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Good Samaritan plan doesn’t sway doctors
Sean Denney.
KEARNEY - Cardiologist Sean Denney today likened the announcement of a $65 million investment at Good Samaritan Hospital to the outdoorsman long absent from home who brings his wife a flower bouquet as a peace offering.
"It's disingenuous and downright insulting," said Denney, the chair of a physicians-investor group that plans to build a hospital in southwest Kearney.
The physicians say they want to build their $20 million facility because Good Samaritan and its parent Catholic Health Initiatives have been deaf to the doctors' concerns about patient care and technology reinvestment at GSH.
In announcing the $65 million building addition and equipment investment Wednesday, Good Samaritan officials had hoped to heal the rift with physicians.
Denney said he met Wednesday afternoon with Good Samaritan's interim CEO Steve Loveless to learn more about the $65 million plans. Wednesday evening, GSH hosted a dinner for physicians to tell them about the new patient care facilities, operating rooms and cardiology care unit to be added to the West Tower.
Denney said physician investors are not dissuaded.
He said Good Samaritan's recent history of expense and personnel cuts ought to make people wonder how the hospital and its parent suddenly can come up with $65 million.
"It's more than ironic," he said. "We've had a spending freeze the last couple of years. There's broken equipment that needs to be fixed. One of the three catheterization labs was down. The hospital shuts the Ravenna clinic and Healthy Living Center, which was run with private money."
Add to those cutbacks last year's layoffs two weeks before Christmas, cuts in nurses' benefits, and personnel vacancies from "tons of attrition," Denney said.
"I don't know how insulted I might have been if I were in the nursing corps and they made that kind of announcement," he said. "It's kind of funny to me you can come up with $65 million just out of the blue. It gives people an idea of the kind of money that goes out of this town to fund other (CHI) projects."
Loveless said Wednesday that Good Samaritan and CHI had invested $138 million in their Kearney facilities in the past decade. Projects included the $21 million West Tower completed in 2005. Other recent investments include a CT scanner, neonatal intensive care unit and remodeled family birthing center.
The $65 million would be the largest investment in Kearney's history, ahead of the $60 million Great Platte River Road Archway.
Denney said it is doubtful the $65 million investment will change many doctors' minds about proceeding with their investor-owned hospital. He said the second hospital appears to be the best bargaining chip to persuade hospital officials to listen to doctors' concerns.
"We weren't even getting a look at any funding from CHI corporate until we started talking about it (second hospital). Why would we walk away from the one talking point that is bringing some attention to the medical needs of this community?"
Good Samaritan will begin planning for the addition in January. The addition will be on the south end of the West Tower and will take more than one year to complete.
However, considering Good Samaritan and CHI's recent history, Denney said he expects the addition "won't be complete until my grandkids are ready to practice."
e-mail to:
mike.konz@kearneyhub.com
More Coverage
- Good Sam plans $65 million investment
- Two hospitals divided G.I.
- Room for two hospitals?
- Price of care
- Doctors reassure: Proposed new hospital would take Medicare patients
- ‘Second hospital threatens trauma care’
- Reactions to proposal range from ‘good for competition’ to ‘I can’t imagine why’
- Second hospital has to get OK from the city hall, which will have own research to conduct
- GSH wants to prevent rift with physicians
- Physicians group unveils plans for second Kearney hospital
- Consultant: Second hospital no threat to GSH
- Second hospital divisive
- Consider 2 hospitals’ real cost
- Some Kearney leaders not convinced 2nd hospital best for all
- Hire consultant
- Bias in sources
- Kearney needs second hospital
- Ad reveals physician investors’ identities
Posted in Local on Thursday, October 22, 2009 1:30 pm Updated: 4:11 pm. | Tags: Good Samaritan
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mahuls
YouthofKearney, I am in no way suggesting you're naive, but I have a very good understanding of what is at stake. I am not willing to give up trauma services that may one day save a family member's life for a new, for-profit specialty hospital. I would definitely be interested to hear the 20-70 doctors side of the story but only one has spoken up. Good Sam does have improvements to make; in an organization of it's size, quality improvement is a continuous process. I still believe that the hospital and physicians need to work together, keeping the well-being of the community in mind. Also, I do have a few crappy sounding downloads on my i-pod.
