Hospice of Randolph

The Courier Tribune reports that the state smacked down a "certificate of need" request by Hospice of Randolph to build a ten-bed residential facility.

But hey, Cone Hospital can build an ER in north High Point that siphons business and profits away from High Point Regional. The state is cool with that. Makes perfect sense.

Still think it's a free market, kiddies?

I'm a big fan of Hospice. I volunteered for them as a teenager . . . when I couldn't get any kind of job at Randolph Hospital (didn't have the right last name) . . . and worked my summers at Mickey-D's (probably got a better education about real life there anyway). And Hospice took great care of my Grandmother Ercie during her final illness (leukemia). Grandmother died peacefully at my parent's home . . . with her daughter by her side.

It was the same week my former partner, Lauire Anderson, gave birth to her son . . . and buried him (he succumbed to congenital heart disease at two days of age). I went from burying my Grandmother to helping Scott Anderson pick out his son's coffin. The baby's name was John Warren. Heavy sigh. That week is a horrible blur.

I don't know what we would have done without Hospice.

I'm also a big fan of Billie Vuncannon . . . longtime director of the facility . . . still an honorary Board member. I love Billie. She's a great Southern lady. And the organization pretty much started in her kitchen. Alas, Billie was treated pretty horribly by the "boys club" here for many years. Really horribly . . . all that gentlemanly, back-handed "smile while we stab you in the back" stuff. And Randolph Hospital pulled every trick in the book to try and suck Hospice into its orbit of control. But Billie persevered and Hospice stayed independent . . . and still is as far as I know. And that's a good thing. I worry about Hospice once Billie is not around to help keep them straight.

Billie was the second person I called after I got fired (the first person being Mom).

Bob Morrison (CEO of Randolph), one of the guys who fired me, sits on the Hospice Board now. I didn't like his appointment when it happened. But I understood it. There's an old adage about friends and enemies that certainly applies with this guy.

As a girl, I went to school with Rhonda Birch (current CEO of Hospice). Church too . . . the old Armfield Heights Baptist. Haven't spoken to her for years.

I hope Hospice can jump through the hoops and get this thing back off the ground. But again, we're dealing with the state. And who really knows how they make decisions?

Here's a thought. Maybe the Department of Facility Services was concerned about the past behavior of Board member, Bob Morrison. After all, even though he's been a "non-profit" hospital CEO for a long time, he seems to have a problem understanding a non-profit's obligations . . . especially when it comes to public accountability and telling the truth.

Of course, it's not likely. We are talking about the boys & girls in Raleigh.