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Dr. Joseph Thornton, a surgeon, said he is fed up with UMC management and has moved his patients to other hospitals.
Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Dr. Nick Spirtos has criticized CEO Kathy Silver's management at University Medical Center.
Sun Archives
- UMC suspends 6 staff members pending investigation(12-11-2009)
- At UMC, audits show privacy lapses are not new(11-24-2009)
- FBI looking at UMC records leak(11-21-2009)
- Hospital privacy leak could harm patients(11-20-2009)
- Grant to restore cancer programs at UMC (5-28-2009)
- Fighting for its life, UMC program loses patient (4-14-2009)
- A black eye in medicine brings posturing, again (4-9-2009)
- UMC CEO: Bill to open cancer center doesn't address funding (4-8-2009)
- State measure could force closure of UMC, county says (3-31-2009)
The ranks of public critics of University Medical Center now include two surgeons who teach at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and are steering patients — and millions of dollars in revenue — away from the public hospital.
The surgeons say problems at the scandal-plagued county hospital start at the top, with a CEO who is detached from the day-to-day operations and unresponsive to physicians’ complaints.
Primary among their concerns, they say, are inefficiently managed operating rooms, leading to long waits for patients and delayed surgeries, and the administration’s inability to correct the problems.
The doctors say the hospital is losing a significant amount of revenue because they and their peers are avoiding UMC and redirecting their insured patients elsewhere.
Last fiscal year UMC lost about $70 million, and this year it’s expected to be worse. Hospital officials have blamed the mounting losses on the economy and uninsured patients.
But Dr. Joseph Thornton, an associate professor of surgery at the School of Medicine, offered records to the Sun showing his practice was bringing about $9 million in annual charges to UMC. He and his partner began diverting patients in recent months to other facilities.
The reason, Thornton said: “There’s no leadership over there. It’s gone from bad to worse.”
Dr. Nick Spirtos said Kathy Silver, UMC’s CEO, didn’t consult physicians before closing outpatient cancer services in 2008. Spirtos, who also teaches at the School of Medicine, was featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes” for caring for the nonpaying cancer patients who were rejected by UMC, which is supported by public funding to care for the uninsured.
Spirtos said he works in almost every local hospital and none has a CEO who is less engaged or responsive to physicians than Silver.
“Anyone who wants to speak up is labeled as an outlier or a complainer,” Spirtos said. “If you want to make any constructive criticism, you are immediately an outcast.”
Both doctors said they were not speaking on behalf of the School of Medicine.
Silver said Spirtos is an “interesting character,” who is bitter because he was passed over for a contract for obstetric-gynecological services at UMC. Now he’s angry and complaining to Clark County commissioners, she said.
“He’s just out there doing so much malice that it’s hard to contain him,” she said.
For her part, Silver characterized Spirtos as disruptive.
Answered Spirtos: “Was I a disruptive physician when I took all her cancer patients?”
Spirtos said although he sought the OB-GYN contract, he is going public with his complaints because every other attempt to bring about change has fallen on deaf ears.
Silver said Thornton is a good doctor who has developed an angry personality.
“I don’t know what she is talking about,” said Thornton, who added that he does not know Silver.
Thornton said his ire was triggered when he and his partner could not get the operating time they needed for patients. He blamed it on mismanagement.
The problem erupted in June when he and his partner found their patients had not been prepared for their procedures at the hospital.
Thornton said when he raised his voice in anger, the operating-room manager called security and three guards showed up with handcuffs. Thornton, who is 64 and not an intimidating presence, was shocked and insulted.
“I can’t believe this,” Thornton said he told the UMC staff. “Because you’re (screwing) up you’re going to throw me in handcuffs and take me out of the hospital!”
Thornton went to the waiting room and told his patients to report immediately to a nearby surgical center and Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, where he would perform their procedures. Since then, he’s transferred the bulk of his cases to other facilities.
Steve Sisolak, who as a county commissioner is on the UMC board, said he had not heard of the doctors complaints, but it’s a big problem if they’re taking paying patients away from the hospital.
“If in fact they are doing that, it’s going to greatly alter the payer mix, which is already not good at UMC,” Sisolak said.
