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Yooperman

(592 posts)
Fri Sep 7, 2012, 04:27 AM Sep 2012

Our Regional Hospital was bought by Duke Lifepoint.... shortly afterwards I was in a local bar and

overheard a middle aged woman talking how good this was going to be and that Duke Lifepoint has loads of money and will really make good improvements with the facility.

I couldn't help myself... but I made a comment that in my experience with having friends and family that have worked in hospitals that whenever they had been bought out it was not a good thing for anyone involved. The new companies would come in and generally cut staff one way or another. Well this woman was not pleased that I gave my opinion and really became hostile and not very happy that I told her of my feelings. With that ... I backed off and bought her and her friend a drink and that was that....a month or so passes....

I heard through the grapevine yesterday that this new company suddenly, without notice announced that employees had 2 hours to give a drug screening sample or be fired. My source told me that over 50 employees had failed and lost their jobs. I guess it's as good a reason as any to cut the staff.

I can't verify any of this... other than the guy who told me knows some employees that work there.

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Our Regional Hospital was bought by Duke Lifepoint.... shortly afterwards I was in a local bar and (Original Post) Yooperman Sep 2012 OP
You are correct Freddie Sep 2012 #1
Yep... thanks for sharing your experience... Yooperman Sep 2012 #2

Freddie

(9,232 posts)
1. You are correct
Fri Sep 7, 2012, 06:12 AM
Sep 2012

When a community hospital is bought by a huge corporation, things change. I lived through it.
I was payroll manager at a great community hospital. Administration really cared about the staff. Priorities: 1. Patients 2. Employees 3. Staying solvent; we were non-profit.
Then we got bought out by a for-profit chain. They kept the staff but upper management were quickly booted out and replaced. They squeezed every penny until it screamed. Our pension was replaced with a 401k. They slowly altered nurse-patient ratios and lots of great nurses quit. They replaced nurses with aides as much as they could get away with. Not many actual layoffs but people who quit were not replaced. And lots of people quit, including myself, as the atmosphere changed so dramatically in 1 year. The company's priorities were: 1. $$$, 2. Patients and way down the list, staff.
After destroying a great community asset, within 4 years they discovered that it's impossible for an acute-care hospital to make a profit on our market due to 2 insurance companies (Blue Cross and Aetna) having a monopoly here and calling all the shots. So the hospital was sold again, this time to a top-notch regional non-profit network. Not many people are left from the old days but I hear the new regime is good to the staff, and this chain does not cut corners with patient care.

Yooperman

(592 posts)
2. Yep... thanks for sharing your experience...
Fri Sep 7, 2012, 04:10 PM
Sep 2012

I agree completely... these big "for-profit" companies have zero concern about the welfare of their employees or for the patients themselves. In my opinion all health care should be non profit....

YM

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