Truth In Advertising - Vol. III
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posted by Watcher2300 at 2/28/2007 06:16:00 PM
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
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Previous Posts
- Truth In Advertising - Vol. II
- Truth In Advertising - Vol. I
- Mail-Order Awards and Patient Anger: True Marks o...
- DMH Employees Are NOT HAPPY with Ken Smithmier!
- Scrooge, Mr. Potter, and DMH
- Watcher's DMH BS Ad of the Week 10-22-06
- Watcher's DMH BS Ad of the Week - 8/24/06
- DMH's Stellar Business Sense
- DMH Herald & Review Throws St. Mary's A Bone
- What Does Decatur Think Of DMH?
68 Comments:
Shame on you, Dr. Rohde!
Was it really worth selling your soul to the devil (Smithmier) rather than give your patients good care and give them a choice as to where they would they would receive that care?
I have no doubt that you care about your patients - I do doubt that you have their best interests at heart rather than your own financial interests.
Your family may be safe and secure because Smithmier bought you out. My family however suffers because you did not have the courage to say no to Smithmier. We do not have the financial resources you have - we are stuck with care that is a joke around this part of the state.
You have joined the ranks of those doctors who have been bought by Smithmier.
Do you sleep well at night knowing you have limited the choices of the people of Decatur even more?
Was denying the people of Decatur a choice in health care in the Hippocratic Oath you took?
So many people are disappointed in you.
Thought there might be one honest ethical doctor left in Decatur who cared about taking care of his patients.
DR ROHDE, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT YOU ARE AND SHOULD BE TO YOURSELF? JUST WHAT EXACTLY ARE WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
What are we to do? Leave Decatur and go to another city or state where we can get good care?
After reading all of this, I am assisting my elderly mother in relocating to an area where she can get good care. She worked hard all of her life and deserves better care than she can or will get in Decatur.
My family will be shortly following her. We have been high paid taxpayers here for years. Our real estate taxes have risen every year and we paid them. NO LONGER!
The City of Decatur will have to do without our ridiculous taxes for abysmal public education, city services, and so much more.
We have been to all of the websites comparing health care cost of living, etc., and have learned that all of us will be better off financially and with better healhcare than we are in Decatur. FYI - we are people who earn well above the median national income. We make well above a six figure income but realize that here are more important things in life than money. Most importantly in this discussion, we will continue to work, earn high incomes, and pay taxes to another community.
If Decatur cares about its declining tax base, city officials will vigorously investigate DMH and Smithmier.
Decatur is rapidly becoming a community of transient residents - people transferred here for a short period of time with no ties to the community.
Decatur is rapidly becoming a community of people who are on medicare or medicaid. While these citizens deserve good health care, they will not and cannot provide needed revenue to Decatur to keep it a viable community.
Dr. Rohde, we trusted you.
DMH we trusted you.
You have destroyed that trust.
Congratulations Smithmier, DMH, and now Dr. Rohde. Because of you and your actions over the past years, we have decided to throw in the towel and take our money elsewhere.
Make a billboard out of this - highly educated longterm citizens of Decatur are leaving as quickly as they can. They can no longer afford to subsidize Smithmier, DMH, employers and insurers who are in the pocket of Ken Smithmier.
Are you proud of yourself Dr. Rohde? If you are - please spend some time examining your conscience,
Smithmier - you must be so proud - you have managed to beat federal charges.
How long will it be before you leave Decatur in the dust and move on to another city where you can r--- and pillage them as you have done to us.
Rohde, Smithmier - I am ashamed to admit that I knew you.
I agree with all the other people who have posted here. We truly do not have a choice in where to go for healthcare.
Dr. Rohde and all the other DMH owned doctors, don't you care about the people of Decatur?
Springfield and Champaign residents have a choice when it comes to doctors and hospitals. Both of those cities have large hospitals that are thriving. Those hospitals are not trying to corner the market. I am sure they compete with each other for market share, but not to the extent that DMH does. Their CEO's and other administrators and doctors make very nice salaries, but those salaries pale when compared to what DMH administrators and doctors make. Smithmier's bonuses are essentially costing the people of Decatur more for necessary care. They are robbing the poor to make themselves richer.
I agree with the other poster. Shame on you Smithmier and DMH owned doctors. I hope you all sleep well at night knowing that the people of Decatur get substandard care and have to go into debt to receive it because of your greed.
Are the federal investigators still investigating the self referrals, overbilling of medicare and medicaid, fraud, etc. or is Smithmier too powerful and well connected for even them to help us?
There just has to be more honest ethical doctors in Decatur are willing to join the few doctors who have had the courage to tell Smithmier "No more! I care more about my patients than I do about your threats".
A word to doctors in Decatur. I am sure your patient numbers will increase because you give us a choice.
Help us, doctors. YOU ARE THE ONES WITH THE POWER TO CHANGE THINGS. If you stop forcing your patients to go to DMH Smithmier might finally get the message that we are fed up with the quality of care at DMH.
My family is fortunate enough to have an insurer who FINALLY gives us a choice besides DMH.
I saw a doctor in Springfield a month ago who told me I needed further care. He gave me a choice get the tests done in Springfield or here in Decatur. HE DIDN"T FORCE ME TO HAVE THE CARE DONE WHERE HE WAS ON THE PAYROLL! (He isn't on anyone's payroll but his own, thank goodness). He told me I could go to DMH or St. Mary's and not have to drive to Springfield for the tests. He strongly recommended St. Mary's, though, because in his opinion, St. Mary's had the more experienced staff and doctors to do the tests I need. He was very graphic in explaining the difference and qualifications of the doctors at DMH and St. Mary's.
I had the tests done at St. Mary's and was very impressed with the care I received there from the registration process all the way through the tests. I was treated as an individual and with respect from the moment I walked in the door of St. Mary's. So much different from the way we were treated the last time we were at DMH. It's "Take a number" at DMH and hope for the best.
I need surgery and will be having it done in Springfield. I trust the doctors and surgeons in Springfield. I no longer trust the doctors in Decatur.
I am so grateful that my insurance company finally gives us a choice.
If only more insurance companies would give people a choice. The people of Decatur would finally get the good care they pay for and deserve.
By the way, I now have a new primary care doctor here in Decatur because of this experience. He does not make me go to DMH. He gives me a choice.
Doctors of Decatur, wake up! Your patients will not leave you if you give them a choice.
Doctors in Decatur who are in the pockets of Smithmier and DMH, show courage and tell Smithmier that you will no longer allow him to practice medicine and allow you to practice medicine the way you know is best for your patients.
Truth in advertising about DMH and its company owned doctors does not exist in Decatur.
People of Decatur, let your insurance companies know how unhappy you are with DMH. If you don't, you have only yourself to blame for your lack of choice in quality medical care.
Those billboards should really read:
DMH 31
People of Decatur 0
Face it folks, the doctors and insurance companies have been bought by Smithmier. No one seems to care or be able to help us.
