Doctors Taking Leaves of Absence to Protest Rising Malpractice Premiums; A City Without Surgeons

Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer & News-Register ^ | Dec. 28, 2002 | Justin Anderson and Michelle Blum

[mountaineer]

More than a dozen surgeons at the area's two largest hospitals will be off the job starting Jan. 1 to protest rising medical malpractice insurance premiums in West Virginia.

Wheeling Hospital Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Donald Hofreuter said 12 surgeons in the orthopedic, thoracic-cardiovascular and general surgery departments have filed for leaves of absence starting Wednesday, with another surgeon scheduled to take leave Jan. 3. Brian Felici, incoming president and CEO of Ohio Valley Medical Center, said 12 surgeons in the same specialties at his facility have also filed for leaves of absence.

At Wheeling Hospital, out of eight surgeons in the orthopedic surgery department, four filed for leaves of absence. In general surgery, three of the seven surgeons filed. Cardiovascular surgery will lose all six of it surgeons.

"As of right now, this looks like it's going to happen," said Wheeling Hospital spokeswoman Lynn Wood.

Hofreuter said Friday afternoon the surgeons' individual actions were prompted by "a lot of concern and frustration'' for the medical malpractice climate in West Virginia. Other hospitals in the area are expected to have similar results.

However, Wheeling Hospital is the only facility in the Upper Ohio Valley region with the capabilities for heart surgery, Hofreuter said. "This service will be removed from the area,'' he said.

The leaves of absence requests are for 30 days, with the option to extend.

The first leave of absence request was submitted on Monday - the 13th on Thursday.

Hofreuter said the immediate effects of the leaves of absence involve a reduction in the surgical services rendered by the hospital.

Most of the 13 surgeons are insured by the West Virginia Board of Risk and Insurance Management. Hofreuter said he has met with the surgeons, local lawmakers, the governor's office and the administration at BRIM in an effort to solve the problem.

"These gentlemen (surgeons) are concerned with the affordability of coverage," Hofreuter said. "We've had seven meetings in the last two weeks."

Hofreuter couldn't say if any other surgeons would step forward and request leaves of absence, adding, "In today's (medical malpractice insurance) climate, I'm ready for anything."

Wheeling Hospital owns its own ambulance company, enabling those patients who need services not offered at the hospital transportation to one that does. Washington Hospital in Washington, Pa. and Trinity West Medical Center in Steubenville both offer cardiac surgery.

"The hospital's not closing," Hofreuter said. "It's been here for 152 years and we're going to continue to serve the public."

Emergency medical services will still be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hofreuter said Wheeling Hospital's sister facility, Belmont Community Hospital in Bellaire, could see an increase in patient volume in the coming weeks.

At OVMC, Felici said Friday the facility has received letters from about a dozen general, orthopedic, and cardio-thoracic surgeons indicating that as of Jan 1, they will be taking leaves of absence.

"The hospital has, as a result, put a plan into place to deal with this," he said.

All elective surgical procedures scheduled for early 2003 for the particular surgeons have been taken off OVMC's schedule, he said.

Felici said any patients coming to OVMC's EMSTAR unit for medical care will receive care. However, should they require surgical treatment, they would be transported to another facility, he said.

"Patients who present to the ER will be cared for. We're not changing any of our services. The ER will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said. "We do have protocols in place to transfer patients if need be."

The hospital, he said, has alerted the air ambulance service it has dealt with for helicopter transport of patients requiring neurosurgical care "that the numbers of patients requiring transport are going to go up."

In some cases, patients might be transported to OVMC's sister facility, East Ohio Regional Hospital in Martins Ferry, he said.

The cases will be dealt with on an individual basis. While some could be transferred to EORH, other patients could be taken to facilities in Morgantown, Columbus, and Pittsburgh, he said.

Felici said the hospital "understands the surgeons' plight" and supports their position to have the West Virginia Legislature reform medical liability insurance laws. He noted that the hospital's medical liability insurance premium runs $10,000 a day.

"We understand what they're trying to accomplish. I want to make that clear," he said.

As to how long the leaves of absences could continue, Felici couldn't say.

"The initial requests of the surgeons indicates it is month to month," he said.

The effects on operations at OVMC could be far-reaching.

He predicted a partial downturn in patient volume at OVMC as well as "some increased volume" at EORH.

"We've put into place a plan for increased support services at East Ohio," he said.

[mountaineer]

Wheeling is a city of about 30,000. The last neurosurgeon left the area over a year ago. Several OB-GYNs have packed up their practices and moved to less litigious markets in recent years. While doctors are leaving town and patients find themselves having to travel one to two hours to visit doctors in Pittsburgh, Columbus or Morgantown, the personal injury lawyers are doing just fine, thank you.

