Future of CRMC?

[JRR]

I wonder if the Cookeville Regional Medical Group Primary Care Providers joining Summit Medical Group is just the start of other changes coming to the medical providers in the area.

[Jumeby]

Not looking good

CRMC Endocrinology Office and Diabetes Center to temporarily suspend services

[JRR]

With the latest expansion approved, it looks like the plan is to keep the hospital community owned for now. I see where they are putting $12 million into increased employee pay. Hopefully some of that will be for ER staffing as it appears that the ER operations have been pretty dismal over the last year or so.

[BuffaloHome]

Originally Posted by Jumeby

Not looking good

CRMC Endocrinology Office and Diabetes Center to temporarily suspend services

The endocrinology center is reopening with two new endocrinologists on November 1. Looking good. In fact, the hospital has added 11 new physicians for a total of 187 on staff, a record. There's a total of 2,520 employees at CRMC, also a record. The number of outpatients increased 2% in 2022-23 for a total of 186,031. The hospital also provided $29,760,438 in uncompensated "charity" care.

https://www.herald-citizen.com/news/...027cf6620.html

Originally Posted by JRR

With the latest expansion approved, it looks like the plan is to keep the hospital community owned for now. I see where they are putting $12 million into increased employee pay. Hopefully some of that will be for ER staffing as it appears that the ER operations have been pretty dismal over the last year or so.

CRMC's ER is very, very busy. There were 47,794 visits to the CRMC ER in the 2022-23 fiscal year, a record. I wish more people would use CRMC's Urgent Care facility across the street. They've expanded the hours so it's now open 7am-11pm daily. They also have an imaging center so even people with broken bones can bypass the ER and go to Urgent Care. I know I was glad to use Urgent Care on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago and completely avoid the ER.

[JRR]

I just found out last week that starting in May the CRMC Cancer Center will be staffed with physicians from Vanderbilt. Apparently CRMC keeping physicians there has been a problem.

[BuffaloHome]

Originally Posted by JRR

I just found out last week that starting in May the CRMC Cancer Center will be staffed with physicians from Vanderbilt. Apparently CRMC keeping physicians there has been a problem.

Newsweek has Vanderbilt ranked among the top 20 hospitals in the country for treating cancer. Sounds like a step in the right direction for CRMC to have VUMC doctors staffing its cancer center.

[JRR]

Originally Posted by BuffaloHome

Newsweek has Vanderbilt ranked among the top 20 hospitals in the country for treating cancer. Sounds like a step in the right direction for CRMC to have VUMC doctors staffing its cancer center.

I certainly have no problem with Vanderbilt staffing here. We have been having to go to Nashville for my wife's specialized cancer/dermatology situations so we are familiar with Vanderbilt and are very happy with our relationship with them.

I just wonder if this is a way for Vanderbilt to get their foot in the door just in case there might be a sale of CRMC some time in the future.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by JRR

I certainly have no problem with Vanderbilt staffing here. We have been having to go to Nashville for my wife's specialized cancer/dermatology situations so we are familiar with Vanderbilt and are very happy with our relationship with them.

I just wonder if this is a way for Vanderbilt to get their foot in the door just in case there might be a sale of CRMC some time in the future.

CRMC is the only hospital in the region and one of just a small handful in the state that is owned by the local government and not some larger conglomerate. I know the city has been very much opposed to selling the city-owned hospital (even though it would be an enormous financial windfall for the city) for fear that it would lead to fewer local specialties. It's certainly what's happened to the smaller hospitals in neighboring towns that are now owned by hospitals in Nashville and Knoxville, and where those smaller hospitals are now little more than glorified ERs and most procedures are sent to the "mother ship" hospitals in Nashville and Knoxville.

I would love to see VUMC own CRMC but only if it also owned all the neighboring hospitals, making CRMC kind of a mini-VUMC where fewer patients would be funneled to Nashville. I look at the hospitals in Tupelo MS and Jackson TN as examples of what CRMC could become. But I don't know that the likes of Covenant (Knoxville) or Ascension (Nashville) would be interested in selling their Upper Cumberland hospitals. But it would be nice.