Silver said she thinks the operating-room manager overreacted when she called security, and the woman was later dismissed. She blamed the delays on preoperative paperwork not having been properly completed by the physicians’ staffs.
Brian Brannman, UMC’s chief operating officer, said during the hospital’s recent construction there was some difficulty registering patients, but “we’re making a lot of headway in that area.”
After the Sun contacted UMC on Tuesday, Thornton called the Sun, saying he received a phone call from the School of Medicine’s surgery department chairman, who was apparently concerned Thornton’s public complaint would hurt UMC’s reputation.
Thornton said Silver promised to hire a consultant and UMC appeared to be addressing the problems. He said he still performs some procedures at UMC.
Spirtos did not back down in his criticism of Silver or his beliefs about the mismanagement of UMC. The turnover time between cases in the operating room is often more than an hour, he said, leaving him wasting time. Materials are wasted in the operating room and not carefully tallied to contain spending as is the case at other hospitals, he said.
“All of these things have gone unaddressed because you essentially have a CEO who, if she was a head football coach, never comes down on the football field,” Spirtos said.
Spirtos criticized Silver’s response to the most recent scandals at UMC — the leak of private patient information that is being investigated by the FBI, and a case where a woman with abdominal pain was ignored in the emergency room and later miscarried. Other doctors would come forward and complain, he said, but they are intimidated and afraid of losing business at UMC.
“There will be considerable criticism for anyone who goes public,” Spirtos said. “But someone needs to say that a change needs to be made.”
yeah, wait till the employee's come forward again,they've stopped because its gone on deaf ears. lol It is true, complain and you are tagged with the bulls eye, anything that goes wrong there your blamed.... and threatened with thier security, who play golf with metro...who turn around and throw charges at ya, destroying people lives. Like I said once before CLOSE this facility down it is so corrupt....Finally the doctors are coming forward.... Yes keep coming, let the public hear what type of a facility this really is. There are more than enough other facilities that can absorb the indigent care without damaging thier profit and loss.
I'm so glad the government is taking over healthcare. That way it not only spreads the wealth....but it will also spread the suffering and misery.
Where is the leadership of Rory Reid? Now that he is running for governor he is silent on issues effecting the public and as a county commissioner has born responsibility for this outrage called UMC. Politics instead of medicine, just like we will all face with his daddy's great reform of health care where bureaucrats will destroy your health and doctors will be expected to follow orders.
This is not criticism from the "medical field" this is one doctors gripe session. How long did you have to look to find Thornton to show you had more than one doctor who had a beef with the hospital? How many doctors are on staff at UMC? I bet they have more than 500. You found 2 that have a problem? Congratulations, that's real news!
Actually it would be surprising if an institution in Las Vegas was not corrupt.
As someone who works in medical office, I will attest to patients' resistance to UMC. No one wants to go there: they go because of insurance issues or because of a particular doctor. That is a comment about the management of UMC: even when people are dying they would rather not go!
The fiasco of trying to register patients can only leave one praying that the level of care for a patient is better than the paperwork.
Also, Dr Spirtos and Dr Thornton may be the first physicians speaking out about abominable practices at UMC, and they will take the flak, but that doesn't mean that they are malcontents.
In fact, Kathy Silver responding with personal attacks on prominent physicians is laughable: when someone points out the glaring inadequacies of your administration, don't call them names, this is not kindergarten. Tell us why your management style loses the facility millions of dollars per year, and now is losing the physicians who bring in millions of dollars a year! People in Nevada need medical care and doctors like Spirtos and Thornton who provide it!
Good for Dr. Joe. He is one of the kindest, most even-tempered practioners you will ever meet. I was a patient of his years ago and I can tell you that even though the medical problem was no picnic, I actually looked forward to seeing him as I had to do for so many years. Just a really friendly, personable man and the surgery he performed on me went flawlessly. Just a real gentleman all around.
To show you what a stand up guy Dr. Joe is, years later, when my husband was suddenly diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer and then, God help us, had a heart attack two days after surgery, Dr. Joe called me EVERY NIGHT while I'd be at that hospital (not UMC, thank God), to check on my well-being, see how my husband was doing and offer valuable, and, as far as I'm concerned, life-saving advice and referrals for my husband. I honestly don't know how I would have made it through that time without his support. Dr. Joe is a great man.
