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FacebookGibbons: Inspections sufficient
Governor says regulation not the answer in Southern Nevada’s hepatitis C scare
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“That indicates to me we have enough money to improve the frequency of inspections. But you do not have enough people to look at every day, every procedure conducted on every patient in the state,” said Gov. Jim Gibbons, defending last year’s opposition to a fee increase to hire more state health inspectors.
Tue, Mar 11, 2008 (2 a.m.)
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Faced with a public health crisis, sinking confidence in Nevada’s medical care and questions about inadequate government oversight, Gov. Jim Gibbons is standing by his ideology: Regulation is not necessarily the answer.
Gibbons on Monday questioned whether Nevada needs to conduct more frequent inspections of facilities such as the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada, where unsafe practices led to a hepatitis C outbreak and the notification that 40,000 people need to undergo tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.
“It’s premature for a change like that,” he said.
Gibbons compared inspecting Nevada’s 50 surgical centers to having enough state troopers to catch every speeder.
“We do not have enough highway patrolmen to stop everybody who makes a mistake,” Gibbons said. “We could inspect (surgical centers) annually and then pretty soon, have we done overkill?”
The analogy to speeders was a risky one because it threatens to offend people who could be infected.
When told of the governor’s comments, Assemblyman Joe Hardy, R-Boulder City and a family practice doctor, said: “Ironically, what caught this was when inspectors went in and observed what was happening. The bottom line is that inspections work.”
The state’s policy says the Endoscopy Center should have been inspected every three years. Instead, the center went seven years without review by the state’s small staff of inspectors. Inspectors went to the center in January, suspicious of a cluster of hepatitis C cases.
Gibbons called a news conference Monday following the revelation that he opposed raising fees last year to pay for more health inspectors.
The first-term Republican governor said the state has a $5.2 million surplus in the department’s budget that could be used to hire more inspectors. The real problem, said Gibbons and State Human Resources Director Mike Willden, is that the state can’t recruit fast enough to fill 14 vacancies with salaries of about $60,000 a year. The vacancies need to be filled by registered nurses, dietitians and other medical specialists.
Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, who heads the interim health care committee, said the state should begin a more aggressive recruiting and retention program.
Gibbons stressed there were only six cases of hepatitis C in Southern Nevada and none in Northern Nevada. He called for better training of the staffs of the centers.
Assemblywoman Susan Gerhardt, D-Henderson, said Gibbons’ analogy to Highway Patrol troopers and speeders was insulting.
“If we had more health inspectors, we could have found this out sooner and saved some lives,” Gerhardt said. She, her husband and her mother all had procedures done at the Endoscopy Center. They are awaiting results of tests to determine whether they have been infected.
Sen. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, called for annual inspections of ambulatory surgical centers in a letter sent to Gibbons last week. He is currently serving a tour with the Army in Iraq.
Hardy defended the governor’s comments because the investigation is ongoing.
“I think the operative words (in the governor’s statements) are ‘not sure.’ It’s appropriate to not be sure,” he said. “It’s wise to keep options open.”
Discussion: 25 comments so far…
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For all of those Neo-Cons out there who elected this fool to office, I hope that this catastrophe will affect your decision of whether or not to re-elect him to the Governorship when his term expires. Are any Neo-Cons or their family members affected by this failure to hire Health Department inspectors and send them into the Clinics?
It is clear that Neo-Con ideologues like Gibbons are just too dangerous to be given the reins of power. The real question here is what is this fully avoidable fiasco going to cost State Taxpayers to clean up, and how many lives will be lost due to this failure to competently regulate the Clinics?
The inspections were sufficient????????????????
Wake up Governor and smell the dirty syringes!!!!
I'm all for controlling government spending but surely there are enough funds to inspect these clinics every couple of years.
This wasn't done.
nlks3713,
Prove there were enough funds to hire the inspectors needed to do a no notice inspection on all clinics at least every two years. PROVE IT!
In other words "Don't bother me with this; I have problems of my own."
How clueless is this guy? Which of you fools voted for him? Can we impeach his ass for stupidity?
Gibbons the clueless. Why bother lifting a finger to protect peoples health when it will cost a few bucks. I wonder if his position would have been altered if he, or someone is his family, was waiting for the results.
Nevada - you elected this guy.
This Governor becomes more of a stupendous ass clown with each passing day. He risked the lives of Nevadans with his budget cuts and then of course he jaunts over to California when he needs medical attention.
I think the lobotomy failed. Where is Lonnie H when we need him?
This idiot should never have been 'elected' but it's what Sheldon wanted and we pay for it. What a joke.
