Friday, January 11, 2008

The End of an Empire

Anonymous writes:

Indeed, Dr. Frothingham's character is leagues above Ray Humphreys. Frothingham is one of the ONLY positive administrators in the entire facility. Ask any of the numerous employees.

Every time, without fail, when you meet him in the hall, he greets you with a smile (and usually a heartfelt hug)and a "how are you doing today?" Address him with the same, "How are you Dr. Froth?" and his reply will be along the lines of "this day can't get any better, its wonderful". His warmth confirms that he is sincere.

This is one man that doesn't strike fear and dread in the hearts of employees when he rounds the nursing floors. He doesn't resort to manipulation and scheming, but treats patients, employees, and other MDs with respect. It is unfathomable that we are losing him and Ray is still lurking in his cush office watching his flat screen TV, surfing the internet, and playing with his latest palm pilot.

As Forthright has said, this is another desperate ploy for Ray. Surely there is some way to run Ray and his entire crew out of here. The only ones who are left are all YES Mr Humphreys men/women. Its time we all said NO.

Anonymous offer this...

When will the people of Washington County wake up? Not only has Ray Humphreys and his entourage got to go, but evidently the hospital board and the Supervisors who have allowed this kind of behavior to continue must go also.

The only way to stop this madness, is to just stand up and say NO MORE!!! We refuse to let you destroy our community like you tried to do in Hattisburg. Too many loyal and experienced employees have lost their jobs at DRMC due to the fact they could not and would not be part of the yes men/women of the RAY-RAY team.

I for one will host a party in the DRMC parking lot the day that man (who I believe to be the biggest criminal in Washington county)is lead out of the building in handcuffs!!! I know I am not the only one who feels this way.

As previously noted by "Fly on the Wall", the mood in board's closed door session held with Ray last week was less than amicable. Even the board has finally figured out that continued lay-offs of clinical, direct patient care staff, is resulting in some rather "bad press"... which means even they (board members) are getting calls from citizens who are questioning their judgement in keeping Ray in power.

In response the the board's suggestion that "management" may be a bit top heavy, Ray made the monumental decision to make Dr. Rodney Frothingham the sacrificial lamb to the gods of greed and power. Instead of eliminating the "ump-teen" useless layers of middle management (jobs that were created solely to reward Ray's and his cronies' friends for their continued support and silence) Ray chose to "retire" the one man who sustained his dignity, respect, and trust throughout the community during the hospitals' merger.

Ray's paranoiac obsession to remain in power should now be clear to all. He will stop at nothing to maintain his position, even if it means sacrificing those who helped him build and sustain his empire. The entire community grieves that Dr. Frothingham was made a political pawn by Ray Humphreys and his lot. Although he will be greatly missed by his many friends whose life he touched daily; I am almost certain that Dr. Frothingham must feel somewhat relieved to be free of Ray's maniacal dictatorship.

To the rest of Ray's "coke-sipping, administrative cronies" who think they have a reserved seat in the in one of the "life-boats", you better check your tickets and keep your resumes updated. A de-throwned dictator has no friends.

"A fish rots from the head down."

Forthright

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hold your horses. Dr. Frothingham is an outstanding neurosurgeon and physician. He is a very good and decent person. BUT.... He is one of the top tier of doctors whose shadow board actually runs DRMC. Dr. Frothingham actually retired from the practice of neurosurgery years ago. He was kept on as a hospital employee so that that shadow board could continue to control the hospital. As a hospital employ and not a practicing physician - Dr. Frothingham was no longer a revenue generator for the hospital. In fact, he had one of the top paying positions at DRMC. Most of us would be very cheerful if we could walk off with a gold mine and little or no risk. Dr. Frothingham's departure is no sacrificial lamb. It boils down to basic economics - with a little HUD supervision in the background. When faced with the decision to lay off another 12 to 15 nurses - or lay off one Dr. Frothingham - the math is easy. Particularly with board digging in its heels regarding more nursing layoffs - Mr. Humphreys had no other choice. This indicates that cash is very very tight and the shadow board is getting weaker.

Anonymous said...

No one professes that Dr. Frothingham was a "revenue generator", merely a well respected citizen of our community, unlike Ray Humphreys!