As for those saying he is just "griping", I would hope a surgeon would "gripe" if the hospital screwed up the way UMC did!! His patients come first, so of course Dr. Joe got angry. What's he supposed to do, shrug his shoulders, tell his patients to go home and say, "Oh, well"? This isn't Cuba, people!! (Yet)
God bless you, Dr. Joe. I am as proud of you now as I was to be your patient then.
Good for Dr. Joe. He is one of the kindest, most even-tempered practioners you will ever meet. I was a patient of his years ago and I can tell you that even though the medical problem was no picnic, I actually looked forward to seeing him as I had to do for so many years. Just a really friendly, personable man and the surgery he performed on me went flawlessly. A true gentleman all around.
And, to show you what a caring, stand up guy Dr. Joe is, years later, when my husband was suddenly diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer and then, God help us, had a heart attack two days after surgery, Dr. Joe called me EVERY NIGHT while I'd be at that hospital (not UMC, thank God), to check on my well-being, see how my husband was doing and offer valuable,and, as far as I'm
concerned, life-saving advice and referrals for my husband. I honestly don't know how I would have
made it through that time without his support.
As for those saying he is just "griping", I would hope a surgeon would "gripe" if the hospital screwed up the way UMC did!! His patients come first, so of course Dr. Joe got angry. What's he supposed to do, shrug his shoulders, tell his patients to go home and say, "Oh, well"? This isn't Cuba, people!! (Yet)
God bless you, Dr. Joe. I am as proud of you now as I was to be your patient then.
My wife had an appointment with the Womens Cancer Clinic, afterwards we went to the UMC and tried to ger her admitted. The process was so revolting we ended up just leaving. Now I read this article and I am wondering why didn't CEO Silver address the issues that were brought up? Attacking the doctors who are revealing some of the problems at UMC appears to me an admission of guilt. UMC should be the premier hospital all physcians would want to use. To have doctors move their patients to other facilities speaks volumes. What does the hospital board have to say? I don't blame the doctors for being angry. I am sure there are many more doctors at UMC who have complaints but fear the consequences of speaking out.
While public hospitals are expected to lose money, there is no excuse for driving great doctors (who bring in millions in revenue) away from a public hospital. Both of these doctors thought that the leadership was so bad that they were willing to risk public anger in order to get it out in the open. I would want very solid reasons to go public before taking such a risk. Get rid of Kathy Silver before more of our identities are stolen and before more lives are lost.
WOW- KATHY SILVER CALLED A DR "angry". BETTER BET A DEFAMANTION SUIT WILL BE FORTHCOMING. THAT AFFECTS HIS PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION.
For Petes sake, when is Lawrence Weekly going to insist on Kathys resignation? How much more money will her actions have to cost us in lawsuit settlements?
HMMM, WE HAVE THE PATIENTS WITH PRIVACY VIOLATIONS, A WOMAN WHOSE BABY DIES, AND NOW A DR BEING DEFAMED...
Looks like Millions to me.
Merry Christmas Commissioner Weekely.
Statements made in this story from Kathy Silver are personal attack on both Dr. Thornton and Dr. Spirtos and are 'unacceptable'. I know Dr. Spirtos professionally and Silver's statements are not true. Dr Spirtos works long hours at the Woman's Cancer Center of Nevada, treats all women with or with out healthcare insurance. Patients follow up for Chemo Therapy provided through the Woman's Cancer of Nevada for all his patients with or without insurance. Does this sound like a Doctor that is "interesting character," and "He's just out there doing so much malice that it's hard to contain him," ???
quote by Silver? I think not. Let's see your track record Silver? Before you take on 2 outstanding Doctors that are Professors at the Medical School and have private offices, let's see what you are doing to 're-educate' your staff and departments to function c-o-r-r-e-c-t-l-y . This is UMC you represent. We are not selling cars here, we are treating people.
Kathy Silver needs to be terminated. The place is a wreck. Enough already!
UMC needs a full makeover with its governing staff, CEO Silver needs to go.
