That leaves the hospital with just two cardiothoracic surgeons, down from nine years ago. To be sure, Beaumont isnt alone in suffering from a nursing shortage. The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. The nurse anesthetists at Beaumont Royal Oak, Troy and Grosse Pointe hospitals, who are critical to keeping their facilities' lucrative surgery businesses humming, are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore. Another open position is the Chief Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Social Impact Officer.. Consultants are part of the . They say waits extending six hours and beyond stem from a chronic shortage of inpatient nurses thats forced the closing of various wards. Fox, who owns homes in Atlanta and North Carolina, cant be bothered to even create the appearance that he cares about Beaumonts future. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? Copyrightdocument.write(new Date().getFullYear());Deadline Detroit, Inc. - All Rights Reserved, A Zoom video conference call that was leaked this week, a month membership or a one-time donation, Sh** Show At Beaumont Endoscopy Suite In Chaos Amid Nursing Shortage, C-Section Horror at Beaumont Lawsuit Claims Surgeon Left Sponge in Patients Abdomen, Former Spectrum CFO Trashes Beaumont Merger and Warns of 'Massive Financial Loss', Beaumont Health's Merger Partner Reveals its Disingenuous, Deceptive and Disrespectful Nature, Spectrum Healths Black Employees Explore Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Systemic Racism, Beware! Spectrum and Beaumont announced today that they are moving forward with Spectrums takeover, having provided the applicable regulatory agencies with all requested information. The deadline apparently has passed for the Federal Trade Commission to challenge the deal. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Yet the Leapfrog safety rating of Henry Fords flagship hospital in Detroit is a C, while its ambulatory center in more affluent West Bloomfield enjoys an A. HFH chief Lassiter is Black, and almost half of the flagship hospitals staff is nonwhite. Given that a survey of Beaumont doctors revealed last year they had no confidence in Fox, Wilson, and chief medical officer David Wood Jr., recruiting top quality executives to Beaumont is a near impossible challenge with Fox and Wilson at the helm. A hospital CEO committed to the best interests of their organization and the communities it services would typically demand a premium of one times the annual revenue, meaning Spectrum should pay nearly $5 billion to take over Beaumont. Nessel also has made that claim. Beaumont spokesman Mark Geary ignored a request for comment, which he typically does. The nursing shortage in our state is a critical and complex challenge that must be solved with bold and collaborative solutions, the Detroit Free Press quoted Freese Decker as saying. Other state attorney generals have also shown a willingness to take on the powerful interests of U.S. hospital companies. The release, which Fream presumably signed off on, said her appointment was part of a normal governance leadership rotational process.. Grand Rapids business community is small and tight knit, and Spectrum is a major employer in western Michigan. By that measure Fox, Wilson, and Wood have poor performance scorecards. Eric Starkman of Los Angeles is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. In addition to lacking a CFO and chief compliance officer, Beaumont has yet to find a replacement for its chief marketing officer, who left last September. Spectrums board includes Doug DeVos, co-chair of Amway, whose family is among the most powerful in Michigan. The FTC decision to implicitly rubber stamp Spectrums takeover underscores the weakness of President Bidens leadership and the little respect he commands, even among his own appointees. My guess is that if Freed understood how Beaumonts directors stood idly by while Beaumont imploded, hed challenge their appointments regardless. Spectrum was projecting a loss of $57.1 million, which also is an eye-opening surprise. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. Those warnings are what led Congress to approve the financial largesse that Beaumont and other hospitals benefited from. A lifelong Michigander with an impressive background, Barbee resigned in October to join Indiana University Health as head of HR. If theyre out there, theyre certainly not easy to find and, no, a few quotes about financials every quarter does not count as transparency, at least not in my book.. Disparities in healthcare are typically blamed on racism of U.S. doctors and other health professionals. