Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Headless "Horsemen"

Anonymous witnessed...

I was one of those outsiders who attended the extravaganza at Harlows. Wow, what a spread! Alcohol was flowing and the tables were filled with massive amounts of shrimp and prime rib. Yum.

For some reason, they invited spouses...how odd for a coding seminar? And yes, Ray Ray was there; wining and dining his providers. Funny thing is, halfway thru the speaker's presentation, he confidentially rose from his seat with his wife at his side and left. I guess he made it for cocktail hour and ate a good meal and he was done. Just like he is gonna do the folks at DRMC.

He will be gone in a flash after he has feasted on DRMC. And, yes, he had his little blackberry companion there with him, Alphe. Mazie was present too smiling like there was no tomorrow ready for a "yes sir, Mr. Humphreys" on command.

And, let's not forget Allyson, large and in charge in her stiletos. There is no telling how much that deal cost and just today I was in the hospital listening to nurses being sent home for "low census" as their nurse manager assured them, "we gotta be productive, they are watching us closely". What a JOKE!

How productive is that brand spanking new NICU? It is a lonely unit with no docs or nurses. Ray is such a brilliant visionary, isn't he? This board should be ASHAMED of themselves. They know full well exactly what is going on and they allow it to continue.

We can only surmise that the board is IN on it all or else surely someone would do their job and put a stop to this irresponsible team of liars who identify them as the DRMC administration! When will it end??

A "coding seminar"... indeed? I wonder how Ray instructed the accounting department to "code" this little extravaganza on the books? Is there no end to this man's blatant disregard for public trust?

Ray is a "con-man" pure and simple. Literally run out of Hattiesburg, Ray stumbled into the Delta where he found a political system so steeped in corruption, ignorance and apathy, that even his malicious deeds would pale by comparison. He quickly "purchased" a few prominent Docs by offering them ultimate control and power over the DRMC dynasty in return for their support... a sweet deal for all!

Like a puppeteer, Ray could stay in the shadows, pulling the strings, while the "Docs" called the shots. Ray is the perfect front-man with his Bible-thumping humility and phony smile. Who would not trust this deacon of the church... surely he would not lie to us?

So who controls DRMC today you ask? Is it the board of trustees or supervisors? No, they are simply "pawns" who were hand-selected by Ray for their complicity and "silence". The power behind DRMC is a select group of physicians, formally known as the "horsemen". They tell Ray when to dance and when to "sit out".

The "horsemen" revel in Ray's stupidity, for at the end of the day, their jobs are secure. When Ray falls, they will be the first group to indict his character and they shall all rally to challenge his motives. At this point, Ray shall simply move on and we can only hope that we have derived some lesson from fallen empires.

Forthright

Saturday, May 24, 2008

"Teflon Ray"

Current Employee notes...

Yes, you should have seen them all, the DRMC Executive suite, last night at Harlowes casino, wining and dining the doctors. It made me sick to look at them.

The biggest Baptist of them all, Sunday school teacher Ray Ray drinking in the casino at a DRMC sponsored event. What happened to the county not being allowed to pay for alcohol?

How does the hospital have the money to pay for a fancy shindig at Harlowes yesterday, when today they made us send staff home because of low census "flexing"?

Former Employee offers:

Allison Williams is simply a bitch. At least Florence has a few friends... Allison has none!

Alphe Wells is the biggest joke of all. He was hired as a token black at the board's direction. He ran off all of the competent staff he inherited from KD and spends his days polishing his fingernails and conversing with Ray via his blackberry.

Alphe is probably the biggest stooge Ray ever hired. He is not only incompetent, but he presents himself as a complete buffoon who knows nothing about human resources.

I agree with the writer above that Courtney Phillips is the only one with any scruples; however, Ray's power to corrupt is mighty strong! Woody White fled Greenville when he finally saw the depth of Ray's corruption and decided he wouldn't look good in stripes!

The physicians practice mess is real! I have friends who are knowledgeable of its finances and DPP is in deep trouble! Ray Humphreys is going to spend his way out of Greenville. Everything he owns is for sale including his house and hunting club membership. He will flee Greenville one day like a scalded dog and we will be left to clean up his mess... just like in Hattiesburg!

I vote we kick his ass out of here before he bankrupts DRMC and leaves the Delta with no viable healthcare. The entire administration needs to go... they are all Ray's peons who have no other interest than to protect their "outrageous" incomes!

Greenville needs to get off their asses and demand quality healthcare for the delta. DRMC is one of the biggest disgraces in the Delta! 4 million dollar ad campaign?... what a waste! It is like dressing a pig...it may be more pleasing to the eye, but at the end of the day, it is still a pig!


Sleeping Giant adds:

The sad part is, Ray does not realize the incompetence of the so called "administrators" he has surrounded himself with. Nor does he care to notice. It does not matter to him because he is not held accountable nor challenged.

As for DPP, Alyson Williams is the head idiot in charge. DPP has lost millions over the past several years. Physicians are employed at three times the national average. If exposed, these extreme overpayments would definitely border on Stark and Anti-Kickback law violations. These physicians have very little incentive to perform since most of there salaries are guaranteed.