This is not a funding issue, as some of my fellow commenters suggest. It is a leadership issue, or I should say, a failure of leadership ... and, I might add, it is not the Governor's leadership failure but, rather, it is the failure of the State of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, which has demonstrated time and again its inability to protect and serve our fellow Nevadans...the class action lawsuit for child deaths, the threats of federal sanctions, the Health Divisions' failure to meet minimum federal standards for Early Intervention Services, the Medicaid Division's inability to obtain federal approval for their languishing state plan, and now, the Health Division's blunders and failures to inspect. Anyone who has consistently followed the media trail and legislative activity outlining this Department’s blunderings can come to no other conclusion. Lack of funding and resources for not doing one’s job is typically the response from the leadership in this Department when something goes awry; these types of complaints and excuses always come from those who have little else to offer...one would hope that occasionally these folks would actually consider offering solutions rather than the irritating finger pointing and pouting we have unfortunately grown all to accustomed to witnessing. And our legislators for all their expressed incredulity over the messes this Department has created are no better for it is they who have continued to support the leadership in this Department whilst all the while taking every opportunity to proffer media sound bites with regard to their concerns for Nevadans as a result of the ineptitude this Department has created and finding fault with the Governor for a situation which they have supported and leadership for which they continue to advocate.
If the Governor has failed at anything in this situation, it has been that he has allowed powerful state legislators to influence his better judgment regarding this Department’s leadership and their collective capacity to perform in a competent, effective, honorable, and diligent manner. The Governor must come to realize (sooner rather than later) that the time has come and gone for these folks…let's get some leadership in this Department and let's start holding all those who are supported by our hard earned tax dollars to a higher level of accountability for doing their jobs. This is the least we can expect from our tax dollars and we should demand no less…the very lives of our fellow citizens depends on it!
To lexushoneybee,
Unfortunately your comments point out his is as useful as tits on a boar hog. He is the most powerful elected official in the state and can't lead? I agree with Judy.He IS an ass clown and we don't need sheeple when there is a public crisis-health care or otherwise-we need leadership.Too bad there's not a little blue pill for leadership impotence. Call it Leadership Dysfunction or LD. Since this seems to be a chronic condition here in Nevada perhaps we could obtain a discount from Pfizer.
To Angrypostman: I agree. The first legislation that needs to be passed once this has all played out is the Ass Clown Law where one will be impeached or fired for stupidity and lack of leadership.
Love it Beezie - LD!
Lexus - Bureau chief's with the State of Nevada have no say whatsoever in the politic of their Departments. they MUST love the governor or leave. They can not speak out against budget cuts. Look at the appointments this ass clown has made. ALL of them favors to someone and so they can not effectively function - BUT they don't disagree with the Gob'ner. They have no mind of their own.
State employees have no where to go when they don't have what they need to do thweir jobs effectively.
If we had a REAL governor the state would not be so disjointed and laughed at by the rest of the nation.
Dear Judy and Beezie,
Let us be mindful of the waste, fraud, incompetence, and abuse seen everyday in the public sector. People in these positions not only have a say in what is to happen (obviously, they are supposedly hired due to their expertise and ability to lead and this Bureau Chief in particular was actually invited before the legislative committee in order to provide them with an accounting--while there, she had absolutely no problem laying the blame on lack of funding from the Governor's office making your argument they have "absolutely no say whatsoever" blantantly untrue) but they also have an absolute moral and ethical obligation to make sure things get done right and the right things get done (See Drucker if you are not a student of leadership). Again, this culture is one the Governor inherited, not one he created. You are allowed your agendas, no doubt, but let's also try to see past your personal agendas to problem solving and effective governance for Nevadans.
Lexushoneybee:
It is evident you are a Gibbons supporter no mater what, drink the Kool-Aid. I was employed by the State of NV for 20 years. I've seen plenty of Department Directors and Commissioners and they all kow-towed to exactly what the Governor said or wanted or they knew they would be out on the street.
So, like most Republican Neo-Cons, before you decide to make a statement check out your facts.
Lexus,
This is not a partisan issue. In light of recent events it's become glaringly obvious there are many persons at many levels who don't have any morals,ethics or leadership capabilities. You either have it or you don't. The comments Gibbons has made are akin to thinking about puting a band-aid on a compound fracture. This state needs a political transfusion. The greed of the docs are pathological,the Govenor is inept and our state and local systems are set up to protect finanical interests that supersede public health interests. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out OR solve it.
Dear Tackman,
I find it very interesting that when one does not have a response based on expertise and knowledge, one reduces oneself to insults and demeaning commentary. I am neither a Kool Aid drinker nor did I vote for the current Governor. And, like you, I have worked very closely with state employees and in the public and private system for many years -- 30 to be exact. The problem in Nevada is we have a scarcity of leaders in leadership positions. In addition, we have extremely low expectations of these "leaders" further complicating our ability to rise to excellence. I would suggest to both you and Beezie that talk is cheap...if you are really committed to doing what's best for our state, I would encourage you both to act with the courage of your convictions, if either of you have any.
