Mercy sharpens its focus
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A rooftop view of the construction of a new addition at Mercy Hospital Janesville shows the iron framework of a new skywalk and a parking garage that will be below a new trauma center and physician offices.
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A steelworker from Findorff Construction of Madison welds steel beams that frame a new skywalk that will connect Mercy Clinic West with a new trauma center, physicians offices and parking garage.
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Gene Swider, left, and Jeff Meiklejohn of Findorff Builders work on the floor of a new parking garage that will be under a new trauma clinic and physician's offices at Mercy Hospital Janesville.
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Steel workers from Findorff construction of Madison guide a pair of beams into place while working on the frame of a new skywalk at Mercy Hospital Janesville.
JANESVILLE — Increasing competition, shrinking reimbursements and an economic downturn punctuated by the pending shutdown of General Motors in Janesville have forced Mercy Health System to sharpen its focus on its core business.
For the 24 communities that the Janesville-based Mercy serves, that means cuts in what Mercy CEO Javon Bea refers to as social services.
Earlier this year, Mercy said it would eliminate its Mercy in Motion transportation service, as well as its adult day care and inpatient hospice care programs.
Mercy’s moves met with an outcry from the people who used the services, as well as those concerned that Mercy was abandoning a defenseless segment of the community.
In a wide-ranging interview earlier this month at his office in Janesville, Bea said he takes no pleasure in the cuts, but he said they are necessary to keep Mercy on solid financial footing.
Mercy’s profits are recycled into it core services, plant and equipment, Bea said. When there is extra money, it is channeled into non-core services such as Mercy in Motion, adult day care, in-house hospice and day trips for senior citizens.
“You won’t find another hospital in the United States of America that owns and operates a homeless center,” he said, referring to the House of Mercy shelter in Janesville for homeless families. “Homelessness is not considered a medical/surgical service. It’s outside the realm.
“You won’t find a lot of the things that we do.”
But Mercy is changing as it faces challenges on many fronts.
A new player in town
SSM Health Care of Wisconsin will soon break ground on a 50-bed hospital that will open in late 2010 on Janesville’s east side. The $140-million project also includes a new physician office complex for Dean Health System.
Mercy Hospital in Janesville is licensed for 240 beds. On any given day, 100 of them are filled, and 30 of those are the responsibility of Dean doctors.
Assuming historical averages, Bea said Mercy Hospital’s census will drop to 70 patients, while 30 will be served at SSM’s new facility, which will be named St. Mary’s Janesville Hospital.
“That’s a major hit for Mercy because we’ll still be maintaining the same type of fixed costs for plant, equipment, etc.,” Bea said. “If you’ve got a 64-slice CT scanner or an MRI, the cost doesn’t decrease because you’ve got 30 less patients a day to use that.”
With expenses constant or even increasing, the anticipated loss of revenue from 30 beds is one of the factors in the decision to cut non-core social services, Bea said.
“I think the people of Janesville are going to wake up five years from now and say that we have less services in town instead of more services for having the second hospital here,” he said. “Mercy has been able—with those 30 extra patients—to get into areas that are outside traditional medical/surgical services.
“These 30 patients gave us the kind of cushion or the wherewithal that we could get into nontraditional medical/surgical services, and that’s not going to be possible.”
If SSM and Dean can afford to provide those services, more power to them, Bea said.
But if they can’t, the services won’t be available, and the community will not be better off, he said.
Shrinking reimbursements
Nationally, freezes and cuts in Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements have hammered many hospitals, which also have been squeezed by other health care payment programs from the public and private sectors.
Mercy’s part of that group, Bea said.
“There’s been a lot of pressure on reimbursements,” he said. “Anyone in health care will tell you that reimbursements are continuing to drop.”
In the meantime, the cost of providing charity and other uncompensated care is growing.
Last year, Mercy provided $33 million in uncompensated care.
That included free health care but also free community services such as EMS training, the House of Mercy, transportation services and a variety of senior services.
While Mercy would like to continue providing the non-core services, Bea said, it must instead focus on its core medical business.
“What’s being projected is an increase in the ranks of the amount of charity care and uninsured, and we see that doing nothing but growing pretty strongly,” said Bea, noting that every 1 percent increase in charity or uncompensated care translates into a $5 million annual cost for Mercy.
The downturn in the U.S. economy is driving more uninsured or under-insured people to hospital emergency rooms in search of primary care, Bea said.
Goodbye, old friend
Mercy and GM have long been partners. The two often have been mentioned in the same breath as the health system surpassed the automaker as the area’s largest employer.
But Mercy will struggle with the planned shutdown of the Janesville plant and the area companies that supply the factory, Bea said.
For the immediate future, GM employees will have health insurance. The scary part, Bea said, will come when the workers’ labor contract and benefits expire in 2011.
Bea has health care industry friends who have been through auto plant closings.
“One told me that the real hit doesn’t come for almost a year after they’ve lost their insurance because they’ve still got cash,” Bea said.
“They were waiting for this big bomb to drop, and it dropped when the labor contract ran out,” Bea said. “They thought it dropped all it could drop, but then it dropped even further a year later as people’s personal funds ran out.”
A new game plan
Mercy faces serious challenges, but Bea said the system will be proactive.
The system will build on what it learned in the seven years it worked to win the 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for organizational performance excellence.
Some people have criticized Bea and Mercy for the amount of money the system spent to win and celebrate the award and then turn it into a widespread marketing campaign.
While Bea couldn’t provide the exact cost of the award, he said whatever Mercy spent was worth it—and then some.
The Baldrige process, he said, resulted in massive improvements in efficiencies at a far lower cost than outside consultants would have charged.
“Our whole organization over the last seven years has adopted the Baldrige principles and put in the framework to drill down to front level processes of how we do everything,” he said.
“ … What’s allowing us to face these economic challenges is this new way of operating that Baldrige brought us. It’s the greatest return we could have.”
Mercy is examining every one of its 500-plus cost centers for efficiency improvements, Bea said.
Mercy also will ask its vendors—who annually provide more than $75 million in goods and services—to get more competitive on their pricing, he said.
Mercy has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars providing social services such as Mercy in Motion and the adult day care and hospice programs, he said.
“Some people think its pennies, but we actually were spending millions on a lot of these non-core services that we’re going to have to drill down on,” Bea said. “We’re still committed to the House of Mercy, but we need community support on that.”
Mercy has 63 facilities in 24 communities in two states, and that diversity will help it weather the economic storm.