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. To support Deadline Detroit's independent journalism, please sign up for a $3a month membership or a one-time donation. Said Kevin Cawley, a Michigan health care consultant: The only possible value I could identify (for the merger) was in national and international physician recruitment, and that frankly is a stretch.. Beaumont CEO John Fox will forever be remembered in the Detroit area as a con man. Beaumont Royal Oak in the past 18 months has lost more than a dozen prominent surgeons, half of its fellowship trained anesthesiologists, more than 50 nurse anesthetists, and dozens of nurses. He tweeted on Thursday that he was cautiously optimistic about certain aspects of the partnership. According to an email obtained by the Detroit TV station, Beaumont transferred its Covid patients because the CEO said the hospital system was losing too much money treating them. All of Spectrums top executives are based in Grand Rapids, which is understandable since none of Foxs top lieutenants remained with the company. More importantly, I doubt that Spectrums doctors would feel the need to circumvent management in the first place. Carey has spent more than 20 years as a . Reach Eric Starkman at: eric@starkmanapproved.com. Under Freese Deckers leadership, Spectrum experienced considerable turnover of its Black employees, some of whom approached an attorney to explore whether they had cause to file a discrimination lawsuit. Spectrum is a competently run company on an upward trajectory, while Beaumont is a very damaged goods operation. In his letter, Freed expresses concern that seven Beaumont directors will be named to the combined Spectrum-Beaumont board and that they could ultimately exert undue influence. John Fox, the Atlanta carpetbagger who washed up on the shores of southeastern Michigan seven years ago to bolster Beaumont Healths profits and gussy up Metro Detroits biggest hospital network so that he could sell it, appears hes pulled off what he set out to do. Why isnt Freese Decker following through on that supposedly great initiative? John Kerndl and Denise Waters. Beaumont spent nearly $2 million on union busters when nurses at the Royal Oak hospital attempted to organize in 2019. Starkman: Why Beaumont's John Fox Could Haul More Than $30 Million Back to Atlanta Tweet. Beaumont CEO John Fox is headed for the door Friday. However, Beaumont Royal Oak is one of the busiest surgical centers in the country. Meet Michael Freed, decidedly among the bravest persons in . By Eric Starkman . Even more disconcerting: Beaumont chairwoman Julie Fream will serve as chairwoman if the companies merge. Is that still on track given Beaumonts oceans of red ink? Underscoring Beaumonts disregard for transparency, the company routinely waits till the very last day before filing its Form 990, a document nonprofits are required to make public revealing compensation and other critical information. Eric Starkman of Los Angeles is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. Southeastern Michigan residents shouldnt look to Rep. Andy Levin to save the day. . Beaumont is a crippled hospital network on management life support. The metric that matters most is quality of patient care. Under their oversight, Beaumont suffered a precipitous decline in reputation and quality of care. Starkman: Electric Vehicles and the Exploitation of Michigan Taxpayers. By Eric Starkman. Board chair Fream, who holds a Harvard MBA, told The Detroit News that Beaumont's board used an "independent consultant" to determine Fox's compensation. The quality of care has declined to such a degree that insiders readily admit they wouldnt entrust their families care to the hospital. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel could also have moved to block the Spectrum deal or demanded certain concessions, but she has proven to be a regulatory lightweight, particularly on matters relating to healthcare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services objectively ranks hospitals for quality and Beaumont recently got dismal results: Of Beaumonts eight hospitals, only Beaumont Troy, which is overseen by managers willing to stand up to Fox and Wilson, earned a coveted 5-star rating. According to a source, some travel nurses are being paid lucrative wages to work only three or four shifts a week. That Fream will serve as chair of the board overseeing a combined Spectrum and Beaumont is a disgrace and underscores Michigans poor leadership. Spectrum reported that Beaumont's operations already have racked up nearly $100 million in losses. ", a month membership or a one-time donation, Beaumont Health's Merger Partner Reveals its Disingenuous, Deceptive and Disrespectful Nature, Spectrum Healths Black Employees Explore Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Systemic Racism, Beware! Even when Fox announces a merger deal with Spectrum, theres still no guarantee it will go through. If Michigan had a competent attorney general or a governor with a healthcare interest beyond abortion rights, the deal would have been derailed. It comes as no surprise that Spectrums takeover received the green light. Various studies, including one published in 2019 by Harvard researchers, also show that hospital mergers result in worsened patient experiences. To support Deadline Detroit's independent journalism, please sign up for a $3a month membership or a one-time donation. Not a situation one would expect given that Freese Decker said her biggest priority was building a health system that celebrates and reinforces diversity and inclusion.. I dont know how we could handle a catastrophe, said a source at Royal Oaks ER. The good news is that Beaumont isnt overrun with critically ill Covid patients, which suggests that vaccines are doing what they were intended to do: Prevent people who contract the disease from becoming critically ill and dying. The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer and formerDetroit News business reporter, blogs atStarkman Approved. As a result, patients requiring hospital admission must remain in the ER, diverting beds and staff normally dedicated to treating emergencies. Its reasonable to assume the real reason for Freams elevation was the