Danny Pettus to Look into ECM Land Sale

Several of our readers have communicated that they contacted Lauderdale County Commission Chairman Danny Pettus concerning the sale of the former Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital property. According to reports, Mr. Pettus will investigate the origins of this sudden sale. The Tuesday Florence City Council agenda was unexpectedly modified shortly before the meeting to include the vote to approve the real estate transaction. 

It's also come to light that the introduction of the sale violated several city promises to residents of McFarland Heights who wished to be made aware of plans for the property adjoining theirs. Oh, well, as Dr. Tim Melson once said, politicians change their minds and the rules quite often.

At this point, all we can say is thank God that Andy Betterton and Dick Jordan weren't as successful in their nefarious plan as was Rep. Lynn Greer in stealing the vote of Florence citizens.

ECM to Die? Nurses' Home to Remain?

From an enlightened reader:

In case you missed it.........the Florence City council voted to change the zoning at ECM from RB to single family and fire up the wrecking ball. Just going to copy my page FB response and the one I put on the livestream as the meeting was taking place.......the sad thing is people in this town are lemmings who either don't care or don't realize until it is too late how badly they are being ripped off...... This is the post from the "live" stream.....What "studies" were conducted to "repurpose" ECM? True, parts of the building ARE over 100 years old.........HISTORICAL actually.....BUT the MILLIONS of dollars that were spent to refurbish around the building was spent on the TAXPAYER dime........AND NOW, the sheriff is crying for a new jail due to overcrowding. Ever checked out the roster of arrestee's to see the charges??.....drug related! If it meets the qualifications for a hospital currently, why would it not meet the qualification for at the very least a drug related offense holding facility and treatment center. I am in the middle of this meeting, it is on pause but I KNOW THE OUTCOME, after I hit "play, and this is another example of waste and poor management by the city of Florence. Joni Mitchell should be singing in the background......"Paved paradise, put up a parking lot" WAIT they are demolishing THAT too! SHEESH!

And what of the old Perry Nurses' Home? It was built in the modernist mode and has significant historic value. Will the wrecking ball take its toll there also?

The appraised value of the property and improvements is over four million. Not much for a hospital today, but still quite a chunk to face the wrecking ball...

Readers Speak on HKH & ECM Collections

We published this comment below a recent blog; however, we want our readers to be sure to note:

You are ignorant to the health care financial system, Republic. I wish I was. Regional is no better and they have threatened and actually followed through on there employees. These profit seeking bottom feeders prey off the vulnerable sick and uneducated. 

I have been threatened with collection from both organizations. My wife's OB sent me a $1400 bill after regional bought him from keller. I prepaid almost that for a discounted rate at the beginning of the pregnancy with the assurance that It covered everything. I paid ecm a sizable check before i left the hospital. And i was told by both if my other secondary insurance service paid i would receive a refund. After they did both pay and being told my refund was in the mail multiple times over 3-4 months, the story changed and the billing department stated that not only would i not be reimbursed my secondary insurances payment that i now owe an additional $1400 and would be handed over to collections in a week. Flabbergasted i spent 10 hours in 24 hours getting the new itemized bill sent to both insurance agencies. 

The rudeness during the process and being talked to like a dead beat was despicable. We planned our pregnancy, my inlaws graciously had kept a secondary bcbs policy on my wife. I had saved for the medical expenses since my wedding date. Even when losing my job one month before i was financially stable and quickly gained employment at a certain hospital. To do everything right and have that type of experience was pathetic. Sorry for the misunderstanding your prepayment was for keller and your deductible started over pay me $1400 this week or we will send you to collections... 

Thank you Dr keith for getting my child here safe, but you and the physicians need to pull your heads out of the sand and realize how these bottom feeder collection and billing agents are treating and conducting business of your behalf. For the record $1400 wasn't the issue bc i work 5 jobs. Nor was the $600 from Helen keller out patient clinic for a cough bc they billed With a tax id They failed to put in a referral for... Another 10 hours on the phone being degraded and threatened. What inflames me is that this is being done to our friends and family. People with no knowledge of itemized bills, billing codes reimbursement, $20 for a medication bcbs would have paid $1.00- but they didn't because the office messed up on a referral. $100 for the 3 injections not the medication- $100 for the RN putting the needle in the muscle. i could have given it myself or simply took PO? No sir Mr defender the items you buy at walmart are clearly priced and i pay as soon as i leave. 

