people can say), and honestly look at corporate ownership vs. local ownership etc. This would pertain to all other hospitals, not just PMC and how patient patterns shift.
Teton Valley Hospital in Driggs has a 24/7 hour emergency room doctor in house now. That hospital becomes a factor too when local residents in the Driggs area don’t drive to another hospital for care.
All of the hospitals contribute to referral pattersn, which is where I think this thread is headed. I might be wrong about that, but I just wondered what others would think about starting a new thread so the original intent of this thread is no longer the ‘catch all” for all comments.
It could even be a very broad category like “Healthcare in Eastern Idaho,” or something like that.
What I don’t want to see is a “who’s right argument” rather a real exchange of ideas of what might work.
I wouldn’t mind starting that thread, but can’t right now due to family circumstances. However, I would be happy to do so in maybe a week or so. Or, someone else could start.
I only read one headline on one tv station and what I basically saw was Bannock County Commissioners say a Capital Partner now.
EIRMC is owned by HCA. Any Capital Partnership would have to come from HCA and Mountain Star. I think if one will look back many posts ago, I recommended to someone that they look at Mountain Star. It is the division of HCA Hospital in UT and ID.
I know a physician moving to Idaho Falls very soon who feels HCA has been great and EIRMC is stable. This MD practiced in hospital, owned by a regional chain, in a west coast state. I use to think that hospital chain was stable. However, I’ve noticed they’ve sold two of their hospitals recently. So times are changing.
Healthcare in 2008 isn’t what it was in 1998 or even 2003.
To me, PMC seems not only confusing, but sad too. This situation seems so difficult on the residents/employees and others to endure.
I believe enough time and new residents have now moved to eastern ID that not all who are fixed in their ideas may view ownership or partnership the same way some did at PMC. And to clarify, what I mean is when people have lived in other states and seen various managed care systems, hospital chains etc., corporate owners or “capital sponsorship” is a way of life.
One thing is for sure, no matter what any hospital does, a group of people will be unhappy. Johns Hopkins, #1 in the U.S. has unhappy patients too. No one likes to be sick or have loved ones sick. No one likes to be told there is nothing that can be done.
That is why choice is good, IMHO. Local residents in Idaho can receive care at their hospital of choice, be it in whatever state they wish. Then they should have less complaints about the hospital.
What do all of you think about this idea?
OK4Now
_____________________________________________________________________
P.S. Thanks everyone for your thoughts/prayers etc. today for “C.” I think we got some really positive news from her surgery as well as a huge surprise. Will tell you more later, after I talk in depth with “C’s” surgeon tomorrow. I miss home and am glad when I can visit IFz.Com to stay connected. Thanks! Ok4Now.
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0 0 Looks like things are tough all over. Note article attached and the emails and references listed below the news article. Interesting reference made to “PH” who I can only assume is the PMC administrator.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7776162
I agree - some sort of “healthcare in Idaho” thread would be more encompasing.
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0 0 I love that the department of health and welfare representative tried to say everything is absolutely normal and perfect there, denying that those three doctors quitting in one month signals any kind of problems.
Is the department clueless? Naive? Ignoring the problems? Why is a single administrator more important than three physicians with, as Local News 8 put it, about 60 years of combined experience?
If someone wants to write in our system or email me a couple paragraphs to start a more general “east idaho healthcare” discussion, I’d be happy to publish it. I think there are many people visiting here who are more familiar with the topic than I am, and could write two or three starter paragraphs to get a good discussion going.
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0 0 Joe, just wanted to point out that once again, the ISJ blog is stealing our stuff…….this time, I think they are accusing me of being an EIRMC spy or something….
“Posted by Reality Check
on February 2, 2008, 3:40 pm
Since “Barbie 123” has confirmed that he/she also goes by “Babs”, I though I’d cross post another message posted by Barbie/Babs. This was on the IdahoFallz blog.
“Joe Vandal said January 24, 2008 5:24 am
This might sound cruel, but isn’t PMC’s downturn good for Idaho Falls’ EIRMC?
Babs said January 24, 2008 11:31 am
absolutely, which is why I even mention it on the EIRMC boards………also, dead silence at the ISJ blog; I think people realize that place (PMC) has been mismanaged into the ground. Maybe EIRMC could buy it! or, excuse me, become its “Capital Partner”.”
I’ll be the first to agree Barbie has the right to say pretty much whatever he/she wants. I just think it’s nice to have an idea of people’s motivation.
Reply to this comment”
This was posted on the ISJ blog under the heading, “Back to Square One for PMC”……
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0 0 Babs, Joe and/or anyone with a far greater understanding of this issue than I, what do you think is going on? I’m totally lost. Granted, I haven’t kept up with any news this week since I have needed to away, but it sounds like at least one person or more posts at the ISJ and uses info from IFz.Com.
Since information “appears” to flow freely from some posting in the ISJ and perhaps on IFz.Com, does Pocatello currently have one or two neurosurgeons? Did I read correctly somewhere that one left? If so, which one (initials will work, I know who they are).
What really bothers me about this ongoing practice (IFz.Com info appearing in the ISJ) I know that I’m not willing to write thoughts or hints about info I have. Personally, I’m connected with no hospital system in southeast ID. But, I’m sure I know employees who work at various hospitals. I don’t want to endanger their employment, by writing my own view of how things are at various hospitals. And, I also don’t want others publishing on national websites the name of who they think I am (YES - That national website, full of usefull data for local residents is permanently closed on a different site),
I could write the name or initials, for example, of an additional neonatologist joining EIRMC this summer. Or I could give information about an MD relocating this spring to practice at EIRMC. However, not only did I give that MD this website as a resource for certain information, thus I feel like I would be violating confidences shared with me, I also believe this MD has the right to privacy. Be that where their family lives, favorite restaurants, community activities etc. or more formal details about their practice and office location.
I wish I could tell a certain group of people they will now have access closer to home to certain medical services. But, I don’t dare write anything as I don’t know what newspaper of website will have a new post soon including what I wrote here. In the case of the ISJ, I don’t know if the entire post would even be posted, thus missing some of the key benefits to residents this physician will offer.
FWIW -the MD arriving in spring was very excited with information on one non-medical/hospital thread in particular on IFz.Com and highlighted it extensively an e-mail to me. While I would like to give kuddos to those who have posted there and have addressed an entirely different need in the community, I am concerned I might violate confidentiality. If the MD decides to write in the thread that is great. However, only having the MD write comments so if they are re-posted 50 miles south (or elsewhere), others can deal with what might be accurate, or not, not me. It is important to me that I keep my word of being confidential to this physician and others.
I’m becoming much more leary of writing anything detailed. I know there are some very unhappy people associated with PMC (or use to be associated with PMC) and I do believe I understand a lot of their viewpoints, with which I empathize. At the same time, I don’t want to “load the gun” for those who seemingly want to take so many shots at anything going well anywhere else.
I want to reassure local residents the local physicians and mid-level providers and others are very aware (in the I.F. area) of additional needs, or where more practitioners in certain specialties are needed. But, I dare not say anything specific about new programs or pilots will be greatly expanded, given how many are aware of the needs. And I don’t just mean at EIRMC; however, I do mean for the Idaho Falls service area.
