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I want to quote an excerpt from the "Outlook", SDA Union Magazine, an article about Randy Haffner, President and CEO of Porter Adventist Hopital and President of the South Denver Hospital Group. You can reach this arcticle at this link: <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.midamericaadventist.org/article.php?id=9" target=_top>http://www.midamericaadventist.org/article.php?id= 9</a> <BR> <BR>Here is the excerpt I want to open for discussion: <BR> <BR><blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1><b>quote:</b></font><p>Randy's career and coursework have helped him understand and treasure what makes Adventist healthcare distinctive - its holistic approach to healing, its principles for healthy living, its recognition that every patient was made in the image of God. But it was the birth of his firs child that really etched in his heart the difference Adventist healthcare can make. <!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote> <BR> <BR>He goes on to talk about a crisis with his new born daughter and how the Doctors dealt with the complex situation and the compassion of the Chaplain <BR> <BR>My wife and I looked at each other and remember when we lived in the D.C. area and she worked at Shady Grove Adventist, and about the only differences you could tell between Adventist Care and Non-Advnetist, was the name, and the cafeteria being closed on Saturday. In fact we had to fight with Administration, all Adventist, who had negotiated with a phone service for a cut in profits, making a call from the Hospital to our home 30 miles away, exhorbitant. They did refund, but where was the compassion in setting up the system in the first place??? <BR> <BR>My question, with JCACHO standards and State look in's, are we so different then the next hospital?? <BR> <BR>The article mentioned above was submitted by Stephen King, Senior Vice President for mission and ministry for Colorado's Adventist hospitals, and not even written by him, but by CMBell Company, a PR piece!!!! <BR> <BR>My question, is SDA Healthcare unique? When the majority of nurse and doctors are not Adventist?? What is the difference.
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We have a lot of experience with Porter. My wife worked there in the 1980's (she is an CCRN, currently working ICU at a taxable-profit hospital. She drives 15 miles PAST Porter to her hospital!). I had outpatient surgery there in the 1990's, and her father, a retired SDA minister, had open heart surgery there several years ago. <BR> <BR>My wife was very disappointed by her experience working at Porter. The emphasis was on the bottom line- patient be damned. In one instance she came home and told me that a heart patient of hers was transferred with a balloon still inserted because his insurance had run out. <BR> <BR>Sometime in the '90's the SDA hospitals and the Catholic hospitals joined forces under the name Centura. Here is the list of Centura facilities: <BR> <BR>Penrose St. Francis Health Services <BR>St. Anthony Summit Medical Center <BR>Centura Health at Home <BR>Avista Adventist Hospital <BR>Porter Adventist Hospital <BR>St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center <BR>Centura Regional Float Pool <BR>Littleton Adventist Hospital <BR>St. Anthony Central Hospital <BR>St. Thomas More Hospital <BR>Flight For Life Colorado <BR>Parker Adventist Hospital <BR>St. Anthony North Hospital <BR>Centura Senior Living & Long Term Care <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.centura.org/" target=_top>http://www.centura.org/</a> <BR> <BR>As for "holistic" that the guy in the article brags about? What is holistic about doing open heart surgery and putting in a pig valve? Or myself being put under to remove a cyst? <BR> <BR>They are not even compassionate in the example of discharging patients when they run out of insurance. <BR> <BR>The only difference between SDA hospitals and non-SDA hospitals? At the SDA facilities there is an SDA chaplain on staff. <BR> <BR>After Centura was formed I went to their job listings. They had a VP position open at Porter. I emailed them and asked if being an SDA was a requirement (it was not listed as a requirement on the job posting). <BR> <BR>I was astounded at their response: Being SDA was NOT a requirement for the position! <BR> <BR>So, to answer your question, I don't know of any noticeable difference between SDA hospitals and non-SDA hospitals. It seems like they exist to give jobs to SDA medical people and as a dumping ground for incompetent administrators/ministers. <BR> <BR>I once read a story about an SDA hospital that was having financial difficulties. One of the administrators interviewed stated that the hospital must be doing such a great job that Satan was concentrating his efforts on disrupting their mission for God. <BR> <BR>NOT. They were just incompetent and clueless with Satan as a ready excuse for their failure.
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I would be careful going as far as Neal with labels of "incompetency", since those are lawsuit type declarations, but mistakes, yes, and the "holistic" medicine Mr. Haffner speaks of is no better at an Adventist Hospital than one of their buddies like Centura. Buyer beware, check the mortality rates, and morbidity rates for the hospital you go to, and if possible, the Doctor you go to.
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In the late 70s and into the 80s many former ministers (often under grave suspicions of fraud) <BR>suddenly became hospital administrators with resultant huge increase in salaries over their former jobs. Also, as a result, these minister/administrators had little or no business or hospital administration experience and their "learning on the job" caused many hospitals to flounder. They were "booted out" of ministerial work into hospital CEOs. Way to go! <BR> <BR>Some months ago, the salaries of the CEOs of SDA hospitals was shown here. Astounding! Questioning the label of "non-profit hospitals."
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Most of the ministers are out of the picture, but I don't believe the wages paid to SDA execs is much different then secular institutions. <BR> <BR>The untold story is the double tithe required by the Execs getting these salaries in SDA hospitals, that supports the SDA churches surrounding those hospitals, given the deteriorating conditions in NAD. The Execs, don't know too much about SDA doctrine, IMO, but keep the skids greased with their double tithe. The Catholic nuns running Catholic chains at least have a vow of poverty, and give almost all their resources to the church/convent for sustenance. <BR> <BR>Medicare/Medicaid allows each institution to bill for like salaries if one is doing it in the for-profit sector, the non-profit sector can do it too. Even if our healthcare is not improving, or getting very expensive, and the guys retiring are retiring millionaires.
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