The hospitals bill in code to hide what they charge for from the ignorant. They accept pennies on the dollar from insurance agencies and the gov. But if one of them doesn't pay and that bill comes to your lap get ready to pay 3-10 times what the government and bcbs deem reasonable. But my story is nothing unusual. Imagine being on a vent or undergoing treatment for a terminal disease and then hopefully not losing the battle so your family has to deal with these bottom feeders after the funeral home expenses. 

And this comment we received via e-mail:

I work nights and sleep during the day, but must keep a phone on for emergencies. Some time ago I received a call identified as coming from ECM. The woman said I had an outstanding ER bill. Since I knew I didn't, I tried to find out the problem. The phone number was mine, but the name and address weren't. I was ASSURED they wouldn't bother me anymore. 

The next day, the same thing. It was a different women, and she told me NO ONE had made a note that it was the wrong phone number. She then assured me no one would call again, but I didn't trust her. I called another number at ECM and was told that it was a collection agency which called me and that it was common for them to say they were ECM calling directly. The man said I would receive no more calls, and I didn't. Why does a collection agency have to lie and say they are the actual hospital? What else would they lie about?

*****

If you have horror stories related to HKH or ECM collections, send them in. 

*****

Our congratulations to the University of Alabama for an excellent football season. Our bloggers are pretty much evenly divided between allegiance to UA and Auburn; however, we can guarantee that no Auburn supporters here have such a low IQ or are so evil-spirited that they would root against Alabama.

ECM: What a Waste of Money/A New Home

ECM: What a Waste of Money

A Guest Commentary By

DeDe

As a past employee, I quit, did not get fired. I worked as an employee at ECM for over six years and this past year there has been a subject that has really bothered me. I also have enough sense to know that a "Letter To The Editor" would not be printed about this because of all of the money that they might lose from advertisements from RegionalCare Hospital.

Has anyone noticed all of the large half page and full page ads.that are being put in the newspaper almost on a daily basis? The hospital has ads from how good they are to the equipment they have gotten. They are even paying for big half page ads on new doctors coming here. Shouldn't these doctors be paying for these ads? Yet, they are advertised under the name of ECM.

I don't personally think people care about this "bragging" near as much as they care about results. I can't even begin to know the extent of money, thousands or maybe millions of dollars being wasted on all of these ads. People that have ever been a patient at this hospital know the type of service they receive (good or bad). Most people don't care anything at all about these one hundred percent ratings that they receive, all the patient cares about is the type of service and the results of hospital stay.

All of these ads and money could definitely be spent in a wiser way. ECM should take all of this"extra money" that they have to waste on ads and give their employees a much needed raise, more money. From RNs who are over worked and spend their time trying to save lives to getting a patient well to the people who clean rooms. I'm sure that the people sitting behind their desk make make plenty of money, but ECM nurses are the lowest paid nurses in any hospital within close to a hundred mile area. Nurses are leaving frequently to go to work at Athens, Huntsville, Decatur, Lawrenceburg, even as far away as Tupelo, just to name a few, where they can make more money.

Even counting driving time and gas money they can still come out ahead. Nurses are the people who work daily to make patients more comfortable, see to their pain, listen to the patients and patient's families problems and complaints. But, most important of all, they save lives. The secretaries have patients lives in their hands every time they read a patient's chart. One wrong letter in a name of a medicine could kill a person.

The techs who give fresh water, change beds, wipe bottoms to anything else a patient wants and last but not least are the housekeepers who keep hospital and patients rooms sanitized so the patient can get better and also so this hospital can get these high rankings. Some of these employees make less than people working at Burger King and McDonalds. Does this seem right to you? Take this wasted money and do what is right with it, give employers more money. After all, they are the ones saving lives, not Times Daily.

