The upstairs meeting room of Chestertown’s Town Hall was filled last Thursday night for a meeting called by the Save the Hospital coalition. Margie Elsberg of Save Our Hospital chaired the meeting, which featured a panel of Ken Kozel, CEO of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health for five counties on the Eastern Shore; Dr. Ona Maria Kareiva, an anesthesiologist from Easton who works at the Chestertown hospital, and Dr. Michael Peimer, an internal medicine specialist, of Chestertown.
Elsberg opened the discussion with a summary of the status of Shore Regional Health’s plans for the hospital. She said that Shore Regional Health, a subsidiary of University of Maryland Medical Services, originally planned to downgrade the Chestertown Hospital to a stand-alone medical facility – essentially an expanded emergency ward, with some testing facilities but no inpatient beds. Residents’ protests, notably in a packed 2014 meeting at the Chestertown firehouse, forced UM SRH to reconsider. The community response also resulted in a measure passed by the General Assembly of Maryland, requiring the hospital to stay open until 2020 – a date that SRH extended to 2022. However, if no new legislation is passed before that date, UM SRH is within its rights to carry on with its original plan, or even to close the hospital entirely.
Shore Regional Health (SRH) owns three hospitals on the Eastern Shore — one each in Chestertown, Easton, and Cambridge. Statewide, University of Maryland Medical Systems (UM MMS) owns 13 hospitals–that’s ten in addition to the three on the Eastern Shore. Also, UM SRH runs numerous other medical facilities offering a multitude of medical facilities and services including doctors’ offices, testing facilities, and various medical clinics. The Shore Medical Pavilion at 126 Philosophers’ Terrace in Chestertown–which opened a little over two years in June 2016–is owned and operated by UM SRH.
Elsberg said that UM SRH has agreed to retain some patient beds in Chestertown. However, the current plans do not include an intensive care unit, a decision that Save Our Hospital strongly opposes. She said the community will need to generate legislative support to get the action needed to prevent the hospital from closing or eliminating services. She emphasized that the facility under consideration would be a “minimal” hospital.
Dr. Kareiva said the hospital needs an ICU to care for patients with such diseases as pneumonia, who need a high degree of observation and maintenance. She said an operating room is also necessary for the community. She said Kozel has promised to provide most of what the community has asked for. “We need you to believe him and work together,” she said. She added that the community needs to use the hospital to keep it viable.
Kozel said that the nature of health care has changed significantly in the past five to ten years because of the Medicare waiver granted to the state of Maryland, meaning that health care payments are at a predetermined rate statewide. Because of this, he said, the cost of health care “is going through the roof” at 18 to 19 percent of the economy. UM SRH is under the obligation to provide access to high-quality care at an affordable rate. But it covers a rural area with a comparatively small population spread over five counties, two of which – Queen Anne’s and Caroline – don’t have hospitals.
Kozel said a free-standing medical facility – the model UM SRH originally planned for Chestertown – does 95 percent of what a full hospital does, “all except beds.” He said the plan made sense, but the firehouse meeting forced UM SRH to reconsider. The geography of the five-county area means that patients from Kent County are an hour or more away from the Easton hospital, which he said he now believes is an unacceptable distance to ask them and their families to travel. The current model is a “critical access hospital,” which would have 15 patient beds but no ICU. He said the Shore board supports the plan, although it recognizes that it’s a challenge.
Dr. Peimer said the hospital needs a critical mass of usage to stay open. It needs to keep staff at a certain level, and remain flexible. It’s important for it to be able to take care of patients locally, not send them away. That means bringing in staff to cover specialties not found in the local community. It also means finding enough hours for the nursing staff – Peimer said the hospital is losing nurses because it can’t provide enough hours for them.
Garrett Falcone of Heron Point said the hospital needs to work to bring in more primary care doctors.
Kozel said the system is working to recruit more doctors for the local community. He said UM SRH worked with Dr. Susan Ross to keep her practice open and hired a new doctor to join her practice. Specialists are also being brought in at the offices on Philosophers Terrace, including a cardiologist, an ear, nose, and throat specialist and others. But because the system needs to cover five counties, it has a limited budget for what it can do in Chestertown. “We need to cut to balance what we add,” Kozel said.
