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State: Heritage OB unit must stay open

Friday, February 13, 2009
By Brian Mosely

A move by Heritage Medical Center to close its obstetrics unit due to financial necessity has been denied by the Tennessee Health Service Development Agency.

In October, the hospital announced it intended to close its obstetrics department due to an insufficient volume of patients.

However, the Certificate of Need application made by Heritage to discontinue the services was unanimously denied at the agency's meeting Jan. 28.

According to Melanie M. Hill, Executive Director of the agency, the vote was 9-0 to deny the certificate.

"The Health Services and Development Agency determined that the OB service was needed and that the discontinuance of services would not contribute to the orderly development of health care, especially for those in the community who are at risk," Hill said Thursday.

The request from Heritage asked for "the discontinuation of obstetrical and maternity services," according to the agency's January agenda.

"The four (4) hospital beds currently used for OB services will be switched to general medical-surgical hospital bed usage upon completion of this project," the request read. "No inpatient beds or major medical equipment will be added to this project."

The cost of the proposed discontinuance was listed at $38,000.

Heritage CEO Dan Buckner said Thursday that Heritage was "still in the decision making process," over the matter.

"We did not anticipate this decision," Buckner said of the certificate's denial.

Heritage will "be taking a step back to assess our needs," Buckner added, "and consider our future potential needs."

However, there are currently no OB doctors on staff to make the unit operable and, since last year, the hospital had utilized a transfer care agreement with Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro for obstetrical and maternity services.

"We don't have the doctors," Buckner said, "so we can't operate it regardless."

Last October, Buckner said there was an "insufficient obstetrics volume" necessary to keep the department open.

"Virtually every other department in the hospital has seen increased utilization in recent years, but our OB volumes continue to stagnate," Buckner said in an October press release. "It is regrettable that we have come to this, but our Board of Trustees and management feel that as stewards of the hospital, this decision has to be made to ensure the continued growth and vitality of Heritage."

Buckner had called the insufficient OB volume an "industry-wide issue," in October, adding that they were projecting even fewer births to take place at Heritage in 2008.

He also said that more than 70 percent of Bedford County women are currently choosing to have their babies in other counties.

Last June, Dr. Lana Beavers gave the hospital notice of her decision to stop delivering babies, due to her age and the location of the new hospital.

Then in August, Dr. Jan Crean and Dr. Dennis Wieck, the two OB/GYNs formerly employed by Heritage, told the Times-Gazette that their contracts with the hospital's OB department were being terminated.

The Tennessee Health Service Development Agency is responsible for regulating the health care industry in Tennessee through the Certificate of Need Program.

According to the agency's web site, a Certificate of Need "is a permit for the establishment or modification of a health care institution, facility or service at a designated location."

The agency says the Certificate of Need program "assures that health care projects are accomplished in an orderly, economical manner, consistent with the development of adequate and effective healthcare for the people of Tennessee."

-- Staff writer Sadie Fowler contributed to this report.

Comments

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Gee, fire the staff, reallocate the bed space and THEN ask permission from the State powers.

Is there something backward here or am I missing something ?

-- Posted by BobM on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 10:19 AM

haha, ol' HMC is getting it now! They thought they were pretty slick, didn't they! Which is why I drive to Murfreesboro when I need urgent care. They won't get a dime of my money.

-- Posted by knitwit6819 on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 10:20 AM

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

-- Posted by tatersue on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 10:26 AM

tatersue SAID IT ALL!!!!!

-- Posted by Juju35 on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 11:43 AM

And yes, I know I said URGENT care, I didn't mean OB care. My point is, I don't go to this hospital at all!!!

-- Posted by knitwit6819 on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 11:49 AM

If it had been a money maker you better believe they would have kept it open. I imagine given the ever growing uninsured illegal immigrant population of Tyson most of which is of child bearing age is the real reason..not exactly a money maker. Also if someone presents to the ER ready to deliver the hospital could not turn them away. The solution was to not provide the service to anyone so they wouldn't get "stuck" taking care of the uninsured. The first and foremost reason this hospital exists is to make money for the corporation that owns it...they aren't going to let providing healthcare get in the way of the bottom line. It is a business and only exists as long as it makes money..just the way it is with the American version of healthcare. So now whether you have insurance or not in some cases it doesn't matter because if there are too many who can't pay and not enough who can then no one will receive that service..yes, that is just the way it is.

