Salvador Sandoval: Community needs a Golden Valley that functions well

I appreciate Dr. Peter Broderick’s statement in The Sun-Star (“Golden Valley Health Centers had to prepare for future,” Page A9, Jan. 24) as to the vital niche that Golden Valley Health Center occupies in the Valley.

However, he did not explain the background leading to the crisis at GVHC. Further, he isolates and blames individual providers by not placing their concerns in the proper context while ignoring the actions of leadership that created the crisis in the first place.

Broderick did not mention that an independent investigation authorized by the GVHC board is taking place at this moment concerning provider complaints, of which there have been more than a dozen. In addition 150 signatories have raised concerns over various actions taken by administration. He did not mention that Dr. Silvia Diego, the chief medical officer who was fired by the CEO Tony Weber, is pursuing legal actions regarding her termination and other matters.

GVHC is being overwhelmed by the increased demand for access to primary care. Thousands of previously uninsured persons now qualify for health care through the Affordable Care Act. Unfortunately, reimbursement levels are so low that often private providers are reluctant to take them. This partly explains why our hospital emergency rooms are inundated.

Even prior to the current crisis, GVHC was already seriously understaffed for providers.

As a society, we did not prepare for health care reform. Physicians and midlevel practitioners are in short supply. Saddled with enormous educational loans, many choose to work in settings that reimburse better, or specialize to earn more money. The lack of a comprehensive health plan to cover everyone equally and the lack of allocation of sufficient resources in staffing are the roots of the problem we face in health care today.

When Weber became CEO of GVHC, he introduced a very different management style. Previously, management and providers had been able to work cooperatively to expand health care delivery to meet growing needs. With the abrupt termination of Diego, providers were left voiceless and traumatized. Weber, though having been requested to explain his actions to providers, was not able (or willing) to state to their satisfaction why he fired Diego.

Further, if they were unable to work together, we wondered why he had not asked her to step down and become a full-time clinician instead. Matters were made worse by the perception by foreign medical graduates that they were undervalued.

There are many complicated patients now at GVHC with multiple medical problems who require more time with doctors. They had previously put off medical visits for lack of health coverage and financial worries. Whereas GVHC needs to recruit more providers, we are losing providers due to their feeling unappreciated and threatened and because they have other options. No one wants to work in a hostile environment.

Arbitrarily increasing the number of patients each provider has to see will not solve the problem. It will lead to provider burnout and poor quality medical care. This situation is compounded by the introduction of electronic medical records which, while having beneficial aspects, also takes more time. We shouldn’t function like a processing plant that speeds up the line to meet production goals.

There are ways to address the increased demand. But coming up with solutions requires a good working relationship between the board, management and providers.

It would be a travesty to see this valuable not-for-profit institution fall. It is our patients who would suffer most. It is the solemn duty of the board of directors to ensure the survival of the organization. It can start by listening to its providers who serve and care for the patients of Golden Valley Health Centers.

This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Salvador Sandoval: Community needs a Golden Valley that functions well."