An audience member asked why the hospital needs to cut if it is operating in the black, as stated by Dr. Jerry O’Connor in an interview on public radio last week.
Kozel said the hospital previously operated on a fee-for-service basis, meaning that more volume produced more revenue, allowing the hospital to be profitable. Because of the waiver, rates are now capped. “We know our revenue for the year, and we have to use it wisely,” he said. But if the hospital provides fewer services, or if its service is rated poorly, it loses revenue.
UM SRH has been consolidating such departments as human resources and IT systems while working to keep nurse/patient ratios constant, Kozel said. It’s also working to reduce “avoidable utilization” – patients who don’t need to be in a hospital at all, especially those who are readmitted after treatment.
The whole system is on a break-even budget, he said. The patient census – those kept in beds — averages about 17 a day, but can be as low as five and as high as 25, depending on seasonal variations and other factors.
An audience member said the hospital refers many patients to Easton. Kozel said that decision is up to the doctors – what’s right for the patient. The audience member said that Easton doctors who take phone calls from Chestertown don’t know what facilities are available here. Elsberg said the perception is that Easton doctors don’t listen or care about Kent County patients.
Kozel said that 95 percent of transfers from Chestertown to Easton are decided upon by emergency room doctors who have examined the patient.
Elsberg said that closing the hospital in Cambridge will produce significant savings for Shore. Beds will be moving from that facility to Easton, she said – why not to Chestertown? Or is the system just cutting patients to justify closing the local facility?
Kozel said the UM SRH board has not approved closing the Chestertown hospital and does not intend to. He said it’s working with the General Assembly to create a plan to keep it open.
Elsberg said the system asks nurses to commute to Easton to get their full quota of hours; why not ask doctors to commute to Chestertown?
Kozel said he has no control over what doctors do. He said they could see several patients in the time they would lose driving here. A few are doing so voluntarily.
Allan Schauber of the Kent & Queen Anne’s Rescue Squad said that Emergency Medical teams are impacted by the need to transport patients to Easton. He said there had been emergency calls in Still Pond and Fairlee that very day, one of which was a woman in childbirth who had to be taken out of the county because there is no maternity ward here. All three of the available EMS teams were tied up and unavailable for any serious emergency that might have happened.
Kozel said the lack of a maternity ward was the result of the low birth rate in the local area, with less than 200 births a year. It’s impossible to keep the necessary staff in town and to keep up the level of expertise, he said. “We can’t provide all services to all communities.” He said that emergency rooms have delivered babies, but in general, the medical staff has to follow guidelines.
After several more audience members challenged Kozel on the need to transfer patients to Easton, he said he would ask his medical executive committee to look into the reasons for transfers.
Dr. Peimer said the Chestertown doctors take their jobs seriously. He said the doctors would like to see statistics on transfers out of the hospital. “We want to keep people here if we can,” he said, but the local doctors are working against “a different culture” in Easton. He said doctors have to maintain a comfort zone as far as the care their patients are getting, and the Easton doctors may not be aware of what can be done in Chestertown.
Falcone asked whether appointing Kathy Elliott, the hospital’s director of nursing at Chestertown, as executive director of the hospital, was a wise choice. He said that splitting time between the two jobs would make it difficult to succeed. He said community outreach would suffer.
Kozel said Elliott knows the system and knows what the hospital does. Nurses do 90 percent of what the hospital does, nurses have knowledge that most administrators lack. “Kathy’s got the best of both worlds,” he said. As far as community outreach, “We’re trying to get her acclimated,” he said.
Kent County Commissioner William Pickrum said the state’s budget is controlled by the governor; “We need to focus on him.” He said Gov. Larry Hogan’s constituency is heavily weighted toward rural Maryland, and Kent County should be able to “get him to pay attention to us.”
Fred Kirchner of Tolchester said that economic development is an important issue in Kent County, but “it doesn’t work without a hospital.”
Elsberg said that both sides are in agreement that Kent County should have a hospital. “The infighting is about the details,” she said. “’No beds’ is not on the table.”
Asked if Washington College is on board with preserving a full hospital, Elsberg said college President Kurt Landgraf is fully committed and fighting very hard. Landgraf knows hospitals and politics, she said, as he has previously served on a hospital board in another community for several years.
