  Stecks77 Member Username: Stecks77 Post Number: 203 Registered: 08-2006 |
There is a news conference in five minutes @ 2:00pm. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20061122/NEW S99/61122014 Good News! I hope... | ||
Kimmiann Member Username: Kimmiann Post Number: 65 Registered: 10-2005 |
Via email from Mike Duggan to DMC employees about 3 minutes ago: Good News for the Holidays Dear DMC employees: I am very pleased to report that at 4:30 AM today, DMC and WSU signed a new 3 ½ year agreement to extend our partnership through June 30th 2010. After two days of around the clock bargaining in Governor Granholm’s office, DMC Board Chair Chuck O’Brien, Vice Chair John Levy, and much of the DMC management team reached an agreement with WSU that both parties believe is excellent for our futures. We all owe a true debt of gratitude to Governor Granholm and to David Fink, the relentless state mediator. They never got discouraged and they refused to let us go home until we had a signed contract. I also want to thank Mayor Kilpatrick who continually prodded WSU President Irv Reid and me to move past our differences for the last month. It was a great show of leadership by our State and City leaders. Our new agreement provides for the long-term stability of each and every one of the current 68 residencies and should provide real peace of mind for the residents. The contract will permit the WSU physicians to continue to provide the critical safety net services at DMC that this community has come to rely on. For the first time the DMC/WSU contract has performance standards tied to the funding. These standards were developed jointly by the WSU faculty physicians and DMC administration and include such initiatives as reducing surgical infection, and shortening unnecessary lengths of hospital stays. I’m convinced that building our future around a shared set of performance goals will be the best way to avoid repeating our recent conflicts. As with any compromise agreement, we didn’t get everything we wanted. WSU/UPG will be going forward with their Troy and Oakwood initiatives. What we did agree is that for the next 18 months we would stop developing any further competitive ventures and spend our time rebuilding the historic WSU/DMC partnership. But we’ve saved the residencies, created a partnership based on performance and accountability, and have provided a period of stability where we can focus on rebuilding DMC back into a medical center of national stature. So everyone in the DMC and WSU families has something to be truly thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving! Mike I knew they'd work something out! | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 946 Registered: 11-2003 |
great news (Message edited by viziondetroit on November 22, 2006) | ||
Yvette248 Member Username: Yvette248 Post Number: 189 Registered: 10-2006 |
already discussed in two other posts. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 55 Registered: 10-2006 |
So is this supposed to be the end of the issue--all resolved; no more problems for 3.5 years? | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 5232 Registered: 02-2004 |
Money and GREED before medical care HAH!! | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 137 Registered: 08-2006 |
More will happen at the end of the 18-month freeze. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3128 Registered: 08-2004 |
Thanks for the post Kimmiann, I didn't see the detailed specifics in the other 2 threads. | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 33 Registered: 11-2006 |
This is great news!!! It is as a result of mounting pressure on Duggan that he finally gave up on his disastrous plan. In other words, the outcry from many folks on this forum was what did it. I think they are safe from reintroduction indefinately as this is a 42 month contract, and Duggan has a 3 year contract left. Hopefully, he will be gone at that point (or sooner) and the initiative will die. He does a very transparent political back peddling job in that release which, I am sure is killing him inside (happy days for everyone else). Could somebody offer him a job far far away from Michigan/the US please?? | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 2230 Registered: 02-2005 |
Good news. A DMC-WSU partnership is something that we cannot do without if we want to keep Detroit jobs, continue to build midtown, and keep prestigious reseach dollars flowing into our city and not other biotech centers. | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 35 Registered: 11-2006 |
And BTW, Mackinaw, do you have a job in China for Duggan? Pay him well, I don't care as it is worth it to have this malignancy excised from Michigan. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3130 Registered: 08-2004 |
Does this automatically mean that the accreditation folks go home? | ||
Ash Member Username: Ash Post Number: 22 Registered: 11-2006 |
Which residencies are going to be under DMC's sole control? | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 37 Registered: 11-2006 |
"Automatically"??, no. With a contract, the ACGME will not make waves and let things go almost certainly. Does anyone know the amount of the contract? MSMS said 76 million for 3.5 years!!!!! If that is true, WSU took a cut from 80 million a year to 20 million. I hope that doesn't break their backs (it has got to hurt though). I off handedly guessed in a post about a week back that the WSu concession that Duggan would except would be a "token" payment of 20 million per year. Not a bad wild guess it seems. how they convinced WSU to take a 75% pay cut raises suspicions. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3131 Registered: 08-2004 |