Decatur has lost industry, jobs, population, tax base and dollars, good schools, and now quality health care.
No wonder our young people are leaving as quickly as they can, leaving Decatur with an aging population and declining tax base.
Congratulations Smithmier. You have managed to hasten the decline of a once thriving, vibrant community while lining your own pockets. You don't even live in Decatur and pay taxes to the city. You really don't have a personal investment in this community.
You doctors in Decatur who have managed to become wealthy off the citizens must share the blame. Most of you don't live inside the city limits either, don't pay city taxes, pay for the salaries of police officers, firemen, teachers, and so on.
All you doctors who went to SIU in exchange for lower tuition served your mandatory time to serve underserved communities for the minimum amount of time before you jumped ship and opened your own lucrative private practices.
Because of Smithmier, Stone, and the doctors in Decatur who have allowed themselves to be bought by DMH, Decatur will be a pitiful shadow of its once proud self.
Congratulations to all you greedy administrators and doctors for hastening the decline of Decatur.
Why does no one seem to care or be willing to help us?
People:
1) St. Mary's IS fighting back. They are recruiting new doctors (from MULTIPLE SPECIALTIES), upgrading equipment, putting out billboards (catch the one at Pershing and 22nd St/48 North), and, to my knowledge, WILL MATCH ANY INSURANCE DEAL THAT DMH HAS. In other words, patients of Decatur and Macon County, YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE. GO TO ST. MARY'S! Support the hospital that is interested in you as a whole person, and not just your wallet! The more support St. Mary's gets, the more revenue they will have to recruit even more doctors. The more resources St. Mary's has to offer to the people of Macon County, the more it will become obvious that St. Mary's focus is on patients, not the dollar bill.
2) The federal investigation is NOT over. While I likewise am impatient, the feds DO NOT give up on a case like this. It will be settled. Smithmier, Stone, Fahey, Peacock, and probably two or three doctors (maybe the ones who get paid three times the national average for their specialty?) WILL GO TO JAIL.
3) As one poster has said, the people of Decatur and Macon County need to help themselves. DEMAND to go to St. Mary's. DEMAND your doctor go to St. Mary's. WORK OUT the insurance differences with the St. Mary's business office, and VERIFY you won't pay a penalty. DEMAND that the DMH Herald & Review print a letter to the editor about your difficulties in obtaining adequate healthcare because of Smithmier's greed. CALL IN to WSOY, especially on Wednesday mornings, and let them KNOW THAT YOU DEMAND the truth, and not a bunch of DMH propaganda.
I tell all my family (even the grandkids!) to go to St. Mary's. I tell my friends to go to St. Mary's. I tell all my customers to go to St. Mary's. To our doctor who used to be employed by DMH: You will have more than enough patients to keep your practice going if you relocate to a place near St. Mary's and ask for their assistance in getting set up. They've already set up two ENT docs in the past few months, and are working on getting six more doctors started in the next few months!
The Smithmier oppression will come to an end. The citizens of Macon County who truly care about the nature of healthcare here and the philosophy of business of those providing it will need to be the people to push the issue.
Enough Is Enough.
Dump Smithmier's DMH!
Interesting point about SIU educated doctors.
Does SIU get federal and state subsidies for providing their education at discounted rates?
What will happen to SIU and its medical program if the federal government FINALLY steps in and and convicts these immoral, unethical DMH administrators and doctors of the crimes they have commited?
Dr. Rohde - you are one of these SIU docs. Are you willing to pay the price if you guys are convicted of the self referral, fraud, and other crimes you have committed?
Is the SIU medical program willing to lose its federal grants because of the arrogance and greed of Smithmier?
Anyone at SIU care to answer these questions?
How sad. A physician I used to respect and trust is now in the back pocket of Ken Smithmier.
Dr. Rohde - if you or a family member were admitted to DMH under a different name (we all know that VIP's, especially doctors and their families are treated better - your charts are tagged with "MD" or "MD family" - this straight from a DMH employee) would you go to DMH knowing that they are understaffed and ordered treatments are not done because the nurses cannot do everything that docs order?
Would you trust your life or a family members life to a stressed out understaffed facility?
Most likely not. Too bad that the majority of us are not VIP's like you.
Dr. Baumberger, Goetter, Smith, Akers, Waters, and so on, would you take your chances at DMH if your name was John Smith or Jane Smith and you were a Medicaid patient? Most likely not.
Do all of you doctors who have sold their souls to Smithmier think that Smithmier and his lawyers are going to protect you if the feds actually do their job and convict you of the many violations of the federal regulations you have committed? Or will Smithmier save his own butt and make you doctors take the fall and pay for his crimes?
Think hard about this, doctors of Decatur. I believe most of you care about your patients and what is best for them but have sold out to Smithmier and buckeled under to the pressure.
Dr. Rohde and the rest of you - watch your backsides. Smithmier certainly will let you take the fall rather than pay for the crimes committed rather than pay for the crimes himself.
Have the cancer doctors in Decatur sold out to Smithmier and his cronies?
They get a new building, too, just like Dr. Rohde. I am sure they did not get it without making a deal with Smithmier.
Any comment from these doctors? Or are they too afraid of Smithmier and his power to tell the people of Decatur what is really going on at DMH?
Dr.Wade, Dr. Elliott, I thought you had the courage, morals, and ethical responsibility to fight DMH and provide what is the best care possible for your patients at the facility they choose to provide that care.
So, St. Mary's will accept what my insurer has contracted with DMH to pay for care - essentially what they get from Medicare and Medicaid?
Is anyone in authority at St. Mary's willing to confirm that here? We cannot afford to be surprised at checkout time that there were strings attached to this statement.
What I have been told is that most insurances that contracted with DMH pay 80/20, that is, the insurance pays 80% and the patient pays %20. Going to a "non-preferred hospital" (St. Mary's if you want to stay in Decatur) would change the ratio to 60/40 in most circumstances.
What St. Mary's has said to patients is that if you choose to come to St. Mary's, you will only pay the %20, THE SAME AMOUNT AS YOU WOULD AT DMH. I would most definitely call St. Mary's and verify this before having services performed. I'm sure they would put it in writing, too.
Call St. Mary's Hospital at 464-2966, and ask to speak to the business office. They should have the information you need.
News flash! DMH will pay 50% or less if its employees choose to go to St. Mary's or anywhere else but DMH.
I am a DMH employee and cannot afford the difference, especially with the way DMH has changed our insurance this year.
No wonder DMH employees can not make a stand against Smithmier. He has screwed his employees, forced them to make them stay at DMH.
Most insurers require you to be insured by them for at least a year to even be covered for pre-existing conditions. My husband has a heart condition. If we choose St. Mary's. will they pick up the entire tab for any care he needs?
I haven't heard the 50/50 numbers before.
I would most definitely call St. Mary's business office on Monday and find out the facts.
By the way, I would call from home. Ken probably has the phones tapped.
My insurer forces me to pay 50% if I do not use DMH.
