This story from the Hamilton Spectator kind of hits home for me. It talks about a small hospital and what hospital administration does to try to improve the hospital and the community.
Why wouldn't Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) put more money into emergency rooms to attract and keep doctors? Why wouldn't HHS top up emergency physicians' salaries to ensure stability and appropriate levels of service? It makes good sense.Especially for small hospitals and small communities like this one and like mine, there are limited resources and priorities have to be made on where and how resources are managed. I'm all for getting the best docs and building the best facilities, but there are consequences to that.
The problem with emergency staffing seems to be double-edged -- crummy working conditions and pay that's not great. HHS has chosen to address those issues to ensure adequate emergency services.Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to lead you down a path here - especially with my posting yesterday of paying docs more. Like I said above, my small community and my small hospital are going through this right now.
On the one hand, having the best and most modern facilities can attract docs and other medical professionals to our small town and hospital. Who doesn't want to work with the latest and most technological toys?
On the other hand, something has to give. Sometimes that means pay freezes and/or pay cuts to the rest of the staff whether it be nursing, respiratory, secretaries, custodians, etc. Or, short staff situations. This can have effects on patient care and hospital morale, and other areas. I don't have the perfect solution. I'm curious what you think.
Question: If you were CEO of a small hospital with very limited resources, how would you help insure the best medical care for your community?