Well, the fine administrators at the Oktibbeha County Hospital have once again shown their true colors. It angers me that this place continues to receive public support for it certainly is not concerned with people, only the bottom line. The Northeast Mississippi Journal reported today that the hospital was upset with a Tupelo, MS company that wanted to locate an MRI facility in Starkville to conduct joint research with Mississippi State University.

The truth of the problem came through in the second paragraph of the article:

Sonny Kelly, administrator at the hospital, said Premier Radiology’s plans to use a high-tech magnetic resonance imaging machine will siphon high-paying customers from the hospital, putting its financial stability in question.

Notice the word customer? Not patient, not client, not taxpayer, but customer. The truth is OCH is only interested in making money but it should perhaps consider new leadership for that to happen.

Take the following: In a recent problem with I had with the hospital they let it slip that they give the insurance company about an 80% discount. It seems high to me. Of course this came to light after they billed me a year late after I had settled with insurance companies. When asked why it took so long I was told that it took a while to realize that the company they contracted with was not billing properly. Oh, and that I should have kept up with what I owed. I assure you, never in my wildest dreams would I have allowed for an 80% discount. Man do I feel for the poor people with no insurance!

Take their current expansion. There is a lot of construction going on at the hospital which again makes you wonder about the capabilities of their management. If allowing one MRI facility to locate in Starkville will cause such financial hardship on the hospital, should they be expanding facilities now?

Let’s look at the Wellness Connection. Ostensibly it is their cardiac rehab facility but it is actually a gym. It competes directly with local gyms (or health clubs) in the area and it even competes with the recreational facility the University has. I don’t recall anyone crying foul when it was built.

Take the case of the ophthalmologist who left town not long ago. When he opened his practice he was told that he could only sell eyeglasses to his patients, anyone with a prescription from another doctor would have to use an optometrist in town. That a deal the hospital cut to get him here without stepping on the toes of the optometrists in town. Hmmm, what about quality care? Is there a place for it here?

Am I off base with the profit motive here? Read on:

Kelly said the radiology company’s customers will be top-paying patients who would otherwise get radiology work at the hospital.

“We will not support bringing in a private imaging company in our market,” Kelly said. “They’ll leave us the patients who can’t pay or those on Medicaid.”

Hospital revenue from radiology images helps offset the cost for patients who aren’t able to afford medical care. The hospital is paid lower costs by Medicare and Medicaid patients.

“We have to generate enough revenue to take care of those who can’t,” Kelly said.

No, Kelly is clearly interested in making money. Well, I’m a red-blooded American and I’m all for making money too. So why not let Premier Radiology open a business here and compete? The truth is, Kelly is right, they would be left with nothing but the Medicaid patients and patients who can’t pay; the people with the money would go to Premier Radiology. A leader, a true leader, would not be objecting to this move, he would be asking himself why he would be losing the business. Well I know the answer to that question–service.

Kelly wants his cake but he wants to eat it too. When times are tough he wants to be a public hospital and have the assurance of support by the tax payer. But when times are good he wants to make money to expand the facility and branch off into other fields, like health clubs. Perhaps he should install an optical shop too? Or maybe a health food store? And why not an oil change franchise too?

I hate it, but honestly, I believe there is a need for some new leadership at the hospital. I can only hope that Premier locates here and the hospital makes changes as a result. But in the meantime, the OCH administration will continue to cry foul, pout, and twist arms in closed-door meetings of boards. I really want to know what it was Kelly had to say about Premier that was so bad that he had to say it behind closed doors. It must have been good.