If we go to St. Mary's and have a $40,000 bill (not unheard of these days) will St. Mary's simply write off the $20,000 difference? I think not.
We are stuck with no where to turn or no one to turn to. We cannot afford to set up a payment plan for $20,000. We live paycheck to paycheck. We would go bankrupt just to make a point to Smithmier.
DMH has managed to trap us in its web.
DMH is an unethical organization run by immoral administrators.
Can no one hear the cries of the people of Decatur for help?
Dr. Rohde does not care about his patients. None of the other doctors who have signed contracts with DMH care.
The cardiolologists who left Decatur did so because they could not live with what Smithmier demanded of them.
Ask the nurses who work on the cardiology unit (and are leaving to work someplace else) what goes on at DMH.
Smithmier rules! Play by his rules and morals or leave.
Unfortunately, there are too few doctors in Decatur who are willing to stand up to him and do what is right to make a difference.
The bottom line for Smithmier and his doctors is $$$$$$. The patients in Decatur are last on their list of priorities.
What would happen if all the DMH employees who are tired of and ashamed of the illegal and unethecical activities of DMH quit?
You would have tons of productive, highly educated and well paid employees without jobs. You would have hundreds of highly paid employees no longer contributing to the tax base of Decatur.
If these worker bees left just to make a point it would just hasten Decatur's decline in to a dying city.
I am a DMH worker bee. I am actively seeking employment in another state. Note I said another state. I do not wish to remain in Illinois where politicians allow Smithmier and those like him to control how health care is delivered.
Smithmier wins - Decatur and Illinois lose.
Talk about a brain drain! You have exceptionally well educated, experienced professionals who are making the choice to leave.
Once our kids are out of school, we are out of here so are we. Our kids are certaintly not going to come back to Decatur. Why should we stay?
Smithmier has managed to destroy a once thriving community.
How long will he stay when the $$$ are no longer coming into his coffers? Not long, I'll bet.
Question is? Will he manage to get out of town before the feds finally make him answer and pay for his crimes or will he get out of Decatur and leave its citizens to pay the price?
I have read with great interest all these posts.
My question - if Smithmier and Stone are so great, why did Barnes in St. Louis let them go?
What the heck is going on in Decatur and at DMH?
Does no one in state government or the federal government care how Smithmier has managed to reap millions in state and federal dollars to enhance his empire?
Have there been any other hospitals in the country who have robbed honest tax payers of their money and gotten away with it?
Barack Obama - the citizens of Illinois trust you. Are you willing to step up to the plate and make Smithmier pay back to the citizens of Decatur the money and rights that have been stolen from them from Smithmier?
Is there anyone in government who truly cares about the people of this country and how tax dollars are spent?
Barack Obama - we are depending upon you. We have given up on Dick Durbin. He is obviously in the pockets of Ken Smithmier.
As a former employee of DMH I can tell you that pretty much everything that has been posted on this site is true.
Question is, does anyone care or are the people of Decatur forced to continue to line the pockets of Smithmier, Stone, Fahey, Peacock, and others in power at DMH at their own expense?
So far it looks like Smithmier and his doctors have all the power and the people of Decatur lose.
Are federal investigators still examining this case or have they been bought off by Smithmier too?
Is there not one honest man or DOCTOR in Decatur who is listening and will help us?
Is there not one honest politician in the county, state, or country who is willing to help us?
Have federal investigators determined that Smithmier is too powerful to pay for his crimes?
Dr. Rohde, Ken Smithmier and other DMH doctors.
Care to answer the question about whether ir not any other hospitals and doctors in the USA have been forced to answer questions about self referral, medicare and medicaid fraud, and other crimes against the government and citizens of a community who have been taken hostage by corrupt hospital administrators and doctors?
Politicians, media, and other powerful people in the area - care to answer these questions?
Your silence is deafening.
Show me that at least one of you is honest and is willing to step forward and once again allow the citizens of this area to have a choice in choosing quality medical care.
Is there not one honest man or woman in Decatur who is willing to stand up for us?
Don't call St. Mary's from home.
Just get a lot of DMH employees to call from any of the hundreds of phones at DMH. Don't use your name, just ask St. Mary's for the facts.
ST. MARY'S NUMBER IS 464-2966. DIAL THIS # AND ASK FOR THE BUSINESS OFFICE!
Hundreds of calls to St. Mary's from hundreds of phones at DMH would probably drive Ken and his buddies crazy!
Probably the only way we could make Ken and Company realize just how unhappy his employees are!
If you take a patient from the surgical floor to xray, just stop and use the xray phone to call St. Mary's on your way back to the surgical floor.
Recovery room personnel could call SMH from any phone in the hospital.
This is a great idea! One of the best so far on these posts! Might not make any difference in how Ken runs his empire, but it just might get the point across to him.
Visitors with family members in DMH can do the same thing. Go to the cafeteria and stop in the visitors lobby and ask to use the phone - just don't tell them you are calling St. Mary's.
Wow! Citizens of Decatur unite. Use DMH phones to call St. Mary's and compare rates.
There are hundreds of phones at DMH. Let his henchmen try and trace all those calls and prove who made them!
If politicians and others in government can't or won't help us, let us make a statement anyway we can!
My family doctor has told me on several occasions what he thinks of DMH. On one occasion I went to the ER with a bad bronchial infection, very high fever, etc. but what did DMH do? Order unnecessary tests and told me to go home and take some Tylenol. Well, three days later I went to my doctor because I hadn't gotten any better and he rolled his eyes when I told him that I had went to the ER about my illness. "OH, DMH!" He chuckled. He asked why in world didn't they prescribe me antibiotics. By then I had fluid in my lungs and could barely breathe. He's told me flat out that DMH's ER is only in it for the money and that they order unnecessary tests and are basically worthless.
Another time, I went to the ER because of hemorrhaging due to a miscarriage. The ER doc asked if I wanted to come back the next day (it was a holiday and I guess I was a bother), and have the D&C done then. The nurse heard what the doctor suggested and told him in no uncertain terms that I wasn't going home. Thank God for good nurses that speak up! After the doctor left the room, she couldn't believe he had even suggested it. My blood pressure was 88/60 at the time and I was bleeding profusely. Where does DMH get the quacks that run their ER? (To all you dedicated, caring and honest nurses at DMH - don't leave! We so desperately need you!) This garbage will pass, if enough of us speak up.
I do think my doctor would stand up to DMH but I'll have to let him speak for himself.
PLEASE Decatur's private practice doc's speak up. One voice from a prominent physician will speak louder than all of us screaming at the top of our lungs.
Linda Fahey is an RN? She is an administrator at DMH?
When did she forget about what patient care is all about? When did she decide money is more important than people?
Does she tell her nurses that the bottom line at DMH is worth more than the care they give their patients?
Does she still answer to the professional board od licensing or does she now answer only to Smithmier?
Does the Illinois Professional Board of Registration care what she is doing? Does the state of Illinois not care about what the nurses it gives a license to do with that license?