[mountaineer]

fyi

[demkicker]

Maybe Robert Byrd will soon retire, go home, get sick and need a doctor.

[friendly]

West Virginia (#49) and Mississippi (#50) are the poorest, most corrupt, and most 3rd World of all 50 states, yet have many of the richest lawyers. Mississippi judges get huge "loans" and oceanfront condos from the crooked trial lawyers. The attorney industry (read democrat party) basically runs both states as their medieval fiefdoms. (see linked newspaper articles at www.Overlawyered.com )

The physicians have been driven out of business due to massive malpractice premiums they cannot afford. There is no meaningful trauma care in most of both states. The obstetricians in particular have been run out of town by the lawyer industry, becoming economic refugees to other states less benighted than the pathetic, corrupt West Virginia and Mississippi backwater. Healthcare (already the worst of all 50 states) is detreriorating rapidly due to the multi-millionire greed of the shysters.

[nwrep]

This is one issue I hope Bush puts front and center in his SOU address in January. With around 90 million people watching, it will be an excellent opportunity for W to educate people on the evils of trial lawyering and how it has put incredible strain on people, again, mostly poor people.

Once again, another example of how we Republicans have policies that will help the poor, blacks, and other minorities.

[friendly]

Let us pray.

[FreedomPoster]

Atlas is shrugging.

[Glenn]

Maybe Robert Byrd will soon retire, go home, get sick and need a doctor.

Go home? Byrd hasn't lived in WV for 50 years, last I heard.

[coloradan]

There was an article here a few days ago about a thinkly veiled threat from the government to the doctors, don't take time off or bad things might just happen to you. But, alas, Atlas is shrugging anyway.

[upchuck]

The premise is they're protesting malpractice insurance rates. The reality is they're protesting ambulance-chasing injury trial lawyers.

TORT REFORM ANYONE?

And what do you suppose the chances are of that considering Congress is dominated by millionaire shyster lawyers?

Personally, I think the doctors are showing a lot of guts to do this. If more and more doctors would jump on this bandwagon, medical services would suffer, people would suffer, people would bitch and MAYBE Congress would enact some sort of meaningful tort reform.

Although, knowing Congress, they'd probably just pass legislation forcing the doctor's back to work.

[Petronski]

It's happening in Pennsylvania too, to put pressure on Rendell to do something. Some of those guys are expected to pay malpractice premiums of $450 per day.

[johnb838]

I'm really getting to hate liberal personal injury/trial lawyers. That and administrative health care insurance people. There aren't too many occupations where I will take a dislike to someone just because of what they do, but these are two examples.

And yes, Virginia, I'm a right-wing hater. (But an equal opportunity hater :)

[demkicker]

"Go home? Byrd hasn't lived in WV for 50 years, last I heard."

LOL! Okay, I should have said "go back to his so-called residence in West Virginia"....

[RLK]

According to a blurb posted here several weeks ago, the typical insurance cost for an OB/GYN is $110,000 per year.

[gitmo]

That's the wonderful thing about 50 independent states. If one state has stupid, onerous laws and courts you can move to a state that has sane laws.

WV residents can go to Virginia or Ohio for surgery.

[mountaineer]

Yes, we can go to neighboring states for elective surgery, but I sure hope I don't suffer a head injury and need a neurosurgeon! When time is of the essence, having to wait for a medical helicopter to fly a patient to Pittsburgh or another city in the tri-state region with trauma facilities is a matter of life and death.

[mountaineer]

Byrd hasn't lived in WV for 50 years, last I heard.

With the exception of the sole Republican, Shelley Capito, none of WV's congressional reps bothers even to visit his "home state," let alone live here. I take that back - perhaps Alan Mollohan comes back whenever his kids are facing criminal charges, I don't know.

[gitmo]

I agree. The point is that once people start leaving a state because of their lunatic laws, the state will mend its ways. If we were one, uniform state then we wouldn't have the option of settling in a place with a more favorable government.

[friendly]

The pecentage of lawyers in the Senate is close to 50%, but there is a new Majority Leader who is (rarity of rarities) a physician. And not just any physician mind you, a hard-*ssed Harvard trained heart-lung transplant specialist. Gave it up to run for politics and make the world a better place, etc. Dubya absolutely loves him.

So the question is, can Doc Frist herd cats? Can he push Bush's beloved tort reform through a Senate copoised of 50% crooked lawyers?

Looks impossible, but Bush is a man who does the impossible, including outwitting an army of "brilliant" lawyers sent by the DNC to Florida to steal the election. (I regard the latter as one of the proofs for the existence of the Allmighty!)

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

This is what happens when insurance companies and lawyers are calling the shots. Everyone else is shafted.