Good Samaritan: "Additional Arrests Are Possible"

Buried in the "B" section of the TimesDaily on September 8th was a short article on the scheduled December sentencing of Randy Gist, former owner of Good Samaritan Hospice in Florence. At the bottom of the story lay a bombshell: (Tim) Case said additional arrests are possible.

Certainly anything is possible, but why mention this tidbit to the press if Case wasn't sure it was a major possibility? Was he referring to the physician who owned half the defunct hospice? Or was he referring to the business manager, a nurse who was stripped of the "Registered" credential long ago?

Rumors abound that the FBI is hot on the case of another local physician who is said to have committed major Medicare fraud. Perhaps our Federal investigative arm needs to set up a special Shoals office for those who see Medicare as their personal gravy train.

*****

The call came to ECM late on the morning of September 11, 2001. Authorities instructed the hospital to prepare every available room; the Florence hospital would soon be receiving stable patients from the UAB burn unit.

None came. None came because UAB received no critically injured and burned patients who needed the beds more. They were all dead.

As personnel at ECM stood and waited for the influx, so did their counterparts in Birmingham. How long before they realized the futility of their preparation? How long before our country realized the magnitude of what occurred early on that Tuesday morning?

Each of us reacted in different ways. Many joined the military. Others resolved to change what could be changed. We fall into the latter category. We can't go to Washington and tell them how to do things. We can work to make the Shoals a safer and more productive area in which to live. Let's recommit to that today.



Shoalanda
Holding the Block since 2008

What to Give for Christmas? A Board Membership

Perhaps we should have called today's blog: Where is the RSA when you need it? That venerable Alabama organization has saved the Renaissance Tower and is attempting to save the rail car plant in Barton (we're not holding our breath). Perhaps Dr. David Bronner's team could breathe new life into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in Tuscumbia. Did we say "new life?" Perhaps we should strike out the word new, since the twenty year-old endeavor has never had any real life from the get-go.

Now, the HOF board has formed a foundation in order to drum up financial support for this white elephant. In the past we had felt such an organization would serve only one purpose--to get back at the Friends of the Hall of Fame over whom the HOF board had no control, but apparently this newly formed foundation will have a second, perhaps even greater purpose.

Yes, according to HOF board member Buel Springer in today's TimesDaily:

“We certainly would like to find additional board members who also would be donors,” Springer said.

So, there it is, in black and white; you can buy a place on this board. Just imagine if Bubba Leroy Smuckpucker II or Trixie LaTour the local strip club owner are the only ones to donate. Yes, the foundation is private, so it may appoint anyone it wishes. Just remember, it can also take those donations of yours and buy old 45s with which to don the rest room walls if that's what they choose. Ah, we here in Alabama do have an awesomely warped way of doing things.

*****

Cherokee Clarifications:

Yesterday's blog featured a poster advertising "Breakfast with Santa," an event being held by the Cherokee Lions Club. Beneath the ad, we offered a humorous poem inspired by the vision of ol' St. Nick actually visiting the small Colbert County town. The poem had absolutely no connection to the Cherokee Lions Club. The Lions Club is a worldwide organization that supports many charities, most notably organizations designed to assist the blind. We hope everyone in the Cherokee area will turn out Saturday at 9:00 a.m. to offer support to Santa and the Lions Club.

We have recently published some blogs featuring Crystal Sutton Huddleston, the former Colbert 911 office manager who has been dismissed over charges of theft. In one recent column, we stated that according to her Facebook page, Huddleston had become a partner in a local Cherokee business. According to the business's owner, Ms. Huddleston does work there, but is not a partner. Also, the business should not be considered that new, since it was begun 2008. We're happy to offer the correct information concerning Ms. Huddleson's relationship to this business.

*****

Work for the Coffee Health Group and have problems with the new insurance? Contact us. We've already had several employees email us with their concerns about this change in insurance coverage. Specifically, we would like to know how this change has affected you financially. We will, as always, publish these comments anonymously.


Shoalanda

Would You Survive Being a Patient at ECM/Shoals?

Shoals Hospital - A former employee tells of a staph outbreak affecting an entire floor and of nurses on second shift covering 16 patients.

ECM Hospital - A family member tells of a patient with congestive heart failure being served a sugar free diet, rather than the appropriate salt free fare.

ECM Hospital - Today Denise Crosslin of Killen reports in the TimesDaily that her husband, a cardiac patient, went eleven and one-half hours without a meal and waited 26 hours to see a physician.

Are these isolated incidents or are they the norm for Coffee Health Group? We understand that of the recent layoff of 65 employees, almost 40 were Registered Nurses. What does this say about the quality of health care in the Shoals?

No one wishes to see our local government sell ECM and its affiliated institutions, but things change. We don't pay our medical doctors with pigs and chickens, nor do physicians with tens of thousands of dollars in college loans deliver babies for a pittance.

There will be change in our local health care; it's up to us to accept it and ensure than it's the right change. Investigate the four hospital groups seeking to purchase the Coffee Health Group and make your voice known. Make it known now--don't let CHG become the next Florence Golf and Country Club.


Notice: Due to UNA's closing and the related inclement weather, the Lauderdale County Volunteer Firefighter Association banquet will be rescheduled at a later date.

Shoalanda