A struggling Rock County economy is and will continue to be Mercy’s biggest challenge, Bea said. Mercy is faring better in Illinois and in Walworth County, where the system plans to expand its hospital in Lake Geneva.
“Right now, if we weren’t doing all the things we’re doing and examining all 500 cost centers with our expansion plans, we’d be terribly in the red,” he said. “I mean hugely.
“The numbers would be staggering, but we’re not planning on being there.”
Bea: Dean Hospital will hurt Janesville
When it comes to the health care industry, Mercy CEO Javon Bea is a pretty smart guy.
But so, too, are the leaders of SSM Health Care of Wisconsin and Dean Health System, the Madison-based partners in a $140-million hospital and clinic planned for Janesville’s east side.
Since those plans surfaced, the Madison and Janesville camps have laid out their positions on why the project is or isn’t necessary.
Bea has said that 30 percent of the 100 patients who fill Mercy Hospital’s beds on any given day will migrate to the new hospital, creating a revenue gap for Mercy that will result in cuts to Mercy’s non-core services
In an interview, Bea was asked to take off his Mercy hat and replace it with one worn by a disinterested health care leader.
“As a businessman, what do you think the SSM/Dean folks see in Janesville that they want to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to go after?” he was asked.
Bea believes SSM had cash that it needed to invest. When the state repeatedly denied the system’s plans to add beds in Illinois, the money was targeted to Janesville, Bea suspects.
“In doing that, they’re just saying there’s so much revenue associated with these 30 patients at Mercy that they’re not going to give that to us anymore,” Bea said. “They’re going to take those 30 patients and the revenue that comes from their doctors and they’re going to put them in their own facility.”
From a financial perspective, SSM will be able to make it work, Bea said, adding that Mercy does the same thing with its six-bed hospital in Walworth. In fact, he said, Mercy plans to make that hospital viable with an expansion to 25 beds.
But from a community perspective, SSM’s plan won’t work, he said.
“(The community is) going to lose these extra-nice-to-have services that we were able to fund because we won’t have that revenue any more but we will have the same fixed costs,” he said.
“They’ll be able to make it work, but they’re not creating bigger. …They’re adding more beds at a time less beds are needed. They’re not bringing specialists here. As I understand it, they’ll continue to send their specialty patients to Madison like they always have.
“The new stuff is OK for Dean, but it’s the beds. Our need for beds has been dropping every year, and the idea of more beds is just ridiculous.”
Trauma center an example of commitment, Bea believes
Difficult economic conditions have prompted Mercy Health System to cut some nonessential services.
But Mercy’s chief executive officer said a $10 million investment in a new trauma center and clinic is a shining example of the system’s commitment to top-notch medical care.
With a new hospital coming, Javon Bea said the community will suffer from cuts in nontraditional services that Mercy once provided.
The community, however, will see more medical/surgical services, he said.
“They’ll see us being the only Level II trauma hospital in the Madison/Janesville/Walworth County area,” he said. “The medical/surgical services will be greater, and we’re going to be assuring that.”
Construction is under way on a 90,000-square-foot addition that will include a two-tier parking deck and a 35,000-square-foot medical office building for cancer services, neurosurgery, urology and trauma services.
The building will be adjacent to the hospital’s emergency room and will be connected by an enclosed walkway.
When construction wraps up next year, Mercy will be the only Level II trauma center in the area. The expansion in emergency services will include round-the-clock trauma surgeons, neurosurgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, critical care specialists and orthopedic surgeons.
Mercy, along with Meriter and St. Mary’s hospitals in Madison, are now Level III centers.
University Hospital in Madison and Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee are the only Level I adult centers in the state. They are capable of treating patients with severe burns, transplant needs or re-implantations of amputated limbs.
Bea said Mercy’s center will follow strict trauma protocols that dictate treatment from the scene of an accident all the way through the patient’s care.
Access to trauma treatment is a critical component of a hospital’s designation, he said, adding that the new trauma center will reduce waiting times in the hospital’s emergency room.
And fewer helicopters will leave Janesville with patients on board.
“In fact, more will be coming in,” Bea said.
“The people in this area should take great comfort that they will be in the treatment vicinity of the only Level II trauma center in this entire area.”
In addition to new construction, Mercy has remodeled its outpatient surgery, lab, radiology, birthing center and cafeteria areas.
It also is converting all patient rooms to private rooms.
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Trauma centers are graded based on their levels of expertise and ability to treat severely injured patients. Level I centers treat the most serious cases.
Level I: A facility that has the capability of providing leadership and total care for every aspect of injury, from prevention through rehabilitation. In its central role, the Level I center must have adequate depth of resources and personnel.
Level II: A hospital that provides initial trauma care, regardless of the severity of injury. Depending on geographic location, patient volume, personnel, and resources, the trauma center may not be able to provide the same comprehensive care as a Level I trauma center. Therefore, patients with more complex injuries may have to be transferred.
Level III: Trauma centers that provide prompt assessment, resuscitation, emergency operations and stabilization and arrange for possible transfer to a facility that can provide definitive trauma care.
Some examples in Wisconsin:
Level I: University Hospital, Madison; Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Level II: Luther Midelfort Hospital, Eau Claire; Aurora BayCare Medical Center, Green Bay; St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay; Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse; Saint Joseph's Hospital, Marshfield; Theda Clark Medical Center, Neenah; Mercy Hospital, Janesville (2009).
—Source: American College of Surgeons
Nov 17, 2008 at 6:01 p.m.
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Emergency care may suck but, they bill you correctly.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:58 p.m.
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Every clinic / hospital has what some people consider to be good doctors and bad doctors.
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Just remember...50% of the doctors out there graduated in the bottom half of their class.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:36 p.m.
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Let's not be too critical folks. Mercy has the best national award that money can buy, a stable full of well compensated VPs, and Tah Dah JAVON BEA!!!
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:24 p.m.
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good nite all...hope all the folks on this blog have a pleasant nite.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:19 p.m.
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hmmmm...where did everyone go?
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:19 p.m.
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I feel the same way about my kids doc-- just wish mine were as good! (or as helpful)
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:14 p.m.
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I will say...that when I had back surgery 7 years ago, it was a Mercy doc...I couldn't have had a better doc...also, when I cut two fingers off it was a Mercy doc who reattached them, and I once again say I couldn't have had a better doc.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:13 p.m.
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Im just happy that I finally have a doc willing to look and try instead of just giving meds and hoping for the best! Im not a pill taker kinda person so meds have to be a must in order for me to take them!
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:09 p.m.
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I really think that the best advise I can give to anyone who needs medical help is...don't give up. I am sure an answer is just around the corner...like it was for me. Just took alot of frustration...before the answer was found.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:08 p.m.
