Hospital Wars

Up until now, I have resisted the urge to "publicly" comment on the great Wellmont-MSHA battle, but after the events of last evening I decided I wanted to share my opinion. I do work at JCMC, but I'm not employed by MSHA, so I don't truely have any offical ties to them. I'm not sure why so many people are anti-MSHA. Do they do things perfectly? No, but what major business or corportation does? I wonder if all those people who are convinced that having a Wellmont ER closer to Johnson City would be the best thing ever, have ever received care from a Wellmont facility. Do they even know the kind of care they are inviting into the area? I regularly treat a good number of people from Kingsport, Bristol, and Greenville at JCMC. For the most part, those people have been to a Wellmont ER before, and would rather drive 30 minutes to an hour rather than go back to the hospital down the road. It's something to think about. I think competition is a good thing. It's what drives business and the economy. And like it or not, health care has become a business. I just don't think having a Wellmont ER in Boones Creek is going to change the current situation in the ERs in Johnson City. People complain about the long wait times, but the truth is most of people who come to the ER, don't need to be there in the first place. Too many people use the ER as a walk-in clinic or a primary care doctor. That has to change before things will get better. Do I think the area could use another hospital system to provide some competition for MSHA? Probably. Do I think Wellmont is the answer? Probably not.