Do these administrators, including Linda Fahey, at DMH answer to no one but the managers of their stock accounts?
Linda Fahey - because of you I would never have a child of my own choose nursing as a career, I want them to do something with their lives they can be proud of.
Linda Fahey, because of nurses like you who have forgotten what it really means to be a nurse, there will be fewer GOOD people who enter nursing.
Will there be any nurses who will be there to take care of you or your family when you need them - and YOU WILL NEED GOOD NURSES TO TAKE CARE OF YOU AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
Linda Fahey, are you proud of what you have done with your nursing license and the oath YOU took when you received your degree?
If you are, what a sad day for nursing.
Dr. Rohde? Why are you smiling on that billboard? Is it because you are giving your patients the best care or because you are now getting richer because you are on Smithmier's payroll?
Let's see a billboard with all the doctors in Decatur who are on the DMH payroll.
I'll bet most of their patients do not know who's best interest those doctors' have at heart.
I'll chip in money to pay for THAT billboard. Unfortunately, I do not think there is a company in Decatur who has the courage to put that billboard up.
So sad. So embarrassing for Decatur.
Smithmier wins. Decatur loses.
Thank you Dr. Rohde. Because of you and doctors like you here, we have finally decided to sell our home here and move elsewhere.
We did our research. We learned where we could receive better healthcare. Mexico provides better healthcare than the people of Decatur receive. People in a third world country receive better healthcare than citizens of Decatur, Illinois?
Dr. Rohde, what do you tell your children about what you do for a living? Do you tell them that you are proud that you have sold out to Smithmier, a man with no morals or ethical compass?
We chose to stay in the USA, so I can continue to work as an RN. I am proud to be an RN, but will never be proud to say that I worked for Smithmier and his company of felons.
By the way, we sold our home for well over 6 figures. We are not low income people. We have worked hard, continued our educations, and have worked hard HONESTLY to improve ourselves.
DMH loses because we are leaving. The city of Decatur and the school district lose because our tax dollars will be going to another community.
Congrats, Dr. Rohde, Smithmier, and other DMH owned MD's. Because of you, well educated, high income people are leaving Decatur and leaving all citizens here poorer in so many ways.
Hope you are all proud of yourselves.
Packing up and leaving happily a high income neighborhood in Decatur. Finally made the decision to leave because of the corrupt administration of DMH.
We will still be close to our children, but will have access to better health care. Sad for Decatur, but our 4 children who were raised here and attended Decatur schools are also considering leaving Decatur. More high income people leaving Decatur.
How proud you must be Dr. Rohde, DMH owned docs, administrators for driving out the people who can actually afford to subsidize care for the underinsured here.
Bye, bye. Send you all a postcard from our new location.
I only pray that the people who are stuck here in Decatur get help and justice from the federal government. They truly deserve it.
How does DMH manage to keep its JCAHO certification? Seems like JCAHO means nothing anymore.
DMH ER is a joke. God help you if you go there for care on a weekend or holiday.
Went there for treatment after suffering severe trauma. Was never seen by an MD - just a PA. PA said I had muscle pain and sent me home. Being the stoic type, I believed her and went home told to take Motrin.
Less than a week later, I was back at DMH ER and finally seen by a real doctor. This doctor actually listened to my history, ordered the proper tests and admitted me immediately to ICU. I needed multiple blood transfusions. The surgeon who was finally called in to see me was unhappy to say the least. If I had received proper care on my first visit to the DMH ER, my hospital stay would have been much shorter and I would not have lost as much time from work.
I learned the hard way not to trust DMH doctors or the DMH ER. I almost died because of the lack of proper care I received there.
I for one will never go to DMH again. My family has convinced me that they need me more than any money I might leave them in my estate.
People, avoid DMH at all costs. You will not get good care there.
DMH doctors and Smithmier - how do you manage to get away with your blatant negligance and not providing mecessary care?
How do you manage to keep your licenses?
I would like just one DMH doctor to tell me that he would allow himself or a family member to DMH with no one knowing who tey really are.
Thank God our insurer lets us choose our doctors and hospitals. We pay extra money for this every month, but it is worth every penney.
When my daughter was born, we went to DMH - we believed their BS ads. My care was horrible. No nurse ever came in to change my sheets, offer to help me get cleaned up or anything. My mother (a nurse) - was horrified when she arrived in town from Chicago and and found out that no one had ever checked my fundus (Mom knows what that means, I still don't, but apparently it is pretty important) or checked my pad to see how much I was bleeding.
My mother changed my sheets every afternoon, helped me get to the shower, change my gown, got ice water for me and clean pads.
My mother taught me how to feed my daughter. This was my first baby and no one at DMH even showed me how to get the top off the bottle, let alone teach me how to get a newborn to take a bottle. They just wheeled her in to my room at feeding time and left.
When my daughter had her first BM my mother changed her diaper. Apparently a newborn baby's first BM is extremely important - it can tell nurses and doctors whether or not there are serious complications. Did any DMH nurse nurse even ask my Mom what this BM looked like? NO! They took Mom's word for what it looked like.
I never felt more alone in my life or abandoned than I did when my daughter was born at DMH. If my mother hadn't come from Chicago, we really would have been on our own.
When my son was born, we went to St. Mary's. That was a no brainer after what we had gone through when my daughter was born at DMH.
The difference was night and day. The nurses at St. Mary's could not have been more helpful or kind. They did not just assume that I knew what to do just because this was my second baby. They took the time to explain everything to me, show me how to take care of my baby, feed my son, check me physically at least 3 times a day, and offer support to me after I took my son home.
Dr. Rohde, Smithmier, and all you other DMH doctors? Do you really call the care your patients get at DMH quality care?
Maybe it was quality care in the 17th century, but your care is not worth the life of one of my children.
Mastering Modern Medicine? Maybe in the 17th century, but not now.
Thank God our insurer gives a choice. No one in my family will ever go to DMH again.
My very dear uncle was a patient on the medical floor at DMH. He was dying of cancer.
He was an SIU patient (YOU at the time, Dr. Rohde). He was in severe pain, crying out for help, and gasping for breath.
I went to his RN to ask for help for him. Her comment was "We don't have any orders for more medicine for him". She was too busy to call and get more medicine ordered for him.
I finally went to his LPN. She knew just the RN to go to for help. This special RN checked my uncle, went immediately to the phone and called the SIU resident on call. The resident couldn't give her any orders for my uncle to ease his suffering. This angel RN would not give up. She kept making phone calls until she found a doctor who would order the medicine my uncle needed.
HE WAS NOT EVEN HER ASSIGNED PATIENT, but she knew that all patients deserve to die with dignity and pain free. She put the care of my uncle and the stress our family was enduring above her assignment. She put her job on the line for him.
This RN is a shining example of what nursing is supposed to be.
Because of this angel RN my uncle died a pain free peaceful death.
There ARE good RN's at DMH. Too bad they have to jump through so many hoops to give their patients the care they need and deserve.
