Mr. Mayor "Re-Vitalize" Asheboro All You Like. But Perhaps God Might Be More Likely To Hear Your Prayers If You Didn't Lie To The Public Or Re-write History.

Regular readers of Housecalls will remember that I was not exactly thrilled when Asheboro City leaders appeared as "honored guests" during an eleven o'clock service at Asheboro's First Baptist Church back in February - kicking off a campaign (for lack of a better word) of prayer, coinciding with the season of Lent, to ask God to heal our city.

While I don't doubt, for one second, the sincerity of FBC's real church-people - or the Power of God - the hypocrisy exuded by those standing on FBC's stage ranked right up there with the Courier Tribune's Annette Jordan sanctimoniously lecturing anyone on the importance of the public's access to public records.

As I've said before, when it comes to forgiveness and atonement, I don't believe in cheap grace.  Some of these people have MUCH to answer for.

The Randolph County Tea Party, fueled by public angst over Asheboro being named one of the nation's top ten dying towns by Forbes Magazine back in 2008, has been hosting a series of public forums and inviting public officials in Asheboro/Randolph County to basically explain themselves/their past actions/their future plans.  It's an interesting exercise in "hyper-local" politics given that, until recently, public officials here didn't really answer to anybody (well, except our mill town's "right people").

The best example I can give of that is my first appearance before the Asheboro City Council (which at the time included current N.C. Commerce Secretary, "Evil" Keith Crisco) back in the spring of 2004 - when I basically begged the Council to do something - anything - that might help me hold "non-profit" Randolph Hospital's feet to the fire for the nasty/ultimately illegal things their senior executives had done under the guise of "charity". 

The story I told them was an ugly one. 

At the time, in the days before I found my voice on the blogs, it was a VERY big deal for me and my family to break our silence and appear before the Council - as we had basically lived in terror of more (essentially state-sanctioned) retaliation for years. 

While Keith Crisco squirmed and snarled during my presentation (it was expected), and J.D. Walker put down her pen (disappointing, but ditto), future Mayor David Smith made a point of putting on his best "I feel your pain" face after the meeting was done - seeking me out to thank me for coming forward. He implied that it was appreciated, and that the Council would look into it.

(I've since been told this is the Mayor's modus operandi in defusing potentially embarrassing situations . . . to appear sympathetic, then duck back behind the wagons circled tightly around "the right people".)

That was six years ago - before I answered John Robinson's call to citizen journalism - and I've not seen this Council (which has since attempted some pretty unscrupulous things - and which is now asking for the community prayers and God's help to dig them out of their hole) do ANYTHING to reign the boys-running-Randolph in.

Meanwhile, under the stalwart Rotarian leadership of David Renfro, the Courier Tribune has consistently REFUSED to tell the local mostly-God-fearing populace the brutally-ugly-story that I told the City Council.  The see/hear/speak-no-evil-about-their-biggest-advertiser-act continues even now, under Diane Winemuller's new-&-improved "business model" that puts such strong emphasis on focusing on the "hyper-local".

The hospital is an economic powerhouse (God help us) and you simply cannot stand in its way - no matter what Bob Morrison and Steve Eblin do.

So let's just say, I was real interested in what Mayor Smith might say at this Tea Party meeting about the state of healthcare in Asheboro.  

Fortunately, I did not have to rely solely on the Courier as my ex was there (apparently, I must be rubbing off on him, because he posed some fairly pointed questions about the escalation of crime in his neighborhood - questions that did not get answered).  And/so I got a detailed report. 

The Courier's Mary Anderson was also at the meeting, and this time (in stark contrast to her award-winning colleague whose fingers were apparently paralyzed seven years ago) Anderson was actually able to put pen to paper/fingers to keyboard and report on what was said - albeit in the Courier's spartan, "we can't embarrass the right people too much" style.

This is an excerpt from Anderson's story in the Courier (for the record, and just so we know who is who, Lynn Lancaster is the "Director of Research and Education" for the Tea Party.  I have no idea what this person does in real life.):

Smith said Asheboro’s location in central North Carolina was attractive to people because of the climate, lower cost of living and the midway location, not only to the mountains and coast, but between New York and Florida. People who have the means to move for retirement will want amenities and services, which will create jobs. An older population also has more medical needs and Asheboro has the facilities.

“The medical community is our next growth industry,” Smith said.

Lancaster said those plans would hinge on “Obamacare.”

“You can’t take half a billion dollars out of Medicare and expect things to be the same,” Lancaster said.

Now, as I indicated, Mary Anderson left some things out of her report - most specifically, our Mayor re-writing history to paint Randolph Hospital and its wholly-owned controlled affiliate, Randolph Medical Associates (RMA), as "saviors" in today's ugly games of medical competition and oneupmanship. 

The Mayor would have us believe that it's bad that the practice Randolph Hospital spawned is not the only game in town anymore (God is merciful).  Other big practices - owned by bigger hospitals and conglomerates or even larger groups of doctors - are muscling in - bringing in and scooping up solo doctors and smaller practices who must affiliate with someone in order to survive.  Those doctors don't necessarily direct their referrals to the local hospital.

