Friday, July 17, 2009
Welcome to Prince William First
We believe that by organizing we can protect ourselves. We believe everything that you can go back and read in our previous Save PWHS posts are opinions that are true and accurate.
We believe the fact that our PWHS "leadership" executives have received a bonus worth 6 months of their salaries upon merger completion and will receive one year's salary plus benefits as severance should they lose their job means that they have been bought and paid for and they are NOT looking out for us or our community.
The out-of-state corporation that has bought PWHS wants to change our local health system. They'll use euphemisms like 'integration', just as they've used euphemisms all along, like 'merger' and 'partnership', but you can not trust them to look out for you.
THEY WANT TO CHANGE OUR HOSPITAL TO WHAT WORKS IN NORTH CAROLINA.
THEY WANT TO CHANGE YOUR SALARY TO WHAT PASSES AS COMPETITIVE IN NORTH CAROLINA.
THEY WANT TO CHANGE YOUR BENEFITS -- VIRGINIA BENEFITS... VIRGINIA HEALTH INSURANCE AND VIRGINIA DENTAL INSURANCE -- TO WHAT THEY HAVE IN NORTH CAROLINA.
YOU MAY LOSE THE ACCESS TO SEE THE DOCTOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAVE ALWAYS SEEN WHEN YOUR INSURANCE CHANGES.
WE CAN STOP THIS.
By standing together and speaking as one, WE CAN STOP THIS.
We have received an amazing turnout of employees willing to sign up and pledge their allegiance to our Non-Profit concern and their fellow co-workers. We want this to continue, so when the time comes to draw a line in the sand to protect ourselves, the message will be clear and unmistakable.
As it spells out on each card, your signature and pledge to support Prince William First guarantees that we will remain a non-profit organization, free of charge to you, in perpetuity (forever!), that will accept nothing less than the current state of affairs, the pre-merger status quo in regard to structures, clinical ladders, employee salaries, benefits and cultural conditions.
For a copy of your card, write to prince.william.first@gmail.com
REMEMBER THAT IT IS ILLEGAL for your employers to attempt to persecute you for doing all you can to look out for yourself and your co-workers or signing up to support our group, so spread the word, but still do your best to smile to their faces.... do not give them reason to single you out or make an example out of you.
If you're asked about your support of our blog or our cause, or if you're directed by your supervisors or manager not to sign a card or questioned as to whether or not you have, document the circumstances and let us know.
Prince William First. Protect the career you've built for yourself, as well as the wages and coverage your family depends on. Sign up today.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Official Merger Announcement on July 1st.... Get Your Signed Cards in, ASAP
Monday, June 15, 2009
You're Welcome... Why the Execs are Smiling... pre-sale secrecy... the Time is NOW to Stand UP...
Sure, it's only 3%, but we DESERVE it...
PWHS employees, you are very welcome, but you never need to thank us.
Hundreds have written in the past week informing us how the PWHS "leadership" has held a series of employee forums AND reinstated annual employee pay raises... just like we called upon them to do nearly a month ago. Our posts receive more than a thousand hits in the very first few days after publication. We have more than 500 subscribers and more than 400 PWHS employees have written with their support and actively participating in our weekly online chats.
This solidarity, this will to protect ourselves and OUR jobs is where our power lies. It is not coincidence or happenstance that the issues we address on this blog are then addressed by the powers that be at PWHS. We hold a light of truth up against their darkness and the shadow that is their lack of transparency. We MAKE them be accountable. We believe that if we had not held their feet to the fire, the reinstating of the annual merit increases would have been delayed until the merger (sale!) completion, so "leadership" could make employees believe that it was due to our new "partner" coming in to save the day.
This recent incident is just another example of the power that we employees and members of the PWHS community have. We've known this from the beginning, when it was ONLY an email, a mere single email that only a few dozen employees initially received that began being circulated among concerned hard working people titled 'Save PWHS' that lead to employee forums and the first ever release of financial data to employees.
That was back in March, now we are bigger, stronger and more organized than ever... and a 3% raise means a lot to those of us who aren't getting a bonus worth 6 months of our salaries like SOME people around PWHS...
Why the execs are smiling...
As we've been posting about from the very beginning, these are the facts: PWHS "leadership" execs will receive a bonus equal to SIX MONTHS worth of their salaries for remaining with PWHS upon successful completion of the Novant merger. They will receive a FULL year of their salary PLUS benefits as severance if the merger changes their role or makes their position redundant between now and the close of 2011.