Some people have business sense but Alyson Williams has none. As for the wine and dine, I am not surprised. As for religion, it is sad in business when religion is invoked to diminish the possibility of a decision being questioned.

How many times have we heard the announcement of stupid decision begin with, "Well, I have done a lot of praying about this and.......!" I believe God endowed some with the intelligence to make good business decisions without having to ask. I know Ray Humphreys and Alyson William are not of these.

Sincerely,
Sleeping Giant

Anonymous Dittos...

To "sleeping Giant" Ditto, Ditto, Ditto..... were you and I at the same meeting or do these people always say- well I have prayed about this and it would be in the best interest in the hospital if we replaced your job with someone less competent-mmmmm- always beware of the wolf in sheep's clothing.....

Ray Humphreys in a casino... surely NOT... an upstanding deacon of the Baptist Church drinking and gambling in a den of inequity? Perhaps Ray had prayed about it and been directed to go forth and save the fallen souls of these misguided MDs? Huummm?

Ordinarily, I would suggest that the "Boards" be notified; however, I would bet that they were also present at the county sponsored shin-dig, lapping up the spoils of being "bought and paid for".

Lately, I have heard a great deal about the woes of Delta Physicians Practice. It seems that this LLC is where Ray hides much of the massive debt incurred through the outrageous salaries he has guaranteed physicians to come to Greenville.

These physicians get paid the same whether they are productive or not; while, the clinical and nonclinical staff of DRMC are sent home daily due to low census. Periods of low census are a reality in all health care settings and can be adjusted for through proactive, sound fiscal planning.

However, sending low paid workers home to offset the six figure incomes of MDs and Administrators is simply not good practice, not to mention a real morale-buster! It is no wonder their employees are fleeing by the day.

A successful, productive hospital has to have competent leadership and satisfied employees. DRMC has neither! I know of two types of employees at DRMC: those who dred going to their jobs and are vocal about it; and those who dred going to their jobs and are silenced by fear and intimidation from administration. It is sad that anyone has to work in a place they despise.

Like a former mafia leader, Ray's nickname should be "Teflon Ray" because nothing ever sticks to him. His "protective coating" is graft, corruption and bribery. As an added defense, Ray uses God's words and "prayer" to justify his self-serving deeds.

I predict that Ray Humphreys will disappear from Greenville overnight, like a passing storm front. We will awaken to the disaster and devastation that he will leave in his wake, and like all stunned victims, we will suffer and lament, "If only we had been warned..."

Take heed Greenville. The casualties of DRMC will be real; they will be numerous; and they will be among you all.

Forthright

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

"Curiouser and Curiouser"

Curious said...

Ray Humphreys announced today that this is only the third year that DRMC has lost money since the purchase of KDH. Wow, it was purchased in 2005... and this is 2008... do the math!

The NICU is finally complete and ready to open. All they need are doctors and nurses to staff the unit... a minor detail!

New ER is coming right along. The construction has provided the staff with a handy excuse for the 8 to 10 hour waits... although construction workers outnumber nurses 2 to 1.

LTACH... what a grand idea! It requires twice the staff of an acute care facility and Ray can't even staff the hospital. Just another "build it and they will come" folly.

By the way, what crop are "we tax payers" raising this year in Ray's field of dreams?

My sources reveal that Ray actually bragged about a $50,000 profit! I don't know which is worse... admitting a loss or boasting about a profit of $50K for a multi-million dollar operation. One nurse makes more than $50K! That, to me, would suggest that the county needs to scrutinize Ray's accounting practices.

Let's remember that DRMC is a giant "shell game" composed of many "pieces" such as Home Health and DPP (Delta Physician's Practice). A talented magician such as Ray can shuffle the debt around in such a fashion as to fool even the most watchful eye(s). DPP (the entity that employees physicians) has been operating in the red for several years and continues to hemorrhage "green" every month. Who is watching this "store"?

Who controls DPP and who are the board members? Is there a link between DRMC and DPP? Does the public have access to DPP's accounting and P&L statements? These are all revealing questions that I would challenge our local newspaper to investigate and report; however, I won't hold my breath.

Ray's hands are as dirty as ever, albeit, he has "purchased" the silence of all who surround and protect him. The good news is that like Caesar, he has made many enemies who lust for his power and will not hesitate to bring him down for their survival. A house of cards has to lose but one of its primary supports before it simply tumbles.

Ray, your time is near.

Forthright

Thursday, May 08, 2008

What Parents Don't Know...

Protective mother said...

Years ago, my child came home from school upset, frustrated, angry and rebellious, totally out of character. He was not willing to tell me what was wrong, "Nothing" is all he would say. Was it bullies? Was it the school work? Was it the teacher?

I found out one day when I happened to be a Room mother for the day, in my daughter's classroom, her room happened to not be far from my son's classroom. I heard clearly that teacher screaming at the entire class that they were "stupid", "idiots", "lazy"!!!