Thank God for this RN who had the courage to fight for a DMH patient even though he was not officially her patient. Thank God there are LPNs and CNAs at DMH who fight for their patients.
It is too bad that most RNs at DMH care about their paychecks than patients.
Why don't doctors like Dr. Rhode and other SIU doctors and residents care as much about the patients?
If another family member or friend of mine were in the same situation as my uncle, I will seek out this RN wherever she is now and DEMAND that she take care of us.
I will not rely on Rohde, any DMH doctor, or Smithmier to give us the care we need and deserve.
Dr. Rohde, Dr. Akers, Dr. Goetter, Dr. Waters. Dr. McCormmack, Dr. Wall, Dr. Tim Miller. Dr. Scribner, Dr. Newcome, Dr. Cavanaugh, Dr. Baumberger, and the list goes on. Smithmier, Stone, Peacock, Fahey?
How do you sleep at night? Do you teach your children that money is the most important thing in life? Or do you teach them that they have a moral and ethical responsibilty to give back to the communities that have made them rich?
If it is the former, our city, state and country are truly heading south.
How sad for your children and how ashamed you should be of yourselves.
What a sad situation for our state and country to be in when people in power (Enron, Tyco, Smithmier, etc) raise children to believe that anything goes as long as they get richer.
Where did your parents go wrong? Is this what they taught you? How proud will you be to stand before your parents who put country first and in some cases gave their lives for this country and answer for what you have done with your lives in the next life?
How proud of your children will you be when they follow in your footsteps?
I trust and pray that there are still moral men and women in this country who uphold the laws of the land.
OJ Simpson got away with murder because he had money and power. The administrators and doctors of DMH are doing the same. They seem to have the same kind of high priced lawyers to keep them from paying for their crimes.
John McClain of Arizona - the politicians in Illinois seem to have little regard for the care of residents of Illinois. Can you help us?
Federal investigators - throw us a bone. Tell us that we are not wasting our time here trying to fight the evil empire that is DMH.
God help the people of Decatur.
Seems like no one else is going to.
Dr. Rohde? Is there not one honorable man in your profession?
DMH doctors - Ken Smithmier?
Is there not one honorable man in your profession or organization who truly cares about the patients in this area?
Federal investigators - please do not give up on your investigation of DMH and how many federal laws they have violated.
We need you.
HELP US PLEASE
St. Mary's, please help us. No one else seems willing or able to do anything about Smithmier and the way he has robbed the people of Decatur of true choice in health care.
St. Mary's, you seem to be our last hope.
Are there any St. Mary's administrators who are willing and able to fight Smithmier?
Any word from Dr. Rohde or any of the other DMH owned doctors about all of this?
Or have they been forced to take a vow of silence?
Are you doctors proud of yourselves or are you ashamed of yourselves?
You can post here anonymously you know.
Tell the people of Decatur how you feel about Smithmier and his unethical reign of terror over us.
Does no one care about what Smithmier and his adminstrators have done to and at DMH? Has everyone given up? I have seen first hand how these crooks have managed to turn DMH in to an organization that puts its administrators and their salaries and bonuses above the importance of providing good healthcare to Decatur.
I see fewer and fewer posts here. Seems like this was the onnly place we could go and tell what was really happening at DMH without fear of losing jobs.
Has Smithmier truly won and Decatur lost?
Is there anyone out there who cares? I there anyone listening anymore?
A nurse friend told me about soytowncrier after what happened to my husband. I thought about it for a long time and finally decided to write something here after talking to other friends who had horrible experiences at DMH
He had a total knee replacement done at DMH. Too bad his doctor didn't stay with him until my husband went home. His doctor was great but the nurses who were supposed to be taking care of him had absolutely no idea of how to take care of him and operate the equipment needed for his care.
In desperation I called my RN friend, crying the whole time I was talking to her. She dropped everything at home and immediatetly came out to DMH to see what she could do to help. She has worked at DMH for years and has so much experience. She walked into my husbands room and saw right away what the problem was. The gizmo they use to recycle a patients blood wasn't working right. We called the nurse who was supposed to be taking care of my husband and pointed out to the nurse that this equipment was not working right. His nurse had no idea how to fix it and make it work right. She would not take advice from my RN friend on how to fix it, even though she knew her and told her that she was the greatest nurse she had ever known. An hour later, after many people came into my husbands room the problem was fixed.
How did they fix the problem? After an hour, they did exactly what my RN friend told them to do after looking at my husband for about 30 seconds.
My husband was in agony the whole time because no one told him how to use the pain pump after his surgery. No one told him to use the pain pump while they fixed the problem.
My husband has to have surgery on his other knee. We will not go back to DMH. I know the nurses mean well but they really don't know how to take care of patients. His official nurse told us she had been out of school for less then 6 months.My husband told me that for this next operation he is going to Champaign. He wants nurses to take care of him who have experience.
What is going on at DMH? It used to be a good hospotal. Our experience there showed us that they do not have nurses who know what they are doing. I don't want them to practice on my husband unless they have a good nurse with them to show them how things should be done.
We own our own business in Decatur and know how important it is to keep money in Decatur. When it comes to the health and care of my family though, I have no doubt that we are making the right decision to go to Champaign the next time my husband has to have surgery or anyone else in my family is sick.
We have a business plan for our business. Is this poor patient care part of Ken Smithmier's business plan? If it is, I would advise everyone in Decatur to go anywhere but DMH for surgery or any other health problem.
Previous anonymous:
Champaign does have quality hospitals and quality doctors.
You might save yourself some money, headache, and travel time by going to St. Mary's for your husband's next surgery. There are really good doctors who will go to St. Mary's and do orthopedic surgery where the nurses there are VERY EXPERIENCED with after surgery care.
Remember, St. Mary's can work with you on insurance problems, so you may not have to pay more to go there as opposed to DMH or any other hospital.
From what I've heard, Champaign, Springfield and Bloomington to some extent are true "tertiary referral centers" (I think this means that this is where the real specialists are.) If your husband is expecting a difficult surgery or needs some sort of specialized surgery, Champaign may be a better place to go. Our local surgeons are good for routine things, but despite Ken Smithmier's delusions, Decatur IS NOT a "tertiary referral center."
Anybody remember the old Ernie Ford song - "16 Tons"? In that song he sang about "another day older and deeper in debt....I owe my soul to the company store".
This song could be about DMH and how it treats its employees. DMH works its employees to death (literally in some cases), keeps them captive because the professionals - RN's, pharmacists, physical therapists, and so on, cannot afford to leave DMH after 10 or 15 years of service. These employees cannot leave DMH and get a job someplace else because they would have to take a huge cut in pay. Retirement benefits at another employer would be much less.
Employees who started working at DMH before Smithmier came to town are stuck for financial reasons. Our retirement benefits will be less if we leave. Our social security benfits will be less if we leave.
