Residents debate what's best for health care in Danville

Community leaders and residents debated what was best for the medical community — and local patients — during a packed hearing Friday.

About 275 people came to a public hearing as part of the process to evaluate Centra’s request for a Certificate of Public Need to build two operating rooms in Danville. Centra announced plans earlier this year to build an outpatient surgery center with diagnostic imaging and a 24-hour emergency department.

More than 45 people spoke to give recorded comments to the Virginia Division of Certificate of Public Need. Bob Crowder, project review analyst with the Division of COPN, said the review process usually takes six months and the state health commissioner’s decision could come by the early summer.

Dozens of Danville Regional Medical Center employees came to the meeting to share their concerns and the desire to keep their jobs. They believe building Centra’s proposed ambulatory surgery center would hurt the hospital’s revenue — hurting the hospital’s ability to provide local services — and could possibly cost them their jobs.

Danville Regional CEO Eric Deaton allowed employees to stay on the clock if they wanted to go to the public hearing. He said he understood that employees might not have many opportunities to voice their opinions and concerns.

Several residents expressed concerns about Danville Regional’s Emergency Department, wait times, nursing staff and quality of care. They supported Centra because they believed competition would only benefit the community and perhaps bring patients and money back into Danville as they cited several examples of patients leaving the area.

Tom Jividen, executive vice president of Centra, presented Centra Ambulatory Surgery’s proposal. Jividen said the outpatient surgical center would not take surgeries and patients away from Danville Regional.

He said the backbone of a strong medical community is medical staff and physicians. The ambulatory surgery center would be a partnership with local physicians, he added.

“It’s never been our intent to take a single patient from Danville Regional,” Jividen said. “We’re simply about reversing a trend, not about causing damage to the hospital.”

At the hearing, DRMC leaders said that Centra’s operating room utilization data about the hospital was inaccurate. Jividen said the data comes from what the hospital reports to the state.

Deaton, who has been at DRMC for two months, said he was concerned the Centra project would jeopardize jobs for Danville Regional and the health of Danville.

He said Virginia law discourages proliferation of medical facilities that would impede others’ economic viability.

“We do not need a limited surgical center skimming patients off, taking patients out of town,” Deaton said.

Deborah Conner of Danville said patients are already going out of town. She was also upset to know hospital employees could still be paid while at the meeting.

“I have a major problem with this hospital. I go out of town to see all my doctors,” Conner said. “I just hope and pray we do get the Centra Health outpatient center here.”

Stacey Smith, respiratory therapist at DRMC, gave her comment while choking back tears and nervousness. She said she had been on her own since she was a teenager and Danville Regional took care of her and her family. The administration before and after the sale treated her well.

“Sorry I’m a little bit emotional. I’m not a good speaker but it’s coming from the heart,” Smith said. “They have truly saved my life.”

Smith said she knows the community is upset by the hospital’s sale to LifePoint Hospitals Inc. in 2005, but that she is in Danville because she wants to be and does everything she can to help improve delivery of care. She also noted that students in the respiratory therapist program sing Danville Regional’s praises.

Freddy Stevens spent his whole life in Danville. He understands many people believe Deaton can help the hospital.

“Why’d it take him so long to get here?” he asked.

Stevens still doesn’t see any guarantee that things will change at the hospital if residents and the state turn Centra down. He wants to see competition improve local health care.

“I’m concerned about the doctors leaving town because if we don’t have any doctors, it doesn’t really matter,” he said.

Dr. Robert Honea, president of the medical staff at Danville Regional, tried to get the hospital leadership to work with the surgeons and physicians for four years before he called Centra and asked for help.

He served as chairman of the hospital’s surgery department for six years in the past.

“I’m in a difficult position by being president of the medical staff yet trying to work with Centra, but I feel like it needs to be done in order to have the people running the hospital, to give them incentive to perform the way we can,” Honea said.