What is rapidly blurring for me is how many additional residents south now consider obtaining their medical care in Idaho Falls as well?
I’m concerned about some who clearly have posted in the ISJ and then followed to this site. The truth is, until they indentify themselves, they may work for Capella, the State of Idaho, PMC or be ex-employees etc. Of course, some make actually be involved providing healthcare in Idaho Falls and I personally get irritated with certain inaccurate comments made about local Idaho Falls physicians in the ISJ.
What I finally realized at the end of 2007, as posts were being added to this blog, is many people had the same information, but some were from Pocatello and some were from Idaho Falls. Some are physicians/surgeons, mid-levels, nursing and other health care providers. Some are not. Some appear to be more in managerial roles, or perhaps even PR, I don’t know. It just became very clear to me that there were many “sub-conversations” within the posts.
I’m not saying anyone wasn’t writing their own “truth” or not, as they knew it. I don’t know any other person’s direct involvement but my own. Maybe there were many more meetings about trauma neurosurgery than I was aware of - maybe that is how so many knew their facts. I did start to wonder if some posters heard information from others, rather than attending meetings themselves. However, meetings within departments, maybe even county employees or between different groups of professionals may well have occurred and I never knew about them.
I wasn’t really sure how many had stopped to wonder if attorneys, other physicians, mid-levels, nursing staff, physicians, perhaps various hospital administrators, or public relations officers. were writing they knew what the neurosurgeons said and did. But, what I realized is, delicate and sensitive information, about real physicians (and their families, indirectly, as well as their patients and employees) was being discussed by people from many different backgrounds) was being written at Idaho Fallz.Com and few identified their connection to the neurosurgeons.
Would you want your business plans, perhaps possible relocation of your family etc. discussed here? I’m connected to the group of physicians who care for patients who have neurological problems, including emergencies that require immediate surgery.
I don’t want to go back and rehash what was and wasn’t said as I know more than has been written here and will never write it. Besides, those decisions have already been made. Other than educating more Idaho Falls area residents about what EIRMC kept possible and PMC did not, I’m not sure what good comes of going back to the choices different hospitals and physicians made years ago.
Rather, I want to move on, but am puzzled, a bit, of how to do it. I suggested a more broad category about Healthcare in Eastern ID, which I still think is a good idea would allow for a discussion (and I hope questions from those who really don’t know various health care settings work). I was ready to start that thread until I read Babs post.
I’m leary of a thread about Healthcare in Eastern ID currently, as I don’t know how to stop the reposting of information, in particular to the Idaho State Journal.
I wish those at the ISJ, or posters who felt valid points were made here, would work through the correct process with the ISJ and either ask some to write guest opinions, submit letters to the editor etc.
Joe, I know you’ve been very diligent in pursuing the posting issues with Ian. Perhaps he would be willing to write a guest article (if you asked him) for IFz.Com? He could outline how the ISJ has allowed the re-posting of material from here and why it is (in his opinion, of course) posters responding to ISJ material information come to IFz.Com for answers.
I know Dr. Craig Bosley, an E.R. doctor who has served not only as a physician but in Administration, for a period of time, at Bannock Regional Medical Center, now the “west campus” of PMC, has written many letters to the editor and addressed individual concerns of posters in the ISJ. Dr. Bosley may be an interesting person to ask for a guest opinion about his views of local control, while others may be great columns of why they realize a hospital can only obtain X amount of programs/services being funded locally.
I don’t have the answers, rather more questions, with one exception. Reality Check, first, it is Idaho Fallz.Com (please reference the site’s name correctly. Secondly, please read this entire blog before writing comments like you did. Should we assume you are looking at buying Mountain View Hospital from your comment? Oh, you didn”t clarify that did you. Perhaps you should.
I’ll admit I’ve not been able to find your (Reality Check) entry at the ISJ, since I don’t subscribe. If I’m in error about this point, I will apologize to you. However, I think it would be good for you to understand a bit more about WHY this thread started and how much Joe Vandal (and others) have learned about services at EIRMC.
From my POV, Joe asked a good question. Babs answered it, and I wrote a post too. Is there something sinister or wrong with trying to share information with a friend who is asking a good and pertinent question? Are Joe, Babs and I (among others) now suddenly part of what has gone wrong with PMC, as we see or are questioning changes EIRMC has made in response to PMC?
Finally, given your own words, Reality Check, (if they are indeed written correctly here): “I’ll be the first to agree Barbie has the right to say pretty much whatever he/she wants. I just think it’s nice to have an idea of people’s motivation,” let me say I’ll be the first to agree with your idea.
Consequently, let me be the first to invite you to clarify your motivation of why you wrote what you did in a Pocatello newspaper blog, when the original words of Joe Vandal and Babs were written at Idaho Fallz.Com. What do you do, where do you work and what motivation do you have for reading this thread, let alone posting a part in the ISJ?
I know it is very confusing to me of why YOU would want to re-post anything from Idaho Falls.Com about PMC. Thanks in advance for posting your comments at Idaho Falls.Com to help me, and others, understand your role and interest in posting comments from IFz.Com to the ISJ.
And please read the information about how you can make a contribution to this site. Since you feel at liberty to post the words others have written ad lib, it’s not hard to donate to the upkeep of this site. If you really feel it is that important to keep tabs on what some people are writing, it would be the right thing to do, as I doubt you’ve paid Joe a dime to access any of these opinions.
What do all users think about how more information being posted again at the ISJ and what can be done about it? Will we see the same problem with a new thread about Healthcare in Eastern Idaho?
Thanks
Ok4Now
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0 0 I just finally got over to the ISJ forums to look at that. I’m conflicted. It does quote two entire comments, but they are so short as to be one small idea. The previous times involved “quoting” much more content so it was a clearer violation. The ISJ won’t link over here for some reason, they would rather delete wholesale comments than give up an ounce of their google juice. At least this quote says it came from “the IdahoFallz blog” whereas the other times they did not reference the source. I wish they had linked to the story but I’m inclined to let this one pass. If it were reversed I would be inclined to argue that it was a legitimate quote. Sorry for the delay in me saying that, if you disagree or know of other possible “takings” please let me know.
I’m still conflicted about a PMC discussion thread at IFz. It seems as time dragged out the writing was clearly on the wall about PMC. Unless I’m mistaken it’s looking like Capella’s probably won’t get PMC?
The other conflict is city rivalry, I guess. It is hard to sympathize for their hospital problems when their problems are our hospital’s benefit.
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0 0 Neat story in two local outlets about a rare and tricky procedure performed at EIRMC that saved a little baby.
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=7902241
It was only possible because EIRMC “upgraded their neo natal intensive care unit” and if these folks had had this problem a year ago they would have had to go to SLC.
A Dr. Steven Clark was quoted: “The story here is the coming of age of EIRMC as one of the West’s top notch high risk pregnancy centers that can handle even the most complicated cases.”
http://kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=7902888
More kudos to EIRMC…
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0 0 I see there is a new community care going up in Pocatello, (near Chili’s), and have heard EIRMC doctors will be the owners of the operation. If true, I find it interesting they are now moving into the Pocatello healthcare market. I wonder how Pocatello locals will take to EIRMC doctors taking a slice of the pie? If so, no one should complain if the opposite happens. Gotta love competition!