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Dragon,that is not very encouraging seeing as how Mercy is SOOOO important to others. Im happy with my new doc. Just that Dean is so small in this area---for now!Waiting for new hosp. to be built.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:04 p.m.
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The funnyist thing was that when I went to mercy's er, the doc there referred me to a dean doctor.
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:04 p.m.
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The only thing that is REALLY sad is that my kids have such a wonderful doc. themselves and now I have to get a new one.Makes me cry to lose that doc. but im at a loss as to what to do here! I cant function as a mom in pain like im in but they have a gr8 doc.How does one choose?
Oct 26, 2008 at 9:02 p.m.
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Tis ok angelwings...by the way I hope your new doc finds an answer soon.
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:59 p.m.
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sorry Dragontail,was in such a hurry to be understood I didnt read your name correctly.
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:58 p.m.
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I understand cause a year ago i went thorugh 6 months of no success...both at Mercy and dean. Finally, a specialist at Dean found an answer.
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:55 p.m.
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who is DevilTail?
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:54 p.m.
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Well thank you deviltail !!!! Does someone actually understand what im going through everyday?
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:51 p.m.
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omg...people slamming someone who has tried for to get an answer for pain...without success. why should she not be unhappy with the system?
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:46 p.m.
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and,also,I really dont care about latest and greatest. Just want an answer!
Oct 26, 2008 at 8:40 p.m.
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stacY,let me put it in small terms just for you!Saw reg. doc. 1 day for normal physical.Turned out to be rather painful. Went to e.r. 2 weeks later for severe abdominal/pelvic pain.They sent me home with meds I didnt need.The next day I was in urgent care for same thing but worse.Then I had ANOTHER appt. with ANOTHER DOC. Still in pain,still no answers as to what was causing it.Then another doc for same thing,no answer! So you see,I tried,I went to appts(not just e.r.looking for a fix)Had many painful tests done-WHAT DO YOU DO AT A TIME LIKE THIS?
Oct 26, 2008 at 6:32 p.m.
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Going to Mercy scares me a little only b/c last year I requested copies of all my medical records from the past year to send to a different doctor...I started reading through the records from a visit to the ER...some of the things in the report had nothing to do with me. The medical record is totally wrong...it had my name and DOB on the top, but the report was about someone else!!! yikes!
Oct 26, 2008 at 4:07 p.m.
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Okay, let me get this straight----you want a complete work up in ER, including all the latest and greatest diagnostic tests and procedures available and known to man, you want a definitive diagnosis, you want it cheap, you want it done fast, and you dont want to have to wait for it? All in the EMERGENCY room? Why that's not much to ask for at all! Here's a thought angelwings--go to the ER, find out you are not facing iminent death, follow up with your treatment plan laid out and agreed upon by you and the ER doc and RN by following up with your primary care doctor at the clinic in 3 days--and then go on with your life. Don't continue to go to the ER--it's people like you who are clogging up the system and making others experience long waits in the ER. Perhaps the past 2 months that you have been working with your own doctor to find your problem would have been better spent in the ER, apparently your own doc doesnt know whats wrong either! Be realistic.
Oct 26, 2008 at 3:36 p.m.
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nurse4u-i was seen a total of 5 times(diff.docs)all had diff.answers and 1 even said he didnt know but gave me antibiotics anyway.If 5 Mercy docs have no idea and just want to prescribe meds without knowing why,then im sticking with Dean.Thank you,though for your concern and I am a little better with pain management medication until im done with testing.
Oct 26, 2008 at 3:31 a.m.
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Angelwings-
An E.R. is in place to stabalize a patient. You were sent home stabilized correct? You were not in any immediate danger, obviousely serious, life threatening issues were ruled out. The doctor that you saw at Dean was in an E.R or at the office? I am betting it was at the office so that they could order more routine tests.
Good luck and I hope all is well with you.
Oct 23, 2008 at 8:47 p.m.
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Oh yeah... been in the Mercy system for 30 something years.Moving on!
Oct 23, 2008 at 8:26 p.m.
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I have recently changed my insurance coverage to Dean care.(thankfully,I have that option)Was in Mercy e.r. 2 months ago with severe abdominal and pelvic pain.Was in waiting room for hour and a half-total visit was 6hrs.Doc sent me home with Nexium.Still trying to find out what is wrong with me and still in severe pain.THANK YOU MERCY FOR NOTHING-YOU SUCK!The Dean doctor I just saw isnt writing me off as you did!She is ACTUALLY doing tests!
Oct 23, 2008 at 6:55 p.m.
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"Gimme a break. Fact is competition improves the breed. It reduces prices, improves quality and expands choices whether you're shopping for apples, televisions or health care."
This statement is only correct on one count. Competition increases choices. In healthcare however, it does not reduce prices....those are already set by insurance companies and government payors. More facility and standard equipment mean more fixed costs per person receiving care, creating a less efficient system which results in organizations having to focus on core services, reducing their "above and beyond" services like Mercy already is. Also, a less efficient organization has less to invest in quality improvement initiatives.
I think competition is a good thing, but only if there is a need. Saturating a market with core services only hurts the community in the end as they end up with redunancy of core services and a lack of the additional services that they used to enjoy.
Also, I wonder how a St. Louis organization like SSM can really be in tune with the needs of this community?
I'd be much happier with this new hospital if it were Aurora who I've been pleased with in the past.
Oct 23, 2008 at 2:26 p.m.
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Opinion about Mercy ER is wrong
This letter is in regards to the uproar over diverting patients at Mercy Hospital to other area hospitals (Opinion, July 2 Gazette). As a nursing student who has conducted my clinicals at Mercy Hospital, I am upset at this "Thumbs Down."
The first priority of any hospital staff is to ensure that patients have the proper care and safe treatment that they deserve. If a hospital is short of staff and rooms (whatever the reason), it is in the best interest of all patients that the less severe and stable patients are routed to less congested hospitals. This is done to ensure that the life-threatening and critical injuries may be treated. If this means to divert to area hospitals, then so be it.
It would be dangerous to have more patients being treated than a safe staff-to-patient ratio would allow. Serious mistakes in treatment could occur.
Mercy Hospital is not the only area hospital that has to divert patients.
Also, patients who could best be served at urgent care or in a doctor's office often go to the emergency room because of lack of insurance. This tends to tie up staff that could be best served in treating patients in real emergency situations. This practice also extends the waiting time as patients with critical injuries are seen first.