Do not think for a moment that this is not accurate. If it were untrue, they would publicly decry and deny this information. This fact alone is proof that there is indeed a "bounty" as the CEO once claimed that there wasn't, and that PWHS leadership has a LOT of money and personal gain riding on the merger... a merger that at this point is seemingly inevitable and clearing regulatory approvals in secret and silence...
Operating in Secret: the new Board charter, the Regulatory process...
Without informing the PWHS employee population or the community that the Board allegedly serves, changes are being made to the bylaws and charter regulations that the PWHS Board operate under to allow for the merger and out-of-state control. This is being done in secret, unpublicized and without oversight.
The details of the regulatory approval process are also being done in secret. Any employee or citizen with a concern to voice would not know WHERE to being or WHO to address their issues to... which means that now, more than ever, is the time to
Stand up, ask questions, protect yourself and your co-workers...
AND YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DO THIS ANONYMOUSLY, BECAUSE YOU HAVE EVERY REASON TO FEAR REPRISALS FOR BEING PERCEIVED AS BEING ANTI-MERGER OR A "BOAT ROCKER" RIGHT NOW...
Now is the time to ask:
IS IT REALLY A MERGER AND PARTNERSHIP OR A SALE?
WHAT WILL THE MERGER MEAN FOR ME AND MY JOB?
WHAT WILL THE MERGER MEAN FOR MY DEPARTMENT?
WHAT WILL THE MERGER MEAN FOR MY SALARY?
WHAT WILL THE MERGER MEAN FOR MY BENEFITS?
WHAT WILL THE MERGER MEAN FOR MY P.D.O. BANK, MY RETIREMENT, MY INSURANCE?
WHY DO WE NEED A PARTNER WHILE OUR NEARBY NON-PROFIT NEIGHBORS CAN MAKE IT ON THEIR OWN?
Register your email address with us now for updates. The merger may seem inevitable but WE still have the power to protect ourselves and give our "leaders" NO CHOICE BUT TO LOOK OUT FOR US, the PWHS employee, and not just THEMSELVES and their lucrative employment agreements, containing their Stay Bonuses and the Severance Agreements that the REAL PWHS employees are not entitled to.
These employment agreements are WRITTEN-IN to the conditions of the sale/meger to Novant. "Leadership" is guaranteed these protections, these golden parachcutes. There is NO REASON why similar proections can not be guaranteed to the regular, hard working PWHS employee.
The time is NOW to stand up, ask questions and ACT, BEFORE our "leaders" cash out and leave, BEFORE PWHS is being run from North Carolina, just another branch of a company with only a powerless, puppet Board in place to look out for us. Northern Virginia is NOT North Carolina. It's up to us to MAKE them aknowledge that and realize that we will NOT allow PWHS to become just another powerless piece of an out-of-state corporate franchise. We challenge PWHS "leadership" to reveal the new Board charter and its new bylaws, and show us that there will be GENUINE local control, post-"partnership". At this juncture, we do not believe there will be. We can change this, though.
Sign up now and join us in making a difference.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
We're Back......
Monday, April 20, 2009
Open Letter to Novant CEO Paul Wiles for his visit to PWHS, Monday 4/20/09
Friday, April 17, 2009
Preview for Monday... Open letter to media and community leaders... news links
On Monday, Novant CEO Paul Wiles will be at Prince William hospital to meet and greet employees. We will have a special report Monday morning with questions we'd like to present to Mr. Wiles.
In the meantine, here is an open letter -- one version of many as all members and supporters are encouraged to write -- that has been sent to local media and our government representatives:
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Please find within the following potential topics of discussion for the meet and greet with Novant CEO Paul Wiles this Monday, April 20, on the fourth floor of the hospital at 10 AM.
In a recent memo, PWHS CEO Michael Schwartz questioned our motives and indicated that perhaps we are trying to advocate or representing a union in some capacity, but this is not true. We are local, non-profit (our blog has received nearly 5000 'hits' but it does not generate any money), non-union (and we're pretty much all old school GOP people and VERY anti-union in our personal politics), we are grassroots and most importantly we are too scared to go public with our IDs because we know it would cost us our jobs. One only has to search the Post's archives for articles about PWHS to see what Schwartz is capable of and the fact that during his tenure there has been a huge rate of executive turnover. There is already an email / blog witch-hunt in effect at hospital, wasting time and money.