Although we will probably never know the details... it's almost certain that John Dingell made some behind the scenes noise to get this resolved. As many folks in Washington will attest to, Mr. Dingell is not one to be reckoned with. | ||
Zephyrprocess Member Username: Zephyrprocess Post Number: 138 Registered: 08-2006 |
Ccbatson--the press release from the Governor's office makes it clear that the $76 million is an annual figure, not the total of the contract. So I'd call your prediction a bad wild guess ;-) It's hard to judge the true net difference in the value of the new contract. The $76 million is less than the $80 million in the previous contract. However, it's reasonable to assume that DMC is no longer paying medical administration costs associated with the 5 excluded residencies, nor paying for clinical services (trauma call) formerly delivered by the Orthopaedics dept. | ||
Ron Member Username: Ron Post Number: 316 Registered: 03-2006 |
This is truly great news for those most affected, low-income Detroiters who rely on WSU/DMC for medical care. | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 38 Registered: 11-2006 |
76 million a year would be better news for the continued financial health of WSU (but not DMC). If that is the number, my surprise shifts from WSU making too big of a concession to DMC/Duggan...which is even more surprising for him (Duggan) to eat crow is very out of character. At the same time,it is quite apparent that he needs to be humbled, so that is a good thing. | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 39 Registered: 11-2006 |
Does anyone have a link to the above mentioned press release? The report of the release by the Free Press is not clear on the amount, stating 76 million for 3.5 years. | ||
Crew Member Username: Crew Post Number: 1084 Registered: 02-2004 |
Governor Granholm, Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State Announce Multi-Year Agreement Contact: Liz Boyd 517-335-6397 November 22, 2006 Ensures Long-Term Stability in Partnership LANSING - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm, Wayne State University (WSU) President Irvin D. Reid, Dr. Robert M. Mentzer, Jr., dean of the WSU Medical School, and Detroit Medical Center (DMC) CEO Michael Duggan, today announced an agreement that will ensure the long-term stability in their partnership to provide access to health care, graduate medical education, and medical research in Southeast Michigan. In announcing the agreement that was reached under the direction of the governor's mediator, David H. Fink, Granholm said the new contract will be instrumental in protecting the supply of physicians in Michigan as well as the economic vitality of the region. "The long-term stability of the partnership between these two institutions is critical for health care in Detroit, Southeast Michigan and the entire state," Granholm said. "Access to health care and health care education and research are more important than ever to the region and the state, so I congratulate all of the parties for reaching a landmark agreement." President Reid said, "I am pleased that we have reached this agreement which represents the commitment of Wayne State University in collaboration with our traditional partner to provide excellent graduate medical education, strong research programs, and high quality health care for the neediest of our citizens in Southeast Michigan." The parties have reached agreement on a new three and a half-year teaching, clinical, and administrative contract to begin January 1, 2007. The agreement preserves all 68 current WSU/DMC residencies and assures the long-term stability of each and every residency. It includes the following provisions: - The parties have agreed that a major core of residency training programs will remain under joint sponsorship. These programs represent key areas in which the two institutions are inextricably linked in terms of education, research, and companion clinical programs. - A small number of residencies will become sole sponsored WSU residencies and a small number will become sole sponsored DMC residencies. For the sole sponsored WSU residencies, there will remain the option for DMC to participate as a training site. For the sole sponsored DMC residencies, WSU will remain DMC's sole academic affiliate. - WSU and DMC have agreed that the joint sponsorship status of all of the other residencies will remain unchanged until at least 2009. "The School of Medicine is the only medical school serving a region of more than six million people. We have the privilege of exploring the science of medicine while caring for the people of this region. We are able to teach future physicians, pursue medical research and touch the lives of so many in this community," Mentzer said. The agreement calls for Detroit Medical Center to fund Wayne State University/University Physicians Group in annual base amount for teaching, clinical, and administrative services at approximately $76 million a year. This will allow WSU to continue its historic mission of providing essential safety net services to the uninsured and support the university's longtime commitment to the quality of life in the city of Detroit. "This agreement will protect the health care safety net in Southeast Michigan," said Duggan. "We will continue to provide health care to those who need it most for years to come." In addition, the agreement calls for the potential payment of an additional $8.8 million in performance bonuses and recruitment support. The