My aunt went there for a surgical procedure and found that due to their "reconstruction" as noted in the article and waiting for an answer from UMC staff, she had to be rescheduled. Her doctor was also extremely upset at UMC's mishandling of his patient but that doesn't make him a doctor who all of a sudden has "developed an angry personality". My aunt refused to go back to UMC for her surgery as she was scared if they couldn't get the registration and scheduling done right what would follow. This is a clear sign of the times, when greed and a degree in business not medicine dictates the type of care a physician can give a patient. I am glad that Dr. Thornton and Dr. Spirtos have decided that enough is enough and that putting patients first far out weighs upsetting a few at the top in order to correct the mismanagement which is plaguing that hospital at the detriment of their patients. Hopefully this also brings courage to other physcians and staff memebers to speak out.
Id be angry too if I were trained to care for the sick, and the red tape wouldn't allow me too.
Kathy telling a reporter what she did was downright unprofessional. It lacks class and is a poor reflection of Clark County at-large.
The county manager clearly doesn't care, but perhaps someone from the board will be embarrassed enough to take say "bye" to Ms. Silver once and for all.
And kudos to the Sun for exactly quoting her. It's clear what type of person she really is.
I spend a lot of time working in the OR at UMC. Both of these doctors are correct about the mis-management of UMC. There is no accountability throughout every area of the facility and it manifests itself in patient care.
Until there is top-down management controls put in place, UMC will continually lose money, provide mediocre patient care, and be an eye sore in our community.
It is a shame, because there are some high quality patient care providers at UMC that are constantly frustrated by the lack of management.
"Anyone who wants to speak up is labeled as an outlier or a complainer," Spirtos said. "If you want to make any constructive criticism, you are immediately an outcast."
Perfectly demonstrated by Silver in her quoted personal attacks against Drs. Spirtos and Thornton. Her inadequacy is astounding.
The Sun needs to keep the pressure on UMC and the county commissioners. Undoubtedly we are only at the tip of the iceberg in discovering long standing and deep rooted problems.
Dr. Spritos and Dr. Thornton are speaking out in advocacy of all patients. Hopefully more leaders in the healthcare community will follow the lead of Dr. Spritos and Dr. Thornton and demand change.
Interesting that Kathy Silver refers to both Doctor's as angry men.Neither of these men seem angry nor bitter they do sound fed up with Ms. Silver's lack of being able to run UMC anywhere other then into the ground.Ms. Silver is the one who seems to be angry at these men for caring that their patients are cared for. I applaud them for speaking up for those who can't.Ms. Silver should also know a person bringing in 9 million in revenue should be treated nicely not threatened with handcuffs that's just business 101 sounds like someone is in over her head.I would also like to say that if I were either one of these Dr's I would be way more then angry.I would be down right pissed.
I find it fascinating that anyone critical of a public agency has instant credibility. UMC works with over 1200 doctors and like any situation, there will be disgruntled individuals that, in order to serve their own agendas, will "go public" in order to suddenly bring to light that which no one else would. Doesn't it seem convenient that while there are negative stories being publicized about the public hospital that these two stalwart physicians have chosen to "pile on" to the negative press? If these two doctors don't get their way at another hospital, will the Sun or RJ write a story making this a banner headline? If this rag wished to provide a true story for a change, it would engage in real investigative journalism and at the very least seek input from the other 1200+ doctors that bring their patients to UMC. I suppose we should look to the Enquirer for indepth journalism.
This article is absolutely amazing to me. I have known Dr. Thornton for 20 years and he is nothing but a gentleman and a great doctor, Kathy Silver is wrong when she says he has an angry personality. Dr Spiritos has been my friend for at least 5 years and he is an interesting character. He also is very generous in taking care of women who need chemo regardless of their ability to pay, he pays for their chemo. He also comes to the aid of any OB-GYN who needs help in the operating room without regard for his schedule or the patients ability to pay. To say he is a disruptive physician is an outright lie and speaks volumes about Kathy Silver's lack of understanding of the medical community. I was in the process of applying to be on staff at UMC but I am now going to stop my application in light of the poor management at the hospital. I trained at UMC for 5 years and find it sad that the hospital is so poorly run.
It's so obvious that Commissioner Reid doesn't have the backbone to do what is in our best interest. And with a county manager who spends most of her time in private closed-door sessions with Commissioner Brown (like she did Michael Mack), its just TOO hard to watch whats happening at UMC.