YouthofKearney
Mahuls, just because my name is YouthofKearney does not mean I'm naive. I understand. I probably understand it better than you do. I too have been have taken advantage of Good Sam's ER and hospital services and had a good experience there. If a large group of doctors (20-70 in a small community like Kearney is a substantial amount of doctors) are upset enough to leave Good Sam to start their own then maybe you should stop and listen to their side of the story. Obviously something is wrong here otherwise why would these professionals take that risk? They could just move. Good Sam has ran off plently of good doctors these doctors could have packed up and moved their practices to Grand Island or North Platte and then what? We would still be in the same position we are now...with a poorly ran hospital. I'll say it again Mahuls, just because its old doesn't make it good...8 track tapes are old but they do not work so well these days. Why settle with Good Sam when there could be something better out there?
mahuls
In response to the YouthofKearney. The prospect of a new hospital is not exciting to the individuals who understand what this means for our community and the surrounding area. I, like the individuals in the 30+ counties our trauma center serves, are very concerned at the prospect of losing trauma II status if a new hospital is built. It scares me that if one of my children is injured, that specialized trauma care would not be provided here and precious time would be wasted trying to get them to another facility. Regarding the layoffs of last year, there were several positions that needed to be eliminated and considering the state of the ecomony, the number could have been worse than 32. Also, it is my understanding that many of these individuals did receive generous severence packages and some have actually been re-employed by GSH. Finally, I do not believe in this case competition is good. If a 2nd hospital is built and physicians continue to bicker, patients will go elsewhere to avoid conflict which will hurt Kearney's overall economy. Hospitals in GI and North Platte are in a position to benefit from a rift between facilities. It is my hope that hospital leadership and community physicians can work together to find a solution that puts the needs of this and surrounding communities first.
For a better Kearney
I don't want to say much, everyone is getting pretty heated up here. I just simply have one comment or question...Has the city of Kearney even said that they can, it is my understanding that they have to approve of the second hospital...I am in school and will be entering the health care system so I am obviously hoping for the best outcome...I don't consider myself knowlegeable enough to foresee that. I obviously just hope that there are good opportunities when I get to that point because I really want to stay in Kearney.
Eleanor
Building another hospital will not put the Level II Trauma designation in jeopardy. I remember when Good Sam was NOT a designated trauma center and our life flight flew patients on to Lincoln or Omaha. The problem with keeping the designation is what physicians they have to cover the 24 hour call... That has been a problem off and on for Good Sam ever since they got the designation. It's not the physicians fault if the Level II is lost...that is squarely on administration. And I love how it's now going to "threaten" services at Good Sam to have another hospital in town. Is Good Sam going to stop offering certain services because of a new hospital or to punish the physicians who have gotten tired of the rhetoric from CHI and dared to speak up and take some action?
Dr. Denny was not being unprofessional or anything else but honest. How interesting that they find $65million all of a sudden. And I love the statements about how they built the new tower. It's not even completely finished. They quit the construction on the second half of the second floor. My understanding is that did not give any notice to the LOCAL CONTRACTORS that were working there any notice and just told them to stop and go home, that there wasn't any money left to pay them.
And being a nurse, Brad is correct in his statements that if you speak up or out, you find yourself without a job. It's happened to lots of seasoned nurses who have had the nerve to say something to administration and/or their supervisors about the working conditions. This might be America where your freedom of speech is protected, but say anything negative about CHI and you will not be working there for very long.
Dr. Denny is dead on about the attitude of the nurses corps at GSH. They have been been completely unhappy with corporate especially since the removal of $2.4 million dollars in the sick banks a couple of years ago when the company decided to re-do how they approach short term LOA's for medical reasons. Staff was told that the time in the sick banks were needed to FUND the new program. People that had never used their sick banks lost over 300 hours of earned sick time. And they didn't offer any compensatory time or money when they did that.
There is a lot of good going on at Good Sam...
Don't get me wrong, the nurses that are still there are busting their humps to do the awesome jobs that they do. Housekeeping, maintainence, secretarial, support staff all do an awesome job. It's just too bad that CHI has come in and ruined the "family" atmosphere that used to be at GSH, built in 1924.