Lexus,
It's also obvious in this state right now it's who you know NOT what you know. I've never reused syringes,needles,vials etc. on patients and never would. As a pre-med student,a person who intends to purse an MPH along with experience in the medical field,I'd say right about now I've got a far better chance at influencing change in the not so distant future than you with your rhetoric.
Beezie,
It is the coward's way out to claim one is unable to make a difference when all that is required is the courage to act. I hope that once you complete your credential,if you do complete it, you will have the courage to do the right things for the right reasons rather than simply offer excuses for moving along to get along because you feel there are no other options for you; this is the inference you have offered in your response and the problem in our state system today. I am proud to say I have taken a stand many times; I hope when you have been in the professional world as long as I, you will be able to make the same claim.
Well Lexus let me be the first one to personally thank you for enlightening the rest of intellectually inferior, politically unsavvy pleebs. You just go on with your bad self and keep puttin' more lipstick on that pig. At the end of the day it's still a pig.
Interesting comments. I printed them out and put them in my blender. What came out was:
a. Like Nixon, someone voted for him.
b. He did find his way out of the garage.
c. Drug users have better hygiene.
d. Sharing a bottle, beer drinkers dislike backwash
e. What is a " Jack Mormon "
f. You can't lead if your head is so far up, you can't get it removed because of the risk of - you get the picture.
Note: My son asked if we could use the blender again and I advised him that it needs to be sent to Yucca Mountain. His eyes turned to saucers! I said it's alright, one way or the other, you and your brothers will get it shoved up your, or down your, either way, you may not be able to take you pick.
Give me a break. This is all about protecting a major campaign donor. What a slime bag.
No new regulation or inspectors; let's trust the untrustable. If you give anyone a chance and not check on them everyone will try to cut corner. typical republican, trust business to do the right thing make money for themselves. They expect everthing for free: schools roads goverment inspectors to protect the public no new taxes everthing is free for the republicans
Correct about the money. People contribute huge amounts of money too make sure when they do break the law, and they all do, they don't go to jail or prison. Happens everyday in America, that's why other countries look at us different, we scold them for their pettyness and we screw this up so bad... I bet they laugh at us, that's for sure.
Lexus,
Bureau Chiefs absolutely can not voice their opinions against any administration. I know this first ahnd. And if you want to talk about waste in the public sector let's look at Gibbons. His first Memo, directive 001 - his name was mis-spelled on this letterhead, he had 3 swearing in ceremonies, he has make numerous appointments to UNQUALIFIED people and has had to have them leave. I could go on and on. He is a waste of space.
Hi Judy,
You have made my point and I thank you for your considered response about these bureau "chiefs". These state positions (e.g., Bureau Chiefs) and others like them are leadership positions. These positions do have a voice and are obligated to speak out about what is and isn't happening under their watch...the fact that they don't do so or feel they can't supports my contention that we have people in these positions who have not the first clue about what it means to be a leader...they are more concerned about keeping their jobs than doing their jobs. Thanks for listening.
Interesting comments. I stand by the premise that you can lay the blame on everyone else however the real blame is on the physicians and nurses who were practicing the unsantitary behaviors. Unless inspections are conducted everyday during business hours there is still room for error. I could go on and on and on about cuts Governer Gibbons has made that affect the Valley's healthcare. However, I am sure he will do a complete 360 and be talking out the other side of his a**. He reminds me of the Governer in the movie "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas". First he insinuates that the media is blowing the "crisis" up bigger than it needs to be and then not even a week later he is firing people. Maybe he should look at what he already has done to the states healthcare! He needs to be impeached! Being one of the 40,0000 people that this has affected maybe we should tie governer Gibbons up and inject him with anesthesia from a dirty syringe and contaminated vial while we are sticking a dirty hose up his you know where and let him be on pins and needles awaiting the results. He keeps saying that there are only 6 people who have tested positive. Maybe he needs to get his facts straight. #1 The numbers are well over 6 and #2 Even one person who tests positive because of unsterile procedures is too many. Before he fires Ms. Jones from the Bureau maybe he should look in the mirror and admit his responsibility in all this.
The hypocrisy by State government officials is amazing. I recall recent stories on KLAS-TV about the Administrator of the Nevada State Health Division being criticized for conflict of interest because he regulates his own private health care business. The story focused on Mr. Haartz' conflict of interest as owner of a private business licensed by the Health Division Bureau of Licensure and Certification to provide health care referral and case management. His conflict was that he serves as the Administrator of the agency that licenses and regulates his own business. He controled his competitors and served his own interest. Eventually after numerous complaints he was investigated, sanctioned, and forced to comply with the law. The previous Governor appointed him; the Attorney General supported him; and state Legislators did nothing. These are the government structures under which the public is served? Protected? This is greed and politics, not concern for public safety.