Thank you, Mercy Hospital, for all the lives that you save and in providing care, compassion and safe treatment to our area's residents.
This is a copy of the letter I wrote to the editor while I was a student nurse. Now that I am an RN, I am proud to be a Mercy Partner.
Oct 23, 2008 at 6 a.m.
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thats not true, there is no such "agency"
Oct 22, 2008 at 8:19 p.m.
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The below comment references Mercy's commitment to Customer Service. I doubt this is the case. I know someone who used to hold a leadership position at Mercy. She was told that Mercy is giving the customer calls to an agency that specializes in collections & ruining credit reports. I wonder what will happen to the 95% approval rating now?
Oct 22, 2008 at 12:27 a.m.
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People lying on the floor and overflowing puke buckets???? LMAO, you must be bored. I bet that I can safely assume that those of you complaining have never been an RN, CNA, MD or what have you. We work hard every day to take care of you and your families. Forgive us if we are not perfect. And you know what else? maybe if you had to take care of yourself for just a day or over and over again as we do some patients (and for silly reasons at times) you would actually "get it". If you don't like the administration or the billing department etc. than so be it, but ripping on those of us who have made a lifetime commitment to patient care and do a "great" job of it every day is a sorry excuse. If you had to see and do what we do for 12 hours or more per day, you would shut your mouth
Oct 21, 2008 at 6:04 a.m.
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however, a non profit level 2 trauma center will not turn anyone down and id much rather have to take my wife who is seriously injured in a car accident 10 minutes to Mercy rather than an hour to madison, i dont care if its dean, mercy, UW, centegra, swedish american, or ma and pa's backyard health system. I cannot see a down side to a level 2 trauma center in janesville saving loved ones lives.
Oct 20, 2008 at 6:55 p.m.
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Love or dislike of Mercy aside, does anyone see a down side to a Level 2 trauma center right here in janesville? closer than an hour + drive in traffic to madison??
Oct 20, 2008 at 5:19 p.m.
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has to bring politics into every blog... GIVE IT UP ALREADY!
**bangs head on keyboard**
Oct 20, 2008 at 4:26 p.m.
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Mercy knows to start planning to pull in the reins now so if Obama would get elected they would not be caught with the trap of Social medical care. As they know National Health Care Plans will cut profits. Less profits equals less pay for Good Doctors which will cause people with employer base Health care to receive poor quality care.
Oct 20, 2008 at 2:45 p.m.
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We have a phone survey which gives patient's their choice when answering. This survey is automated and we do not have access to change these numbers. This survey occurs on a monthly basis to calls incoming to our customer service unit.
We also have a customer relations unit that handles all negative feedback received.
Oct 20, 2008 at 1:10 p.m.
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I am a Mercy Employee. I have to say, I don't agree with things that Javon has done.
I am employee in the patient accounting department. Patients do get very upset with us and we try to handle in a timely matter. Things happen on the front end that we in patient accounts can't control. Things don't always get corrected as they should, but this is something our department is currently working on.
Every health system has its errors & issues. I can't wait to hear & see what everyone has to say once Dean. Dean will also have its problems. I used Dean most of my life until I came to work for Mercy. I had some problems as far as being able to see a dr when needed, which is also what people deal with here. People are quick to jump on Mercy for billing errors, but I have also had the same type of thing happen at another facility.
As for the Malcolm Baldridge prep we were in no way threaten with our jobs. Javon made sure we all knew that if a wrong answer were given we would NOT lose our jobs.
As for the person who lost their job for going to their grandfather's funeral, I wonder what else was in their record. I have never heard Mercy terminating someone for attending a funeral.
As for most people being dissatisfied, then why is our customer service satisfaction surveys over 95%?
I am a proud Mercy employee and will not be jumping ship to Dean!
Oct 20, 2008 at 8:31 a.m.
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RORO...when you put it like that, you sure make things seem funny. LOL keep up the sense of humor!
Oct 20, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.
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JANESVILLECOMMENTS.....I suggest you seriously consider going to MONROE HOSPITAL AND CLINIC if possible. We used to go to Beloit, and Beloit really was a nice hospital except for cleanliness and a few doctors we were disappointed with, but when our family moved we chose to move clinics as well. I can not even express in words the compassion you will find at Monroe. It is like you are in the arms of angels. I am not exaggerating. They truly care about you, and when you walk into their clinic or hospital their mission statement is very christian based, and you will know that they abide by their mission just as soon as you see your nurse. I had to have a procedure done recently for a biopsy, and I was SCARED beyond believe, and my room nurse took my hand and said a prayer for my strength and health before they took me down for surgery. I will never forget the kindness in her voice and demeanor, and I will never forget that was not part of her job description! She truly cares as the other nurses I have been in contact with, and I have been to the doctor a lot in the last year. Just a suggestion.
Oct 20, 2008 at 8:05 a.m.
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I'm amazed any one in janesville is still alive, with all the negative comments here.
I've had excerllent treatment at Mercy, hospital.........ER and Urgent Care.
Oct 20, 2008 at 6:07 a.m.
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I will concede that Mercys billing department lacks in every way, basically they are incompetant. As far as me being one of Javons minions. far from it, I am not even employed by Mercy health system, I do work closely with it as part of my job, but that also includes every other area health system as well. Im sick of the witch hunt on an above average in every national standard hospital in our home town.
Oct 20, 2008 at 2:07 a.m.
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I'm happy to see I'm not the only one Mercy sent a bill to who wasn't even a patient. I don't even live in the area anymore and haven't been to that hospital in over 10 years. Imagine my suprise to get a bill for a surgery I never had. I called immediately to clear this up. The person who answered was polite and told me it'd be taken care of. I figured no big deal people make mistakes. A second bill arrives a few months later threatening collections. I call again this time I ask to speak to a supervisor I explain the first call and I also explain I was clocked into work the day of the surgery and that it has to be a mistake on their part. I am basically treated like dirt. I tell the lady to fix the problem or I am hiring an attorney. I end the call and call work. I live a couple of hours away. I have payroll fax this lady reports that I was clocked into work. A few hours later this lady calls me back sweet as pie and explains that it was a mistake on their part. I don't know what changed her tune but how is it they can't enter the correct patient information in the first place but they can track down someone who hasn't even been there in a decade and charge them for a recent surgery?
Oct 19, 2008 at 11:55 p.m.
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miltonalum, I'm not claiming I know better than the doctor what diagnostic scans my father may have needed - I just thought it curious that we read about the machine in the paper the same day he wound up being scanned by it and now Bea brought up the cost of maintaining it in this article. Given the recent discussions about Mercy and their service cuts, I thought I'd mention it to see if others incurred the same coincidence.