Andrew
"My Life", yes my concern is for the level II trauma Center, I think it should be everyone ones concern. Do you even know how many people come in two our hospital everyday through that and how many lives are saved, either you dont or you just dont care. I agree competition is good but not when it starts involving the lives of people.
Concerned
I also am an employee of Good Samaritan Hospital, I am not in administration, I am a patient care provider, and I do not provide patient care in Emergency Services. My concern is where does the "patient care" come into this discussion? I am concerned on many levels with the plans to build an additional hospital.
Good Samaritan does currently have Level II trauma status, they are very good at what they do in Emergency Care and I do believe this is on the line here. I am concerned with what happens to that car accident victim, farm accident victim, neonatal baby that is born prematurely, child severly injured for any reason, and adult who is having a heart attack that is flown into Good Samaritan Hospital? If this goes through do you honestly think that we will have helicopter services?? What if any of the above are your family member? What if they do not survive this due to length of time it takes to get your loved one to another hospital that can care for them? I personally have a hard time swallowing this. I take care of MANY patients whose lives were saved due to our flight program and our trauma care, wow the miracles that happen!!!
Another concern I have is with the physicians. Kearney has many physician that are top notch physicians. I do not feel that they are all out there for their "pocket books" but folks some of them are. I would only hope and pray that their heart is with the "patient" and not with their pocket book!!!
Yes, there are some "issues" at Good Samaritan that need to be addressed, but is there an employer in Kearney, or anywhere for that matter, that doesn't have "issues"? To my knowledge there is no organization that can satisfy all of its stakeholders all of the time.
I really hope that the community carefully weighs the pros and cons of this before they jump into something that they regret later!!!
me
Drs Wife- You go girl Everyone thinks those in medicine make a mill. We do make more but we choose to go to college and get our degrees and no one can take your education away. We put in sleepless nights long hours miss family on Holidays etc, but we choose that life. I am happy with my profession and don't complain about others choices. People can go back to college if they wish or work minium wage jobs. Good Luck with the new hospital and competition is good
mylife
Andrew, is your only concern the Level II Trauma Center Status? I can only guess what department you work in. The physicians involved in this are only doing what needed done a long time ago. I for one, am glad to see GSH on it's knees begging, and I hope the new hospital proceeds and succeeds!
bettys
Last I knew GSH already lost their level 2 trauma status last year! And kudos to Dr Denny for speaking out against CHI.
Harolds
Bradley correctly stated " what makes it a "good" hospital is the caring staff of nurses and doctors. What keeps it from being a "great" hospital is the poor administration.
And now there is still more of the same OLD GUARD.
Bravo for you DRs Wife, WELL SAID!
Drs Wife
I am a wife of a doctor here in Kearney. I've been mulling over that last few days whether or not to respond to the remarks someone made about the doctors' million dollar salaries and multi-million dollar homes.
Ultimately, anything I say is not likely to change anyone's mind, but I can't help feeling that the truth needs to be known!
First of all, my husband is probably one of the better paid docs in the community (at least based on what data available publically seems to suggest), and I can tell you that he does not make a million dollars a year. Far, far less; particularly, after taxes.
Oh, and speaking of taxes, he pays a lot of them. Money that goes back in to help pay for all the things the rest of us use.
Second, we did build a home here in Kearney. Do you have any idea how much money was put back into local businesses? Quite a lot; it is a nice home. Which, by the way, we're still paying for as we, like many other people, have a loan on. A local bank also profits off us.
Anyone in this community should be glad there are people who have money and are willing to spend it. A bigger problem for the community would be if the people who had money didn't spend it. And, there are people here in Kearney who have a lot more money than we'll ever have, but you'd never find me telling them how they should spend it.
Another thing to think about is that many of the physicians here could work anywhere in this country, even, a lot of places in the world. Keeping good doctors here in Kearney can be a big problem when they have the skill and experience and could work in "better" states like California or Florida. You may not like the bluntness of that, but it is true.