ECM WHAT A BIG WASTE OF MONEY !!!

*****

I'm Moving into a New Home

By Bailey Quarters

I've been living in unbearable conditions, so I'm moving into a much nicer home. I haven't bought the house, but it's vacant, so there's lots of room for me, my mother, her boyfriend, our six cats and a pet pig. I think it's a wise choice, particularly since I won't have to pay taxes on the property.

Technically what I'm doing is called squatting, but all I want is a better life for myself and family. Squatting is legal in some countries and I predict PresBo will soon make it legal here. In the mean time, we're having a housewarming and y'all are invited. There's oodles of room to park your choppers in the foyer, and if it should get a little nippy, the power isn't turned on yet, but there's plenty of chairs and books to burn in the fireplace.

Isn't the USA a great country?

*****

To answer Bailey's question, it used to be...



Shoalanda

And Another One Bites the Dust: Dr. G. Michael Taft

A few weeks ago a regular reader asked us to investigate the sudden closing of Dr. George Michael Taft's Valley Eye Clinic. It seems that Dr. Taft's two offices and his surgery center all closed without prior notice, leaving only signs directing patients to look for ads in the TimesDaily on how to retrieve their medical records.

Since then, other readers have contacted us concerning Dr. Taft's sudden departure from the area. It seems utilities were disconnected and doors locked without warning for not only patients, but staff and optometrists who worked with the ophthalmologist. Unlike Dr. Christopher Gay whom we discussed yesterday, Dr. Taft has no censures against him and was considered one of the Tennessee Valley's most prominent eye surgeons.

Nevertheless, Dr. Taft has previously made it known he was extremely unhappy with Alabama's Certificate of Need Review Board failing to approve his request for a larger range of surgeries at his Valley Surgery Center on Huntsville Road. Besides procedures involving the eye, Dr. Taft wished to include ear, nose, and throat among the surgeries done at his out patient clinic.

After the state's denial of his proposed additions, Taft let his disappointment be known. From the July 18, 2010, TimesDaily:

Taft told the CON Board that Shoals area hospitals want to drive him out of business and take over his cases. Taft said the result would be higher for-profit hospital rates for patients and less care for indigent patients.

Wherever Dr. Taft has moved, we wish him the best. It's the Shoals' loss.

*****

For those who questioned why the former Good Samaritan Hospice employee was not eligible for COBRA, it seems that in the last few months of the hospice's existence, the owner failed to pay regular insurance premiums despite deducting them from payroll. Several have contacted us concerning various lawsuits that were filed after the hospice closed, but most of these suits are still ongoing with no determination of guilt or damages as yet.

Obviously ECM and RegionalCare have their own point of view concerning such dilemmas. It is after all not their fault that sleazy business practice placed patients in this position. Despite this, we feel that any business promotes good will in the community by attempting to work with those who are honestly trying to repay a debt.



Shoalanda

New Hospital Still Planned for Lauderdale

A department head with ECM Hospital has contacted us concerning the confusion over the location of the new RegionalCare hospital. Despite the suggestion of Drs. William Heaton and Hisham Ba'albaki that the new facility could possibly be built on TVA land south of the river, the plans remain in place for the hospital to be constructed in Lauderdale County.

While we feel a merger of RegionalCare and Helen Keller Hospital is in the interest of all Shoals citizens, it should be pointed out that ECM cardiologists stand to gain if the merger comes to fruition. Currently, Keller is sending patients requiring stents and similar procedures to Huntsville--these same procedures are done, and done well, at ECM.

Again let us stress, if citizens of Colbert County feel the partnership with Huntsville Hospital is the wrong path for their health care, they need to contact their county commissioners...and contact them now. For too long both the citizens and commissioners of Colbert County have let the Keller Board blindly lead them. They deserve better.

*****

If any readers have family that are currently or have in the past been incarcerated in the Lauderdale County Work Release program, please contact us concerning problems they may have encountered.