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0 0 Community Care is an awful outfit. They are getting way too big for their britches. I won’t take any family there ever again. They were rude and offered poor service—actually, they offered no service—and told me to take my child across the street to EIRMC because I kept asking them when they could get my child seen—all while my childs arm was hurting so bad that he was crying in the lobby.
I could see the doctor and the nurses standing around in the back. They were having a nice personal discussion about nothing medical—kind of like water cooler talk.
The nurse has the audacity to call us back to the triage room only to scream at us that I made the secretary cry and become upset over bothering her about being seen three times in 15 minutes. She then proceeds to tell us to get out of their office. I couldn’t believe it! They don’t have to worry about me “bothering” them again. I won’t. BTW-EIRMC got us in pronto and fixed the problem within minutes. I was pleasantly suprised.
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0 0 I too agree with the Community Care comment. I went there for cold that turned into a sinus infection and I was the only one in the lobby, yet it still took them 30 minutes to see me. When I was finally called back, all the ladies were huddled around talking about some tv show. The Dr saw me for less than 2 minutes to give me a prescription and I left. The whole time the nurses and office workers sat around BS’ing. Very unprofessional and I will never go back. This was the one on 17th street a few blocks west of the mall.
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0 0 That is horrible! I will definitely avoid Community Care based on these experiences. Sounds like they do not care anything about their customers or sick kids.
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0 0 We use to go to Community Care years ago, but recently we have been to the Mountain View Hospital Redicare on the west side of Idaho Falls.
We were treated very professional and quickly by them and will definately go to them in the future. I think having two offices in Idaho Falls, with one taking care of people on the West and also on the East side is a smart move on their part.
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0 0 Kudos to EIRMC for the high level of Maternal Fetal Medicine (High Risk OB) program the hospital has developed in about 3 years!
From KIFI
“Miracle Baby Born At EIRMC
Posted: Feb 20, 2008 07:34 PM MST
Updated: Feb 26, 2008 08:57 AM MST
“A miraculous bundle of joy is expected to live a normal life after an incredibly rough start.
“An Idaho Falls woman went into labor with twins after being pregnant for only 19 weeks . One of her babies was delivered and died.
“The other twin survived, thanks to a rare procedure performed by doctors at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.”
“Doctors were able to hold off delivering Kyleigh for nine weeks after her brother Brayden was born. This was enough time for Kyleigh to gather her strength to enter the world.”
“Despite her size, little Kyleigh is a fighter.”
“Bryan Cook, Kyleigh’s father says, “When we first saw her I couldnt believe how perfect she was.”‘
“Dr. Steven Clark, a perinatologist out of Salt Lake City says, “‘The mom had a complication. She went into labor early with twins, delivered first baby, before it was old enough to survive on its own”‘
“Mother, Hilary Cook says, “After that we weren’t sure what could happen with her and we were hoping that we would be able to carry her full term, the chances seem to be very low.”‘
“Dr. Clark continues, “The typical premature delivery of one twin means premature delivery of the other.” But not for Kyleigh, doctors sewed Hilary up after she delivered Brayden and they gave her medicine to keep her uterus from going back into labor. Dr Clark says, “It’s an uncommon procedure and it doesn’t often work even in the hugest metropolitan center.”‘
“Hilary says, “They gave us very slim chances that she would be able to stay in utero and survive to a viable age so we were worried but we also had hope it could work.”‘
“Kyleigh continued to grow and develop and nine weeks after Hilary first went into labor, she was back in the hospital delivering Kyleigh, the first baby ever at EIRMC to survive such an ordeal.
“‘It’amazing what they can do these days, just glad she was born in this day and age with a facility like this,”‘ says Kyleigh’s father.
“Kyleigh’s so small she doesn’t fit into premi clothes yet and her hands can’t even fully grasp her mother’s finger. “She is definitely a miracle baby says Bryan.
“Kyleigh is expected to live a full life , doctors tell Hilary and Bryan they will be able to take her home on her original due date in April.”
“EIRMC has recently upgraded their neo natal intensive care unit. If this were to have happened a year ago, the Cooks would have had to travel to Salt Lake for treatment.”
The Salt Lake City Media has more about this story and what HCA has planned. I will try to post that info later.
Congrats to the entire team who worked so hard to bring this miracle baby into the world!
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0 0 Guest XYZ,
You wrote, “I see there is a new community care going up in Pocatello, (near Chili’s), and have heard EIRMC doctors will be the owners of the operation. If true, I find it interesting they are now moving into the Pocatello healthcare market. I wonder how Pocatello locals will take to EIRMC doctors taking a slice of the pie? If so, no one should complain if the opposite happens. Gotta love competition!”
I’d be interested in the sources of your information, other than one. I saw the tv news piece about Morgan Construction and what they were building. I wasn’t clear if the TV Station was implying “Community Care,” like the 5 Urgent Cares serving Idaho Falls, Rigby and Rexburg. Or, if the City of Pocatello (Bannock County etc.) was building a new Community Health Care. As you know, Pocatello has had a CHC for decades and there are many differences between an Urgent Care facility and a CHC.
More importantly, I’m baffled at your statement the EIRMC E.R. doctors, who do business as Intermountain Emergency Physicians, are building the center. Please provide that reference.
It is true there are a few EIRMC E.R. docs who were raised in Pocatello and have chosen to practice at EIRMC. Maybe they are planning to leave the EIRMC and just do Urgent Care in Pocatello? Or maybe they aren’t. I don’t know and perhaps you do.
However, I want to make sure we all aware who owns Community Care (The Urgent Care) currently. While it is plainly stated on their website, perhaps you have a better source of information than I, which would be great to know.
Maybe the change I heard Community Care (the Urgent Care) was making - including a change to their name has been superceded. I most certainly will ask, given your post, one of the Community Care physicians (oh, he is an FP- not an E.R. trained doc. He is also one of the major owners of Community Care) when we talk soon.
I appreciate you sharing your information with all of us so we can make better decisions. All I asked is the information to be factual.
Perhaps starting with the how and whys of the first Community Care (Channing) was built, and who owned it, to who the current owners are and their goals would be a good start. Perhaps there is a new joint venture with some former, current and new owners?
For the rest of us, the Community Care website offers a lot of information regarding current ownership and a change in their name.
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0 0 CR67 and Mike,
I’d encourage you to make sure your experiences are reported to the right people at Community Care. As a small buxiness owner, and also someone who knows a couple of the FPs who have ownership in Community Care, I know they would want to know about those experiences!
You are both wise enough to seek medical care when you can get help. I have no vested interest in where you go, except, I do believe owners need a chance to know when staff isn’t doing what they were hired to do.
I’d also encourage all who are seen at Urgent Care to make sure if they were seen by a physician or a PA/NP. I encourage that for too many reasons to write here. Just sticking to the theme of ownership, for now, it may be useful for the owners to know if different staff treat patients differently.
Mike, I’m glad your son got the help he needed and hope he is on the mend now.
CR67 - I hope your Sinus infection got better soon and hasn’t returned.