What specifically jerked this home-girl-turned-battered-public-servant-turned-angry-crusading-hyper-local-blogger's chain was Mayor Smith telling those assembled that RMA was "created" to compete with those groups.

And that is not just a lie, it's a damned lie.  It's oily David Smith, in his best patented go-along-to-get-along fashion, trying to re-write history in order to cover his oilier neighbor, Steve Eblin's, butt.

RMA, you see, was here first - before any of the other outside mega-groups found firm footing.  And I can speak with some authority on this subject because I was the FIRST PHYSICIAN recruited to Asheboro under Eblin's grand plan to expand RMA and populate Asheboro with doctors "owned" by the hospital-owned group.  I still have copies of the Courier Tribune's ad campaign in my scrapbook/legal files that say so (perhaps that's why Mary Anderson knew better than to publish the Mayor's gross mis-statement of the facts).

The mega-groups came later.  And there is a reason for that.

The creation and expansion of RMA in the mid-90's was NOT about altruism (for all that this facade is what sucked me in).  It was an effort to have local doctors "naturally" funnel and refer patients to Randolph Hospital, and keep "the business" local.

Moreover, if the hospital employed (i.e. "owned") physicians/their practices, they could ensure "call coverage" for the hospital (as a condition of employment) . . . even as private MD's got disgusted with/burned-out-on the hospital's cheap bully tactics and pulled out. 

It's a fact that many hospitals today are being forced to spend huge amounts of money on "hospitalist" services (call coverage that once cost them next-to-nothing) because they over-played their bully cards with regards to hospital privileges, and milked/grossly-devalued the "good will" of local physicians for far too long. 

Once-brutally-battered, taken-for-granted, burned-out private docs have learned that they can tell hospitals where to go and how to get there . . . many have discovered that when they do, they can take back some resemblance of a personal life.  Some of them can actually make more money in an office-only practice - when things going on at the hospital can no longer disrupt their patient schedules or their day.

Now on paper, expanding RMA was a good (and at the time, pseudo cutting-edge) idea.  But the paper did not take into account several crucial factors.

The first hurdle was Randolph's HORRIBLE reputation amongst the locals.  Back in the day, many parents did not want to have their kids admitted to - or operated on - at Randolph (I could empathize more than most of my collegues), and wanted them transferred to Cone (Randolph Hospital's preference) or Brenner's (my personal preference as it was my alma mater, and the PALS line made communication a snap).  It didn't matter how much parents liked or trusted me (or the other Pediatricians).  They didn't trust Randolph or it's ED. 

If the theory was that "the customer" was always right, Randolph Hospital was screwed.

The nice thing about practicing in Asheboro, Pediatrically-speaking, was that the town was ideally geographically situated to use any one of several excellent tertiary-care centers . . . for in addition to Cone and Brenner's, we could also fall back on Chapel Hill and Duke - all within an hour's driving distance.  Of course Eblin saw this as giving in to Randolph's "competitors" . . . as if Randolph's Pediatric services could really "compete" with those of three of the nation's top children's hospitals. 

(He nearly had a stroke one weekend when I wore a Brenner's T-Shirt on hospital rounds.)

RMA's development happened to coincide with a general push in Pediatrics to manage more kids with chronic problems as outpatients as opposed to inpatients.  Home nebulizers meant you didn't have to admit every child who came in wheezing. Every pneumonia or dehydration case did not need to be admitted.  Parents - and their doctors - had choices.

It did not bode well for the "natural" funneling of Pediatric business to the hospital.

The second, even more problematic hurdle was RMA management.  While Steve Eblin may have presented himself to the hospital's Board of Directors as Randolph's "visionary" VP of corporate planning and development (pause to insert sneer/spit), he had ZERO clue how to run a practice on a day-to-day basis, or to treat physicians/nurses (particularly women - particularly those who did not fawn at his every utterance) and the people he hired didn't have a clue either.  His first practice director made a nearly-criminal mess of our Medicaid billing . . . after she was let go, we went without a director for months with Eblin going through the motions as manager . . . then, we were gifted with the micro-managing, favorites-playing Mike Bridges - who pretty much admitted to me (just before I was fired) that the books were being cooked to show a "profit" . . . as the hospital wanted to switch to a physician incentive program as opposed to straight salaries.

(Eblin's first proposal for the incentive program - presented only after he "fired" all of his doctors - a smooth legal move that back-fired in a big way, included a provision that amounted to awarding incentive points to doctors for going to church and using their church membership to draw in business.  It was offensive on so many levels, and I told the Oily One & his minion Bridges that my soul was not for sale - one of several character traits that put me on their *hit list and kept me there.)

And/so what was supposed to be a "smooth-sailing" environment for the doctors - who could theorhetically focus on practicing medicine and gradually building the trust that builds the relationships that build a successful practice - became, over time, a pressure-cooked nightmare of management's schemes to make money.