board knew Fox was close to inking a deal with a merger partner. The deal, which was announced Thursday, is still subject to various regulatory approvals. Ive been looking for the past week and have not located them. Far from it. Freed doesnt disclose his hunch about Beaumonts financials, which received less oversight than he possibly knows. But ER nurses are angry with Melissa Foreman Lovell, Troys chief nursing officer, who they say rarely appears at the hospital. Freese Decker grabbed the brass ring, but it was badly tarnished. That's bad news for Metro Detroit's biggest hospital system. Spectrum no doubt knew that Fox was desperate to unload Beaumont, so Freese Decker had him by the cajones. The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer, is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs atStarkman Approved. The promised dual headquarters was also BS. Several prominent Beaumont doctors warned the board they had serious concerns about the anesthesia outsourcing company before it took over, but Beaumonts board ignored the concerns. Employees blame them both for Beaumonts implosion. Spectrums board is certainly a lot tougher on compensation. Wright Lassiter III, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health System, is chair of the AHA. Much of Freeds letter focuses on why merging with Beaumont is very bad for western Michigan residents, but in doing so he calls out Beaumonts lack of financial transparency and notes that the few disclosures Beaumont makes dont add up. Starkman: Beaumont's Woes Prove CEO Tina Freese Decker Unfit to Run Michigan's Biggest Hospital System Tweet Share August 19, 2022, 3:14 PM The writer, a Los Angeles freelancer and former. Starkman: Electric Vehicles and the Exploitation of Michigan Taxpayers. Freese Decker held various strategic and operational roles before being named to the top job in 2018. Beaumont employees and vendors are encouraged to reach out, with confidentiality assured. It speaks volumes that Spectrum Health CEO Tina Freese Decker and her fellow directors have chosen to get into bed with the directors who are ultimately responsible for the implosion of Beaumont Health. That wasnt entirely true. Those workforce headwinds should have been known to Freese Decker well before she took over Beaumont. But Spectrums management is 100 percent running the show. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? Eric Starkman of Los Angeles is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved. Meet Michael Freed, decidedly among the bravest persons in Michigan and one who acts on his conscience when it comes to protecting the health care of his hometown Grand Rapids community. That would mean it will take at least five years for Spectrums nurse program to bear fruit, so it wont do anything to alleviate the current nursing shortage. Maybe they dont teach this at the University of Iowa from where Freese Decker received her Master of Health Administration, but when a hospital spends nearly $2 million as John Fox did to intimidate nurses at his flagship Royal Oak hospital and derailed a unionizing attempt, it creates bad blood. Beaumont is offering all its nurses systemwide an additional $45 to $50 an hour bonus to work beyond their assigned shifts, an additional $15 an hour for techs. Eric Starkman of Los Angeles is a former Detroit News business reporter who blogs at Starkman Approved.. By Eric Starkman. The only aspect of the deal worth cheering about is that Fox will finally be removed from Beaumont, but the company shouldnt have to lose its independence to make that happen. Share. As of this writing, Freeds letter received 40 likes and other shows of support, and not a single criticism. Why would Beaumont nurses want to remain on staff when they can make more money working at a staffing agency? Private rooms are increasingly critical during the pandemic because shared rooms significantly increase the number of medical staff and guests entering, thereby increasing the risk to both patients. My sense about Spectrum is that if doctors had serious patient safety concerns and felt the need to circumvent management to get them addressed, the hospital companys board would take the matter quite seriously. to Michigan Tweet. But unlike Beaumont, Henry Fords staffing issues arent due to mismanagement. The Detroit Free Press quotedSpectrum's Freese Decker as saying, Today is a historic day. Its one of the rare instances where shes made a statement of undeniable truth. ER sources at Royal Oak and Troy say Covid patients account for a small percentage seeking emergency treatment. Spectrum was projecting a loss of $57.1 million, which . Beaumont Troy, the only hospital in the companys network with a 5-star ranking for safety from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid, doesnt have the management strife of Royal Oak. He's even willing to. Six months into Freese Deckers acquisition of Beaumont Health from former controversial CEO John Fox, metro Detroits biggest hospital system is suffering from a pandemic of red ink. Beaumont Royal Oak nurses must sometimes tend to as many as seven at a time. Studies also show that hospital mergers also result in a decline in patient care. 'The Week That Was:' Will Kristina Karamo Seriously Damage Michigan's Republican Party? But Beaumonts release last month announcing her elevation to chair to replace John Lewis provides some insight. 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