I know both of you are not afraid of writing letters of complaint, or whatever to tell of your experiences. However, I’m not sure all people who read IFz.Com are confident their voice will be heard with a complaint. It would be interesting to read what feedback you get, or not, from the owners, or the right person who fields complaints.
Urgent Cares need the feedback as much as a restuarant or retail store. How can they change or improve until they know where they are failing?
While unrelated to Urgent Care or even Idaho Falls, I recently “struggled” to make a return appt. for a family member who has had 2 surgeries since around Christmas, 2007. I complained “loudly and with words I don’t usually use in everyday conversation,” to the doctor caring for my family member.
As he said to me, “Too few people, are afraid to make a complaint. Yet, when a staff member does what was done to you, it reflects on all of us.” I told him I was well aware of that fact and had to be careful where and when I scheduled certain meetings, in my own work.
The up side to my story, is the doctor I complained to addressed the situation with the “offending staff member” prior to our next appointment. And, I know new staff training has occurred since then.
Good info to share. I’d just ask that the owners get to hear it too. If it were you and your business (or you had partial ownership), would you prefer to know what happened or not?
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0 0 Due to copyright laws etc., I can’t really post the articles here. I know free ability to access the one will expire in about 2-3 months.
There are a couple of interesting news stories in The Deseret Morning News, 1/8/08 news article title, “Fetal surgery at St. Mark’s saves twins’ lives.”
The other media link is already gone.
St. Mark’s is the siter HCA Hospital to EIRMC. The MFM physicians who are in Idaho Falls weekly, and have been for 3.5 years, are located at St. Mark’s.
What was also released is the MFM’s will now start to work with Ogden Regional, another HCA Hospital.
And Dr. Belfort and Dr. Draper will be teaching these new procedures to HCA hospital in CO, TX and other states more east and south of UT.
EIRMC was lucky to picked, per my understanding, to be the first hospital outside of the metro SLC area to receive the benefits of the MFM consultants.
Nice work HCA, in my opinion. Thanks Dr. Clark and Dr. Belfort for starting staffing the pilot program at EIRMC!
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0 0 Guest_XYZ said,
“I see there is a new community care going up in Pocatello, (near Chili’s), and have heard EIRMC doctors will be the owners of the operation. If true, I find it interesting they are now moving into the Pocatello healthcare market. I wonder how Pocatello locals will take to EIRMC doctors taking a slice of the pie? If so, no one should complain if the opposite happens. Gotta love competition!”
Recently, I met with one of the Family Physician co-owners of Community Care. I think there are currently 13 co-owners, but may be wrong. Please check my facts about the owners and how many have staffed a single shift at EIRMC as an Emergency Room physician, DBA, Intermountain Emergency Physicians (IEP) vs. Family Medicine/Urgent Care in various cities and non-EIRMC hospitals.
Guest_XYZ is indeed correct that Community Care is building a facility in Pocatello. However, there is nothing I learned that confirmed IEP would be the owners, or co-owners. I didn’t specifically ask if the ownership of that Urgent Care would be different or not. As I mentioned earlier, since some of the members of IEP are from Pocatello, perhaps they are investing in that specific Community Care to give Pocatello residents a different source of medical care, given the status of Portneuf MC. I don’t know the answer on that one.
While I know Portneuf Medical Center runs an Urgent Care in Chubbuck, and the E.R. doctors at Portneuf, plus a few FPs staff it, I don’t believe they have any ownership of the Portneuf facility. However, I’ve not been interested enough to research the facts, so I may be wrong. Please correct me, if you know the facts.
It would be kind of interesting if some of the Portneuf E.R. docs asked Community Care to build in Pocatello and partnered with them. That’s my own thought, no one else suggested by any other comment or direct information given to me. that E.R. docs in Pocatello are turning to Idaho Falls for help. I, for one, have no idea how the Portneuf Urgent Care is built, how many rooms, the acuity they can handle etc. I have a better idea now, for what type of patients Community Care can handle, including the # of patients/day and the acuity of the patients for whom they provide care.
It is very possible some IEP doctors may work shifts at the Pocatello Community Care facility (or other Community Care facilities) until additional physicians arrive. But, working at a facility does not mean ownership for all. It’s not exactly like Mountain View where certain physicians list they own 25% or more.
I’d also encourage those using Redicare to ask the Family Doctors from Bingham Memorial Hospital, currently staffing Redicare, what their plans are. For the sake of being clear, there are at least 2 Idaho Falls based doctors working at Redicare, of which I’m aware. Perhaps more have joined since I last looked. One in particular seems to have changed her practice entirely to Redicare.
However, the majority of phsycian providers at Redicare admit to Bingham Memorial. That seems a bit odd, and always has to me, that Mountain View wouldn’t just recruit and hire their own doctors to staff their Urgent Care Clinics. But, it costs a lot of $ to recruit doctors. I haven’t talked to any of the physicians at Redicare, so what I’ve been told by others may not be correct. If you know more about Redicare, please share so we all can know more.
Personally, I don’t care where anyone goes for care, including the two Urgent Cares not mentioned. I do care that people ask questions and are informed.
Mike and CR67, if you haven’t yet written a letter of complaint about your experiences, I’d still encourage you to do so. I talked to this co-owner about both of your experiences at Community Care. The physicians want the feedback. It simply isn’t appropriate for staff especially to be having a hallway discussion where patients can observe/hear and not be focused on other patients.
I can potentially understand the referral to the E.R., Mike, if the physician at Community Care was observing/monitoring a fairly sick patient and couldn’t get to your son in a timely manner. But, like everything else, it’s the tone of the person who told you and how that information is conveyed to the patient/parents that potentially sends messages the physicians aren’t saying. The doctors need the feedback.
At Community Care it is very possible staff on a particular day, or shift, are cross covering for others. I called one to get an NPI # for a physician only to be told by the person that wasn’t her usual facility, could I call the next day? My understanding is staff cross-trained to work at more than one facility. Given the design of Community Care, it is hard to know what the medical practitioners may be doing at any one time. And they are taking care of sicker patients now than they use to, from what I understand.
I’d encourage both of you to let those in charge know about your experiences. Until people complain, often employers have no grounds to take corrective action. Being an employer, I’m very careful to check the laws about what can and cannot be done with staff members.
The interesting question, Guest_XYZ, is to back track and determine how many different sets of physicians have practiced in Idaho Falls with a satellite clinic in Pocatello, or vice versa. I’d start with the Idaho Eye Center, Teton Radiology and go from there.
There have been physicians who truly saw a need and worked to bring better service/care to both cities who didn’t have the specialists the other city did, for various reasons. I think nephrology and endocrinology are two good examples of this currently. Even Idaho Eye Center filled a void when Pocatello has something like 4 ophthalmologists and Idaho Falls has about double that amount.
From what I recently learned, more Pocatello doctors want a piece of the Idaho Falls “pie.” To be clear, they want a piece of the non-emergent, elective pie. A group has recently taken over services provided at an Idaho Falls medical facility.
Actually, another Pocatello practice opened a branch office in Idaho Falls this past year, but I doubt many know about them. It will be interesting around Aug. 2008 after their Idaho Falls “competition” adds 2 new sub-specialty trained physicians with world-class training. It will be interesting to see where primary care doctors want their patients referred. In some ways, I see this competition as great, as I’m not sure 2 doctors would have been recruited, but their sub-specialties were desired/needed in Idaho Falls. Consequently, both were hired.
