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March 4, 2008

Consultants confident HRMC will be successful

Haywood Regional Medical Center will emerge from the current Medicare/Medicaid funding crisis to be stronger and serve as a model for other hospitals, according to a company executive hired to help the hospital restore its Medicare/Medicaid funding contract.

“Seven hospitals lost their Medicare certification last year. Haywood Regional is not like any of those hospitals. You should not have lost yours,” said Kate Fenner, CEO of the Compass Group consultants. “I am very confident that you will get your funding back,” she said during a meeting of the hospital’s governing board Monday.

Fenner explained the procedure for the hospital to restore its Medicare/Medicaid contract during an earlier meeting with the Haywood County Board of Commissioners. She expressed similar optimism with county leaders, indicating the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulators want the hospital to succeed.

“The deviations from standards that caused the issues that now sit before you were not frivolous, but they were primarily focused on documentation and communication and not patient care,” Fenner told representatives of the hospital board.

“That makes HRMC a tremendous priority,” Fenner said.

Compass will provide two nurses, one of which will oversee the emergency department, a chief nursing officer, two senior physicians, a pharmacist and an implementation officer this week to conduct a rigorous assessment, which should conclude Friday. A verbal report will be available Friday. County Commissioner Kirk Kirkpatrick has requested that the board receive a copy of that report.

Timeframe
The initial survey, which only examines the areas that were deficient in the last survey, can be done in three to four weeks. A complete survey can be done 30 days from the completion of the first survey. The hospital expects to pass both surveys and immediately reinstate its Medicare/Medicaid coverage within this 60-day timeframe. Typically, hospitals have to wait four to six months after termination to reapply for Medicare/Medicaid funding, Fenner said.

Compass will help the hospital put together a corrective action plan next week. As the plan is being developed, many corrective actions are immediately taking place. Compass will work with the hospital through the recertification process.

Many people, including John and Marie Griffin of Maggie Valley, expressed tremendous support for the hospital and its value to Haywood County during those two meetings and another hospital board meeting on Feb. 28.

Open for Services
The following companies have indicated their desire to have HRMC remain as a provider: Haywood County, Consolidated Metco, Mountain Projects, CarePartners, Cherokee County, Angel Medical Center, Sisters of Mercy, Presley Group, Aetna, State Health Plan until March 10, Cigna, Humana Commercial, United Health Care, Community Care Partners, Murphy Medical Center and Transylvania Community Hospital.

All patients, regardless of insurance coverage will receive quality care at HRMC’s emergency department and urgent care centers. Labor & delivery patients will receive care regardless of insurance coverage as well. Blue Cross Blue Shield participants are covered for emergency care. If additional services are necessary for BCBS participants, arrangements will be made on and individual basis so they will not have to pay more than in-network charges.

All Haywood County physicians are seeing patients as usual.

How You Can help
Purple ribbons can be worn in support of HRMC and our frontline staff. These are available at the Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center. call 452-8080 Notes of encouragement to nurses and staff — email: publicrelations@haymed.org; fax: 454-9289; or mail: Haywood Regional Health & Fitness Center, 75 Leroy George Dr., Clyde, NC 28721.

Support for HRMC
“One of the reasons we moved here is because there is a great hospital,” John Griffin said. Marie Griffin said she has been a patient at hospitals from New York to Florida, to California and Haywood Regional is the “crème de la crème.”

Bo Prevost, who retired after 17 years at HRMC in social work department, told of caring hospital employees, who would use their own money to help patients.

“I know the people and how hard they work,” she said.

Tally Heatherly, who had two heart surgeries at HRMC, said media coverage of the hospital crisis was slanderous and that the hospital deserves more support from the community.

“They (HRMC Nurses) don’t just do their jobs, they care,” Heatherly said of the nurses.

Employees at the health and fitness center showed their support of the hospital by wearing purple shirts Monday.

“We will survive. As Haywood County citizens, that’s what we do. When times get tough, we get tough.” Scotty Setser, director of the HR health and fitness center.

“No one should be afraid to come to the hospital. "I hope people will not endanger their health or life by bypassing the hospital. If they need to be in the hospital, they should come to the hospital," said Dr. Robin Matthews, OB/GYN at Haywood Women’s Medical Center.

Dr. Al Mina read a statement during the county commissioners’ meeting from Dr. Shannon Hunter, chief of medical staff at HRMC. The medical staff has volunteered to serve on committees to help address issues relating to the Medicare/Medicaid funding and to consider alternative plans.

Commissioner Mary Ann Enloe was among the patients in the ED on Feb. 24, the termination day for the Medicare/Medicaid contract.

“Even as your world was caving in, you did your job,” she said of the hospital staff.

Interim CEO Alton Byers assured county commissioners that they will be kept apprised of the ongoing efforts to reinstate the hospital’s funding. HRMC also will have updates on the hospital’s Web site as information changes.

“We’re on the road to recovery now. We’re at a turnaround point. We’re confident we can make it. We have the opportunity to build from the ground up and to have a model hospital a year from now,” Byers said.

For more information, contact
Robin Tindall-Taylor  rtindall@haymed.org
(828)-454-9339  828-734-9642
Peggy Manning, Public Relations  publicrelations@haymed.org
Haywood Regional Medical Center
(828) 452-9558