performance criteria focus on the enhancement of clinical quality and have been drawn up jointly by WSU faculty physicians and DMC hospital administrators in order to improve patient care. They include such initiatives as reduced surgical infection, and reducing hospital length of stay. This is the first time in their 26 year partnership WSU and DMC have agreed on mutual performance criteria. Finally, on clinical services, the agreement calls for an 18 month phase of the agreement during which both parties will complete the transition of programs already changing primary location. For the balance of the transition period, both parties have agreed to focus on building the depth and breadth of the long-term WSU/DMC partnership and that neither party will pursue new competitive activities that would disrupt that partnership. Governor Granholm has agreed to appoint a Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduate Medical Education to evaluate potential options for residency structures and to make recommendations as to the best means to train residents in Southeastern Michigan. | ||
Apbest Member Username: Apbest Post Number: 293 Registered: 03-2006 |
theyre still going to Troy bastards | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 41 Registered: 11-2006 |
Thanks for the post Crew. Duggan sure has egg on his face, doesn't he...and we should all be glad of it for the hell he put so many people through for nothing but his huge ego which now must be nearly completely deflated with him backpeddling to save what little pride and credibility that he has left. As to Troy, it is not one or the other, it is both. When GM expands into China, Ford into India....or Toyota into the US, is it good, or bad for the parent company and its' home base? Good. Is Huron Valleys' revenue any less important because it is come from those dreaded suburbs? The isolationist thinking for the city of Detroit is a hindrance, not a help to the city. We need to grow up and realize that 8 mile is not the border between 2 enemies, but an arbitrary border between sub communities part of the overall metro Detroit community. | ||
Gistok Member Username: Gistok Post Number: 3136 Registered: 08-2004 |
I think that one of the reasons so many Detroit hospitals have suburban locations (or as is the case with St. John... purchased suburban hospitals) is because of the disparity between what indigent health care actually costs a hospital, and what state/federal programs actually pay out in compensation. Why should DMC, Henry Ford, St. John, Providence and Oakwood be saddled with paying a disproportionate share of indigent health care, while hospitals such as Beaumont and Crittendon get away with a much lesser burden of the cost. It's no wonder that Detroit hospitals want suburban satellite locations with majority insured paying customers. It's not that the DMC is abandoning Detroit, it's just if they intend to survive in the long run, then they need to expand into outlying areas. And until the state and federal government are more forthcoming with indigent compensation (fat chance!), this is the way it's got to be in order to survive... | ||
Ccbatson Member Username: Ccbatson Post Number: 43 Registered: 11-2006 |
Regardless of what some might think, health care is BIG business. the same principles apply whereby profit is good and is accomplished by providing goods and services (services in this case) in exchange for payment. The more services provided (volume), with lesser costs (waste), the more profit. Diversification and growth are central to this theme and recipe for success. Socialism and collectivism lead to the negative situation and viscious cycle we see with the DMC in its' downtown operations. Health care is partly socialist in that providing care for the indigent is a public supported entitlement (and rightly so, but only to a degree). As with all entitlements, incentives are weaker, a dependency class is fostered if they are to expansive, and waste abounds. There was/is/will be a shortage of resources in a socialist system (example communist Russia) which is less than ideal for everyone (accept perhaps the politicians that grow these entitlements out of control creating a larger number of community members that depend on them and must vote for them in order to be taken care of...so much for free elections). The DMC (or any business/health care system) must balance revenue generating pursuits against the revenue neutral or revenue negative services that they provide if they want to survive or succeed. St John and HFH both posted nearly 100 million in profits last year by finding the right balance. There is no reason that the DMC cannot follow suit. IMO, for this and many other reasons, having a liberal/Democrat, trial lawyer by background as your CEO is not the best choice for a captain of the DMC. He doesn't understand, or believe in, the American free enterprise system in a way that would lead to ultimate success (short term success, maybe, not long term). Plus the fact that he is a stubborn, immature, egomaniac, doesn't help either. While the DMC is saying they are doing well/in the black right now, there are concerning tell tale signs that say otherwise. Taking a 30 million dollar advance recently, gaining another 50 million bailout very recently, selling off assets, and downsizing potentially revenue generating operations are the signs of which I speak. These bailout moneys will get pumped into their budget and book cooking operation to paint a rosey short term picture, but substantive positive change in the form of diversification and growth are still conspicuously absent. |