She singled out several as the worst. One was my son, who until her class, had always been on the A honor roll for years and always considered one of the best students of the other prior teachers. That day, I had a long talk with my son about what I heard and reassured him that I was going to take action. Of course, he was afraid and intimidated by this teacher for fear of her repercussions to him, I told him not to worry things would change for the better.

The next morning, I arrived at the Principal's office and told him what was going on and that it had better stop immediately. But; I took it one step farther, I told that principal that I was going to sit in on this class as a parent observer, until I got the message across to this teacher that this was unacceptable. He agreed. I did just that, it only took one day. I told the teacher I was there to observe the school work to help my son, since his grades were falling.

She was not happy about it, but accepted my given reason. I sat all the way through the day. My son was scared, but at the same time, glad I was there. The other children appeared to be relieved too. At the end of the day, with nothing said prior during the day, I waited till the kids were gone, then I told her the "real" reason why I was there. Of course, she denied it and in my presence, she was well behaved all the day.

She had no idea that I had heard her the day before, but I let her know I had indeed heard her. I told her that if I EVER heard of her doing my kid or any kids like that again, I would go straight to the board and demand her resignation and if that did not work, the local media would be next. Needless to say it did not happen again, I sporadically went by her classroom on every chance I had, all was well.

My son began to do better and at the end of the year received the Presidential Academic Achievement award for the highest average of all the students for the six years of elementary. the award was presented to him by this same teacher. She was shocked that he had been named for this award. Apparently, she had no clue to his prior years of honor roll achievements.

The following year, that teacher was not rehired. I made sure a few board member friends, knew of her out of control behavior to be sure of it. So yes, parents need to take action and back their threats with whatever is at hand, the board, the media, whatever it takes to stop whatever needs to be stopped and to change whatever needs to be changed.....or THEIR child will pay the price for THEIR neglect and shame on them for having no spine to fight for their child and other children. No child can learn in an oppressive or frightening environment.

There is a large difference between classroom discipline and hostile tyranny. I know first hand what that is like, I was that same child, when I was little and promised myself then, that my kids would never have to suffer from an abusive and cruel teacher, as long as I had breath in me to fight back for them.

It is unfortunate that this type of scrutiny and oversight is necessary in our schools these days, but it is. More parents should get involved in their children's education... and the day that I was denied access to my child's classroom would be the last day of his enrollment in that school.

In my day, parents were not only a welcomed part of the educational system, but were present at almost all functions. The PTA was more about getting parents actively involved in a child's education than mere "pot luck and power-point".

Nothing will change if parents do not demand change! If it takes a national "60 Minutes" tell-all story and a band of cut-throat attorneys, so be it. Why should our children suffer under a tyrannical code of silence imposed by power-mongers and their stooges?

Our children have but one chance at a good education. Once that opportunity is missed, their entire future is in jeopardy.

Forthright

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Predators Among Us

"Concerned in Leland" writes:

Latest scandals from the wonderful "Leland School District":

A couple of weeks ago Dr. Richards had her latest cover up. She is always covering up something to keep Leland School District's reputation gleaming. This time it is not the inappropriate shenanigans of adults during the school day in front of the little students. This time we had a teacher say grossly improper sexual things to a female student.

This was not the first charge of this kind against him. He even supposedly has sexually related charges against him in his own hometown which is not Leland. Dr. Richards, as usual thinks she is the judge and the jury and instead of alerting the legal authorities that Leland Schools has a sexual predator among us, she did her own investigation and apparently decided it would be wise to let this man resign and keep this all very quiet so his and Leland's reputation will not be hurt.

Now he says he has offers from other school districts and since his reputation is untarnished he can go somewhere else and prey on other young girls. When he got found out though, he apparently blew the whistle on all his coworkers that are doing the same kind of stuff. The students are even talking about another male teacher who bought a female student a cell phone so that they can text and talk privately.

It seems that this is not only going on at Leland School Park but at Leland High School also. It's all being kept very hush hush. But Dr. Richards is true to form and wants nothing to hurt the reputation of HER level five school district. It seems that she has crossed the line this time and put students in danger trying to further her own agenda. She has allowed so much to go on at Leland School Park this year, putting first graders to 8th graders in harms way.

The principal there is apparently also unconcerned about all the inappropriate stuff going on right under her nose. How do they continue to get away with all this. Somebody with some power has got to stop them!

Once again, these are serious charges leveled against the LSD Superintendent. There are strict laws against any form of harassment, particularly sexual, and public schools are certainly not exempt. Sexual predators in our schools should not be tolerated. If any school official has knowledge of such behavior by a staff member and does not report it to the authorities, he/she is as guilty as the predator.

To permit this type of behavior is to promote it! Such acts are not "rule violations", they are malicious crimes of abuse and should be dealt with by the law. If Dr. Richards has made such a gross error in judgement as to grant this sexual predator his freedom, she should be dismissed immediately.

Parents have enough worries about peer pressure when they send their children off to school. Being "hit on" by a staff member should be very near the bottom of their list. School officials who cover up these deplorable crimes should share the same cells as the predators!

Forthright