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HALIFAX JOINS AMENDMENT LAWSUIT
The Board of Halifax Community Health System voted Wednesday to add the name of Halifax Medical Center to a list of Florida hospitals challenging in court constitutional amendments passed Tuesday that hold the po-tential for creating problems voters never intended.
The Board agreed to accept an invitation coordinated by the Florida Hospital Association to join, without cost, lawsuits filed last week in Alachua (Gainesville) County Circuit Court by Shands Hospitals and the Adventist Health System of Florida. The suits were filed to assure an immediate challenge to the implementation of Amendments 7 and 8, which became effective immediately upon their overwhelming passage as part of the 2004 election.
System General Council David Davidson told the Board that Amendment 7, which provides that medical records relating to any adverse medical incident befor view upon patient request, poses many administrative problems and would place sensitive personal information about patients in the public arena. The Amendment was placed on the ballot under sponsorship of Floridians for Patient Protection, and principal proponent was the Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers. Through October 13, $21,861,532.47 had been reported raised to promote this and a companion amendment. The Florida Medical Association led opposition, which took the position physicians will no longer be able to perform reviews of other physicians, which are vital to address patient care concerns that help reduce errors and improve quality of care. Davidson noted that questions of the constitutionality of the amendment have been raised and that there are concerns over possible conflict with Federal laws providing for the confidentiality of patient information. Vinayak Purandare, MD, HMC Chief of Medical Staff, who represents the staff on the Board, noted that some doctors are resigning from Medical Staff committees that may be involved in the peer review process as a result of the amendment.
Amendment 8, popularly known as the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” amendment provides that medical doctors who have three or more incidents of medical malpractice resulting from court verdicts, findings of the Board of Medicine or binding arbitration, would lose their license to practice. Board Member Bruce Kennedy, MD, said that one result of the adoption of the amendment will be cause specialists to drop high risk cases, citing the likelihood that OB/GYN physicians “will simply stop delivering babies.” Davidson noted that a weakness of the amendment, which was also supported by Florida Academy of Trial Lawyers, who funded its sup-port from the $21 million noted above, is that it encourages settlements for malpractice complaints because even if a court awarded only $1 in damages in a case, it counts as one of the three strikes, whereas a settle-ment of $5,000 or any other amount does not. Board member Mori Hosseini applauded the idea of identifying “bad” physicians, noting that “at some point we have to have some responsibility” but agreed with his colleagues that the amendment would drive good doctors in high risk fields from the state and make recruitment extremely difficult. Davidson emphasized that Halifax Medical Center has a very strong peer review structure.
Chief Financial Officer Harry Reese reported to the Board that the System experienced strong operating results and improved its financial position during fiscal year 2004, which ended September 30. He said Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne had a minimal impact on operations in August and September, but overall the System met its budget targets and exceeded prior year results. Among the specific items noted in the financial report were that:
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Average daily census at HMC increased from 367 in 2003, to 410 in 2004.
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Total emergency department and urgent care center visits were 132,250.
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Florida Health Care Plans membership increase 4.1% over 2003.
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Hospice of Volusia/Flagler home care visits totaled 158,706.
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Hospice average daily census hit 434 in 2004, up from 352 in 2003.
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In Fiscal 2004, $22,667,101 tax dollars were applied to charges to uncompensated care that totaled $97,805,199.
In other business, HMC Administrator Dan Lang advised Board members that the Regional Oncology Center is evaluating several scenarios to establish a new medical oncology facility in Port Orange adjacent the existing campus of Halifax Medical Center-Port Orange and Hospice of Volusia/Flagler. An option is to lease space in a building in this area immediately adjacent to Radiology Associates’ new Port Orange Imaging Center. A second phase would later add a new building for radiation oncology. Lang noted that Port Orange is one of the fastest-growing markets in Volusia County, showing growth increases of 9-12% per year and that more than a third of patients currently seen at the Regional Oncology Center facility on the HMC main campus are from the Port Orange area. Detailed plans and cost estimates will be presented for Board review and approval at a later meeting, Lang said.
HCHS COO Jeff Feasel advised Board members that this meeting was the last that will be covered by Daytona Beach News-Journal writer Ray Weiss, who is being reassigned to feature writing duties for the paper. Weiss will be succeeded on the medical beat by Anne Geggis, who has covered some HCHS and HMC activities in the course of her general reporting duties in the past.
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Halifax Community Health System combines the strengths of affiliated healthcare providers and insurers to provide a continuum of care designed to meet the needs of the residents of the Halifax area of Florida’s Funcoast.
Citizens appointed by the Governor to the Board of Halifax Hospital Medical Center District provide policy direction to experienced professionals providing the services of the System.
For information on the companies that are a proud part of Halifax Community Health System, click on Where Do You Want To Go or Did You Know.
Our Commitment is Halifax Community Health System’s comprehensive approach to improving both health and the quality of life in the communities we serve.
It Requires earning and returning trust by giving back to our communities through outreach programs, services and resources.
It Is An Investment in improving health and bringing about a higher quality of life for those who need it most.
If you are interested in becoming a part of our team, click on Jobngs for an on-line application and a listing of positions.
If you have questions about our System, e-mail .You will receive a response as soon as possible.
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