*****

Speaking of inmates, we today read that Alabama is third in the nation. In what, you may ask. Unfortunately not in any desirable area. It seems that Alabama falls behind only Florida and Delaware in the percentage of populace who have permanently lost their right to vote.

While Attorney General, Troy King added numerous crimes to the standard list of offenses of moral turpitude. We hope once he becomes acclimated to his new office, Luther Strange will remedy many of the excesses of TK the AG.

*****

We've heard from our blogging sister Mary Carton. Despite her new role as blogger for Grit magazine, she assures us she will continue with Rosedale Gardens. The Shoals area is truly blessed with numerous great bloggers. Thanks, Mary, for your wonderful tales of flowerbeds and hooligans.



Shoalanda

Getting Rid of the Community Mentality?

“One of the things the board most dearly wanted to accomplish was to take the hospital and the community mentality it had for so many years and make sure the end result we handed back to the community was something as good or better than what it had been.” - Tyndal Davis

While health care will never return to what it was one hundred or even fifty years ago, nor should it, a little community mentality, aka community pride and involvement, is hardly a bad thing. Apparently Tyndal Davis thinks community involvement should be a thing of the past, as least where our local hospitals are concerned. We have to ask: Just how is this different than Helen Keller Hospital signing over total control to Huntsville Hospital?

*****

While it hasn't been widely discussed, what will be the name of our new RegionalCare hospital? We doubt it will carry any connection to the Coffee family. Gone will be ECM Hospital and Coffee High School, leaving only Coffee Road to commemorate one of Florence's founding families.

*****

Security for hire company DynCorp has made the news again. We wonder how many local police honchos now mention this much maligned company in their resume'? Actually, we wonder if some smaller departments even check into the validity of such resume's?



Shoalanda

The Good, Bad and Sad: The ECM Saga

By J.J. Ray

The Good

Having heard so many stories about ECM I was very reluctant to go to Shoals Hospital for a diagnostic test. Surprise, surprise not only were they on time but totally professional and respectful. I did get the opportunity to inquire about the takeover. Most comments were positive but there seemed to be an underlying thought that most danced around.

As fate would have it, a relative became extremely ill and most of our families have been at ECM for the last ten days. Once again, the staff has been extremely professional and helpful with the exception of some on the night shift.


The Bad

Now we will talk about the food or lack thereof. In my sixty plus years on this earth, I have seen some ghastly food but it cannot match the rubbish ECM tries to call nourishment. I really have tried to find a word to use to describe it but there does not appear to be any word in any language besides garbage. There is a definite possibility that dumpster diving downtown would be more preferable than that the refuse they serve there. Now to make matters worse they even close the cafeteria and grill at ridiculous times especially on the weekends when visiting is the highest so people will be required to drive into town to get some editable food to feed the patients and of course spend more money for the parking garage.


The Really Bad

Once again, there appears to be an absolute absence of intelligence in the food service department. The billing department is the same. Each day they would bring a bill up to the room and present it to my relative even though he was not coherent. Fully expecting him to come out of the stupor and write them a daily check. The clerk would walk into the room and lay the envelope on the tray. Then she would retreat close to the open door as if ready to make a rapid departure. She stood there dutifully and waited for the patient to read the bill. It reminded me of an old silent movie. She would stand there and the patient who could not open the envelope just gazed at the paper and once again went back to sleep. The only thing I did wrong was not having my camera so I could document the bizarre scene. It would have gone viral on YouTube.


The Sad

Other than the business office and refuse (food) department everyone with a couple of exceptions were great. The comments I did hear from the staff had to do with the loss of medical benefits. Their comment was “Don’t get sick and go somewhere else besides ECM because that only leads to Bankruptcy”. No one ever did mention how much they cut but it was a large amount. They all thanked the County and City leaders for dumping them on a company that only has an eye for the bottom line and no compassion for its workers. Could it be they trained in the Obama White House?

I wonder what the business office will do to those folks that cannot write daily checks? Maybe they will hold them in pawn until someone can come and bail them out or perhaps they will have to take out a mortgage on their children or grandchildren so the business office can get their daily money.