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I haven't been fond of Mercy since my family was forced out of their home back in the 70's when the Sisters of Mercy started their expansion and made their deal with the city of Janesville to use Imminent Domain to force families out Washington and Terrace streets.
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I'm not thrilled about either Mercy or Dean. They haven't been very satisfactory for medical treatment I've sought in the past. Dean Care seems to have mediocre doctors on staff in Janesville and the last time I sought help at Mercy East the doctor kept trying to push me at one of their plastic surgeons for a cosmetic condition I didn't go to see doctor about. St. Mary's hospital in Madison, where Dean sent my Father for surgery, has some inexperienced, inadequately supervised, nursing staff on their night shift and my Dad's surgeon or his office help have been very poor at communicating with other doctors, much less our family.
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There may be some of the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome that JohnDoe mentions. I've traded Mercy billing horror stories with someone who lives in Walworth County and has billing problems with the Aurora health system. I will, however, seriously consider going to the Beloit Hospital with my next medical problem - assuming my condition and circumstances allow a choice. They may not be any better than Mercy or Dean, but at least I don't know for sure if or how they suck, like Mercy and Dean demonstrated they do.
Oct 19, 2008 at 11:26 p.m.
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Come on, Gazette. Any reporter for any local high school newspaper could sit down with Javon Bea, turn on a tape recorder, and just type whatever he says. This article is no better. Might as well run a giant press release for Mercy.
Bea couldn't give an "exact number" for the Baldrige award cost. What about a ballpark number? Is he willing to answer the question or not? If so, when? If not, why not? When Mercy is cutting services and blaming loss of revenues resulting from Dean coming in, shouldn't Mercy have to explain what it is spending on non-essential things like seeking the award?
Bea complains about Dean coming in to take away the 30 beds from Mercy. But Bea crows about adding a Level II trauma center when we have trauma centers in Madison and Rockford. Why isn't anyone asking whether we really need a Level II trauma center? What it's cost/benefit will be to Mercy's patients? Won't all those specialists who have to be on call all the time to staff a Level II trauma center cost money? How can anyone even begin to analyze the issue without knowing what Mercy's financial statements say? Did the Gazette get them? If so, what do they say? If not why not? If Mercy won't give them out, why not?
And where in the world is any input from anyone other than Javon Bea? How about Dean's position in Dean's own words?
This list could go on and on. Is it newsworthy to tell the public what Bea says? Sure. But Gazette, are you fulfilling your role in the community by just printing whatever he says? Far from it.
Oct 19, 2008 at 10:32 p.m.
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The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence...
Oct 19, 2008 at 10:23 p.m.
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I hear all the wonderful things about the hospitals in Madison and find it interesting. See, when I was living in Madison, the people there all said that every one of them were "killers" and if they needed care, they would go to Mayo or Chicago - anywhere but Madison. I have a brother-in-law in Minneapolis, and he says that the hospitals there are terrible, and he would come to Madison. Then, I know of an individual who lives in Chicago and says the hospitals there - every one of them - are manned by "low-life individual's who have no intelligence at all as well as a poor attitude!" So, they come to Janesville.
It seems that local hospitals always get a bad rap - so isn't it wonderful that we have the opportunity to go to other hospitals in the area. Slamming really doesn't help much, but that is what some people do best...read between the lines!
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:34 p.m.
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MILTONALUM sounds to me to be one of Mr. Bea's minions.... Either that or a very bored man... not sure yet.
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:32 p.m.
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Miltonalum, You have been very busy today defending Mercy executives. You must be one of Javon Bea's underlings trying to climb the corporate ladder. Good for you. Just watch out. You might find your head on the chopping block some day if you stray just a little. Let me say to you that I am able to maintain a positive, professional relationship with the people that I do work for- my patients. I work very hard to separate this very important job from my business relationships with Mercy administrators. The other health care providers at Mercy are likewise very committed to what counts most- the patients. Commitment to the administrators, on the other hand, is not so high .
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:06 p.m.
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MILTONALUM....you are annoying, and obviously a mercy employer or supporter. Your ficticious facts apply to those who need them. And FYI.....the majority of people I have EVER talked to BEFORE THE INTERNET was an option, hated mercy. It is not just my sidekicks here on the blog. So go to a board meeting and suck up to those who care.
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:45 p.m.
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Hmmm. Why is it that so many American Seniors are mail ordering their prescriptions from Canada? Could it be because the exact same brand name prescriptions cost a fraction of the price in Canada than they do in America? Why is it when Mercy or Dean sees a General Motors insurance card they feel they can order every test and procedure provided at the maximum cost the market will bear? Could it be because the GM gravy train will pay whatever the market will bear? What happens when there is no more GM gravy train? Apparently Mercy is already whining that it will be unable to provide a whole bunch of services that were previously subsidized by artificially charging inflated prices to GM for standardized care. Let's begin to look at the salaries of hospital administrators and also health plan administrators. Why should the unemployed GM workers bear all the pain when a plethora of sucker fish are still in a feeding frenzy sucking the blood dry from a system that is in critical need of reorganization.
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:44 p.m.
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A few weeks ago, I received a very rude collection call asking when I am going to pay the bill for my 4 year old... The only problem is, I don't have any children. The person on the phone informed me that according to Mercy records, I do. It took me many many phone calls to clear this up.... Is this normal? I think not.
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:26 p.m.
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Javon, what audacity. Do you really think you are entitled to all the medical care profits in Janesville? You operate a self serving monopoly and a little competition will serve the community well. I am sure this will put a dent in your gross profits, but I think that is a good thing. Fixed cost are high and it really sucks when you invest in capital equipment thinking you can charge whatever the market will bear to recoup cost. I still laugh at the pathetic letter you sent the business community telling them competition did not make sense in Janesville. Try cutting a little variable cost in the short run. I suggest cutting a million or two out of your salary or fire a dozen or more vice presidents. And that national award, it is way overrated.
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:07 p.m.
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optimism said "I hope someday, if not already, they seriously get busted for their inablility to properly bill and adjust patient accounts. AND they also need to stop putting patient accounts under the parents name if the person has become an adult!!!! "
This just happened to me! I gave birth at Mercy and even when I was regestering I was already 18, but yet a month later my mother recived a bill for my services! And the worst thing is that my mother is not no tthe policy holder for the insurence, my father is! Mercy has not yet given me the impression that they care for their patients, in all my dealing with them personaly I have been meet with rudeness and no answers, which is terrifying for a new mother taking her baby to the ER.