Are we to believe that eliminating Dr. Frothingham's salary will turn DRMC around? I am sure that Ray will spin this to make it look like he was protecting other staff from lay-offs... how noble!

If Ray really wants to save some money, why doesn't he begin by eliminating all of the "perk" jobs that he has created to reward his loyal (and silent) supporters.

In nursing alone, there are five levels of management. That means five levels of "non-revenue producing" RNs who provide no direct patient care and yet command the largest salaries.

If you eliminated all of the administrative/management jobs of people who sip cokes all day and attend meetings to pay homage to their equally useless leader, we would see a real savings that would make Rodney's salary look like chump change!

Sure there will be more lay-offs at DRMC and there should be. Get rid of those who drain the budget, generate no revenue and provide no patient care.

I agree with Forthright. When the head is sick, the entire body suffers.

Anonymous said...

It's regrettable when anyone loses their job, but why pay someone who - according to all accounts - isn't a "revenue generator" (what a cold term to refer to someone).

If the debate is true, then this "retirement" shouldn't necessarily be scorned. To say someone should draw a huge salary because they're "nice" or because of local tradition, is ruining your own argument against hospital administration.

It doesn't alleviate the impact of the other allegations (if true), but the comment posted by Anonymous at 5:26 am makes sense.

Regarding other layers of management, the second anonymous posted, made 3:15pm, is also correct.

Anonymous said...

I know how Dr. Frothingham feels. I, too, was a political pawn. Its no fun, but it is such a relief to be free of Ray and that place.

Anonymous said...

I would have to disagree with the statement that Dr. Frothingham isn't a 'revenue generator'.

I think the books from the Rehab department from the last several years would back that statement up even with the recent decline from Medicare restrictions.

He was the Medical director of that unit. He was the admitting physician of 99.9% of all patients admitted to that unit and rounded and treated as such. If it weren't for him keeping up with all of the stringent guidelines from Medicare and Medicaid and being as knowledgeable on coding, that hospital wouldnt be as well off as it is now. It was his call on a daily basis to decide, based on the patients status and diagnosis who met the complicated guidelines. It was also based on his coding, treatment, detailed description of that patient and their progress or restrictions that kept the money rolling in for DRMC.

This is a very tedious and complicated process with all of the Medicare changes and takes a lot of patience, understanding and dedication. Even the patients from the unit will be the first to tell you that very few ever see their consulted medical physicians during their entire stay there! (Unless they are fortunate enough to have Dr.Lenoir/Cirilli or Dr.Karim that is. Just ask around in the community.)

So. Please tell me another physician that is qualified or willing to do what it takes now days to run a Rehab Center when they wouldn't even participate in the patients care before!?

The Rehab center cannot function without a medical director and the patients on the unit shouldn't have to suffer because their physicians aren't willing to take the time to care for them while they are there. Surely this was all thought out before they acted so rashly? If not, what is their ultimate plan for The Rehab Center and all of the employees that work there? Is this 'The Man's" way to finally close The Rehab Center? What a loss for this community. They would have to go to Jackson or Greenwood for an inpatient Rehab facility. So many of our communiy are already having to leave Greenville for quality services. I would hate for this to be another one.

Do your own poll. Ask around Greenville and find out what the quality of care at the Rehab center is compared to that at DRMC. I found out like many others when my Mother had to be in the hospital! Word of mouth spreads fast. No matter what your station in life is or has been. You'll never find a better place to be. Even persons on "The Board" at DRMC have had first hand experience of this.

These are sad times indeed.

*hangs head low*

Anonymous said...

I hear the Rehab Center is Ray's next hit. He's gotta focus all moneis and energies on his beloved heart hospital. How very sad.

Anonymous said...

Instead of laying off 12 - 15 nurses or Dr. Froth, how bout we lay off some of Ray's appointed crew? There are layer after layer of non-revenue producing managers, middle managers, etc. And, by the way, I don't know where anonymous rec'd info from, but Frothingham is a revenue generator. Cut out folks who burn candles in their office all day and fax happy grams over to their peon staff. There's a ton of those kinda folks. Axe them.