Latest news with #ShaneStrum
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Surgeries postponed at Broward Health as financial woes of anesthesiology group deepen
Elective surgeries at Broward Health's four hospitals were postponed this week as unpaid anesthesiologists walked off the job and financial problems deepened for Anesco, the systemwide anesthesia provider. Patients with planned operations such as hip replacements and hernia repairs were told their surgeries would be delayed. The hospitals — Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Broward Health North in Pompano Beach, Broward Health Coral Springs and Broward Health Imperial Point in Fort Lauderdale — lacked anesthesiology staff, using the remaining medical professionals for more urgent surgeries. Anesco North Broward, a privately owned anesthesia group, has had the exclusive contract to provide anesthesia services at Broward Health hospitals for over 25 years. Most doctors and nurses it employs have non-compete agreements, making it difficult to leave. Most of the professionals have continued to work, despite not being paid, while some nurses and doctors have resigned. A dozen Anesco doctors and nurses told the South Florida Sun Sentinel recently they hadn't been paid in weeks, some even as much as three months. Along with staff, Anesco hires contract workers, who also haven't been paid. Health | Broward Health ends longtime contract with financially troubled anesthesia group 'This is our livelihood,' said a nurse who asked not to be identified out of fear of not being employable. 'We are out thousands of dollars. We provided excellent anesthesia services and we were not paid. But our issues are nothing compared to the amount of people who need the care they may not be able to get. We have to make it known the care you get at Broward Health is lacking because anesthesia services are not adequately being provided.' Friday is Anesco payday, but CEO Richard Meli told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday: 'We are not going to be able to make payroll. It might be like D-day on Friday. Our plan is to sort of plead with our practitioners to keep working for the patient care because that's the biggest issue we care about.' Broward Health CEO Shane Strum said Thursday that his health system is already working with recruiting firms to hire temporary staff to fill anesthesiology vacancies after Friday because they are anticipating more staff departures. The replacement workers could begin working as soon as Monday. Because Anesco employees have non-compete agreements, the hospital cannot hire them as Broward Health employees. And because Broward Health has already paid Anesco, the hospital district's position is that they would not provide the back pay either. After learning that Anesco had not paid its employees, Broward Health terminated the contract on Jan. 28, giving it a 150-day notice through the end of May. Strum would not confirm reports that Broward Health has already hired another provider, Envision, to provide anesthesia services when Anesco leaves after that period. 'Broward Health wouldn't be doing their job if we didn't have a backup plan,' Strum said. 'We are hiring and are 100% prepared for the minute he (Meli) breaches or his doctors walk. His anesthesiologists might not be able to work … but we have other anesthesiologists.' It is unclear how Anesco plunged into such extreme financial distress; the company's only client for more than 25 years has been Broward Health. Meli attributes Anesco's financial problems to rising labor costs and conflicts with Broward Health over fees. 'What's happened in the last few years is the cost for anesthesiologists has risen dramatically. And they keep going up and up. …The market for CNAs (certified nurse assitants) and physicians has doubled.' Meli said he asked Broward Health for subsidies, but they weren't enough. He also said billing problems were caused during Broward Health's transition to a new electronic medical records system. The system is used nationwide by mutiple large hospital systems; Strum says the Broward Health implementation was completed by November. Strum said Anesco asked Broward Health several times over the last 18 months for supplemental funds. He said Broward Health has given him money each time Anesco asked for it, providing millions in subsidies and even upfronting funds to Anesco through March. 'He is constantly needing more money,' Strum said. Strum said Broward Health would not provide Anesco's professionals back pay, but would hope to hire them in the future, if possible. Meli and his attorney, David DiPietro, said Anesco wants to work with Broward Health to complete its contract and hopes to avoid filing for bankruptcy. 'We want to work to transition out where the patient continuum care continues and it's a win-win for everybody,' DiPietro said. 'If Broward Health wants a divorce from Anesco, we recognize that. We don't agree with it. We would love to keep doing business with them, but we have to accept reality. We want make sure the continuum care is done and we're compensated for what we're owed.' In a letter this week to Broward Health, Anesco requested 'a lump-sum buyout of its contract for $6 million.' Strum said the next few weeks may be 'bumpy' as the health system and Anesco cut ties. 'Broward Health is built to last,' he said. 'We've been in these situations before. We're actually several steps ahead on our planning and when it does happen, we will be prepared to do everything that we need to.' South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Neighborhoods needing health care the most will get it under new Broward Health, Memorial Healthcare partnership
Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare announced Thursday that they will partner to expand primary care into the Broward County neighborhoods most in need. The two large health systems will use ZIP code data and heat maps from emergency department visits to their hospitals to target the construction of new primary care locations and determine where five mobile outreach vans will make weekly visits. Shane Strum, CEO of Broward Health and interim CEO of Memorial Healthcare System, said the North and South Broward Hospital Districts will spend millions to get more preventative care to neighborhoods where it is lacking and work with community partners for funds and outreach to make the effort successful. 'We have many deficiencies or gaps in coverage for maternal care and primary care,' Strum said. 'So the real goal would be to put all of that in place in any of the areas that are technically a health desert for health and wellness.' Melida Akiti, corporate transformation executive with Broward Health, will oversee this new effort, dubbed 'Better Together.' It will include measuring whether bringing primary care into targeted communities, regardless of whether residents have health insurance, decreases emergency visits to nearby hospitals. 'We will measure everything,' Akiti said. 'This is something that we know can work, but we want to make sure that the data tells us it is working.' Akiti said Broward Health's recent endeavor to get maternal care into an underserved neighborhood has been successful. The new Maternity Care Center & Heart Community Resource Center in Lauderdale Lakes has exceeded projections in its first year, drawing more than 2,000 patients. Only about 800 patients were expected from the 33311 and 33313 ZIP codes, which were identified as having limited access to crucial maternal health services. City leaders and community organizations will need to encourage residents to get preventative screenings and seek prenatal care as Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare go into the communities. 'We want to change lives,' Akiti said. 'This is not an easy task.' Akiti said the two hospital systems will work as one to deploy vans where needed, choosing a specific day each week to visit a community. 'We are not going to just pass through those areas. We're going to stay in that community for two years to be able to make changes to health,' she said. 'You only can make changes to health if you are consistent and if people trust you. And that is what we want.' From the vans, residents can access primary care and OB-GYN services. The plan also is to identify patients who come to the emergency rooms without a primary care doctor and direct them to mobile vans or new primary care clinics in their community. Akiti said she also will leverage community partnerships to address food insecurity, housing and other drivers of better health. Loreen Chant, CEO of the Health Foundation of South Florida, said her organization plans to support this partnership between the health systems to increase primary care access in Broward County. The foundation already has contributed funds to the Maternity Care Center & Heart Community Resource Center in Lauderdale Lakes 'I love what they said, that if you want a thriving community, healthy community you have to make sure you have primary care,' Chant said Thursday. 'We are here for the announcement and we are here as it rolls out.' The need for primary care is a national concern, as fewer doctors enter the field. Dr. Jennifer Goldman, a family medicine physician with Memorial Healthcare System, sees the growing need in Broward County for primary care services firsthand. She said the health systems will use their physician residents along with telehealth to make this new effort work. 'We know that when you add more primary care physicians to a community, you really do achieve increased life expectancy for that community,' Goldman said. 'We know that through national studies and so we're excited to do that collaboratively together in this county.' South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@