Finally, while I cannot speak to the "motive" of all the physicians involved with the new hospital, I know my husband is a good man and a great doctor. I know he always puts the patients before himself and, yes, his family. The other day, he left for work at 8 am and got home close to 10 pm. Then, just as he was getting ready to go to bed, he got called to see a patient in the ER. He was there for another hour and a half. This is a fairly typical day. He works so hard, I worry for his health. So, it really gets under my skin when people throw around accusations without knowing anything, really, about it. He doesn't deserve to be begrudged for anything; not only is it wrong to begrudge him the success he's worked long and hard to acheive, it's just shallow and petty. If anything, in my opinion, he, like many other physicians, deserves all the praise we can give!
And, that's what I have to say about that.
Robbert
Dr. Denney's comments don't seem genuine.
If it is his goal to build a hospital, it then becomes his focus to build.
Yet, his comments as published above seem more like a negotiating tactic of someone seeking more from Good Sam.
The tactic Denney and his group are pursuing is common across America to grasp a position and direct voice in the operations of the facility.
None of the comments Dr. Denney made seem to parallel the motivations of someone building a new hospital.
Harolds
Brad hit it on the head with his statemet "The reason you don't hear much (in public at least) from employees of Good Sam concerning the issues the doctors are bringing to the surface is because they risk thier job for speaking out".
me
Bradley- Your post is so right on
ILoveKearney
Amen to all for one. I am also a GSH employee and life-ling Kearney resident. I am NOT in administration. I'm one of those in the trenches doing the real patient care. Since this "mystery" doctor group appeared with their hospital, the GSH workers are getting treated like dirt by the physicans. I get it that they are throwing a tantrum because of perceived injustices of CHI, but stop taking it out on us "peons".
We are just hoping we still have jobs when the dust settles.
KearneyTies
Ok, the heat here is melting all the snow in the state...
Something needs to be clarified to get a clear picture of the motivation behind the new hospital. The public needs to know if this is going to be a "full service" hospital, with ER support, or just a specialty hospital to skim money off the profitable aspects of care (i.e., orthopedic and/or cardiac services alone). If this is just a specialty hospital, seems pretty clear profit is the motivator. If profit isn't the reason, if other issues are the motivator, they will build a "full service" hospital. Wait for the answer; it could explain everything.
Bradley
I worked for GSH in the past and a relative is currently employed there so I like to think I have a unique perspective of the current goings-on. The reason you don't hear much (in public at least) from employees of Good Sam concerning the issues the doctors are bringing to the surface is because they risk thier job for speaking out. In Japan there is a saying, "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down." This is policy at Good Sam. If you rock the boat or speak out about danger to staff or patients, more often than not, you are fired or intimidated or told to "toughen up." Even worse, sometimes the administration pretends to hear you out through thier "employee councils" and "employee surveys", then turn around and do absolutely nothing to resolve any of the issues brought to their attention. It really is a sad state of affairs. My relative often feels endangered by the patient-to-staff ratios and is not alone in feeling that way. When one nurse has too many patients, each patient is endangered and recieves poor care. The nurse also risks losing his/her nursing license or getting fired if he/she makes a mistake. More often than not, administrative decisions are more motivated by money than by concern for what is best for the patient or staff member. Believe me, if the staff there could speak freely without fear of losing thier job in this tough economy, the newspaper would be full of horror stories. I am thankful for the doctors who are not directly employed by GSH that can be a voice for those who have none. That is not to say that GSH is a bad hospital. In fact, I would trust my life to them in many respects. I truly believe, however, that what makes it a "good" hospital is the caring staff of nurses and doctors. What keeps it from being a "great" hospital is the poor administration.
kearneynite
I have been a fan of the Good Sam's for years. They did my surgeries and I think they are one of the best in the areas. However... They lost a good heart surgeon because he was from India. They also have had it too good too long and have been over charging people and insurance companies for years. They closed up and let go many good people because they didnt have money and because of cut backs. Now as soon as theres talk about competition they all of a sudden come up with $65 million. Where did that money come from? The over charging of what they have been doing.. Competition wont hurt care in the community. People will just have a choice and the prices should be more competitive now instead of the charge what they want because they can method of doing business. Kearney shouldnt be fooled by all the sugar coating they are about to get. Propaganda will come out in force paid for by who else? Those that need help and their insurance companies. I will still support Good Sam how I can but I wont be fooled by corporate and political propaganda and lies just because theyve had it too good too long and they dont want to lose their monopoly they have in the community... Its America we the people should have a right to choose. Let the free market work. Let the competition in and let the people choose whats right for them lets not let a huge monopoly dictate what they think is best for the people...