Great Idea

One other idea would be to get the city council and mayor from Cherokee to run the hospital. Mayor Lansdell's first job would be the erection of a debtor’s prison and pillory. At least Melinda Malone would be safe for a while.

*****

An article in today's TimesDaily states there are currently 29 registered sex offenders in the Colbert County town of Sheffield. The Alabama Department of Public Safety lists only 27. Of the 27 listed, one is James Roy Sibley, currently incarcerated in the Florence-Lauderdale Detention Center.

We're sure due to processing lags and other factors, such numbers never match; however, we do believe the citizens of Sheffield have a right to know just who their neighbors are. Perhaps the next issue of Hard Times will showcase the two offenders whose names have not yet reached the state's website.

*****

Look for links to Alabama Inmate Search (state inmates) and VINElink (county inmates) in The Connection.



What's up with this: Flat bottom boats don't float? Who knew?

Shoalanda

Republican Renaissance in Lauderdale County

Not only does Lauderdale County now have an elected Republican judge, this northwest Alabama bastion of the Democratic party now has its first elected Republican county school board member:

Daniel Patterson, the first Republican elected to the Lauderdale County Board of Education, will be sworn in this Tuesday, November 16th at 8:30 a.m. in Judge Carole Medley's courtroom on the 4th floor of the Lauderdale County Courthouse. The event is open to the public.

*****

Speaking of Democrats, Lauderdale District 1 Commissioner D. C. Thornton barely won reelection to the county commission. Whether this was due to the mistaken premise that actual campaigning wasn't needed to return him to office or if his near-defeat was the result of unrest among the electorate, we won't attempt to speculate here. Still, it does not bode well for Rhea Tays Fulmer in 2012. Her recent antics have brought her more criticism than praise.

*****

Now some Reader Q & A:

Q: Doesn't Shoals Hospital also do cardiac caths? Why is this different that Keller doing it?
A: Our source tells us that Shoals does not do catheterization procedures; they do angiograms which are supposedly less invasive. The source further stated that things do go wrong with these procedures at times and the patient is immediately transferred to ECM. Whether this would be a good point for Keller to argue, we don't know, but it is an interesting comparison.

Q: How many applied for Lauderdale EMA director when George Grabryan was appointed?
A. Thirty individuals applied for this position. Among others, Mr. Grabryan beat out Colbert County Coroner Carlton Utley and Anderson Police Chief Mark Bowers.

Q: Who hired George Grabryan?
A: The Lauderdale County Commission hired Mr. Grabryan as EMA Director. The 911 Board hired him as its director; the commission appoints the 911 Board.

*****

1906 view of Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield: Link




Shoalanda

Hospital Wars

After Hospice Wars, could Hospital Wars lurk far behind? Sadly, the cans of roach spray and lawsuits by the TimesDaily do nothing to instill confidence in our local health care system. It's not 1910, and physicians no longer accept pigs or chickens in lieu of cash payments. Blue Cross/Blue Shield dictate payments for medical care--care that costs thousands of dollars.

If it's already this bad, can you imagine what it will be like when ECM actually requests a CON for its new hospital? It might even rival...Cherokee.

*****

A few years ago, Littleville predicted the demise of their small town if Russellville should go wet; now they're more optimistic. Liquor sales provide approximately one-third of all Littleville tax revenue, but just what have alcohol sales brought this southern Colbert County town? Since going wet circa 1980, the town has a new city hall, but not exactly a plethora of other new municipal facilities.

As for private enterprise, the town has seen a new car wash, Dollar General Store, satellite television service, and a family clinic complete with reader board that advertises "Skinny Pills." From liquor mecca to diet mecca? It just might work.

*****

Remember the old Florence Courthouse? Unfortunately, this particular post card is no longer available, but you may easily download the image for wallpaper: Link

Shoalanda

RegionalCare: If It Seems Too Good...