He's also claimed we've written a lot of incorrect information, but won't say exactly what of the items we've presented to the public are not accurate.
Our platform remains:
PWHS does not need to be sold, it is only being sold and in the state that its in both financially and morale-wise is because Schwartz had no plan B when the INOVA merger failed. On the blog you'll find a link to an article in Reuters stating that PWHS management claims our poor financial shape is due to the failed merger.
According to reports from corporate insiders that have not been denied, execs like Schwartz are getting a year of severance if they go due to the sale. They'll also receive a bonus of six months of their salary if they stick around to help the transition, pre-severance. No one is receiving cost of living or performance raises at PWHS in 2009 due to the economy. We think these severance packages and stay bonuses are wrong and need to be exposed and owned up to. EVERYONE, since anyone lose their job due to a merger should have some kind of similar plan in place, whether their job loss will occur right off the bat post-sale or after the transition is complete.
We believe Novant would not be doing this if they were not SURE there was money to be made. Money PWHS should be able to find a way to make on its own, as have ALL of our non-profit neighbors, Potomac, Mary Washington and ESPECIALLY Fauquier...
We believe this is also mainly about Novant expanding our freestanding ER and building a new hospital in Haymarket, in order to compete with Fauquier. Ironic since one only needs to do a Google news search on Novant and find that they're constantly in the news for challenging other NC health systems'
expansions.
The details, conditions and terms of this 'partnership' (SALE!) are going on behind closed doors, as happened with INOVA. "Partnership" and "Merger" are euphemisms that PWHS is feeding the public. This will be a SALE, an acquisition.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: We believe Virginia citizens, Prince William patients and local employees should not be under the thumb of an out of state healthcare giant (5th largest in the country, not counting the 27% ownership of the 7 for-profit HMA hospitals they have a piece of in the Carolinas) to the tune of $200 million dollars.
The fact that the hospital will keep its name and a local board is pure window dressing, throwing the community and lesser-informed employees a bone. The board serves at the CEO's leisure. There is no true accountability or oversight at PWHS, there will be even less when it's an out of state corporate CEO that the puppet board will be answering to.
We hope you can help the public know about what's really going on and perhaps be able to publicly ask some of the hard questions that we can't, as we still depend on our hard work at our independent community hospital to feed our families.
Thanks for your time and looking out for the community.
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PWHS in the news, reader comment references Save PWHS
http://www.fauquier.com/news/2009/apr/14/looming-crisis-skilled-nursing-shortage/
Novant in the news, as mentioned in the letter above:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/apr/15/novant-appeals-ok-cmc-northeast-patient-tower-conc/
be sure to check the "Hospital Building Booms" blurb to the left of main article to see the health systems Novant is challenging:
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/1489026.html
Don't forget to check back in Monday morning!!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Weekly Update: Another look at Novant... a Challenge to CEO Mike Schwartz... frontline reporting...
TIME TO STAND UP AND ASK QUESTIONS: NOVANT IN THE NEWS
Now more than ever, the citizens of Prince William county and PWHS employees need to take an active interest and look at the big picture of what it means to allow this outside company from North Carolina to "partner with" (BUY), "invest in" (BUY) or "merge with" (BUY AND TAKE OVER) our community hospital and health system.
PWHS' intended "partner" Novant is in the news for being named the 5th largest medical group in the United States:
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2009/04/06/daily26.html
Novant, a "non-profit", owns 27% of 7 for-profit Healthcare Management Associates (HMA) hospitals:
http://www.fiercehealthfinance.com/story/hma-sells-seven-hospital-stake-to-novant/2008-04-02
http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Health_Management_Associates_(HMA)
Based on all of this we believe the following to be true:
Novant is a healthcare juggernaut! It is becoming increasingly clear that the picture being painted for PWHS employees of a humble non-profit from the south coming to help us out is NOT what is really going on. This is more than that. This is more than old Duke University alumni CEO cronies forming an alliance to make themselves richer. This is corporate healthcare trying desperately to expand into Northern Virginia to compete with INOVA, Medicorp, Potomac and - ESPECIALLY - Fauquier to our west.
This is REALLY all about expanding PWHS' Heathcote Health Center and building a new hospital in Haymarket. They would NOT be doing this if there was not money to be made... Money PWHS could make on its own with the right leadership.
Keep in mind:
Novant will expect a return on their 200 million dollar investment and would NOT be risking this amount of money if they weren't sure they'll be able to recuperate it. All of PWHS, meaning local patients and local employees will be beholden to this out of state corporation for each cent of that two hundred million.
