Category: Health Care
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Another Hidden Income Redistribution Scheme
by James A. Bacon Virginia’s healthcare system, like that of the U.S. as a whole, functions as a massive income redistribution scheme from private insurance customers to Medicare and Medicaid patients. That’s the conclusion I draw from data from a new report, “Tracking Virginia’s 2023 Health Care Spending & Employment Trends,” prepared for the Virginia…
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Is There a Doctor in the House?
by James C. Sherlock Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (Colonial Heights) is in the news again. New story, similar outcomes — a patient either dying or dreadfully injured — both ignored. The first time 18 staff members were arrested. This time it was a physician who allegedly wasn’t even there. That was the problem.…
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Virginia’s New Jersey Problem
Updated Jan 27 @ 16:30 by James C. Sherlock New-found evidence points to New Jersey-operated business plans that may result in severe threats to patient health and safety in up to 56 Virginia nursing homes. At least one person has already died. Current government allegations in the wrongful death scandal surrounding Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing…
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The Limitless Demand for Mental Health Services
by James A. Bacon Mental-health advocates in Virginia are making the case for more money for… what else? … mental health. An article by Radio IQ illuminates a disturbing example (I find it disturbing, not Radio IQ) of how the alleged need for mental- health services expands relentlessly to cover ever more of life’s travails.…
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A Horrible Death in Colonial Heights – Part Four. Dangerous Chameleons
by James C. Sherlock Virginia authorities have criminally charged 18 employees of Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (CHNRC) with criminal acts in the terrible suffering and death of a woman from sepsis alleged to have occurred because of negligence in that facility. In Part 3 of this series we discussed who else may be…
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Legislators Kill Bill to Modify Certificate of Public Need
by Hans Bader Legislators in a subcommittee killed a bill in the Virginia legislature would reform the state’s obsolete and costly certificate-of-need laws, which require state permission for healthcare facilities even in badly underserved areas. Cardinal News reports: Legislation put forth by state Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, to reduce regulations in accessing machinery, equipment…
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A Horrible Death in Colonial Heights – Part Three. Who Is Responsible?
by James C. Sherlock The government alleges that a woman patient helpless with cerebral palsy and diabetes was so badly neglected at Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (CHRNC) that: It is important for justice to be fully served to peel back the onion — to address the system in which they worked. CHNRC is…
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A Horrible Death in Colonial Heights – Part Two
Nursing Facility Standards Enforcement Updated Jan 27 @ 1700 by James C. Sherlock Part One of this series served as an introduction to the circumstances surrounding one of the worst deaths humanly imaginable. It shows what happens when standards are not enforced. Charges against staff. The government has alleged that the death was the result…
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A Horrible Death in Colonial Heights – Part One
by James C. Sherlock On 29 October of 2024 a woman died under tragic circumstances in Virginia. Her death was preceded by suffering that mercifully we cannot fully imagine. The government alleges that she died as a result of neglect at Innovative Healthcare Management’s (IHM) Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (CHRNC) in Chesterfield County.…
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Covid Actors Are Back: Now It’s Bird Flu
by Kerry Dougherty Question of the day: Will you fall for it again? This is directed only at those who dutifully wore face diapers, who cancelled family get togethers or who left sick children alone in their rooms as ordered by public health authorities during the covid pandemic. Oh, and those who took vaccine after…
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Incoherent, Fact-Free Thinking About Maternal Mortality Disparities
by James A. Bacon Radio IQ, Virginia’s public radio network, is aptly named. It appeals to highly educated people who think of themselves as smarter and better informed than everybody else. Radio IQ listeners may, in fact, have higher IQs than ordinary Virginians — the correlation between education and intelligence is real. Whether public radio…
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Sentara’s Opportunity to Improve Hospital-to-Nursing Facility Patient Transitions
by James C. Sherlock Sentara Healthcare in October announced an important initiative to improve the quality and availability of primary care. It will double number of advanced practice providers (APPs) in its primary care facilities. APP refers to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, or certified nurse midwives. In order…
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Combative CEO of Ballad Health Blames His Own Doctors for Hospital Quality Issues
Ballad Johnson City TN Medical Center
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More “Food Insecurity” Blather
by James A. Bacon We learn today courtesy of Radio IQ that Virginia’s Commission to End Hunger, which began meeting this year, has identified measures for legislators to consider in the 2025 General Assembly session. The one tangible initiative mentioned in the article was doing something to address food insecurity on college campuses. “There are…
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Something Smells at the UVA Medical Center
by James A. Bacon A half-dozen vendors have put the University of Virginia Health System on credit hold, interrupting supplies of important medical supplies and equipment, alleges a group calling itself the Concerned UVA Health Physicians & UVA School of Medicine Faculty. The vendors include Boston Scientific, a supplier of catheterization and electrophysiology supplies, which…