I ca't wait for St. Mary's to get here, it will give me choice in where i can quickly get healthcare, insed of relying on Mercy in emergencies.
Oct 19, 2008 at 7:45 p.m.
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all not-for-profit is, is An incorporated organization which exists for educational or charitable reasons, and from which its shareholders or trustees do not benefit financially.
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Meaning Mercy has no stock or shareholders who profit with quarterly dividend earnings or trustees that cannot profit from physically owning the business like any other owner. they also receive certain tax breaks, most hospitals are not-for-profit, It keeps the hospital from cutting corners to make money where care could be compromized.
Oct 19, 2008 at 7:25 p.m.
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Does any of this construction by both hospitals have anything to do with retaining a "not-for-profit" status? Also, am I being overly suspicious or did anyone else make note of a hidden agenda with the House of Mercy quote from Bea? I would hate to see that facility close its doors.
Oct 19, 2008 at 7:25 p.m.
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"quote" If they're really bleeding so much money, how can they afford all this expansion? "quote"
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See the attached article for explanation, or maybe ill cut and paste it for you.
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Mercy’s profits are recycled into it core services, plant and equipment, Bea said. When there is extra money, it is channeled into non-core services such as Mercy in Motion, adult day care, in-house hospice and day trips for senior citizens.
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So they arent "bleeding" money, they are channeling the money like they always have been, there just isnt an excess to fund the extra non-payment services.
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Last year, Mercy provided $33 million in uncompensated care.
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Id say thats above and beyond whats expected, especially for an 11 million dollar parking structure/trauma center improvement. Thats triple what they spent on this improvement that went into uncompensated care....
Oct 19, 2008 at 7:18 p.m.
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The level 2 trauma center isnt really a "response" its been in the works for 2+years, way before dean announced plans.
Oct 19, 2008 at 6:45 p.m.
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Now, wait a minute . . . let me get this straight . . .
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Bea says that we shouldn't have a second hospital in town because Mercy spent huge bucks on a CT scan machine and they won't be able to amortize the cost if a second hospital siphons some of their patients away.
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So to respond he is going to spend huge bucks to develop a Level II trauma center that isn't really needed since we have two such centers just a short distance away. Won't that siphon patients from THOSE hospitals making it harder for them to make ends meet?.
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Gimme a break. Fact is competition improves the breed. It reduces prices, improves quality and expands choices whether you're shopping for apples, televisions or health care.
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And don't be taken in by this argument about all the "pro bono" services they give away. They calculate the value of those services at their "usual and customary" rates which are fictitious numbers that no one except cash customers (i.e. uninsured patients) pays. Insurance companies, HMO's and PPO's negotiate much lower reimbursement rates and those rates are factored into the hospital's budgeting and are much closer to the hospital's actual cost for providing the service. If they're really bleeding so much money, how can they afford all this expansion?
Oct 19, 2008 at 5:45 p.m.
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"As far as you who say that the mercy prepping for that award is bunk....WHERE IS YOUR PROOF????????? Obviously you have some sort of experience at this rediculous excuse for a "healthcare" facility"
What is the above statement supposed to mean?
And as far as "numbers don't lie, and on average, there are more dis-satisfied Mercy CUSTOMERS than satisfied," this is a poor, general statement. if your idea of "on average" is counting how many people decide to complain with you about Mercy in a story on the Gazette, you have little credibility.
if you were a business and your crop of negative feedback resembled the brilliance in posts like the ones in this story, would you REALLY take any of it seriously? At least mercydoc can speak intelligently and with a purpose.
Oct 19, 2008 at 5:23 p.m.
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"quote" Just because someone signs your check doesn't mean you have to respect them! "quote"
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Perhaps one of the most oxymoronic statements i have seen on these blogs. Pride in what you do has everything to do with a respectful relationship between employer and employee. Thats where personal responsibility in daily excellence begins. If you dont respect your employer every day when you come to work it definately affects your attitude and performance.
Oct 19, 2008 at 5:11 p.m.
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ISHANG...MERCYDOC didn't get his medical degree from MERCY, he/she is just unfortuneate enough to have to work there for reasons we don't know! He/She did the hard work and schooling it takes to become a doctor....if it weren't doctors like MERCYDOC that stick around even though they hate the way the place is ran Mercy wouldn't even exsist. Sometimes demand for a job out weighs the luxury of happiness in your job. BUT this doctor is giving his/her gift to the patients that choose to go to mercy, he/she is not getting paid for something they don't deserve!!!! Just because someone signs your check doesn't mean you have to respect them! The money isn't coming from their POCKET it is coming from the patient's pocket!!!!!!!!!!
Oct 19, 2008 at 4:58 p.m.
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FOOTVILLEGIRL....and they ALSO need to get some people in their billing department that know what they are doing. I hope someday, if not already, they seriously get busted for their inablility to properly bill and adjust patient accounts. AND they also need to stop putting patient accounts under the parents name if the person has become an adult!!!! With all the billing info they require before you get what you went to the hospital for, they should be on top of it. As far as you who say that the mercy prepping for that award is bunk....WHERE IS YOUR PROOF????????? Obviously you have some sort of experience at this rediculous excuse for a "healthcare" facility, and that is great, but numbers don't lie, and on average, there are more dis-satisfied Mercy CUSTOMERS than satisfied.
Oct 19, 2008 at 4:35 p.m.
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If Mercy is as great as they think they are, where are the offers to buy them? If they were truely that well liked and had that good of services/reputation, why isn't there a single offer? Competition only really comes when something is lacking. Dean wouldn't waste their time and money otherwise. If Dean didn't think they could better or at least match Mercy they wouldn't be coming. Mercy has sewn it's own problems.
Oct 19, 2008 at 4:32 p.m.
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Mercydoc--
Who signs your paycheck? Shame on you! Perhaps you should fill out a job application with Dean. You don't have to agree with everything that your administration does, but at least show some gratitude to the man/ the team that builds and maintains your practice.
Oct 19, 2008 at 4:27 p.m.
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I just want Mercy to treat me like a patient, not a costumer. Being called a costumer starts to dehumanize a person, they are not longer looked at as a person needing care, but as a dollar value. It leads to a price being put on human life.
Oct 19, 2008 at 4:18 p.m.
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Soooooo, you knew better than the doctor that your dad in fact did not need a CT scan and that they were simply trying to pad the bill instead of taking the newest technology that the trained medical professional determined was the best course of action to find the problem your father came to the Er complaining about?
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You would have preferred some aspirin and an appointment with your general care physician in 2 weeks?