How can Rory Reid think of higher office ? Just plain unimaginable! A culprit of the Ivory Tower, no doubt.
Rory, are you reading these comments? Why don't you force Valentine and Burnette to act? Oh, that's right... you barely make the meetings.
I VOTE NO FOR ANY REID.
For people that have been in the medical field we would understand thru this story. It is one sided and these doctors are not taking responsiblity for their actions in this entire story. The goal at UMC is patient care and it should be the same from the provider. But it is not!! When these doctors send patients a hospital with no insurance auth or a PENDING auth then their patients would be delayed. These doctors should have been told by THEIR office staff that their patients did not have auth from their insurance company or that they would need to delay the procedure due to a pending auth. But these doctors do not care and just would like these patients to be processed. If UMC or any hospital would do this then it leaves a patient with a huge bill. Do they then care? The answer is NO!! Cause if they did they would have their office staff notify them of this or they would take the time to find this out before heading to the hospital. Private hospitals would not even allow them to book a surgery until an auth was required. Kathy Silver has nothing to do with a doctors office that is incompetent in doing what they are required to do. Every situation should be looked at on a case by case. Keep complaining and when this County Hospital should close and goes to a private owned. Lets see what type of complaints these doctors would have. You have alot of doctors office that have no complaints because they follow the procedures at the hospital. And then you have a couple of bad apples in the bunch that think they don't have to follow the procedures and then they are able to go to the media and complain because their patient was not prepared when they wanted they're patient to be ready. Did that doctor stop to ask questions like did the patient arrive in time, was the insurance and other paperwork completed before the patient arrived or did the doctors office tell them they did not need to pre registar? The answer is again NO! Dr Thornton just starts to yell and act a fool with other patients around. He should have been put in handcuffs and removed from the hospital. The community needs to think before taking this article seriously. You might have a job today but not tomorrow and god for bid that you should be diagnosed with a serious illness then where would you seek treatment? Right UMC cause every other hospital would be asking you for $$$$!!! That you can't afford!! UMC has my vote and always will. Keep up the great work all UMC Employees!!
What do we have here? Two docs too angry: one (Spirtos) is PO'd because he did not get the OB/GYN contract and so he is attempting to smear UMC and its CEO about something else, so it doesn't look like what it is: a severe case of sour grapes. This is an improvement, as his history indicates he has been in so much litigation that one would have expected him to sue UMC. His only problem is that he works for the School of Medicine, which will not sue UMC, so he got stymied, and did the next best thing: run to the press. Certainly, the outstanding Pulizter Prize winning LV Sun "journalists" could have done a modicum of research to learn about why the doctor is really angry.
Our next contestant is another angry person who, when he didn't get his way, picked up his marbles and ran home. Like Spirtos, St. Joseph can be a bit of a primadonna. He refuses to acknowledge his office's shortcomings in the registration process, and chooses to take his beef public. One has to wonder about his agenda. Is he one of those docs that takes his non-paying patients to UMC and his paying patients elsewhere? HMMM.
I have a gut feeling that the real agenda will come out in the coming months. Meanwhile, the Pulitzer Prize winning "journalists" at the LV Sun will continue to be used for free publicity by anyone with an axe to grind against UMC and its CEO.
I have had to deal with UMC a few times over the last year or two, and I must say that as a patient the whole process is unorganized and inefficient. I had to wait almost 2 months to get schedulded for a surgery that took all of 15 mins.
Their billing department is a mess, you wait on hold forever and no one can ever resolve your problem or answer your question. When they make an error on your billing, they won't admit it, and you have to go through your insurance company to get it fixed. Their billing practices are questionable, if you are lucky enough to be one of the people who has insurance they do everything they can to keep bringing you back for more services that they never inform you are not part of the original service and charge you another emergency co-pay for it.
I will avoid UMC, UMC Urgent cares, and any doctors affiliated with UMC if at all possible in the future. It is unfortunate because they really do have some great doctors.
Isn't it Kathy Silver's job to make sure the hospital is efficient? Why does she blame everyone else-doctors, their staffs, the patients-for a job that she is not doing? It does not sound as if she even makes the hospital a good place to work if employees are afraid to speak out.
