Newspaper Page Text
SAYS HOSPITAL
High Mortality Rate Wrong
Listing Chattooga Countfi
Hospital as having the fourt
highest Medicare patient death
rate in Georgia 1s inaccurate
and unfair, the executive direc
tor of the facility said this
week.
Mrs. Betty Wollstein said
the hospital was aware that the
statistical summary by the
Health Care Financing Ad
ministration (HCFA) would be
published last week and
therefore did its own study of
Medicare deaths at the facility
in 1986.
HCFA said the hospital's
Medicare mortality rate was 20
percent that year, which was at
the upper limit of the nine to 20
fiercent range expected of all
ospitals.
The statistics also said the
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4-H Club Members Donate Food
Members of the North Summerville Elementary School
4-H Club recently donated a quantity of food items to
the food pantry operated by the Chattooga County Com
munity Action Council. Shown from left are Pam Echols,
kneeling, Extension Service agent and 4-H Club advisor;
teachers Mrs. Joy Stewart and Diane Humphreys; Sue
Gold, etc. . Gold, etc. Gold, etc.
r Gold, etc. Gold, etc. Gold, etc. Gold, etc. 1
a 7 . “Fine Jewelry At Discount Prices”
N \ //// N ] Route 2 Box 30A
\\\ sNNS “ g " Highway 27 North
\ \ o, Summerville, Georgia 30747
‘ Oé, ' =
“NEXT DAY REPAIR SERVICE" Phone 857-GOLD
3 N B A R A A OSHITV DE BRra SER SBAR B B i e,
—OPEN LATE-—
THURSDAY,
NN ENONEONONONONNONENNONNNNONONONONEONONCONCONEONONEONEONEONENCONCONENN
We at Gold, etc. Would Like to Take This Opportunity to
Thank All of Our Valued Customers for Their Patronage and
Wish You and Yours a Very “Merry Christmas” and “A Hap
py New Year.”
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Gold, etc. Will
Re-open Monday,
December 28th
At 10:00 a.m.
Bl o R e L B ee s e e i e
Gold, etc. gold. etc. Gold, etc.
hospital had a 91 percent mor
tality rate for cancer patients
and a 100 percent mortality
rate for sglpsis. or “blood
roisoning." hose were the on
y two specific categories in
which the hospital's mortality
rate was above or at the upper
limit of the expected range, and
Mrs. Wollstein.
The hospital administrator
questioned the validity of us
ing the cancer deaths as part of
the hospital's overall mortali
&y rate and said one of three
eaths attributed to sepsis
may have been incorrectly
desiinat,ed.
She cited comments by Dr.
Herman Spivey, a Summerville
physician who is chief of staff
at the facility.
One of the three sepsis
deaths should have been at
tributed to cardiopulmonar
arrest due to multiple healtj;
i)roblems, Dr. Spivey told
H{GFA in a letter dated Oct.
21, Mrs. Wollstein said. The er
ror was the result of
“‘premature charting of the pa
tient's hospital record prior to
the reportir(:P of all data,”” Dr.
Spivey said. Blood cultures
analyzed after the patient's
deat{l “‘were . ..reported as
negative for the growth of any
organisms.”’
Dr. SFivey also disagreed
with HCFA's use of mortality
rates “‘as an index to the quali
ty of care provided by the
hospital.”
Eecause HCFA listed a 91
percent mortality rate for
cancer patients at the hospital,
Elliott, director of Chattooga Services (formerly EOA);
students Jeffrey Jarrett, Jamie Humphreys, Aaron
Flood, Danny Whaley and Ben Housch; and Ted Clark,
gfiten)sion Service agent and 4-H Club advisor. (Staff
oto).
‘““‘Remember Our Repair Service
Is Guaranteed’’
‘“All Repairs Are Done Professionally
and On the Premises”’
* Rings Sized * Remounts
¢ Chains Soldered * Nuggets
¢ Replace Stones
Spiveg added, "“the indication
is easily presumed as poor care
for patients with cancer, and
b{ association, possibly other
illnesses.
CANCER
“The fact is that the pa
tient's disease (cancer) was not
the reason that the patients
were admitted to the hos[fit.al,"
Dr. Spivey continued. “‘A
review of all patients’ charts
used by the HCFA in their
publication revealed that every
patient was admitted for the
purpose of managing the pa
tient's death, not treating fiis
disease. In all cases, the
diagnosis of cancer was
established either in our
hospital or elsewhere, but all
treatment of the disease was
provided in other facilities and
the patient only readmitted to
our facility when their condi
tion deteriorated to the extent
that the management of death
wda§' the problem to be address
ed.
The chief of staff told the
HCFA that there was an ‘‘ex
treme shortage' of nursinfi
home beds in Chattooga ani
that home visiting services
were also “‘extremely limited."
The county doesn't have a
hospice ‘‘so that the communi
ty hospital assumes the role of
hospice, nursing home and
hogge health services,” Spivey
said.
DEATHS
Referring to the cancer
deaths, Dr. gpive said patient
charts revealedy that ‘‘the
disease had already been
diagnosed, and maximum
treatment given. The patients
were in the community and
were admitted to the hospital
for humanitarian reasons, for
management of death only. In
all cases, death was expected
and recognized as unavoidable,
the patient being admitted
because there was no one else
to care for them. They were at
home alone with no or poor
family suEport, or inability of
those with the patient to pro
vide ade(‘:mte relief of symp
toms, such as intractable pain,
or persistent vomiting or
hemorrhage.”