Oct 19, 2008 at 4:04 p.m.
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I took my Father to the Emergency Room on a Monday night this month due to a sharp pain in his groin area. After an hour-plus wait, he got interviewed, his vital signs checked, and his billing information updated.
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Then it was another hour and 23 minutes (I started jotting down the time) before he got into an emergency bay and was interviewed by an RN and his vitals checked again.
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Fifty-two minutes after that, he saw his first doctor. The doctor determined Dad needed to be imaged with their new CT scanner. I'm wondering if Javon Bea cultivates a "when you have a shiny new expensive hammer, every problem better look like a nail" attitude amongst doctors given hospital privileges at Mercy?
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I'm also wondering if Dean's new hospital will be required to provide (or pay a share of the costs for) uncompensated care. If they're moving into Janesville to skim some of the cream from the medical business, they should be required to help cover the other end of the business. Will they get a proportion of deliveries from paramedic calls? Will they have a helicopter pad?
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I can foresee a subtle "our emergency room sucks, try our competitor" advertising campaign in the 4th ward between Mercy and Dean. Perhaps even promoting a few medical "oops" on uncompensated care patients as a subtle hint that if you don't have insurance, you'd best go to the competitor to be safer...?
Oct 19, 2008 at 3:58 p.m.
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Allegations, everyones brother, sister, mother, daughter had something bad happen to them because of a Dr. error. There seems to be alot of these type of stories come up on these blogs, wheres the proof? hard facts? obviously you wouldnt post these on a public forum but its entertaining that all the negatives seem to pop up. Sure Mercy and every other hospital has had malpractice suits, mistakes happen, beleive it or not Doctors are human too. The best part of the equasion is that mercy malpractice suits rank below the national average. I encourage you to show us all a hospital in the US that has NEVER had a malpractice lawsuit or NEVER had documented physician error.... you wont find one.
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As far as the MB award Studer group webpage telling you how to win an award for cash, ill tell you what, pay me $10 and ill tell you how you can win a heisman trophy, you still have to win it even though i just told you how but i doubt you will.....
Oct 19, 2008 at 3:47 p.m.
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MKS2008: You would feel differently if you were droped by a Mercy Dr. midway through treatment (because of a mistake made by the Dr). This happened to my brother. Now no Dr in the system will touch my brother and the kicker is he has Mercy Care Ins. Both the UW and Froedtert Dr's are working there hardest to correct this medical mistake. Lucky my SIL has ins. to cover since Mercy Care won't refer him anywhere!
Also go on the Studer Group Web page they will tell any hospital how to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for a price.
Oct 19, 2008 at 3:17 p.m.
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miltonalum - i could not agree more. the post you referred to i also laughed @ because it was completely ridiculous.
I have only lived in Janesville a few years, and i'm amazed @ the Witch Hunt against Mercy. It always seems to be the same people scanning this site everyday, just waiting for another opportunity to bitch about Mercy. Why do you go there? if it is so awful either be proactive about it in a constructive way or move on. it amazes me how brave and empowered people are sitting behind a keyboard all day exaggerating stories and getting other readers to jump on your bandwagon. I bought a Chevy truck last year...my 1st Chevy product EVER, and i hate it. It rides AWFUL, mileage is worse than i expected, etc, etc. I would never ever dream of using a story about GM as my podium to complain about my disappointment towards my truck...not only because no one cares, but because i made a choice to buy based on several factors, and i continue to drive it, so therefore i would just be complaining to anyone who will listen.
to clarify, Mercy held forums/assemblies @ various sites prior to each Baldridge visit where employees were given refreshers of the mercy pillars, etc. while most employees dreaded the MB visit, no one was threatened w/ their job. when MB reps visited, all they did was float to each dept and randomly ask a few EASY questions about Mercy. come on people, common sense. get your facts straight. some of you tell some wonderful stories of losing your job, or about having it used against you as leverage - if this happened and you didn't get a lawyer to do something about it, you are either a complete lying idiot, or just an idiot.
someone wished Dean would run Mercy out of town. Really?!? you really wish THAT MANY people would be w/out a job because of a new hospital? if you seriously think everyone at mercy hospital, east, etc etc would just rebound @ the st. mary's facility...you are a complete idiot. look at what is happening with GM. look how many people are selling homes and moving away. look at how many people have a severance package and are sitting at home trying to figure out what to do. There are so many people that should just feel lucky to have a job right now, and so many people overlook that because they want to see Mercy burn to the ground.
look at this from a position other than the one you are sitting in.
Oct 19, 2008 at 2:40 p.m.
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"quote" I have had the need to go to the ER twice in the last month. What I saw was terrible. people laying on the floor, puke buckets overflowing on the floor "quote"
I can guarantee that you did not see puke buckets overflowing on the floor and patients laying on the floor, people that embelish the truth because of their dire dislike of mercy dont help the matter one way or another. I am in the ER quite frequently and this simply does not happen. People have had bad experiences i dont doubt that but they have them at every hospital. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but bending the truth is not fair to anyone.
Oct 19, 2008 at 1:13 p.m.
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I know what you are talking about
optimism. Only when I was there and I got asked, I just said I was too busy... And then I got fired for taking off for my grandpas funeral... Compassion? I think Mercy is the worst thing that has happened to Janesville and I cannot wait until St. Mary's comes.
Oct 19, 2008 at 12:52 p.m.
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And this came right from the mouth of a mercy employee that I am friends with....about a year ago mercy was going for some award, don't exactly what, but people would be randomly selected to be questioned by the awarder about certian things....and whoever this man is that runs the hospital made it CLEAR that you BETTER memorize the prep sheet and get the answers right, or without so many words, said you would be receiving your walking papers. So, nothing like a bit of bullying to get an award. Granted I fully admit I am saying the second hand, and don't have the actual names of awards ect....but the jest of it is, the awards they receive I wouldn't let influence me one bit about the quality of care. A spade is a spade.
Oct 19, 2008 at 12:44 p.m.
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With OFFENSE intended....I hope St. Mary's drives Mercy right out of Rock County. They are one of the most uncompassionate heath care services I have ever visited and that is the last thing someone in dire straights needs is a nurse with an attitude. I actually PROMOTE MONROE CLINIC and HOSPITAL...there mission statement is of Christianity and God, and each end every one of them treats you like a guest in their home. Mercy tends to forget that they work for us, the paying patient, and try to play superior. I will never give another PENNY to that operation.....ever.
Oct 19, 2008 at 12:01 p.m.
