Start Working For The Patients

By: Chris Dwinal

Source: The Times Record

Monday, January 8, 2007

Until recently, I held Parkview Adventist Medical Center in high regard. While I’ve never been a patient myself, my wife has been a patient of Dr. Commons of Parkview OB/GYN for over four years, my daughter was born at Parkview, and we currently utilize Parkview Pediatrics and Parkview Family Practice.

 

However, my allegiance to Parkview has been called into question over the past couple of weeks due to all the chicanery being played out by CEO Ted Lewis and Vice President Sheryl McWilliams. While I do not purport to know the details surrounding Dr. Commons, Dr. Gimbel’s or Dr. Streeter’s departure – or the details of their contracts with Parkview – what is really important is that these doctors be allowed to see their current patients and future patients through to delivery in the Greater Bath-Brunswick-Lewiston area.

 

The area is much better off with these three excellent OB/GYN doctors around and it would be shame for them to have to leave the area to practice elsewhere. Being pregnant can be a very stressful time for women and it is no time to be reading about lawsuits that may render their chosen OB/GYN doctor unable to provide care for them and their child to be.

 

The fact that three OB/GYN doctors, as well as other key OB/GYN staff not mentioned in the newspapers, are leaving Parkview certainly leaves many questions unanswered about the effectiveness and decision-making policies of the Parkview administration.

 

What is really troubling is the apparent callousness of Mr. Lewis and Ms. McWilliams with regard to the patients of Parkview. What appears to be most important to them is to enforce a contract provision that benefits only Parkview – not the patients, not the doctors and certainly not the hospital’s reputation.

 

With three doctors and several other OB/GYN staff departing, it is doubtful that Parkview could even handle all of the current patients of these three doctors.

 

As such, if Parkview was successful in preventing the three doctors from practicing within 25 miles of Brunswick, patients would be faced with three options: select another doctor at Parkview that has the availability to provide them with the necessary care, if one exists; travel more than 25 miles to stay with their current doctor, which is not advisable or environmentally conscious; or select another doctor not affiliated with Parkview.

 

Based on my review of the recent articles in The Times Record, I would suspect that many patients will select one of the latter two. Parkview administration needs to start working for the patients who pay their salaries, drop the lawsuit and move on.

 

Maybe then, they can at least save some face – and some patients.