Like anything else, I’d encourage all to find out who the treating physicians at any medical facility are. of you don’t already know. i’d also ask from what hospital do they do the bulk of their work.
For me the question is about lack of services in a city vs. seeing an opportunity to make more $. Pocatello currently has 19% uninsured population, if I remember correctly. That isn’t counting the Medicaid and Medicare populations.
What do all of you think? Should physicians have more than one office in eastern ID, as many do in various states and even the Treasure Valley? Should they have privileges at more than one hospital, in different cities? Do you want your doctor to practice or live in the same city where you or a family member may be hospitalized?
One key question to remember IMHO, as far as the neurosurgeons and general surgeons for credentialing is response time. Much earlier in this thread someone I’m sure trying to be helpful asked me if I knew the Pocatello neurosurgeons applied for privileges at EIRMC? The answer is YES, I knew that and potentially more than the author does.
My question is for what privileges did they apply? Would they be sleeping at EIRMC for emergency craniotomies and other emergency surgeries? An hour drive from Pocatello isn’t acceptable for a Trauma II hospital. Or did they just want their more complicated spine patients in a larger facility?
Can various eastern ID communities share medical specialists? What about the I.F. docs who hold clinics in Rexburg. Good, bad or indifferent for the local residents?
What do YOU think? Does it depend on the type of specialist and what they bring to the other city?
Speak up Idaho Falls area residents. Did you know how many Pocatello or Blackfoot area physicians are already practicing part-time in the Idaho Falls area? Does that bother you, if you may need hospitalization? Or can any doctor fill in until your doctor can take over? Does it matter if you see the same doctor more than one time? Or is continuity of care more about having a file on you, or a family member, at a certain facility regardless of who sees you?
This is actually an important concept to discuss now, as the national tremd in the U.S. currently is to have outpatient only physicians and those who only practice in a hospital. We haven’t seen it yet, in Idaho Falls. The ICU has a team of physicians caring for patients, but no one’s primary care physician is excluded to date. However, other cities in Idaho are starting this trend of outpatient only vs. hospitalists only.
What do you think about these subjects and do you want a doctor taking care of you both in the office and hospital, if needed?
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0 0 I don’t have a problem with any doctors or surgeons having multiple offices or privileges at hospitals across the area. As a consumer, this gives us more choices in our health care. It may even spark competition, fee adjustments to compete, etc. I go by word of mouth for most of my family’s health care, so if we find a better doctor for a particular purpose in Rigby, Rexburg, here, or Pocatello, that’s where we go. If they have privileges in more than one place, great, gives us more places to see them. We as a city don’t “own” doctors any more than this city owns my business. I have the right to set up an office wherever I choose to pay for, so should they.
As for coverage, that’s an issue for the doctor and hospital to work out. Most places have residency and response time rules, if they adhere to it, then problem solved. I really don’t care if they are on call and they rent 3 apartments or crash at a friend’s home for a week. As a consumer I need to be responsible to make myself aware of these details if I am facing a problem. Besides, most doctors have backup doctors on call for them which suffice just fine for me. Competition is the name of the game in business, a lot of people are really judgmental about doctors trying to expand, but don’t blink twice when 12 restaurants sprout up in the course of a year!
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0 0 Joe, just FYI, you were mentioned again on the ISJ blogsite; I am beginning to understand, after reading both sites for a while, that there are those on the ISJ site who believe a spy? mole? not sure what “tom clancy” term to use–has been “planted” by EIRMC or you or someone to get info on (dramatic music here) the sale of PMC! Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Someone really has read too much “spy vs. spy” in his or her youth.
Would make a good topic for discussion: “Are rogue spies from Idahofallz planted at the ISJ’s website? What do YOU think?”
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0 0 Hi Babs - I’m not sure if you recognize me, but I’ve been following/posting on the Journal PMC blogs for awhile. I decided to post to you up here to see if you’ve observed very recent problems. Have you noticed their blogs have totally changed? Many comments from the last active PMC blog are missing in the new format. I tried to post a question yesterday on the blog about what happened to all the missing comments (not using my real email b/c it wouldn’t let me post without listing one), and my message said something about waiting for it to be checked, then it disappeared today. I know posts are missing because after the whole deletion fiasco with Ian, (the heart stuff) I started copying articles into my own files. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what they neglected to paste over into the new format. Note many articles say “no comments” but when you click on them, some old comments are there. I don’t know when/if I will continue posting on the Journal blogs because the new format is just as bad as the old. Don’t want to change the subject of this thread though. Would love to know who the rude jerk is on that blog accusing you and barbie being the same, who cares anyway! My guess from reading above is either “bob” or “Poky dr.” Appears to be someone very protective of PMC admin yet aware of this EIRMC thread. Not me! LOL Oh well, take care - Leslie
Sorry to anyone who doesn’t understand this, I’m only trying to communicate with babs and this seems to be the only way for now.
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0 0 what is url to the pmc /isj blogs.thankyou in advance.
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0 0 Hi Leslie,
I know what you are saying; I took a look yesterday and was dismayed to see, not only the new, unusable format, but the indication that, once again, many posts have been deleted. I honestly didn’t think this kind of thing could still happen in the US in 2008; I know I sound dramatic, but the taxpayers in Poky have very limited ways to express their frustration over the mess being made of PMC and one has, apparently, been taken away, again.
Here is the URL for the “community blogs” which have become unreconizable:
http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_blogs/community/
I lived in Poky for many years and read the blogs to see what was “really” going on behind the downfall of the hospital.
Maybe you or I could write an article for Joe to post here??? I must say, the posters on IdahoFallz.com are great to debate with: even when we disagree, I haven’t seen any of the outright nastiness that pops up regularly on ISJ’s site………
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0 0 Oh, Babs, we do get semi-close to that nastiness here, and just when I think I’ll move along to another forum, things quiet down again, and reason seems to be restored.
If that other site is worse, I’m sorry for them. That kind of nastiness shuts down reasonable discussion.
I love to share meaning in a free exchange of ideas, even though sometimes the commenters are 180 degrees away from what I’m thinking…as long as we respect that the other person’s viewpoint is valid for them, we have a great forum, and I learn much.
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0 0 good points once again, Nemesis. I agree we veer close to it hear ocassionally (global warming, anyone?) but you really wouldn’t believe the kind of name-calling that goes on at the ISJ site. I realize that some people’s livelihood is at stake but other times, it is just unbelievable. Dr. Coray, who had moved away to Rexburg because he found the medical climate unacceptable, tried to post several times and offer some insights into his reasons for leaving and his opinion on what some of the concerns of doctors in Poky might be. . . he was all but threatened online…seriously, it got so very nasty (people were posting that he was a bad doctor, the community was glad he was gone, etc.), and all he did was offer his perspective. Very, very sad that there was never a chance to exchange opinions.
Moreover, as you can see from Leslie and my posts here, the ISJ stepped into the fray and at the direction of PMC (Ian Fennell acknowledged this online) summarily deleted about a dozen posts that were unfavorable to the hospital. Clearly, as PMC is the biggest source of ads for the ISJ, there was some serious pressure put to bear on the paper, but still.