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It's time to worry MKS2008, Javon Bea will have no qualms about cutting jobs when the time comes, just as he has no qualms about the other cuts he's making now.
Oct 19, 2008 at 11:54 a.m.
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I agree with mercydoc and onehappygma. The level of service at Mercy sux! Big time! And Mr Bea needs to get real, Start addressing REAL issues and not awards, And quit acting like a spoiled brat! I myself can't wait for the new Dean hospital as well. Better care, Better service!
Oct 19, 2008 at 11:22 a.m.
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Its about time Mercy converted their rooms to private. Its wrong how much about a patient is discussed in their room, with other people in the room. Total strangers hearing what tests, prognosis, etc is talked about. I had a friend get told the hospital performed S.T.D. tests on them, with no regard that other people were in the room, including me.
Won't there be an increase in the amount of hospitals we need when we have free health care?
Oct 19, 2008 at 10:50 a.m.
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Javon Bea once again exhibits his true colors- a huge ego and a tyrannical, vindictive personality. He is willing to trample on our stressed community to support his argument against the building of Dean's new hospital. He seems to be attempting to blame the loss of these vital community services on Dean and is willing to pull the plug on important charity to make his point.
What must be said is that Javon Bea waisted six figure dollars to win Malcomb Balridge. This award did our community no good. It did nothing to promote improved patient care. I practice medicine at Mercy Hospital which provides me with reasonably good insight. In fact, the preparation to win the award removed daily focus on patient care and likely did more harm than good. The award only served to feed Javon Bea's ego.
Bea's argument against Dean's hospital building plans as needless and destructive to the community also rings hollow given his stubborn pursuit of level II trauma status at Mercy hospital. As a physician on the front line of trauma care, I can tell you that quality trauma care requires the resources of multiple professionals, effective systems, organization support and money- lots of it- to run effectively. Except for the money, we currently have none of the above. Bea is beginning to spend the money to buy the other resources. In my opinion, this is a fool's pursuit unlikely to acheive the quality required in trauma care.
Now we see that Bea is willing to deflect money from important charity work to his pursuit of level II trauma status. Illuminating his hypocritical argument against Dean's hospital, this trauma service will attempt to replicate services already offered brilliantly in Madison and Rockford. These centers are only a short helicopter or ambulence ride away. The current system works effectively and I doubt that trauma patient care will be improved by this reproduction in Janesville. In fact, it just may hurt the care.
The latest business decisions of Javon Bea explained in today's Gazette article again raise serious questions about his leadership qualities and motives. It is too bad that Mercy Hospital Board members have fallen asleep on their important job of oversight. I say, thank God for Dean's decision to build a hospital. Competition might be the only hope for health services in our community. And I say this as a Mercy physician. I also know that my thoughts are not alone.
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:41 a.m.
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On the one hand, kudos to Mercy for building a trauma center here. It's a huge commitment and will be a nice addition to the services available.
On the other hand, for as much money and effort that Mercy invests in their public relations, they sure do a lousy job of it.
First, the general public doesn't care about the Baldrige award. They care much more about the fact that Mercy in Motion was cut. Retaining that program would have been a far wiser use of their budget dollars than the media overkill about an award that means nothing to the public, plus shows the Mercy CEO with a US president who has a 30% approval rating.
Second, Mr. Bea needs to stop bashing the Dean project and saying how it's not needed. Every time he says that, he sounds like a spoiled child who just had another kid move into his neighborhood. It's unbecoming. Could he ultimately be right? Perhaps. But right now he sounds like a big baby who is afraid of competition.
The fact that not a single soul showed up at Dean's public hearing to complain about the new hospital - a fact that shocked Dean's representatives - speaks volumes. Everyone who stopped by came to praise Dean, not to bury them.
Mercy really needs to rethink their strategy and the way they present themselves to the public. Right now, their attitude is just whetting more people's appetite for the opening of St. Mary's.
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:39 a.m.
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I have had the need to go to the ER twice in the last month. What I saw was terrible. people laying on the floor, puke buckets overflowing on the floor, and very sick people not being treated. I waited 5 hours and counted at least 5 patients leave to go to Edgerton Hospital. I wish someone from the gazette would go on a Friday nite and see how people are treated. I know they treat the sickest first but this was a joke. I helped patients get into wheel chairs and even parked a car for an elderly woman. They stay behind the glass and just watch.doing nothing for a very sick man until his son told them to get him in a room now. Treat people with respect you have empty rooms put them in it at least for a little dignity. Hurry up St. Marys
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:22 a.m.
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i've never been one to get involved in the idiot babble that ALWAYS happens following an article about mercy on the gazette, but to Jim Leute, i think you did an exceptional job w/ this story. it was thorough, it addressed many criticisms of mercy's decisions lately, and it highlighted what MHS is doing to move forward.
people, despite how bitter some of you are towards mercy, it still employs, by far, the most people in the city of Janesville. Any rational, reasonable person SHOULD have the common sense to want to offer support from an economic standpoint, much like you would support GM by buying one of their products...and by supporting mercy i don't mean avoiding St. Mary's when they come. i mean, support what Mercy is trying to do now to keep EVERY person employed in the system. what they are doing to offer new and improved services.
As a current Mercy employee i like to see us moving forward w/ construction as well as being willing to shift staff from services that closed into other positions just to keep those people employed. is everyone aware of that? when coffee shops and shuttle services get cut, Mercy tries to relocate those people to other positions in the organization instead of leaving them hanging.
before you are critical of Mercy because of a visit to the ER 3 years ago, or a bad experience your mom had w/ a nurse once, think for a second about what mercy as an organization means to this city. If it went under completely next week, Dean wouldn't come close to replacing what mercy does, nor would they care.
Oct 19, 2008 at 9:22 a.m.
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I'm with you on this one tippi. I spent years of suffering and hundreds of $$ on meds (hundreds of dollars worth of co-pay!) and I eventually deteriorated to the point where I needed surgery. Lucky for me Mercy doctors didn't feel confident (competent?) enough to perform the operation and the UW hospital did it. Now I am a new man adjusting to a more normal lifestyle. I don't want to go into details- nightmares are not for sharing.
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:54 a.m.
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No matter what if anything happens to me I would rather be at the UW or Froedtert. Mercy may get the trauma unit, but will it have the staff to run it. My family has had expierances at all three and the level of care at UW and Froedtert is far above Mercy. Can't wait for the new St Mary's
Hip Hip Hooray.
Oct 19, 2008 at 8:29 a.m.
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Way to go Mercy!!! its about time we get a level 2 trauma center in this corner of the state.
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