Congratulations, Smithmier. You and your immoral, unethical administrators have mangaged to put your highly skilled, highly educated professionals in the position where they, too, "owe their souls to the company store"
How proud you must be. Not only have you managed to screw Decatur residents, you have screwed your own employees. We cannot go elsewhere for healthcare or get a doctor who is not owned by DMH because the insurance you forced upon us will not allow us these choices because of outrageous out of pocket expenses.
You grow richer and get a salary that is obscene and bonuses that are even more obscene while your longterm employees get less and less every year.
I wonder how long it will be before Smithmier treats the doctors he has managed to payoff the same way? Until that happens, things will never change at DMH.
DMH employees have given up on any chance that federal investigators/regulators and state investigators/ regulators will help us.
Meanwhile, Smithmier, you continue to commit medicare and medicaid fraud, and other crimes. Meanwhile, Smithmier, you are living the good life in your mansion built on the backs of the employees who actually gave DMH its good reputation.
Until the DMH owned doctors take a financial hit the way other employees have, things will never change at DMH.
Smithmier, you are an evil man.
The last poster said it all.
Smithmier, you are an evil man. You have no one's interests at heart except those that can line your own pockets. You have become very very rich at the expense of Decatur residents. Screw the people of Decatur. Screw your employees. You care only about your own bank account.
If only the DMH owned doctors would realize that they are next in Smithmier's sight. Once they realize this and say enough is enough, only then will Decatur have the health care and good care they have worked so hard for. Decatur is populated by people who physically and emotionally worked hard for what little money they have and their pensions. We do not have the financial resources for our retirement years that Ken has. Ken has managed to take what little we have saved and forced us to pay it to him because of the way our medical plans are set up. I am willing to bet the ranch that Smithmiers pension plan is a gazillion times better than mine.
Doctors of Decatur, please have the courage to stand up to this evil man and tell him that you really do care more about the welfare of your patients than the threats of Smithmier and his highly paid lawyers.
You doctors who do have the courage to do this will win in the long run.
If there truly is justice in this country, Ken will pay for his crimes. If Smithmier gets off scott free, you doctors are our last hope.
Help us, Decatur doctors. Help us federal investigators.
Are there no moral men left out there who will help us? Are there no moral, ethical doctors in Decatur who will help us?
Is the federal investigation all but over? Has Smithmier won and managed to flout all legal, ethical and moral laws? If this is the case, shame on all of you people with the power to provide justice for us.
So, is Smithmier practicing medicine without a license? Sounds like it from some of these comments. The doctors he owns are forced to do things his way, refer patients to other doctors he owns, and force patients to have expensive tests done at DMH. Sounds like he is telling "his" doctors how to practice medicine.
Aren't there laws against this?
Chief Illinwek? Ken Smithmithier?
Who is more honorable and represents dignity and respect?
I vote for Chief Illiniwek! He has never robbed the people of central Illinois.
Smithmier has.
Are there any federal investigators out there who take integrity into account? I certainly hope so.
Ahh, DMH, we longtime residents of this area knew you when you were a hospital we could rely on.
Alas, DMH. we have watched you decline into an organization that rewards administrators who are willing to put their own salaries and bonuses ahead of the welfare of the people they are supposed to be taking care of. It is no coincidence that the decline in care at DMH picked up speed when Ken Smithmier arrived here.
Isn't there anyone with the power and courage to make the administrators who have violated laws, committed fraud, and given poor care to the patients who trusted DMH who cares and can do anything about this?
If Smithmier has managed to pay off all the doctors, investigators, media, and all others who have the power to bring his crimes to light and make him pay for those crimes the people of Decatur will be the real losers here.
DMH owned doctors must be so proud of themselves. They put themselves first and their patients lose. They out their own financial interests before the welfare of their patients. I am sure there is something in the Hippocratic Oath these doctors took that forbids this.
Investigators, it is time for you to do a gut check. Do you have the courage to stand up to Smithmier, hand down indictments for the crimes all doctors in this part of the state know have been committed at DMH? If you don't the entire state and its residents and their healthcare lose. Do you have the courage to stand up for the people of Decatur?
My husband had back surgery at DMH. It did not go well because of infection that developed. He had to go to the Mayo Clinic to have them repair the damage that was done at DMH. The Mayo doctors said it was probably because of the care he received after his surgery. He has never fully recovered from the botched surgery and care he received at Decatur Memorial. He can't play golf anymore, He can only work 4 hours or less a day because of the pain he has after his surgery, he can't play with our grandchildren the way he used to. There are so many things he cannot do now because DMH provided him with care that our vet could have done better. DMH, its surgeons, and staff have turned this 54 year old man in to an old man.
Talked to our lawyer and he essentially told us "Good luck suing DMH. They own all the doctors and lawyers in Decatur".
Is this the way Decatur Memorial is mastering modern medicine? If it is, God help us all.
Another husband story. I used to work at DMH. My husband got cancer. His treatment was brutal but was his only hope to live. I worked as long as I could and leave my husband at home alone safely. He finally grew so weak that I had to take a leave of absence to take care of him and drive him back and forth to his treatments, take care of him while he was vomiting, bathe him when he was to weak to get out of bed, feed him when he was too weak to hold a spoon. I lost my job at DMH because my 6 month leave was up. I had to chose between taking care of the man I loved and had been married to for over 20 years. It was no choice at all. I HAD to take care of my husband.
DMH would not extend my leave of absence. Didn't make any difference to DMH what the reason was I had to extend my leave. I was forced to quit because I could not return to work when DMH thought I should.
My husband died 3 weeks and 2 days after DMH forced me to quit. I would do the same thing again because my husband needed me but I lost seniority and pension benefits and the total I will receive from social security when I am old enough to retire. I will never forgive DMH for forcing me to choose between the love of my life and their rules. I had documentation from doctors telling DMH that I had to stay home and take care of my husband. It didn't make any difference to the hospital.
DMH may be Mastering Modern Medicine, but they care more about their new high tech machines than they do about their employees and people.
I blame Dr. Rodhe and all the other doctors Smithmier owns for putting money,machines and landscaping higher than real people. Their greed cost me my job.
Is this the way a hospital that says it cares about improving the health of the people of central Illinois treats its employees?
Apparently this is how Smithmier and the doctors who work for him feel.
If DMH doubled or tripled my salary, I would never work there again. Nursing students, surgical tech students, radiology tech students have asked me whether they should work at DMH. Of course I tell them to stay as far away from the place as they can unless they have no families and no lives away from work. Many of them have taken my advice and have accepted jobs elsewhere.
At DMH patients and employees come last. How do the people who run the place sleep at night?
Same story as the last one only it was my 2 year old son who was sick. He had a brain tumor. Who was I going to choose? DMH or my son? No contest. When my 6 month leave of absence was up I was told I had to leave. I lost my insurance, my benefits and everything I worked for. There was no way they would consider extending my leave.
I am happy to report that my son is now doing well, I have a better job that pays more and I no longer have to put up with the BS at DMH.
