ER Doctors and Nurses Get PEU Wage/Benefit Cuts, Hospitals Closed

ProPublica reported:

Emergency room doctors and nurses many of whom are dealing with an onslaught of coronavirus patients and shortages of protective equipment — are now finding out that their compensation is getting cut.

Most ER providers in the U.S. work for staffing companies that have contracts with hospitals. Those staffing companies are losing revenue as hospitals postpone elective procedures and non-coronavirus patients avoid emergency rooms. Health insurers are processing claims more slowly as they adapt to a remote workforce.

“Despite the risks our providers are facing, and the great work being done by our teams, the economic challenges brought forth by COVID-19 have not spared our industry,” Steve Holtzclaw, the CEO of Alteon Health, one of the largest staffing companies, wrote in a memo to employees on Monday.

The memo announced that the company would be reducing hours for clinicians, cutting pay for administrative employees by 20%, and suspending 401(k) matches, bonuses and paid time off. Holtzclaw indicated that the measures were temporary but didn’t know how long they would last.

Alteon's private-equity backers are Frazier Healthcare Partners and New Mountain Capital.  Disaster capitalism is just that, even if they pretend it isn't.

Garden City Telegram reported on March 13th:

Clarissa Taton, a registered nurse at Sumner Community Hospital, said staff at the Wellington medical facility gave everything they had to every patient.  It wasn’t enough.

Management for the hospital abruptly closed the doors Thursday (March 12th), citing years of financial struggle exacerbated by a lack of support from local physicians.

 

The hospital posted a notice on its door late Thursday serving notice that the facility and its emergency operations were closed. Patients were directed to request medical records by leaving a message.

The 63-bed medical facility provided advanced imaging, general surgery, lab services, geriatric behavioral health, residential care, short-term rehabilitation and other forms of care.

The closing comes amid heightened concerns about the spread of the coronavirus in Kansas.

Sumner Community Hospital was owned by Rural Hospital Group Consolidated LLC.

North Carolina experienced a for-profit healthcare invasion, sponsored by private equity underwriters.  North Carolina Health News reported in August 2018:

Communities can expect even less transparency into how their health care organizations are being run and less intimate connections between the hospitals and the communities.

Philadelphia lost Hahnemann University Hospital, a 500 bed safety net hospital to PEU Paladin Healthcare Capital.  

NYT reported:

A hospital with room for nearly 500 beds has been closed for months in the center of Philadelphia, a city bracing for the spread of the coronavirus and a crush of sick patients.

But the facility will remain empty, city officials said, because they cannot accept the owner’s offer: buy the hospital or lease it for almost $1 million a month, including utilities and other costs.

“We don’t have the need to own it nor the resources to buy it. So we are done and we are moving on,” Mayor Jim Kenney told reporters on Thursday during the city’s daily briefing.

The greed and leverage boys have no shame.

Paladin's Joel Freedman received a message from one Philadelphia fanatic.  "Joel Kills" and "Free Hahnemann" were painted on Freedman's downtown property.

I expect more citizens to give the PEU boys and their political lackeys feedback as time goes on.

Update 4-9-20:  Pennsylvania government gave Cerberus Capital Management an $8 million financial injection so the PEU wouldn't close its hospital in Easton.

Update 4-14-20:  California based Alecto Healthcare closed 207 bed Fairmont Regional Medical Center in Marion, West Virginia shortly before the first coronavirus patient died in that community.   Hospital giant HCA closed the OB service at San Jose Regional Medical Center in the midst of the pandemic.

Update 4-26-20:  Cerberus Capital asked the state of Pennsylvania for $40 million or else the PEU would close its Easton hospital in three days.  Cerberus got an immediate $8 million with up to $24 million through June.  That's how the greed and leverage boys play.

Update 5-8-20:  Several lawmakers rebuked the PEU boys for cutting doctor pay during a pandemic.