The chief of staff said, ‘“We
believe there are many other
.community hospitaf’s like
ourselves performing a very
necessary service that would
be wrongly criticized and con
demned as unsafe hospitals if
the HCFA data were publish
ed for the general public’s in
formation, even with every at
tempt to dpreface the material
with wording that could be us
ed by the general public in in
terpreting the HCFA data.”
There were 30 admissions
reported for pulmonary (heart)
disease, and a 17 percent mor
tality rate, the HCFA study
said. The expected range is bet
ween six and 73 percent.
LOW RISK
A total of 28 ‘“low-risk”
heart disease admissions was
reported, and a four percent
mortality rate. The expected
range is between one and 23
percent, HCFA said.
A total of 242 Medicare ad-
‘missions te -the - Chattooga
hospital was reported for 1986,
the report said, but only 168 of
those fell within the 15
categories of disease selected
by HCFA as most likely to in
volve death. The other 74 cases
were not included in the mor
tality table by disease
category.
Hospital officials said the
mortalify rates were compiled
from deaths occurring up to 30
days after dismissal from the
facility, even if the patient
went home or was later admit
ted to another hospital.
' Gold, etc. Gold, etc. ' Gold, etc. Gold, etc. ‘ ‘
The hospital had a higher
than norma.lp death rate in 1984,
the HCFA said earlier this
year. Mrs. Wollstein said at the
time that the report had ‘“‘no
validity.”
4 It reported that the
hospital had a 50 percent death
rate from congestive heart
failure but Mrs. Wollstein said
the hospital had had only four
such patients in 1984. gne of
those patients had been injured
in a traffic accident two years
previously and had been con
fined to Oak View Nursing
Home, she said. Because of the
accident and other ailments, he
was dying and his family ask
ed that he be moved to the
hospital part of the complex.
If only one of the four pa
tients ha&l died, she said, the 25
Eercent death rate would still
ave been 15 percent above
HCFA's “precfiited" death
rate.
Library Roof
Replacement
Given Okay
The cost of replacing the
roof on the Chattooga County
Library in Summerville was
reduced by SBOO after Commis
sioner Harry Powell rejected
bids on the project on Nov. 30.
Work had started on the pro
ject last week.
Commissioner Powell con
firmed that J.W. ‘“‘Bob”
Petitt, Summerville and Fort
Payne, Ala., had contacted him
after the commissioner rejected
his bid of $9,800 to replace the
roof. Petitt had also submitted
a refpair cost of $3,200 for the
roof but said repair wasn't
recommended.
The contractor lowered his
pr(:fyosal to $9,000, Powell said,
and was then awarded the con
tract. The commissioner
thought on Nov. 30 that he
would have to advertise for
new bids on the roof.
The library has been
plafiued for several months
with leaks.
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John Driver, left, chief steward of Local
4060 of the National Association of Let
ter Carriers, was recognized Tuesda%
when union members ?resented him wit
a plaque that read, “'ln appreciation for
a job well done.” Driver saidp receiving the
plaque was a surprise. ‘I didn't know
about it until the newspaper
photographer came in. They really pufied
Broyles New Head Of EMS
Todd Broyles, an employee
of the Chattooga County
Emergency Medical (am
bulance) Service, will become
director of the service at the
first of 1988, Chattooga Com
missioner Harry Powell con
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é Afier *
Q. Christmas “<&
& CLEARANCE
\ |
masfic
peductio™
e ALL FALL SWEATERS *4.98-°19.98
e FROSTED DEN!M JEANS $14.98
e GUESS 7 JEANS $29.98
e JEAN JACKETS 30% OFF ALREADY LOW PRICES
o FROSTED DENIN DRESSES *16.98-°24.98
o =SPRIT yp 10 50% OFF SUGGESTED RETAIL .
o WOVEN SHIRTS *6.98-°9.98
e ALL CANTON FLEECE TOPS *5.98
e Qorzanicalyerown SWEATERS *19.98 PANTS & SKIRTS *14.98 |
o ALL HANDBAGS 2 For *4.98
e DRESS & CASUAL PANTS *5.98-°14.98 vALUES 10 38
o LESLIE FAY DRESSES & SETS *29.98
e DRESSY BLOUSES 50% oFF
e 2 piece SKIRT SETS *9.98-°19.98
e DRESSES *9.98-°14.98
BY SANTE, PHOOL, AVOCADO & LIPSTICK
o KNIT TOPS *5.98-°7.98
e SKIRTS *5.98-°14.98
VALUES TO *4O
Whi!e Quantities Last $
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* SUMMERVILLE Mo:)
& SALE ss:;?r:°ds':?ramv %\ v ¢
The Summerville News, Thursday, December 24, 1987
Chief Steward Honored
firmed Tuesday.
He will succeed Jimmy
“Booger’’ Bennett, who has ac
cepted a fulltime %ost with
Redmond Park Hospital,
Rome. Bennett said he resign
ed as director but will remain
one on me,” he said. As Chief Steward,
Driver said he is ‘‘the hawkeye of the
work place,” making sure “both sides
abide by the contract.” Driver said he has
been with the Summerville Post Office for
28 years. Also shown are Postal Suger
visor Tom Fisher and Driver's wife, Bar
bara. (Staff Photo By Rich Jefferson).
with the ambulance service as
a parttime Emer%ency Medical
Technician (EMT).
A report had circulated that
Powell Egd dismissed Bennett
but both Powell and Bennett
denied the claim.
3-A