DMH employees get out while you can. There are other jobs out there for highly skilled people. There are other employers who will pay you what you are worth. We are now another family who hates DMH and how they treat their employees. We will never go to DMH again. We don't trust them.
We own a printing business in Decatur. Do the people of Decatur realize how much those 4 color brochures that end up in everyone's mailbox every month cost? They are VERY expensive.
While we enjoy the money DMH pays for those ads (and that's what they are - ads - not what's new and exciting at DMH) we feel the money would be better spent on providing real quality care to the people of Decatur and on their employees.
Who cares if Dr. Rohde is now employeed by DMH? We all know most doctors in Dectur are employeed by DMH.
Rather than spend that money on fancy ads (brochures) and expensive billboards, DMH should be spending that money on hiring qualified personnel and giving the people of Decatur the care they need.
I don't see those 4 color ads in my mailbox from St. Mary's. Could that be becaause St. Mary's is using their money to really provide good care for us?
Sad isn't it? There is reason to fight back, but you must take the first step.
I mentioned it before. Mr. Pittenger is now retired, but has told me that he will guide people to the right person to speak to. His number is 428-0795.
That was then...this is now. DMH owns Decatur, its lawyers, media, politicians.
Called St. Mary's, they will accept what Caterpillar pays DMH but I am responsible for the balance (but they will work out a payment plan for me).
Can't afford to go to St. Mary's because I cannot afford to pay the difference.
Seems there is no one out there who can help us.
I would ask someone from St. Mary's (and I know you read this blog) to please comment on your policy on billing patients with insurance that favors DMH.
So. Smithmier and Stone alone made ove 1 million dollars in 2005. Throw in the money and bonuses the othe administrators at DMH made that year and you have a nice chunk of change. Much more than most working people in Decatur make in a lifetime.
Wouldn't it be nice if they all donated half of their salaries and bonuses to the medically underserved people of Decatur? Think what a difference it would make if CHIC, BabyTalk, Dove, the Redcross, the Boys and Girls Club, and so many other organizations received that money.
Might make more people in Decatur believe that the DMH mission to improve the care of the people of central Illinois is more than words.
Why do I think they are too greedy to even consider this option?
I am the last poster. I would like to add one more thought.
How about Dr. Rohde, Dr. Goetter, Dr. Baumberberger, Dr. Waters, Dr. Akers, Dr. Kraus, Dr. Fanchini, Dr. Sichlau, Dr. Deol, and all you other doctors who are owned by DMH donating part of the salaries DMH pays you to the medically underserved in Decatur?
I have learned on this site that you are all well paid - much above the state average for doctors like you.
What a difference you could make in the healthcare of the people of Decatur if you would put your patients above your wallets.
How about it DMH owned doctors? Are you willing to step up and take care of the people who really need you? Smithmier is a lost ause. He has proven he cares nothing about providing good health care to ALL people of Decatur.
You doctors are our last hope.
How can DMH and Smithmier and his administrators cry "poor" when they make such outrageous salaries and bonuses? How can they cry "poor" when they are literally buying doctors and every piece of land they can get their hands on? How can they cry "poor" when they all live in homes that most of us in Decatur can only dream about? I'll bet they drive much nicer, more expensive cars and newer cars than their employees.
I'll bet their insurance plans are better than the ones they offer their employees.
I think they might be able to improve their bottom line if those administrators would take a cut in pay. I'll bet they would be able to pay their employees better if those same administrators would simply take a 3% annual raise which is about what they give their workers. Of course the workers don't actually get 3% raises because DMH takes that away from them by forcing the employees to pay more for their "benefits".
Get real Smithmier. You have no credibility with the people of Decatur anymore. The only way you get away with all of your fraud and BS is because you own the doctors, the politicians, the media and so on.
Are the federal investigators really still looking into the fraud, self referrals, and other crimes DMH has and still is committing or have they given up on us?
Any OFFICIAL word from St. Mary's about whether they will accept what Caterpillar and other bid insurers pay DMH without making us set up a payment plan for the difference?
St. Mary's you are the last hope for the people of Decatur to have a choice in quality care.
The people of Decatur ache for a choice in health care. If someone in authority at St. Mary's will GUARANTEE us that you will accept what our insurers pay DMH, your census will skyrocket.
We have given up hope that any of the investigators will help us.
St. Mary's, will you help the people of Decatur?
Is there any honest man, politician, doctor, hospital left in Decatur? Does no one care about what happens to the people of Decatur and its people?
Just getting ready to drag my tired body off to work at DMH and was watching the local news while eating breakfast.
Saw an ad for Cancer Care Specialists of Central Illnois. These are doctors that I have known and respected for years.
I know DMH building them a new building across the street from the YMCA.
Does this mean that DMH now owns these great doctors too? If so I am so disappointed in Dr Wade, Dr Esparaz and the other doctors at CCSCI.
I had hoped that these doctors would be able to stand up to Smithmier and say NO to him and his ways of cornering the market for care in Decatur. I thought they were ethical and put their patients first.
Is DMH paying for this expensive advertisng for Dr wade and his group? If DMH has mangaged to "buy" Dr Wade and his group, I am truly disappointed in these doctors and feel even sadder for Decatur citizens.
Dr Wade please tell us that you have not caved in to Smithmier like most other doctors in Decatur.
Anyone know anything about these oncologists and whether or not Smithmier has managed to pay them off too?
Please Dr Wade tell us you will not let Smithmier dictate how you practive medicine.
My sister used to work for Dr. Rohde at DMH amd SIU in Decatur. Her husband was transferred to Springfield - she is an RN with a masters degree. She now works for a doctor in Springfield.
She tells me that while not willing to go on record, doctors in Springfield from what she hears while she is at work the doctors in Decatur are a joke amd DMH a little community hospital trying to be one of the big boys and is not able to provide good care to patients available at good hospitals.
She is so glad she is out of the DMH clutches.
Should we Decatur residents move just to get away from Smithmier?
How sad for the people who are stuck in Decatur.
Please someone help the people who are stuck in Decatur.
According to my sister The doctors in Springfield essentially plan their time around the patients DMH has managed to treat improperly and who will need to be transferred to ANYWHERE but DMH to try and undo the harm done at DMH.
Why does DMH continue to get away with giving poor care?
DMH, Ken Smithmier, Tim Stone and all you other DMH administrators - you have managed to provide horrible care to all of us.
PA's HAVE NO BUSINESS PRACTICING MEDICINE IN THE DMH ER. No matter what you say, that is exactly what they are doing. AREN'T THERE LAWS AGAINST THIS?
Aren't the real MDs responsible for the care or lack of care provided to patients working under them?
My mother almost died because of the "care" she received in the DMH ER. The PA who saw her missed what was really wrong with her by a mile. Mom trusted DMH and believed what the PA told her (a doctor never examined her). A doctor never even called her own doctor to tell him that she was there. We took Mom back about a week later with the same symptoms that had only gotten worse and was seen by an MD and was immediately admitted to ICU. That ER MD (who was not there the first night Mom went in) couldn't believe they hadn't given her the right tests the first time she was there and admitted her then. He also couldn't believe that her own doctor (on the DMH payroll) hadn't done anything to help her.
