To the editor:
This letter is in response to the April 18 letter from Dr. Lesley Ogden, chief executive officer of Samaritan Health Services’ two hospitals in Lincoln County.
Despite Ogden’s efforts to improve the patient experience, I feel it’s too little too late. There has been a noticeable downward turn in patient care since the new hospital opened in Newport. There’s also been a massive exodus of exceptional providers to what I imagine is the herd mentality they’ve instituted to see as many patients as possible per day at the cost of patient care.
I imagine that the providers are acting in this way at the direction of Ogden and other management. The bottom line: It gets down to money. You’re cutting corners to help pay for the new hospital.
Although I appreciate Ogden’s efforts to “help the staff navigate unfamiliar or uncomfortable conversation” the bottom line is you can’t anticipate every situation.
Also, reactivating the hospital’s Patient and Family Advisory Council begs the question, why did the hospital stop the advisory council in the first place? Was it about money?
I don’t think that “Identifying ways we can indicate LGBTQ+ clinical interests in provider online biographies so patients can search this information by name and location” is enough. The practitioners themselves have to be on board and supportive with transgender and gender affirmation surgery. The irony is you had someone that would have done a fantastic job regarding transgender care — Dr. Gavin Shumate. All I wish to say is that the way he was treated while employed at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital was egregious.
I think that the staff at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital need to be trained regarding patients with a trauma history. People with a trauma history present unique challenges while being seen in a medical setting. I think it would be helpful if you had a social worker on staff to help all providers navigate the special challenges of those with a trauma history. The last thing you want to do is trigger a patient while under the care of one of your providers.
Here’s an example my experience of a person with mental health challenges being treated in a triggering manner. I was being seen in the emergency room. There was a woman who was very emotionally distressed. She was screaming and very fearful. The emergency room nurse didn’t help by yelling at her. Her actions only escalated the patient’s distress.
I think it would have been helpful if a mental health provider was available to help diffuse the situation. Perhaps the hospital could have an on call mental health provider for after-hour concerns. It was painful to overhear the anxiety and distress this patient was experiencing while in the care of Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital.
Here’s my experience of the “herd mentality” of patient care. The lack of care I experienced was unacceptable.
My wife had joined me for an appointment at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital. When the doctor entered the room, he said “Is that your husband?” My wife responded “no, I’m her wife.” He never acknowledged her as my wife, nor did he apologize for his inappropriate comment.
At one point, he left our appointment to take care of something. He was gone for about 5-10 minutes. Upon return, he continued with his “businesslike” patient care approach. He showed no interest in addressing any of my concerns about why I was there in the first place. I ended up taking my medical care for this particular issue to Corvallis.
At this point, we’re in the process of transferring 95 percent of our care to Corvallis.
— Paula Morgan/Yachats