-- Posted by hemmaw on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 1:05 PM

Guess they thought it was easier to get forgiveness rather than permission.....looks like they should have gotten permission!

-- Posted by CanThisB on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 4:01 PM

The CEO of CHS was the CEO of Humana back several years ago. That was until the big scandal was uncovered. Wrongful death and billing prictices,fraud. Mr. Smith CEO of CHS makes about 9 million a year plus all the bells and whistles. The people that work at the some 130 hospitals that CHS owns and the people of the countys and citys where CHS has hospitals are paying this large salery. CHS cuts the hours of the people working at the hosptials. This is a common practice in all health care. However most let its employees use vacation time to make up the hours. With CHS if you dont meet the budget and your not doing things their way. Its all about being fired and its about cutting every corner to make the buck. They put on the face that they care about the patients. However its about the money and nothing but the money. How do I know this? Lets just say I used to purchase CHS stock.

What you see in the media is nothing compared to what you dont see. It all about the numbers. If I am just about to die stop at Heritage. But Please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!! as soon as you can get me to MTMC.

The people of Bedford County do not have any right to gripe. When ask several years ago if they wanted to keep the Hospital everyone said yes. When they found out that they were going to have to pay to keep it,IE..wheel tax. All of a sudden no body wanted it.

Just before the sale, I was pumping gas. A former politician ask me. "What do you think about the Hospital sale?" My reply was " When I was a child our cow jumped the fence and killed her self. Every day for a while we got our bucket to mike the cow. The cow was gone, no milk or butter. That whats going to happen when we sale the hospital. Everone will be lining up to get the milk and guess what the cow will be gone."

I got no reply from the person in question.

SO theres not a thing we can do about it. It is what it is.

-- Posted by bear on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 9:39 PM

It was a mistake to sell the hospital... lets just pray they don't do the same to the nursing home!

-- Posted by SCHS Mom on Fri, Feb 13, 2009, at 10:57 PM

When I was in labor yesterday morning rushing to MTMC, I honestly thought we were not going to make it! For a split second, I almost told my husband to stop at Heritage to let me deliver. After that inital thought past, along with the horrible contraction that made me think it, I came to my sences that an ER doctor is not an ideal Dr to deliver a baby.

Good thing I made it to MTMC. I ended up delivering our 3rd son, who wound up weighing 10 pounds and is 22 1/4 inches long, with very little "damage!" An ER doctor would have let me tear to shreads.

-- Posted by Mary on Sun, Feb 15, 2009, at 7:22 PM

you go girl.

-- Posted by bear on Sun, Feb 15, 2009, at 9:54 PM

"We don't have the doctors," Buckner said, "so we can't operate it regardless."

If I'm not mistaken, you did have two OB doctors in the area. YOU ran them off. You didnt even give them a chance to build their OB practices.

I really think it was a mistake on your part to do away with the OB section of the hospital. I thought you were trying to better the outlook of Heritage.

-- Posted by ZT on Mon, Feb 16, 2009, at 12:42 PM

First of all...if the hospital was not sold there would not be a hospital thanks to the mismanagement by the previous administrators and the county!!!

Hey there BEAR!! It's good to see that you are still disgruntled since you quit the hospital!! It's been a while now...why not end the lies and move on already!!! I am sure all of your positive remarks for MTMC are there because they sign your paycheck!!

As far as I know, Heritage has had ZERO lay offs...can you say the same for MTMC and Harton?????

Let's speak some truth!!!

HEMAW-Just one question...do you work for FREE or do you get a paycheck for your labors??? If you owned a business and it made NO money and put you farther in debt would you continue to keep that business or would you focus on a business that WOULD pay the bills???? I think I know the answer!!

-- Posted by hereyougo on Sun, Feb 22, 2009, at 3:48 PM

You never know when you will need the hospital. All the bad comments about it and the bad reputation the old hospital has had. You need to give this new hospital a chance.

I for one am glad that the O B is gone. There were more free babies born then paying ones. Let me ask you " How do you make enough money to run a dept that way"? Will you work and not get paid??? I already know the answer to that.

All these ones not legal people having babies born here to keep them here longer.

And to all those employees that work there,not making millions. Are there because they care about their jobs and the people they take care of.

One day your life may depend on that hospital. And you will be glad to have it in our town.......

-- Posted by Wheelbillie on Wed, Feb 25, 2009, at 10:39 PM