Sarah Feyerherm, the college’s Dean of Students, said the college counts on having the hospital nearby. She said it is a crucial factor in attracting both students and new employees.
Asked whether the lack of an ICU affects patients’ willingness to have surgeries performed locally, Peimer said it would make some people think twice.
An audience member asked if the lack of an obstetrics facility could be made up by using midwives. Kozel said the hospital needs full-time coverage for obstetrics. He said there are no birthing centers in Maryland, and said there might be regulatory issues behind that fact.
Carl Gallegos, a member of the hospital foundation, said the hospital realized some $7 million from the sale of Chester River Manor, the nursing home. He said the funds are being kept in the community; one of the first expenditures from the sale was a new CT scanning machine. He said the foundation needs the community’s continued support.
Elsberg, summing up the two-hour meeting, said she was encouraged by “the enormous passion the community exhibits.” She said the efforts to retain a hospital, including an ICU, are close to being on the right path. Government support will be needed to complete the community’s vision through legislation. While the local delegates to the General Assembly have done much to support the community, “we need to fire up the engines again,” she said.
###
Gretchen Stroh says
First thought, take away the ICU and people will die because of that. Will Univ. of MD accept liability?
2nd thought, yes they have opened up the Philosophers Terrace to speciality doctors, but they are not here on a weekly basis necessarily. I tried to get a follow up appt with Dr Porter, Ear Nose Throat in Chestertown and would have to have waited 2 months to see her. That is not helping the county. If a specialist is booked out 2 months in advance, there is sufficient need for the Univ. of Md to supply specialists more frequently. Saying we have a specialist in Ctown is irrelevent if they are only here one or two days a month. Build it and they will come goes the quote….bring the doctors here and we will use them. I resent having to travel to Easton for a 5 minute follow up visit. Or having to drive an hour for an allergy shot, twice a week?
Sheila Walker says
Or drive to Baltimore or DC every week for chemotherapy.
Sarah K. Porter says
?? Cancer treatment centers are offered in Newark, Easton and Annapolis.
Chelsea Jennings says
Kozel’s statement that there are no birthing centers in Maryland was flatly false. Special Beginnings in Arnold, MD is run by Certified Nurse Midwives. As a currently pregnant woman who will have to drive over an hour to a hospital, the fact that the person making decisions dictating my birthing locations is so uninformed is completely disheartening.
Ellen Simmons says
Another recent happening………….2 doctors in town have gone the “concierge” route. The result is their patient list lessens, but those patients have to pay a high annual fee to continue with their doctor. Many cannot afford that fee. So, hundreds of local people are having to look for a new doctor……out of the area.
Gren Whitman says
A “concierge” practice would seem to benefit the physician — obviously, or he/she wouldn’t do it.
A “concierge” practice likely has some benefits the patient who wishes to pay for it.
But, “concierge” does nothing for the patients who either don’t want it or who can’t afford it.
Unilateral introduction of “concierge” practices ALSO puts unwanted pressures on other local physicians who feel a professional obligation to take on a sudden influx of refugees from these new”concierge” practices. This is a community problem.
Margery Elsberg says
Good coverage of a far-ranging meeting on complicated issues about the future of our hospital. Most importantly, state officials need to turn Shore Health’s contingent commitment to maintain inpatient services in Chestertown after 2022 into a reality.
I offer afew corrections: (1) Dr. Ona Kareiva (spelling correction) has commuted to Chestertown for years from Easton because she believes our surgery patients should receive outstanding care close to home. (2) Kathy Elliott (spelling correction). (3) The hospital’s current designation is “Critical Care Hospital.” The designation we hope to win is “Rural Access Community Hospital” with up to 25 beds (Shore hopes for no more than 15). Shore says it will only maintain inpatient services beyond 2022 if the state pays Shore higher than normal rates because rural care is extra-expensive to deliver.
Peter Heck says
Thanks, Margie!