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0 0 oops, I spelled occasionally wrong, I think…….
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0 0 While I do think discussions occasionally get heated here at IFz.com, compared to many of the sites I’ve particpated in over the years, I strongly believe that for the most part we keep discussions very civil.
Back before blogs were popular I frequented a number of “chat sites”. Those sites would have their “regulars” that kept things pretty civil with interesting discussions, but it was a constant battle dealing with posters that would come on just to look for a fight or to put other people down if they had views that differed from their own.
Here at IFz.com, even when we disagree with each other, we respect each others opinions. And even though some posters here are more sensitive than others, discussions rarely get nasty and I think we can thank Joe for doing such a good job keeping out the “riff raff”.
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0 0 There’s the danger of a corporate sponsored site, especially a media sponsored site, because the media have their own sponsors and advertisers and they feel compelled to step in and censor things unfavorable to their sponsors/advertisers. It feels ickey because what it leaves is an unrealistic picture at the end.
If this site sells to someone associated with a company, or to a company itself, we may find that same issue here.
Hey! The IFPD should buy it, because then they can delete all those comments that they feel are bashing! (okay, I’m just kidding, I’m sure not all of them feel the site is unfair, just that it’s sometimes hard to explain things to outsiders who don’t understand.)
“Joe” has done a good job so far of trying to maintain civility, and has done some deleting (with a placeholder to let us know what happened) when things got really weird.
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0 0 Here here!! Toast to Joe & the excellent job he does!
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0 0 Ditto!!!!
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0 0 Babs and Leslie,
I’m saddened to hear about the ISJ and “more editing” on those blogs. After the article the PR ran yesterday about Bart Davis and the roll call coming up one vote short to give counties what they need (Portneuf in particular was named), I wanted to check what the local reaction was.
A potential spy logging onto the ISJ. WOW - I didn’t know anyone cared enough. Do you think Joe has a market for IFz.Com with either the ISJ or Portneuf? Or, did I miss the implication?
Going back to I.F. Resident’s comments, in post #120, I think you raise many valid points. However, I disagree with just a couple.
Having a back up doctor available to me or someone who matters to me, isn’t necessarily the same as having the physician I selected. Besides, back up often means that person has just come off call. So in that aspect, I have to disagree.
I do understand your idea of business vs. business and perhaps if this were Miami or L.A., I could support your point more.
In a state that is grossly underserved with doctors and eligible for all sorts of waivers and special assistance to recruit more to practice in Idaho, at some level, physicians can’t be viewed as business vs. business. Maybe in the Boise metro area some specialties could be, but really not anywhere else.
Sometimes, difficulty recruiting comes from a lack of the so called, “back up doctors,” as you state. It is hard to be the first physician introducing a new specialty, as if you are the one raising the bar of care to what is available in major, metro medical centers, who locally can truly back you up?
Area residents will suffer without the $ invested to recruit more doctors. They won’t suffer the same way without the newest chain restaurant in town.
I do think patients should have the right to chose where they receive their healthcare. For those who haven’t lived in highly capitated states, it is difficult to explain what total freedoms exist currently in Idaho. Managed care hasn’t penetrated the state much, but is starting to. The choices of what doctors and/or hospitals/surgery centers may not be as “free” in the future.
The other area where I disagree about strictly a business vs. business approach is if doctors expand to 3-4 offices in Idaho, yet only have privileges at one hospital. What are patients, or more importantly, the E.R. and local physicians suppose to do emergency or urgent medical situations with patients who routinely go to different cities for various care? Patients will be admitted or treated by local physicians. Then upon discharge, who follows the patient? Is that good medicine?
Physicians can be sued for abandonment of care. If someone usually sees a doctor in Rexburg, is admitted in Pocatello then wanders in for follow up in Rigby, which doctor is ultimately responisble?
Can and should Bingham Memorial accept patients because the patients were seen at a Mountain View Reddi Care clinic, but the doctor only has privilegs at Bingham Memorial? Or, is that patient more a “clinic patient” of Reddi Care so some physician in Idaho Falls must assume care if the patient is worse?
There are more specific examples, but at this time I don’t want to use them.
I stick to my previous guidelines about seeing physicians trying to help more of the population as the only specialists in the area, vs. having more than one office to increase their bottom line. It also depends on me where those physicians/surgeons do the majority of their work. I’m aware of satellite clinics that wouldn’t be in Rexburg or Driggs etc. had EIRMC not taken the steps to work with the local hospitals and put them there. Ultimately, it is better for the patient. Those are not the types of secondary offices to which I object.
It seems the ones that concern me are those owned by the physicians who want to expand their market share.
The lines aren’t as clear to me in medicine, as choosing which restaurant I return to or not, based on previous experience. Or if I’m support a new chain restaurant, or local restaurant being built.
I do appreciate you posting I.F. resident as your opinion is as valid as any others, including mine. You just help raise other issues I believe we should be proactive in discussing. And I totally agree, the patient has to take the responsibility to be informed.
Since I wrote the post prior to yours, I’ve had a situation in my own family at an out-of-state hospital where I was positive the specialist physician who had cared for my family member would absolutely, positively follow his patient through a hospital admission. WRONG.
I was very surprised, especially because I personally know this physician and called him at 6:00 a.m., when he was suppose to rotate on-call for his practice, and I wanted him there in the E.R. when things were so rocky.
Instead, my family member was admitted to the hospitalist on duty, after the E.R. had placed the central lines etc. and stabilized. That was a unique experience.
I can’ urge people enough to think about whether you would want your doctor to admit you or a family member to a hospital, or whether you want the hospitalist on duty to be the one caring for your loved one.
In my case, the hospitalist had trained at Johns Hopkins and Walter Reed, so I felt ok. But, the MD never spoke one word to ME. Not ok. I really didn’t know where we were from the first day my relative was in the ICU to discharge, except via the RNs and other MDs I knew at that hospital told me, what the differential was. At one point, an RN just opened the chart and let it “happen to fall open,” to the physician note pages so I could read them.
Not everyone has the connections I do, so where would the average person be, had the same medical emergency happened in their family?
Those are some issues to be thinking about regarding healthcare in the future.
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0 0 I’ve begun and deleted a few Pocatello and PMC-oriented articles. The problem for me is I don’t know much about PMC or Pocatello’s concerns. It is strange how our communities are close yet far apart.
If anyone wants to start or submit any Pocatello-related article, we can certainly publish it.
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0 0 Thanks for the suggestion, but for now it seems posting the PMC mess up here would interest a few and bore the rest of your readers. Besides, the ideal place for it is on a Pocatello website in the end. I see Dr. Bosley has recently written he is working on another PMC article, so that may trigger discussion again. There is so much going on right now people don’t know about, yet many are sick of the whole debate. We’ll see what Craig comes out with and go from there. My co-workers and I here on the web look forward to the end result, if one is ever decided! We sure need a site like this one (ifz) in Pocatello. There used to be one, aptly named”patheticpocatello” dot com, very revealing of how the site turned out. You’d think the Journal would be more interested in facilitating real discussion and debate and have a better blog site, but they don’t. As of now articles are easily buried, comments missing, yada yada yada. Take care all!