me
Build it and build it big. People will come. Nurses, doctors, housekeeping, office staff, etc will be knocking on your doors to work at this hospital. It will be their family and production will be better along with staff moral. Glad to see somebody flex up to Good Sam and give them a run for their money. Funny how 65 million just shows up after all the staff layoffs. Nurses now there will be another place to work and the bargaining power will begin. Congratulations to all of those who have the vision to build this hospital. Good Sam, isn't competion good? Dont you always want to get better because the competion and jump right past you, seems Iv'e heard that in the hallways before. Go DOCS Go
Fan of Kearney
As a longtime resident of Kearney it is interesting to see the comments both pro and con concerning the possiblity of a new hospital. As one can clearly see by the comments this is going to be very divisive for our community. The focus on this should not be on who is to blame (as I feel there is probably plenty of that to go around), but should be on how we can resolve this with Kearney's best interest at heart. It will without question impact our community. As a business person, I can tell you that when you lose revenue you cut expenses. This will result in the loss of many programs and services ( and jobs) that Kearney has counted on to be provided by Good Samaritan Hospital. While the physican run hosptial may add 100 jobs it will more than be offset by what we will lose. Both sides need to get to the table and remember what has always made Kearney great which is working together for the overall benefit of Kearney . The time has come to put aside the petty bickering and have both sides work together to continue to make Keaney a place we all continue to be proud of.
Andrew
Ok they are upset about the GSH being "deaf to their concern about patient care...really? lets see... Opening up a new hospital putting GSH level II Trauma Center in Jeopardy, and if lost could mean trauma patients would have to sent else where to a different City Hospital.... and they are concerned about patient care.... putting one of the finest medical centers in central nebraska in jeopardy...and they are concerned about patient care. Since when has taking such steps been a solution for patient care? Or is it a solution for the physicians own needs. As far as the 65 million dollars and where that is coming from.. do you not think that GSH would do everything it can to maintain its Level II Trauma Status and keep up the quality service it has been providing for years to this state, do you not think that they sat down and thought "hey, if this new hospital is built it will completely affect this community and all patients so we need to do whatever we can to continue to provide great service." To me this is the ultimate sign that GSH is concerned about patient care and the community and that the Physicians are the ones to who are putting the community and patients at risk for the benefit of thier own wallet.
all4one
I've been a nurse at GSH for over 20 years and would be remiss to say that I have always agreed with the decisions that CHI has made for our hospital, but overall I am very proud to associate myself with our facility. I have embraced the vision and mission of our organization because both have the best interest of our patients, our community and our region at their core. Those things grow from the foundation of a faith-based hospital. I consider myself an intelligent and experienced person and would not have chosen to continue my career at GSH if I felt it was as blind and uncaring as it has been portrayed.
I have had respect for Dr. Denney in the past, but that respect is waning. Before today, I felt that Dr. Denney had simply taken on the role as mouthpiece for his partners, but today's comments demonstrate how intrenched he is in the mudslinging and debauchery. Dr. Denney, I'd ask that you not speak for the "nursing corps" of our hospital. We are strong professionals who can speak for ourselves and I believe most of us do not agree with what you and your partners are doing. For us, our primary concerns do not lie in the money we make or benefits we are offered. The oath we have taken is similar to yours: to give our all in the care of our patients. Attempting to pull us into this as an unauthorized way of garnering public sentiment is highly disrespectful.
I would encourage the public within our city and our region to educate themselves on this matter. It stands to create a riff in our community and destroy an excellent healthcare network - one which has very humble beginnings. Speak with a physician or two who have dedicated their medical career to this hospital and city. I believe you will find that they - the ones who really worked to help make GSH the healthcare powerhouse it is today - will tell you it is a very bad thing.