Well now,, some fine Doctors make a claim about the mismanagement of UMC and they get bashed by the top dog... Wuf-Wuf..So make the Doctors out to be undesirables so the wannabee head-honcho at UMC takes the real problem and (more or less) hides behind the real truth..So where is that wannabee politician commish reid when theres answers to be had about the poor leadership going on at UMC.. Just like his father,, hiding from real issues and thinking they know what is good for Nevadans,, That jackass reid cant help run a hospital,, so what makes that idiot think he can govern the state of Nevada..I dont think so Jr,,you are all talk just like your poppa.. Did you learn that in the little schoolyard in searchlight,, how to BS your way out of an issue that effects a lot of Nevadans.. Oh thats right,, your daddy has payed your way and as long as the pooh that comes out of your mouth is toxic then real Nevadans dont have a chance...
UMC has a physician population of approximately 1300. The Sun's intrepid reporter has offered us the comments (comments mind you) of 2 Doctors out of 1300. This is news? Would two grumbling employees of the Las Vegas Sun be worthy of a news story???? My mind harkens back to an earlier era of the press:
"Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers. It may feature exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, sensationalism, or unprofessional practices by news media organizations or journalists."
Mr. Allen you call yourself a legitimate reporter??? How about reporting news and not innuendos? The standards of the Enquirer for reporting make you look sick. Shame on you.
Having worked in UMC in the past though not in the past 3 years, I can say without doubt that it is the hospital in the county with the most politics. There are layers upon layers of politics and special interests at every step. I do not know Kathy Silver personally but can say with certainly that she has an unenviable job of running the place, pleasing everyone and catering to every interest.
I have had little interaction with Thornton and have never heard anything adverse about him professionally, but what ever little interaction I have had with him, left me with a clear impression of someone who has a chip on his shoulder. Firstly, by shouting even when right, I have learned that you often end up being wrong. But how is it Silver's fault that some nurse called security ? You cannot control every person in the organization and then that person was fired, what else should Silver do ?
The problems that plague UMC are not uncommon is any county hospital especially during these difficult times, despite many CEO's coming going this decade. So to blame Silver for all the hospital problems are a rush to judgment
Hi ogdennash - thanks for the compliments about my story!
Oh wait...
About my "yellow journalism" -- I didn't exaggerate or sensationalize anything. Nor did I engage in any unprofessional practices.
This is a legitimate story because these are two respected surgeons at a taxpayer-owned hospital that is losing tens of millions of dollars a year. We taxpayers will be making up the losses at the expense of other programs and services in Clark County.
It's in the public interest for two respected surgeons to remove millions of dollars in potential business from the public hospital because of alleged mismanagement. There's no need to speak to all 1,300 physicians who work at the hospital. Two is plenty.
If your mind "harkens back" to anything else, you can feel free to call me at 259-2330.
It was with great interest that I read this article since I was recently Dr. Spirtos' patient. At the strong urging (insistence) of a relative who works in the medical field and knew of Dr. Spirtos' reputation as a surgeon (especially with high-risk patients like me), I flew from my home in New York to see Dr. Spirtos.
From my first visit to the Women's Cancer Center through my surgery to my final office visit, several things impressed me about Dr. Spirtos. First, I was awed by the number of women in the waiting room that traveled from across the country (as well as from overseas) to consult Dr. Spirtos. Second, the concern and attention paid by the office staff - after all, we were all there because we had cancer and although we tried to be brave, we were all scared. But what most impressed me were the comments from everyone in associated with Dr. Spirtos including the UMC nursing staff, medical students, residents and research staff. The people in the profession who work with doctors every day stated over and over again that the man was a 'genius', the most talented surgeon they had ever seen, and if their mothers needed surgery they would want Dr. Spirtos operating - just the kind of reassuring comments a patient wants to hear as they are headed into surgery! My surgery was scheduled for 5:00 p.m. I was not taken to the pre-op area until after 6:00 p.m. and have no idea how long I was in the operating room, but I do know that Dr. Spirtos stayed with me in recovery (after a very bad reaction to morphine) until I was stablized. I was one of the lucky ones - my cancer had not spread, I need no further follow-up treatment except for regular, frequent check-ups, and I was able to fly back to New York ten days after surgery. A few day after my return home, imagine my surprise when Dr. Spirtos himself, not his office staff, called to make sure I made the trip safely and to ask how I was recovering!