Shaina French says
Mr.Kozel is incorrect in his statement that there are no birthing centers in MD. There are currently 3 in the state and 2 of them operate in Anne Arundel County. Furthermore one of these birthing centers Bay Area Midwifery Center, staffed by 7 Certified Nurse Midwives has been critical in filling the gap in maternity services since UM SRH closed to obstetrics. The maternity patients are seen locally at Chester River OBGYN and then cared for during obstetrical emergencies and delivered by those midwives at Anne Arundel Medical Center along with the OB hospitalist service when complications arise. The maternity patients are fearful of the long drive it takes for them to receive this care. It would be an undue hardship on the community to lose more services critical to their care.
Ginny Bowers says
While I agree with you strongly about Ken’s misinformation I have to add that there are two OB/GYN practices who care for patients at Easton’s SRH, both staffed by certified nurse midwives and physicians. Chesapeake Women’s Health and Community Medical Group.
Anthony Moorman says
So now you would drive 2 hours round trip for EACH of the 15 or so antepartum visits the drive an hour to Easton’s hospital when in labor. Great choice
Dave and Megan Harrison says
Look, there are alot of rich people/philanthropists who could bring into Kent and Queen Anne’s a very large facility so they do not have to go to Cecil county or Talbot County. We already know that Caroline goes to Talbot or Delaware. Yes, there should have been a very big hospital comparable to Easton or more so Salisbury ages ago. Misappropriations of funds. Lack of medical priority. Why hasn’t the Leadership of Chestertown/Kent and Centreville/QA had this great hospital 50 years ago.
Laura L. Wade says
We know what it means not to have a surgeon available in the Chestertown Hospital when emergency surgery may be needed. I took my husband Kirk to the emergency room at 6:30 p.m. Friday of Labor Day Weekend suffering from terrible stomach pain and after an X-ray, the ER doctor told us Kirk may need emergency surgery. Then he told us the local surgeon was out of town and when I asked what the back up was, he said a surgeon in Easton. The surgeon in Easton was contacted and he asked for a CT scan. After a 2 hour wait due to a liquid Kirk had to digest before the Easton doctor could make a diagnosis, he said Kirk must be transported to Easton immediately. An ambulance was called, but was delayed due to another emergency. Finally, at 2:00 a.m. Kirk was driven to Easton and was met by the surgeon. Thank God, the surgeon did not have to operate, but put Kirk on an antibiotic drip which often cures a perforation. Bottom line, Mr.Kozel Easton is 45 minutes away and our Chestertown citizens may not have 45 minutes left to live. Hire a surgeon for us ASAP !
Esther Freeman says
Chestertown hospital has become a disgrace to it’s patients. My husband was dismissed as maybe having pneumonia and they missed he had cancer with spreading to his lungs i had to tell the rn so they did a ct scan with contrast then they found he had copd and possible a new reactive lesion on his left lung. Sent him home with antibiotic to see his va doc.
my daughter was there for 2 hours with knot in her breast and we never seen a doc. Only a nursing assistant who said she didn’t know why the doc had not come in, she checked and he said it would be awhile before he could come in. Her dad walked around er there was one other person there and all the nurses were at the desk doing nothing.
My nephew went there 2 weeks ago with 102 fever ,he’s 45 and no one seen him for 2 hours.When the nurse did come in she did a nose and throat swap. 2 hours later nurse came back and ask had the doc been in and he hadn’t …2 hours after that the doc came in said the cultures were negative could have been finishing up of flu and he really didn’t know what was wrong .No iv, no blood test no medicine no bp check just sitting for 6+ hours.
My son went to hospital on march 18,2019 .The pa saw him and did exam of his arm which was swollen and very bad red color showing infection. She sent him for xray to see if arm was broken or if it was a blood clot. X Ray showed neither.
She gave no blood test told him he had bacterial infection she “thinks” and gave him dioxin 100 mg.To take 1 every 12 hours .This is wed..March 20 and arm is no better ,worse knot and he has to see primary care doc on friday as he has no other doc to see and he has to way fir insurance to pay and won’t go back to er because he got no help there
and i promise you ,this hospital if my son has a very serious case of bacteria like sepsis that should have been found out the hospital will be sued and put out of business forever,
This treatment of my family is truly unacceptable for anyone .The doctors are not qualified and the nurses r looking for other jobs from what i hear after i reported my husband’s care last february 2018.
Its better to have a small physician graded and certified rns in a setting than doctors and nurses who do what is only necessary if that because they don’t know if hospital is closing ,