The plot so far--RegionalCare has offered to:

1. Purchase Helen Keller Hospital for 60 million dollars

2. Pay off ECM's 140 million dollar debt

2. Retain all the present staff

4. Add physicians to hospital staff

5. Add state of art medical equipment

6. Raise Medicaid & Medicare reimbursement rates for the area

7. Build a new mega-hospital on land to be purchased at a later date

8. Make the new hospital profitable without unduly raising fees/rates


Our take?

1. RegionalCare should be running a chain of casinos

2. If anyone believes this, we have billions of acres of ocean front property in Arizona to sell you


Shoalanda

DHR & False Positive Drug Tests - One Woman's Story

No one will contest the fact that Alabama's Department of Human Resources is overworked and, yes, in all probability, underpaid. In the years since the organization changed its name from the Department of Pensions and Security, DHR has announced improved policies and protocol upgrades on a regular basis. At this point, just what level of service should the citizens of Alabama expect from DHR? We can definitely conclude that the Alabama Department of Human Resources, along with ECM Hospital, horribly failed one young Lauderdale County woman.

On July 13, 2009, Kayla Turpen, an unmarried woman on Medicaid, gave birth to a daughter at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital in Florence. On July 14th, a nursery worker entered Miss Turpen's room and informed her the child had tested positive for cocaine. Kayla herself tested negative for any illicit drugs, but this did not deter the DHR from stating their intentions of pressing charges against her, as well as seeking an end to her custody of the infant.

Fortunately for Kayla, her mother has a background in health care and recalled that on July 1, 2009, Kayla had been prescribed Macrobid for a urinary tract infection. Yesterday we published a link to a very extensive list of drugs that could cause false positives in certain drug screens; however, the drug Macrobid was not on the list. Does that mean Macrobid would never cause a false positive?

According to a Harvard Medical School study, the answer to that question is no. The Harvard study tested 13 antibiotics using five common (we may also infer cheap) drug tests; in two out of the five, Macrobid caused a false positive for cocaine.

Upon the insistence of Kayla and the Turpen family, she and her infant were retested, this time using hair samples. After a week of uncertainty, both tests came back negative for cocaine or any other illegal drugs.

On August 15th, Kayla's brother and sister-in-law had a child at ECM. If any drug testing was done in this case, the married mother with private insurance was not informed of it. On the obstetrics floor, the Turpen family encountered the same ECM personnel who one month earlier had falsely accused Kayla of cocaine use. No one offered any of them an apology.


What's up with this: Hundreds of Bank Independent customers across the Tennessee Valley are receiving new debit cards this week. It seems "a major payment processor experienced a security breach." Bank Independent further states these customers will also receive new PIN numbers. New personal identification number numbers? Is that like "Pizza, pizza?"

Shoalanda

Coffee Health Group Lays Off 50 Employees

We constantly hear of the shortage of nurses and other health care workers, but just how acute is the shortage here in Northwest Alabama, the Shoals in particular? Seemingly not that dire at ECM Hospital and its affiliates where several Registered Nurses received their walking papers yesterday. The nurses were a part of 50 who comprised what has been termed the first round of layoffs for the local health authority.

This is particularly disturbing considering the current nurse-patient ratio at both Eliza Coffee Memorial and Shoals Hospitals. For years, both hospitals have complained of the shortage of available nurses, particularly Registered Nurses; however, the shortage more accurately has referred to nurses who were willing to work the floor (the most strenuous of nursing occupations) at the wages Coffee Health Group was offering. It has been only two years ago that ECM phased out all LPNs (trade nurses) in favor of RNs (professional nurses); now even Registered Nurse positions are being cut in the attempt to turn back the sea of debt the health authority is facing.

The Coffee Health Group spends small fortunes in advertisements that exhort us of the Shoals to use their facilities rather than travel to Huntsville or Birmingham. Each ad assures the reader that the quality of care is equal, if not superior, to that found elsewhere in the state. Quality health care cannot be accomplished without nurses, or even those maintenance technicians who keep the plant running smoothly. Interim CEO Jody Pigg owes the Shoals an accurate appraisal of just what yesterday's and future layoffs will mean to its health care consumers.


Technoratic Validation: d6gpn8y7qs