We were indentured servants . . . lowly pawns on Randolph Hospital's chessboard of greed . . . instead of highly-educated, highly-valued professionals . . . "partners" in the endeavor, with hopes and dreams of our own.

Nope.  In Eblin's book, we were, "a dime a dozen."

Now I could proceed with a lot of re-hashing of the interpersonal dynamics that led to Eblin and Bridges to use a letter written by a local dentist/member of the Board of Health (a dentist and Board of Health that, in retrospect, I should have SUED THE HELL OUT OF FOR LIBEL) to issue the threats that basic medical ethics compelled me to defy.  But that's beyond the scope of this post.

The point is that Mayor Smith got it wrong.  He's re-writing history.  And what's more, he KNOWS better.

David Smith knows full well that if there is more medical competition in Asheboro now, and the outside mega-groups (like Cornerstone) are gaining the high ground, it's because Randolph Hospital/RMA has a long history of treating its doctors and nurses like CRAP.  I personally think it's FANTASTIC that local doctors no longer have just one or two choices . . . and that they can tell Bob Morrison and Steve Eblin to GO BLOW. 

I can also assure the reader, as a home-grown doctor forced to make her living on the road, that badly-burned physicians/nurses talk amongst themselves and offer advice to others . . . and that Randolph Hospital's reputation for treating medical professionals (of ALL specialities) horribly is known far and wide.

Indeed, if there were manuals for hospital executives on how NOT to treat their doctors, Bob and Steve would have several chapters.

In short, Randolph Hospital is reaping what it has sown.  You will not see me cry any tears.  And good luck, Mr. Mayor, with growing that "industry" if things stay the way they are.

But hey, keep telling the kept-in-the-dark plebes a pile of lies, so lying, cheating Bob Morrison can keep pulling down over $700,000/year in salary and benefits.

One more thing.  At the Tea Party meeting, there was also some discussion about the problems recruiting doctors to Asheboro - and that "re-vitalization" of the downtown area was crucial to this effort.  The statement was made that, at one point (before alcohol), some realtors did not want to show doctors the downtown area because they were ashamed of how it looked.

(At the risk of appearing snide - not a big concern at this point - I'll note that Community One has a very nice facade on the corner of Sunset & Fayetteville . . . the uninformed/visiting doctor would never know that Mike Miller & company lost 250 million dollars in three years.  But hey, the building is real pretty.)

The Mayor's premise is almost funny.  Because as I remember it, back in the mid-90's, Asheboro's status as an alcohol-free, family-oriented, God-fearing small town with good schools, strong churches, a world-renowned zoo, and a low crime rate was a HUGE drawing card for new physicians.  Hell, back then we even had a Harris Teeter.  I know that because I worked with many of the new MD's (most are long gone), and making that kind of commitment was first and foremost about what was best for their family.  Young doctors weren't looking at how many bars were downtown.  They wanted a place where they could practice good medicine - with people they respected and trusted - and raise their kids in safety and peace. 

They were looking for Mayberry.

It's amazing what a difference nearly twenty years of BAD ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL POLICY . . . predicated on the greed of "the right people" . . . in an environment where no one talks back and the newspaper is incapable of asking a coherent question . . . can make.

Expounding on that is, once again, beyond the scope of this post.  But it never ceases to amaze me at how many people in the land-of-small-town-values have benefited/profited from breaking the rules/law, while I was professionally (and legally) crucified for doing my duty by a very newborn sick baby girl . . . and telling the inconvenient truth . . .

. . . a truth to which Mayor David Smith has turned a blind eye and deaf ear.

In the meantime, as individuals basked in short-term profit - with the collateral damage dumped on the educational and medical systems, Asheboro has reaped what its leaders have sown, recently making a "top-ten" list that no town wants to be on. 

Moreover, Asheboro also has a Pediatrician-done-wrong online nearly every day telling the newbies about what was done to her in her own hometown.

Both of these things play hell with physician recruitment - much more so than a couple of bars downtown - or refurbishing Sunset Theatre.

Before we close, in terms of physician recruitment, I will also add that at one time, RMA qualified for state and Federal physician recruitment assistance as embodied by the NHSC's physician loan-repayment program.

It doesn't any more. The reason for that lies solely in the way RMA treated me.  The agreement with the Feds (backed by hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars) was not only about recruitment, but about physician RETENTION.  And I can talk all day about how what I endured in public service in Asheboro demonstrates that Obamacare is doomed to failure - no matter how much money you throw at it - or suck out. 

I'll note the Mayor didn't own up to RMA's biggest faus pax either when speaking to the Tea Party about physician recruitment.

In the aftermath of the recent prayer campaign to "seek God for the city", a passage from Micah (6:12-13) comes to mind:  "…the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins."

My point is this:  God has no use for liars.  And I'm thinking that Mayor Smith needs to do some more soul-searching - and praying - about what he's telling the public regarding Asheboro's recent history - particularly as it pertains to healthcare and those who provide it.

And if he really wants to fix this city, he needs to think about where he stands and who he's standing with.