Florida hospital closes obstetrics unit on short notice...over many objections.

Florida hospital closes obstetrics unit on short notice...over many objections.

If you note beside the article, there are many other articles about this situation. There is one that states that hospital administrators did not show up for a forum for the people to speak out. They did not even come.

Florda Medical Association is furious over the rather abrupt closing, but seems to have no power in the situation.

Bartow Hospital Plan Criticized



FMA had no recourse, but hopefully they will be able to bring change in things like this.



There were protests this month, but they did not matter.



PIERRE DUCHARME/LEDGER PHOTOS
Jinna Stewart, left, and Ron Parks hold signs during the demonstration.Opponents of the unit's closing began protesting outside the hospital shortly after noon in an ongoing effort to change the plan that would make Saturday the last day babies are delivered there.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20070724/NEWS/707240363


This article shows the detached attitude of the administrator. The reporter notes it. This closing got to her.

Bartow Hospital Prepares for Baby Unit Closing



This is a shame. The doctors spoke out and said the hospital was not being honest, that they knew it was being done strictly for business reasons. It is owned by Health Management Associates.

the patients of Dr. Nobo and Dr. Encinas, the only two OB-GYNs delivering babies at Bartow Regional, which is closing its OB unit.


"The two hospitals delivering most of Polk County's babies - Lakeland Regional Medical Center and Winter Haven Hospital's Regency Medical Center - said they have staff, space and support for the estimated 150 women Nobo and Encinas say are due to deliver by Dec. 31."

"We support doctors Nobo and Encinas and the plight of their patients," said Dr. Peter Alvarez, president of Lakeland OB-GYN, which has five obstetricians. "We understand what distress they're under. This office is willing to accept any patients of theirs who needs to complete their prenatal care and delivery."

"Although Lakeland OB-GYN doctors prefer not taking any pregnant women beyond 36 weeks, he said, knowing Nobo and Encinas is reassurance there will be adequate records on their patients."

"Lakeland OB-GYN takes both private insurance and Medicaid. The other clinics listed above accept various private insurance plans."

from http://www.theledger.com/article/20070715/NEWS/707150386

One of the OB-GYN practices accepts Medicaid as well as private insurance, so pregnant women, including poor pregnant women, are not going to be left with no place to deliver. Even women in their third trimester will be accepted as patients by the four practices the newspaper spoke with, which have 15 OB-GYNs on staff. The paper wasn't able to provide information about a fifth practice because its medical director was on vacation. These were just practices in Lakeland and Winter Haven. I would think the hospitals and OB-GYNs in Plant City and Tampa might be acceptable to some patients, given interstate access.

I agree this is a business decision but I think most hospitals today are for-profit, not non-profit. I can understand women not wanting to leave a doctor they know and trust but since most OB-GYNs share their patient load, most pregnant women are seen by more than one doctor during pregnancy and don't know who will deliver them. I can understand that some women are upset but don't see this as a crisis -- am I missing something? Is the point just that medicine is more and more about money?

and the hospital did not dispense the morning after pill....she could just go to another hospital.

This reminds me of that. When you are in labor, distance matters.

It is almost an hour to Tampa from Bartow almost on I-4 since it is usually shut down for something or other. Not as far to the others.

If it happens here it will keep happening.

Yes,they would mind a whole lot.

I would have been scared shitless if I knew I would have to travel I-4 to deliver my babies. I drove that to work for 2 years and had to leave ridiculously early. Sad thing is it wasn't "rush hour" when I drove to and from work. It is constantly jammed. I would drive home at 4am and be sitting for 30-40 minutes because of the never ending road work. During the day I-4 at 275 is constantly jammed, though opening up the 4th lane eastbound helped a lot.

We will pay for a limo first to get them here. Usually they rent a car.

We just said NO...no more traveling on I-4 with time limits.

had to ride almost an hour to the hospital. I didn't die, the baby didn't die, I didn't have the baby in the car, it wasn't a big deal.

I guarantee you there are many women who live an hour or more away from the hospital where they deliver. Most labors are long enough to drive several hours, for that matter. I wouldn't recommend it but it could be done.

If traffic is that bad on I-4, then they probably shouldn't go to Tampa. I haven't lived in the area in nearly forty years, just wondered if they might also go to Plant City and Tampa now that interstates connect everything.

You didn't say whether they could reasonably go to Plant City, just jumped on the impossibility of driving almost an hour to go to Tampa and compared me to Lieberman.

You completely neglected the fact that the women can deliver at Lakeland Regional or Winter Haven and that four OB-GYN practices are going to take on the care of the patients from the closed OB unit.

Given that, I don't see how this qualifies as a crisis, and you certainly have not explained it.

What the job entailed was to go back 10 years and audit hospital Medicare payments against the charts.
The first state that was being done was Florida.
I was told that they had a 65% chargeback rate...which means that the hospitals would end up owing Medicare millions of dollars.
I wonder how much of this is related to that?

I doubt that many doctors and hospitals have been dishonest.

on their part. It is more about what is considered "sloppiness".
When people are overworked and understaffed, they tend to cut corners. I admit that I cut corners when in the same position. I never deprive my patients...instead, when I have to cut corners it is in my paperwork--not dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's.
I'm covered legally, however, when push comes to shove, I might miss documenting that my patient used a certain piece of equipment so that they can charge the insurance company.
Mostly that is what this is. It will result in millions having to be repaid because if it isn't documented, it wasn't done--even if it was.

because of bureaucracy. We had to change doctors, as ours retired. The new clinic is cold, rigid, unbending. The doctors care, but the ones who run the clinic do not.

I had not a clue about this part until I read this today. It is scary that they even had to try to guarantee the ER would not be closed with new management.

Republican Board Condemns Obstetrics Closing



Well, I say to the Republicans who wanted everything turned over without regulation....you asked for it. Payback might be hell for all of us.

The fact that they mention the ER is scary.

from a Republican women's group.

http://theledger.com/article/20070728/NEWS/70728001/1037/EDIT

Republican Women Ask Bartow Hospital to Reconsider

"We the members (more than 100 members, mothers and grandmothers) of The Republican Women's Club of Lakeland Federated have passed a resolution at our general membership meeting at Eaglebrooke Golf Club supporting the community in asking Bartow hospital decision makers to please continue emergency and OB care along with general care.

CATHY PHILLIPS
First Vice President, PR Chair
Lakeland"

I did not realize this until today. I hope I am reading it wrong.

Are these Republican women going to ask Bush to funnel some federal tax dollars towards that ER to help pay for indigent care?

After all, didn't Bush say on national media that "we HAVE universal health care in America, you just go to the E.R.!"

Make me laugh.

He says it does not read like the ER is being closed. But it reads that way to me.

:shrug:

If they start closing them, what a tragedy.

I think it is odd the way the Republicans worded their pleas. Maybe they know more than others about it. It's their mess we are in here.