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0 0 “There is so much going on right now people don’t know about. . . ”
Oh tell me tell me!!!!
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0 0 Oooooohhh, such suspense, all in good time! I like to pop in and out when things get going or I see something I can’t stand to read anymore. If I knew more about EIRMC I’d contribute more here, one of my co-workers does so maybe I’ll chat with him sometime.
It appears the Journal has “recovered” the missing posts. Here’s the link if anyone is interested.
http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_blogs/community/?p=3953#comments
(the latest PMC blog, there are many more but comments have stopped on all of them because it’s old info)
http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_blogs/community/?p=4157#comments
(not about PMC, but where Dr. Bosley claims he is working on another article)
Let’s see what he comes out with next week and go from there. I hope the freeze we’ve been seeing on hospital related articles is over. Look how many citizens are writing disgruntled letters to the paper about the commissioners. Cheers!
How about EIRMC? DIscussion seems to be waning…..
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0 0 I thought Babs was just being facetious! 
…careful what you wish for…
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0 0 No, I honestly wanted to know; watching the whole PMC business play out–covertly deleted posts and all–is like watching As The World Turns. With the deleted blogs, I’ve missed out on a great deal.
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0 0 I lost my original post here. Thanks for the links for the “missing posts.”
I’m just curious - all the articles Dr. Bosley writes, are those due simply to his own interests, or does the ISJ ask him to do it, or PMC? I have read his own description of working in Admin at BRMC for a period of time.
There are plenty of new and good things happening at EIRMC. I received an email today from a physician who just started her practice there. I had previously referred her to IFz.Com when she was considering relocating. She loved the thread about the Food Co-op. It is interesting to see the various pages that appeal to those living elsewhere who are considering moving to the Idaho Falls area.
The problem for me, and I know no one who works for EIRMC will write a word here, about info they know, is what I asked many posts ago: will our comments appear reposted in the ISJ or elsewhere? It would be great to be able to talk about new services, new providers etc. here.. It would also be great to talk about what services we might like to see added.
Personally, I know of several interesting topics to be discussed. But, I’m not willing to post about anything, since I don’t know where it will be reposted. I guess that could be the “easy way,” to have a new post in the ISJ, right?
What would readers like to discuss in general terms about EIRMC or healthcare in Idaho Falls, realizing that we can’t guarantee the info won’t be posted again on the ISJ?
Babs and Leslie, are we sure there isn’t a PMC/ISJ “spy” visiting here trying to learn what some of us know and won’t discuss?
Here is a question for all of you to consider. We know there will be an addition in the somewhat near future. Where do you think it should go at EIRMC? Would you use the parking lot (where employees park), would you relocate the physician in the Sunnyside Medical Plaza (3200 Channing) and either remodel or tear down/build a hospital addition there? Where would you expand?
Also, most likely some parking lot will be consumed in any addition. Is it time for EIRMC to start building parking garages for physicians and staff?
What would you like to see? If we don’t discuss it now, we may end up with some aesthetically unpleasing sites, if some think no one cares how the hospital campus looks.
Also, do you think EIRMC will grow at the rate that someday there will have to be a enclosed crossing (walkway) from the hospital complex across to parking or other facilities on Sunnyside? Or, in other words, will a bridge for patients/practitioners etc. have to be built to cross over Sunnyside safely so EIRMC can continue to grow/expand?
What do you think and what would you like to see?
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0 0 What’s the nearly $700,000 remodeling project going on at EIRMC? Are additional services being added or the space for designated for existing services being changed?
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0 0 I posted several months ago regarding the bill from EIRMC that I received. I have received my “final” bill from EIRMC and my 4 day stay and surgery bill from EIRMC (this does not include doctors, anesthesiologist, x-rays, etc.,) was $128,000. I had to laugh as the response I got was that the equipment put in me “is not cheap”. The “equipment” totalled $96,000 of the total bill. I guess I’m worth a lot of money now huh?
After my insurance company took 5 1/2 months to “review” it and several phone calls from EIRMC to them and to me, threatening to release the bill to me if they didn’t make up their minds, the insurance sent a final EOB. My “in network” savings was $101,000. Figure that one out. So basically if I didn’t have insurance, that surgery would have cost more than my home is worth. The final amount owed to EIRMC is $27,000. My portion is $812. I have requested a fully detailed itemized statement from them though because “drug costs” alone amounted to almost $5,000 and there is a line item that includes ICU which I was not in, I went straight from surgery to 5th floor. I took all of my personal prescription medications with me as well as toothbrush, toothpaste (these are glorified items in a hospital setting) and hopefully didn’t have 5k worth of drugs in me within a 4 day period but I guess one never knows huh?’
It certainly seems to pay to have insurance. Another good note is that I received one final bill and not 10 as I expected. Was Doug reading my posts?
To state that something needs to be done about the healthcare crisis in America is an understatement. I find those charges ludicrous. If I did not have insurance, how would I have ever been able to afford this surgery? How would most people ever have been able to afford it?
We wonder why insurance premiums are so high. 
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0 0 Hey everyone -
We finally have a new article from Dr. Bosley on the Pocatello/Portneuf Medical Center situation.
Come on down to the Idaho State Journal web/blog site and comment if you have anything to add.
Thanks!
http://www.pocatelloshops.com/newblogs/community/?p=4175#comments
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0 0 Hi Leslie,
Thanks for the link….looks like Dr. Bosley is standing up to the directive to just vote YES……..
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0 0 Abby,
I had a post here that somehow got lost. I’m in a little bit of a unique position to understand “the game” of billing:
1. I’ve worked as a clinician for a major insurance company.
2. I’ve had a private practice and billed various insurance companies. I know what was billed and what was paid.
3. I have been a patient at 4 different hospital systems and seen each of their quirks.
4. I pay premiums for health insurance and that number has never decreased.
5. Ironically, I was paying my malpractice on line when I decided to check IFz.Com today for something else. The numbers haven’t decreased since the last time I paid, despite no changes.
I’ll try later to explain some of the odd things that happen in billing and payment of insurances and hospitals. I’ve had my various insurance companies over the years refuse to pay for 18 months. At one out-of-state hospital, for a period of time, unpaid bills/patients were referred to the state’s attorney generals office for payment.
I’ve wondered if you just hadn’t posted or what had happened. I’m glad you are bringing this issue up again.
Leslie and Babs, thanks for letting us know Dr. Bosley wrote again. I know he was involved in Admin at Bannock for a while. I don’t know for sure, so maybe you can correct me. It just seems like he is the one who tries to break news to the community, offers endlessly to explain his views of why local control is the only way to go, and perhaps helps Portneuf overall with his posts. I’m not certain about that last part, probably more of a question on my part.
I’ll check out the link. Someone who posts here at IFz.Com told me last week it was essentially common knolwedge that I worked at EIRMC, per some. My response was, ” I do? That is news to me!” It simply isn’t true. I don’t work for any hospital, but know details about many in the Intermountain area.
It is true that EIRMC employees won’t post in this thread and some tell me some details I may not already know, but they want out to the community. I have nothing to lose posting my observations and direct knowledge. I could post about Mercy Medical Center in Nampa too, but I doubt too many here are really that interested in what major changes they’ve made.