GSH has been an anchor to this community ever since its construction began over 80 years ago. Our hospital has welcomed all comers and supported our community for nearly a century. The time has come for the community to give back and lend its support to an organization that has possibly been there at the time of your birth, your surgery, your car crash, your heart attack, your child's birth, your cancer care. Help the physicians of Kearney see that the leadership of GSH has come seriously to the table and for them to continue hiding under it is unacceptable. Categorizing this new hospital as a "bargaining chip" is concerning yet telling, but it appears that GSH is willing to play. My question to you and your partners, Dr. Denney, is are you going to get back on our team so we can grow and move past this?
YouthofKearney
As a youth of Kearney I find the building of a new hospital very exciting. Lets take a look and dive into what Maxine believes about GSH, doctors, and the health system in Kearney. 1. You are under the assumption that all doctors make millions…you are incredibly off base here. If you want to look at a doctor’s salary why don’t you check with GSH’s recently hired doctor(s). I bet their salaries individually could pay the salaries for the recently laid off nurses (just for clarification there is a very, very small percent of doctors from Kearney that are actually hired by Good Sam). Also, not all of the doctors in Kearney live in multimillion-dollar houses. It is not about money for these doctors, but a better working environment. 2. Actually there are doctors and clinics in town that have their own labs and moved them out of the hospital. 3. People invest in things; it is how most major developments get built. The only people at risk here in this investment are the doctors. They are the ones taking a gamble and standing up for themselves, no one else. 4. Did you ever stop and ask yourself why 20-70 doctors are unhappy with Good Sam and want to start their own hospital? Seventy seems like a LOT of doctors to be made so angry that they gave up on anything happening at the hospital, so they set out to build their own. 5. Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s good…dictatorships have been around for a very long time but that doesn’t mean they are good for the community. Bringing in another hospital will only breed competition and get rid of the monopoly. Competition causes people to step up and provide better quality services, and this is obviously what the doctors want to do. 6. Maybe someone should research to see if any other physicians have pulled away from a CHI hospital to make their own due to unhappiness with the system. 7. I have to questions these “new” additions and “new” developments at the hospital. Maybe these are some of the things the doctors have been wanting from the hospital but for too long were denied. Why is it that they only now get these “new” additions when the doctors finally stand up for themselves? 8. What if the doctors are doing this because the quality of healthcare has been steadily declining over the years? I personally am all for the idea of improving the health care system in Kearney. I don’t care if it has been around for 2 days or 300 years, I want the best healthcare I can have.
So before we all immediately attack the doctors, maybe we should take a step back and wait for the deeper issues to hash themselves out to see who the actual villains are here.
One last thought…if 70 Husker players came out and said that Bo was a horrible coach and they could not properly and successfully work as a team because of the horrible decisions Bo was making and the horrible way the team was ran would you stop to listen to the players? I think we would.
JohnAl
Perplexed Maxine? I'm perplexed by your ignorance of the situation and the assumptions that you make in your comments. So Drs who are not employees of the hospital should offer up some of their "millions" to help a corporation who has mismanaged their assets and made decisions that have negatively impacted the staff and community? Are you saying that all of the Drs who are investing in this hospital are millionaires? You must be a very knowledgable person with some real insight into other's lives. What do you have against people that are the age of Dr Denney?" At what point did age become an important factor in community interest and caring for people? So... businessmen who get loans to invest, shouldn't do that? But isn't that helping the infastructure of community economy as well? Do you really believe that Good Sam has "reinvested" $140million into the community in the last 10 yrs? Maybe I missed that breakdown of all this $ going back into the community. I do know that breakdown of the $ that Good Sam sends to corporate CHI and how that is distributed to less profitable hospitals in the CHI system. I really don't believe "your" healthcare dollars are playing for much at Good Sam. They might have paid for some good care given to you or your family if they were patients at that facility...maybe you were taken care of by doctors, incredible nurses, and a staff that cares. I hope, Maxine, that you never have to go into the care of these "young, arrogent, millionaires. Heaven forbid that you would have to depend on these type of people to save your life or make you feel better.