I know I have written at length about my own experience with Dr. Spirtos, but that is what I know. I don't know about UMC's internal problems or mismanagement - I just know how I was treated by Dr. Spirtos and his team.
As for Ms. Silver, she should thank her lucky stars that UMC can attract surgeons of Dr. Spirtos' caliber. Rather than making personal comments against these doctors, she should address the issues and correct the problems and deficiencies they bring to light. And oh, Ms. Silver may be right in one respect - Dr. Spirtos IS an "interesting character" but in my nearly sixty years I have found that most brilliant, talented people are intesting characters! And as for Dr. Spirtos being "disruptive", any one who takes the time to speak out publicly as an advocate for women's health, patient care and safety, I say "hurrah" and a great big "thank you" from one grateful and lucky patient!
Mr Allen comments regarding the statement "I did not exaggerate or sensationalize anything, Nor did I engage in any unprofessional practices". Wanna Bet! By not thoughly investigating, that is exactly what was done.
I know that you only got one view of the story. Big corrupt hospital against two fine surgeons. There is a lot that you do not know. Maybe you would find out if you asked the employees what was happening. Both physicians are angry, rude to staff, racially inappropiate, and yell in public areas, scaring staff and patients. They do not follow the policies of the hospital for disruptive physicians. If you wanted to know the "truth" maybe the police officers would tell you what they observed when they arrived to find the good doctor yelling in a patient care area with more than 20 people in the area. By the way...all police officers carry handcuffs and there was NO conversation by the officers to the surgeon,nor any suggesting of application of handcuffs. Might want too check on those "facts" that the fine surgeon told you. Maybe the the "overreactive" manager was following the hospital policy and safe guarding her state license to provide "safe care" to the patients and protect the staff from another angry unprofessional out bursts that distract from patient care. Might be a very hostile workplace because of the surgeons. I'm sure that you would not enjoy this type of verbal beatings at your office ..or before your surgery. You allow these doctors a format for your YELLOW Journalism.
This is in no sense a legitimate story because these two surgeons are known to many others as unsafe patient providers that do not follow National Joint Commission and CMS guidelines for safe care at a taxpayer-owned hospital that is losing tens of millions of dollars a year. Maybe if the hospital cleaned house they could retain good compentent safe staff and doctors and not have so many lawsuits. The taxpayers will not be making up the losses as lawsuits will occur when people find out what these doctors practices really are. The problems are with Clark countys shared "canned" financial inventory and finance packages that are not designed for the proper running of a hospital. Just seems like the paper is going after Kathy Silver and making up stories that make good print. This actually happened 6 months ago. Did you run out of actual interesting events in Vegas?
cont.
It's in the public interest for two respected surgeons to remove millions of dollars in potential business from the public hospital because of their own improper management of nationally required patient preparation for procedures and their own patient mismanagement that will never be addressed by the Physicians Medical Board. The other hospitals will insist on them practicing to national standards. Too bad that you never reported any of the total grand patient outcomes that are recorded for each surgeon or the procedures that no other physicians are preforming because there is no merit to these procedures...except for the state of Nevada. Most medical people would rather go the California to have safe care delivered than taking a "gamble" on the care these two would provide. Good thing that the nurses cover for these guys and try to get what is required to have safe surgery.It is extremely short sighted to say "there's no need to speak to all 1,300 physicians who work at the hospital. Two is plenty" . This statement brings home the sensationalism that paints this article as yellow.
"Harkens back" to ethics, and principles, and the days that surgeons took good care of patients and did not work only for the 9 million a year at any cost. No need for your number as you believe that you already know the rest of the story. You belong to Vegas, along with deserving some of the worst healthcare scores in the nation. 259-2330.
UMC has some excellent physicians.....look harder
Perhaps the discussion would have been more balanced if Marshal Allen would have brought our attention to the letter from William A. Zamboni, Chairman of Surgery at UMC:
"Most surgeons think highly of UMC and its CEO"
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec...
But then Dr. Zamboni's very important opinion would be contrary to his story ...
Comment removed by moderator. Comment contained a personal attack.
my email is chrisguider@hotmail.com