Dr. Laney Resigns From Hospital

In the latest turn in the controversy revolving around Jeff Davis Hospital, Chief of Staff Dr. Jason Laney last week submitted his resignation from his duties at the hospital.
Tuesday afternoon, Hospital Chief Executive Officer Barry Bloom said he found Dr. Laney’s resignation to be “heartbreaking.”
Bloom said the hospital’s leadership respects and appreciates the service Dr. Laney has provided to the hospital and the community.
“He made the decision to resign from the different contractual duties he has with the hospital,” Bloom said. “It’s very unfortunate but we respectfully accepted his resignation.”
Bloom said Dr. Laney’s resignation was not entirely immediate as he holds several positions with the hospital and some of the contracts call for a 30-day notice and others a 60-day notice.
Blooms explained the actions that led to Dr. Laney’s resignation, saying the doctor submitted a letter to the authority pointing out problems at the hospital. In response, the authority brought in professional groups to look at the hospital’s operations and make recommendations on how to address the problems pointed out in Dr. Laney’s letter and improve on the hospital’s operation.
Bloom explained that several recommendations were presented by the outside group and one of them was to have a full-time hospitalist group to provide 24/7 full-time coverage at the hospital. The hospital board then gave Bloom the authority to implement that suggestion.
Four external groups and Dr. Laney submitted proposals to the hospital authority, Bloom said, adding that Dr. Laney’s proposal did not meet the criteria of having someone at the hospital 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Bloom verified that the $800,000 a year price submitted in Dr. Laney’s proposal and the $1.2 million cost of the Rural Physicians Group (RPG) were accurate.
But, Bloom added, the per-hour cost of the higher priced proposal was actually less expensive because it included more hours of in-house physician coverage.
Bloom pointed out that going with RPG does not prohibit local physicians from using the hospital.
“The program does allow a local physician to admit and take care of their patients,” Bloom said.
Tuesday, the hospital officially announced its partnership with Rural Physicians Group (RPG) to provide full-time hospitalist services for inpatient care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while preserving patient access to their local doctors.
According to the announcement, the partnership does not replace local physicians, but “strengthens inpatient care while ensuring patients continue to receive care from the doctors they know and trust.”
“Our goal is simple,” said CEO Barry Bloom. “We want patients to receive excellent inpatient care while preserving access to their local doctors. This partnership strengthens hospital coverage without changing who our patients see in the clinic or who they trust with their care. Local physicians remain a vital part of our care model.”
RPG is described as “a physician-led organization that specializes in providing hospitalist services to rural and community hospitals. Their providers are trained to manage a wide range of inpatient medical conditions commonly treated in community hospitals and to work collaboratively with local providers.”
The hospital plans to host a community meet-and-greet reception where the public can meet the hospitalist team, ask questions, and learn how the program works.