She was in ICU for over a week and in the hospital for over 3 weeks. Her own DMH employed doctor admitted DMH ER screwed up the first time Mom was there although he never said he should have paid more attention to our daily calls to him at his office about her condition. He said he would talk to the head of the ER but we never heard anything from DMH about their gross negligence.
When will the importance of a human life mean more to you, Ken Smithmier, than saving a few dollars by having ER patients seen by PAs instead of MDs?
By the way, Mom was charged, and medicare paid for a MD exam on her first visit to the ER even though an MD never laid a hand on her.
Mom's quality of life has never been the same since she went to the DMH ER. She would not require 24 hour a day care if she had been given the right care the first time she went to the DMH ER.
Isn't it fraud to charge for an MD exam when only a PA saw her?
Isn't unethical and illegal for something like this to happen?
No wonder St Marys now has ads saying that you will always be seen by a doctor if you go to their ER. From now on my entire family will go to St Marys. We trust them to take care of us. Apparently St. Marys will always have a real doctor see patients in the ER unlike DMH.
Medicare paid thousands of dollars more and continue to pay more for Mom's care than was necessary because DMH did not examine her the right way and give her the right treatment the first time she went to the DMH ER. This outrageous lack of care by the DMH ER staff cost our family and all the tax payers thousands of dollars more than was necessary if only Mom had been given the proper care on her first visit to DMH ER.
WE DO NOT TRUST DMH TO GIVE US THE CARE WE NEED IN AN EMERGENCY.
Federal investigators, Medicare watchdogs, keep your eyes on DMH. DMH charges for care that is not given.
Ken Smithmier and all you other DMH administrators, I hope you know in your hearts that you will pay for the fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in this life or on judgment day.
My mothers life may mean nothing to you but it means everything to us.
I only hope I live long enough to see justice served.
FYI:
From what I've been told, PAs and doctors can charge the same fees, except if they see patients with certain insurances. Medicare and Medicaid are examples.
Having quality doctors who work in the DMH ER is asking Smithmier to spend money--that won't happen unless it's a frivolous thing like Sharon Collins' fiasco here in Forsyth. I agree with many of you who have said they would rather not see a PA in the ER. They only go to school for two years beyond college, and are doing a lot of the same things a doctor does who has gone to 4 years of medical school plus an internship of four or five years.
They say people vote with their feet. If you want a doctor to see you, demand it. If your insurance allows you to, go to St. Mary's
There are many RN's who have essentially more education than PA's. Why not have them see you in the ER and pay the RN's what the PA's would make? Oh, that would violate Illinois Nurse Practice act. They (the PA's) often ask RN's what they should do anyway so the RN's are essentially telling the PA's what to do. Know that from first hand experience.
As far as voting with your feet, there are so many people in Decatur on fixed incomes who cannot afford to go anywhere but DMH because of their insurance. Wish we could afford to tell Smithmier to shove it but we are stuck for financial reasons and he knows it. Smithmier has managed to take over health care in Decatur.
We are screwed no matter which way you look at it.
Another BS billboard. Have you seen the DMH billboard touting "Decatur's only onsite open heart team"?
What they don't tell you in that billboard is that if you are unfortunate enough to have a heart attack after 5 or 6 PM, the ER staff has to call the operator who then has to call everyone on the team in. The team IS NOT onsite 24 hours a day. Quite a few team members live out of town, so if they get called for an emergency at midnight, they have to get out of bed, get dressed, find their car keys and then drive up to 30 miles or more to get to DMH.
Where is the truth in advertising there? I could be halfway to Springfield by the time DMH gets its cardiac team just in the building. Then they have to change their clothes and get the room ready for your procedure. By the time all of that is done, I could be in Springfield. Springfield, here I come!
Again, the advise I have is instead of complaining on this blog and expecting the goverment to do something about it. Take matters in your own hands. The ONLY thing that Smithmier, his paid-off docs, administration understand is MONEY & POWER.
If all of you move your care to St Mary's the money will be gone, his paid-off doctors will leave and Smithmier & Co power will be stripped from them.
This is the only way. Trust me, I was there.
Can anyone out there tell us what happened to:
Oussama Mahmoud Aasar, MD, the Cardiologist who had been with Illinois Heart Specialists at DMH?
Why did he leave? Where is he practicing now? We are looking for him. Please help.
People - patients - vote with their feet only if they can afford to. DMH has us locked in because of the contracts they have coerced, bribed, or otherwise gotten unethically from major insurers. Regarding PA's. I respect them but I also know from first hand experience that they also ask experienced RN's for advice on how to treat patients. Ask any RN with more than 5 years experience at either hospital whether or not a PA has ever asked them (the RN) what he or she thinks they (the PA) should do and I will bet that you will get a definite YES answer from those RN's. Many RN's have spent more time in school and taking care of real live patients than PA's.
So sad for people in Decatur.
My belief is that St Mary's will gladly compromise their billing structure and accept whatever the insurance will pay if a patients chooses to change from DMH. Stop crying and do something about it before St Mary's closes down, then you will be locked in.
MOVE TO AN ALTERNATE TO DMH, whether it be ST MARY'S, CARLE, SPRINGFIELD. DO IT NOW AND STOP CRYING. DECATUR TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR HEALTHCARE YOURSELVES!
OK, I took the advice of other posters and walked away from DMH. My family now has another doctor and no longer is forced to go to DMH. We are much happier. There are more nurses at our new hospital who don't make us wait 45 minutes for 2 Tylenol tablets, our doctor who does not work for DMH actually returns our calls the same day we call his office and we are much happier.
Sad thing is, it will take thousands of other DMH captives to do the same thing before anything changes at DMH. DMH has controlled care here for so long people have been essentially brainwashed into thinking they have no other choice.
My family is better off now since we escaped the grasp of DMH but I feel like we are spitting in the wind by changing. One family of 4 leaving DMH means nothing to Smithmier.
What about people who rely upon the decatur public transit system to provide their transportation to and from the doctor or hospital? How can they vote with their feet and get away from DMH? They (we) may have private insurance but have been told they have to go to DMH. They (we) don't have the income to pass a credit check doctors require before accepting new patients.
If only St. Mary's or the doctors in Decatur who are not owned by Smithmier would throw us a bone and tell us that they would love to have us as patients we would use their services in a minute.
Unfortunately their are a lot of us who can't even stand on our feet let alone vote with our feet.
St. Mary's has given us no sign they will help us.
After reading these posts - or lack of them- it seems as though no one in Decatur, Macon County, or any federal investigators care about how Smithmier and DMH have hurt the citizens, committed crimes, etc.
Looks like Smithmier wins. Right is no longer might in Decatur. Seems like political connections and bribery win.
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