Ever wonder what happens when huge, allegedly non-profit corporations gobble up community based medical facilities in the name of increasing efficiency and providing better care? Wonder no more. In case after case (as is true in many other areas) these corporations promised that they would better serve the community because of the resources they have available, and in case after case those promises proved to be lies.
A few years ago, Novant Health (a "not for profit" conglomerate with 15 hospitals & more than 350 physician practices in North Carolina) offered to buy the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, a large and excellent facility owned by the citizens of New Hanover County, North Carolina. After a glitzy campaign featuring the head administrators of the hospital (who probably stood to benefit from an huge increase in pay when Novant took over) and a number of local politicians (one can only speculate their motivation), the NHC Board of Commissioners "sold" the hospital for $1.5 billion, with a promise that Novant would provide $3.1 billion more to upgrade the facility. The sale was completed in March of 2021, despite considerable community opposition.
Almost all of the $1.5 billion was put in an endowment, which is controlled by Novant and not the citizens of the county. As far as I can tell, not $1 has been used to benefit the community in the year since the "sale", although I recently saw a notice that a 5 person board had been created to "study" how the money should be used. The article did not say how much these board members will be paid out of the endowment.
Now comes the kicker. In one year since the sale, the quality of care in the hospital has plummeted, primarily because of lack of adequate staffing. Note that during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, while the hospital was still owned by the county, nothing like the issues now surfacing ever occurred.
Those opposed to the "sale" of the hospital predicted that it would be a disaster for our community. We pointed to what had happened in other communities when Novant "bought" their hospitals, but to no avail. And now, as the article from the Port City Daily below demonstrates, our community is paying the price. As if to add insult to injury, the County Commissioners are pushing a deal, known as Project Grace, to replace our main library and the Cape Fear Museum with a public-private project, which will cost hundreds of millions in taxpayer money, far more than it would cost to upgrade these spaces and keep them under public control.
Those who fail to learn from history, condemn all of us to repeat it.
Read and weep for our community.
https://portcitydaily.com/deep-dives/2022/08/26/fed-report-confirms-novants-insufficient-staffing-nurses-detail-problem-extends-beyond-er/
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