WhyCHI
It seems that a lot of the public do not know what's been going on at GSH. Why is there an interim CEO now? Did the last CEO know what was going to happen? This is the way CHI operates. CHI wants feedback from the workers, but do they ever follow through with it. I think it is funny that 65 million just showed up, and the public is angry about the doctors investing 20 million. Maxine why not ask those same questions towards CHI. I do not believe that the second hospital would survive in Kearney without GSH. Lets lay people off, but oh another hospital coming in we got 65 million just sitting around. Lets build an addition and get more equipment. About time someone stands up to CHI.
youknowwho
I have a message for these doctors. "Build the biggest and best hospital you can cause we need it." I have delt with good sam for quite some time and they need the competition. They can brag all they want to about helping out this program or spending more here or there but they will never make up for thier poor attitudes. That is why I take all my business to Grand Island. All of it. So I look forward to seeing a new hospital in Kearney. Good luck Doctors!!!!!!
margaret
I think the doctors are being greedy, the hospital is trying to bring everyone together and willing to spend money to do it.
erikav
it seems my previous post was somehow deleted....I am one of the many that was laid off from good samaritan just two days before christmas so i thank Dr. Denney for bring up what we are all thinking1 how can they come up with that money when they couldnt afford my 12000 a year salary? how come there is a 12000 lizard statue on PCU but i do not have a job? why are the units dangerously understaffed? and yet now there is 65 million dollars to build more? who is going to work there? and what are they going to pay them? i did get offered a job similar to the one i lost but a 3 dollars less an hour! they certainly werent offeing free childcare so how was i going to take care of my two children? they dont care, not until it is too late any how. I am thankful for Dr. Denneys anger! He worked along side most of us and knew us as people! people that provided excellent healthcare that now do not have jobs and the patients are suffering for it. not to mention that he (Dr. Denney) has a family too and he has worked long and hard for the money that he makes so diminish that hard work and the sacrafice of his family to serve the patient is highly unfair.
margaret
Good Sam is a catholic chartiyhospital. One of many in a group. As such I can understand why they would send some of there money to other catholic hospitals. I have heard people say that the money leaves the community. I guess is true, but it goes to hospitals that don't work as well as good sam. Who gets the money from the doctors hospital? I am concerned that this new hospital could be motivated by greed.
maxeene
Yowza! Such an emotional focused misplaced wildpersonal attack on Dr. Denny.
Dr. Denny is to be commended for his courage in being the spokesman in behalf of the many Doctors behind this needed movement.
Doc. be assured that YOU and your group are supported and thought highly of in our
community .
jasminejane
Dr Denny was not arrogant in his response to 65 million dollars he was truthful. I had hoped the doctors could see through this bribery and they did. Perhaps if you had lost your job to a hospital like good sam you could come up with 65 million ways to support the doctors and a new hospital. Thank you Dr Denny!!
Maxine
I am quite perplexed by the arrogance of this physician as well as the hidden people he is representing. Dr. Denny, weren't you impacted by the recent down turn in the economy...or were you still making your millions? Did you offer up some of your millions to help out those few people that were layed off? Did you offer to reduce your million dollar salary so the hospital could keep some of those services that operated at a loss? Why did you open a competing cath lab in your clinic if you were so concerned about how much money the hospital had? Where are you planning to get the money to build a $20 million hospital? If at your age you have enough money to pay for it then you are being paid too much, you may probably be getting a loan. where else do people get that type of money? loans don't seem too inflamatory do they? I'm not concerned about a business that in the last 10 years has reinvested $140 million into the community but how a few doctors would have the means to come up with $20 million!! So are my healthcare dollars going to pay for a building that was built locally in 1924 and is still be used effectively? Or to the multimillion dollar homes scattered around the area that have these poorly treated physicians living in them? Buck up, act like grown ups, and start being appreciative of the partnership that has invested so much in this community and your ability to make such a good living on the backs of patients in the region.
Sheila
Dr. Denney's response to Good Samaritan's announcement seems very hostile and unprofessional. I am glad to see the hospital has responded to this situation in a very mature and professional manner. Keep up the great work Good Sam!
KearneyTies
Wow! Well, I guess this kinda spells it out... docs don't seem willing to work with the hospital now. Sounds like the frustration has lead to the lure of money for the investors. It's turned into a money grab. Are the investors interested in improving GSH, improving health care, or improving their own wallets? Sometimes those lines get blurred. Hard to see how a company from Kansas and retired practictioners care about improving GSH over their own pockets. It would be interesting to see who all is amongst the investors.