To be clear, one more time I will state that at one point in my life I did practice at an IHC Hospital in Utah. I hope not to have to work with IHC that closely again, but much like keeping my options open with the major insurance company I mentioned to Abby above, one never knows what will happen in life. So I need to keep my IHC option open too, should a situation arise that I need to work with or for an IHC Hospital.
I will also state again, IMHO, what the Idaho Falls business and medical community did to get IHC OUT of Idaho Falls was brilliant. Probably many don’t realize what local services wouldn’t have been being developed in Idaho Falls, instead of living with the concept only certain services are allowed outside of SLC, Ogden or Provo.
As I also stated earlier, I don’t think IHC was a good neighbor to Bannock, given what they said they would and wouldn’t develop as service lines then changed those promises 180 degrees. Of course one has to question how many hospitals also sell their own different health insurance plans, which of course can only be used at their hospitals. But, that is IHC.
I’m sure my comments that were reposted in the Idaho State Journal made some want to know a whole lot more about me. I’m actually positive of that now. References to “spies” or whatever…….oh well some people much need a rich fantasy life.
Sorry, I’m just me with no interest in corporate takeovers, bidding wars or whatever some wrote. However, I’m interested in what some have reported in the CV unit last summer, interested the PMC has to advertise in the PR their second CV surgeon just doing basic vascular procedures, and how cardiology is being marketed. It is important to me that local residents understand marketing of certain “awards.”
I’m also concerned and interested that staff is treated fairly at PMC and that patients really understand what is going on vs. the spin. I’m fascinated by what Bingham Memorial is starting to put out as stats and plans. I seriously doubt the Bingham #s could have existed without the difficulties PMC has had.
So I’ll read what Dr. Bosley has written this time. I’ll be interested in your views and how you think whatever he has written impacts the Idaho Falls area.
Ok4Now
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0 0 Ok4now, Abby is well thank you. She still tires easily which is why she hasn’t posted. It’s a very long healing process. She has found the site too argumentative and the combination of the surgery and angry people wear on her fast. We appreciate your thoughtfulness and she always enjoyed reading your posts as well as several others.
Leslie thank you for the link. I would be interested to know what both yours and Ok4now’s thoughts on improvement in the high cost of healthcare is.
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0 0 glad to hear that. . . she WAS pretty angry the last time she posted and that can’t be very healing…..
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0 0 is abby sick? sorry to hear that.get well soon
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0 0 I don’t know if anyone is still reading this blog but I stumbled on it and thought I would share my personal experience.
Last year we found out that I was pregnant and things were not going so well. The baby had a diaphragmatic hernia and we knew there would be major complications. Thankfully EIRMC had is set up so we can just meet with the specialists here in Idaho Falls rather than traveling to Salt Lake City, or anywhere else. We had a wonderful experience meeting with these people and were treated very well there. I was very pleased with my experience other than one downfall: the billing procedure. Every time I visited, which was about once a week, they had to get copies of my insurance card and id. They created a new account each time I came in so in the end we had several accounts and trying to pay the bills was outrageous. We had our insurance as well as medicaid at the time, both my husband and I are full time students trying to finish college. We still had to travel to SLC in the end because EIRMC does not have all the equipment to handle these special cases. Our baby was born April 12, 2007. Keep in mind this was more than a year ago, I recently recieved a statement in the mail saying we still owed on one of our accounts at EIRMC. I called them to see why we were not notified of this sooner. When I finally got through the phone tree, the person on the other end could not figure out why we were not sent any statements earlier. She also found that we still have 5 accounts in my name and that none of these accounts were billed to either insurance companies.
I am now pregnant again and having my doubts about going there. I know they have good medical care but I don’t want to have several more bills from them they can’t seem to get sent to the insurance. I am still trying to decide what to do. I read in a few people’s comments they too had problems with the billing department at EIRMC. I thing they are a good hospital and hope they will one day get these issues resolved. Thanks for letting me know I’m not the only one who has had problems with their billing methods.
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0 0 Anyone still up there? Hello from Poky! EIRMC billing sure sounds like a mess. I’ve only had to deal with them once, but it turned out OK in regards to my bill.
So as you all can see, the Journal blogs pretty much died. Is there any truth the the rumor EIRMC may get a second life flight? Wouldn’t they effectively put Portneuf out of business in trauma response if it were true?
It’s all interesting here, since the trauma call contracts are being renegotiated and in heavy discussions at multiple levels. Plus, other doctors around the hospital are reacting to the fact their contracts have no safety net or wording covering their call contract if the hospital is sold to a new partner. Several are scrambling to get their contracts changed. I noticed Doug Crabtree wrote letters to both the IF and Poky papers re: Life Flight. They’re talking down here like a vote in Nov will fail and Portneuf will be stuck. Who knows. To tie it all in, I wonder how this will effect EIRMC in the long run?
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0 0 I have not been a fan of EIRMC my son was a year old in the pediatrics unit for severe asthma. He was there for 2 days & I asked if I could go to the mall to get him a stuffed animal. They said no problem. 30 mins later I returned to one of there staff holding my son out to me saying “here you take him he threw up all over me, He informed he wasn’t from the pediatrics department, he was only there because they were short staffed”. That was just my thoughts on extremely poor service.
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0 0 Leslie, what a spectacular mess PMC is making of this whole business…selling out to business “partners” (who will own 77% of the company? please. . . .)…..the CBO website is a joke. . .
was this really the same hospital that swore to maintain “local ownership and local control” just a few months ago??? before, I guess, they realized their bond rating had tanked. . . .
nice work, PMC…..
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0 0 I understand EIRMC has been laying off office-type staff recently and reducing hours of several more employees. Didn’t see anything about it in the news, and wondered if Mountainview is also being affected by the downturn? I hate to see local healthcare being affected by the economy but it looks like it may be.
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0 0 I’m friends with someone who works at EIRMC. Its true that hours are being cut right now but it has little if anything to do with the downturn in the economy. Its all about the time of year as January / February are always slow. Insurance deductibles have reset so people tend to put off going to the doctor. Thus not as many procedures are done. According to her this usually happens every year.
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1 0 I think this is just the beginning. It’s not just EIRMC. Hospitals & clinics all over the country have been laying off staff and cutting back employee hours. Hospitals and Dr.s offices rely on insurance coverage from their patients. As more and more people loose their jobs and their insurance coverage, people will be less inclined to visit the emergency room, have non life threatening procedures performed, and will cut way back on over-all general well being visits and annual checkups. Most of us can’t afford the outrageous prices the COBRA hits you with, let alone a stand alone medical insurance policy. So the trickle down effect is now hitting the healthcare industry. An industry we all thought was “recession-proof”.
That’s my 3 cents on the issue.
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My wife is an RN with a non-practicing license (she’s hasn’t worked for several years due to a medical disability). She worked at Gritman Medical Center in Moscow. Just before we moved here, she had an extended stay at EIRMC for a compound fracture to her ankle.
Any medical professional will tell you that other medical professionals tend to be the worst patients! They know right away when you’ve messed up a proceedure.
In light of that, she found the care at EIRMC some of the best she’s experienced. She’s had worse care both in Spokane and Seattle.
No complaints here.