Honea has been a general surgeon in Danville for the past 20 years. In the first 15 years, he saw continual growth in his practice, the medical community and at the hospital. In the past five years, he saw more patients, services and physicians leave the community than in the first 15 years. That is directly related to LifePoint Hospitals’ policies and decisions, he said.

Many of the people that are leaving are the ones who have the insurance and resources to leave, Honea added.

At the rate it has been going, Honea said, Danville may not have general surgery 24/7 and when you don’t have general surgeons on call, that’s dangerous. Danville has three general surgeons now — down from six, five years ago.

Honea wants to stay in Danville, where he raised his six children. Yet, he needs his practice to survive. The idea for an outpatient surgery center would be to give patients who didn’t want to go to the hospital an option in-town instead of leaving town, he said.

Honea said Danville Regional’s outpatient surgery center is one of the best he’s seen and that people who go there like it. Yet, many patients simply refuse to go.

He knows the community needs the hospital and the community won’t lose the hospital, he said. Honea questions whether LifePoint will still be here.

Even if Centra doesn’t come to town, Honea thinks the process helped the hospital realize it needs to change.

“The whole process is expediting making LifePoint change the way they run this place,” Honea said. “So, no matter what the outcome is, it will be positive for the community.”

Written comments not presented at this hearing should be sent to the Virginia Department of Health at 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 401, Henrico, VA 23233 by May 13.

A FEW OF THOSE SPEAKING OUT:
• Dr. Richard Smith, medical director of DRMC’s Emergency Department: Danville Regional provides state-of-the-art care and recently upgraded and added services in the past four years, like 64-slice CT scanner and urological surgical suite.

“A viable local hospital is critical to the health of this community,” Smith said. “Please deny the COPN for Centra.”

• Carolyn Blair of Danville: Blair said her husband didn’t get the proper care at Danville Regional and would like Centra as a local option.

“They are too short-staffed to take care of sick people. I’m all for competition coming in here and perhaps getting us better service.”

• Kevin Murray, director of radiologic technology program at DRMC: Murray worries about radiologic tech program and nursing program students getting the experiences they need. He worries if surgeries and patients are taken away from DRMC, that the programs wouldn’t be able to stay accredited.

“This is absolutely ridiculous. If we needed it in Danville, then so be it,” Murray said. “We don’t need it.”

• Kamela Deel, registered nurse and director of nursing program at DRMC’s School of Health Professions: The educational programs take money and a positive cash balance. If paying patients are reduced, then DRMC won’t be able to provide comprehensive educational services.

“The proposed surgery center and anticipated impact on Danville Regional places these programs in jeopardy.”

• Frank Campbell of the Danville Regional Board of Trustees: Centra misrepresented utilization of operating rooms in its application. Danville struggles economically like other places, but in no circumstances did services drop in an alarming way.

“This is our home. We care about this community,” Campbell said. “Danville Regional Medical Center cares.”

• The Rev. Charles Breindel, pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and serves on hospital advisory board: Centra would only duplicate services that make money. Taking away those services from the hospital would only contribute to “downward spiral” of the local economy.

“I think this center will not support our needs in our community,” Breindel said.

• Norma Howard of Ringgold: Howard believes if the Centra facility could bring people back to services in Danville, then the money would come back, too.

“I would like to hit the ‘refresh button,’ on Danville,” she said.

Howard doesn’t go to Danville Regional after a “bad incident.” She goes to a doctor in Eden, N.C.

“Competition would serve to give us all the medical services that we rightfully deserve,” Howard said.

• Dr. Edwin Harvie Jr., speaking on his own behalf and not for the Free Clinic of Danville, where he is medical director: He believes the solution is for the public to stop being so “hypercritical” of the hospital.

Harvie said things are different with new leadership at Danville Regional and doesn’t think it is the right time for Centra to be granted a certificate of public need.

“I just think we are emerging from a prolonged period of darkness,” Harvie said. “I think we are seeing some light.”

• David Guill of Danville: Guill thinks DRMC needs more nurses.

“I like your hospital,” Guill said. “It’s just got to change.”