Silver Pinyon Journal

[ advertisement ]
Banner
[ advertisement ]
LTE: HGH CEO addresses Medicare issue Print
Written by Jim Parrish   
Wednesday, November 09 2011 07:05
November 8, 2011

In the Friday, November 4, edition of The Humboldt Sun newspaper, writer Margaret Morris expressed her frustration at not being able to use Humboldt General Hospital’s Walk-In Clinic as a “primary care physician” and, subsequently, at not being able to find a primary care physician who will take Medicare.

As the CEO/Administrator at Humboldt General Hospital, please accept this letter as a reply to Mrs. Morris’ concerns regarding local medical care and the Medicare program. While I cannot speak for private practice physicians and their reasons for not participating in the Medicare program, I can address how Humboldt General Hospital is attempting to serve all of Humboldt County, including Medicare recipients.

At HGH, we currently employ six primary care providers.  Dr. Shouping Li and Dr. Sharon McIntyre are full-time physicians who both take care of Medicare patients.  Lisa Jonkey, Ladonna Reyka and Sandra Deveny are full-time Advanced Nurse Practitioners, who also take care of Medicare patients.  Karen Wright, M.D. is a part-time physician in The Walk-In Clinic who sees Medicare patients on a short-term acute basis.

The Walk-In Clinic was designed and still functions in a short-term acute capacity.  It was designed as a convenient option for patients with minor acute conditions so they would not have to seek care in the emergency room.  It was never intended to provide a replacement for a primary care provider.  The best care for the patient is to establish care with a primary care provider who knows the patient and manages the patient over time.

Humboldt General Hospital continues to recruit for primary care providers.  Dr. Soon Kim, Humboldt General Hospital’s Chief of Staff, and I recently interviewed two Family Practice/OB physicians who may be interested in moving to Winnemucca.  We also interviewed a Family Practice physician who would like to work in The Walk-In Clinic.  All of these physicians would be employed by the hospital and would take Medicare.

That being said, the citizens of Humboldt County have more access to healthcare today than they have had for many years, and I encourage Mrs. Morris and any others in her situation to establish care with Dr. Li, Dr. McIntyre or with one of our Advanced Nurse Practitioners.  I would be happy to assist any of our residents in making an appointment.

For further questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call at (775) 623-5222, ext. 123.

Sincerely,
Jim Parrish, FACHE, FACMPE
CEO/Administrator
Humboldt General Hospital
 
FacebookTwitterGoogle Bookmarks

Add comment

Comments will be reviewed prior to publishing, and may be edited for style and clarity. Your email address will not appear on the site.


Security code
Refresh

Hot Tips!

mini- Calendar

S M T W T F S
week 18 1 2 3 4 5
week 19 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
week 20 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
week 21 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
week 22 27 28 29 30 31

Events...

Thu May 24 @18:00
LHS Art/CTE Showcase

In your opinion...

Would you support using taxpayer dollars to buy and renovate the Winnemucca Hotel for local use?
 

Who's Online

We have 105 guests online

Under discussion...

Newest comments

  • I started listening to KWNA AM in over 20 years ag... More...
  • @ Ron & Whatever. Your points have been noted and ... More...
  • Hooray! I seen his name in the Detention Center In... More...
  • It's sad to leave it in its current state, but tea... More...
  • @Mario Gonzalez, I do have facts that will prove t... More...

Statistics

Content View Hits : 1336993

More...