The fact that a local 'Board' will still be in place to provide local governance is meaningless when Novant will hold all the purse strings. Like the current Board, it will merely be a formality, a purely ceremonial position and role that does NOT provide true oversight or guidance.
Most importantly, all of our genuinely non-profit neighbors are getting by on their own, and even though Schwartz FAILED at his goal of "merging" with INOVA, the FTC found PWHS should be able to stand on its own. We believe during this process many truths were concealed, ESPECIALLY the fact that Schwartz had no plan for PWHS other than to sell it. The records of the failed, aborted INOVA / PWHS "merger" can be found in the links below.
http://www.ftc.gov/os/adjpro/d9326/080509admincomplaint.pdf
http://www.ftc.gov/os/adjpro/d9326/index.shtm
Pay attention to language such as "and integrate PWHS into..." and "acquisition"... keep this in mind as Novant "partnership" draws nearer. As we've believed and reported from the beginning, "merger" and "partnership" are euphemisms when it comes to PWHS. PWHS will be bought, PWHS will be an acquisition.
Do not forget that this is not CEO Mike Schwartz's first attempt at handing over the reins and selling PWHS.... speaking of which...
A CHALLENGE TO PWHS CEO MIKE SCHWARTZ: EXPLAIN WHY...
Why can our local non-profit neighbors do it on their own and PWHS can't?
Why can Fauquier specifically thrive and do it on their own? Potomac? Medicorp?
Why not respond to the those who believe you've done NOTHING for PWHS other than look to sell for nearly a decade and have had NO vision or alternative strategies?
Why do questions go unanswered when our readers and your employees e-mail the specific address that you have ASKED them to address their queries to?
Some more questions, while we're at it, all inspired by readers' emails and comments:
When quotes like "management attributes the overall financial deterioration of PWHS to the failed merger attempt with INOVA Health System" (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS217449+25-Nov-2008+BW20081125 ) are out there in the press and your employees ask questions regarding its accuracy, why is there no response?
What is the pre-merger price tag? How much was spent during the past decade on the failed sales to Universal and INOVA?
What was the cost of the consultancy firm whose reports and reccomendations you've used as justification to sell, or "merge" and "partner" as you like to call it? Has this firm EVER told a community hospital NOT to sell?
How do you feel when you think about the 1400+ employees WITHOUT severance packages guaranteed to them?
How do you feel when you think about the fact that you'll receive a 'stay bonus' to help facilitate the "merger" while those who may be "merged" out of a job when the transition is complete will receive nothing, and possibly not even fair warning?
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We'll enjoy your deafening silence on these matters for now...or if you do decide to respond, we sincerely hope you pay for the lawyers and outside PR firm who will likely be co-writing your retort out of your own pocket...
REPORTS FROM THE FRONTLINES....
A Save PWHS reader working in the Patient Access Service department writes:
"I emailed my bosses questions about the merger but was told to wait till our next quarterly meeting. To me that just means that they did'nt have an answer for me, or maybe just not one that they could tell me without causing panics. Me and others have also wrote to the pwhnews address but no one ever writes back. If they think we can sit around and wait for some quarterly newsletter or meeting for answers then theyr'e really wrong, not when they think merger could happen as quick as fall."
This is just one of many great emails from very hardworking, very scared people.
Another employee wrote to tell us that their supervisor claims that anything they read online is really from a union that is just trying to scare people into unionizing. We're waiting for and seeking additional confirmation for this happening in other departments. Make no mistake, we are anti-union and do not think PWHS needs one. PWHS needs leadership that WANTS to LEAD and not just sell out before cutting and running. Being scapegoated as union sympathizers WILL ONLY STRENGTHEN OUR RESOLVE AND FIRE US UP, EVEN MORE.
COMING SOON: A SPECIAL HISTORICAL LOOK AT PWHS AND A REPORT ABOUT KEN SWENSON and ROBERT REGAN, SCHWARTZ'S PREDECESSORS. WE'LL BE LOOKING AT BOTH THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE TRANSFER OF POWER AT PWHS AS WELL AS THE PAST NINE YEARS AND A TIMELINE OF MAJOR EVENTS UNDER SCHWARTZ'S DIRECTION...
For now, we leave you with a quote from Mr. Schwartz himself, from the November 22, 1999 Prince William Section of the Washington Post in an article titled "Health System Gets New Chief; Hospital's Spirit Drew Candidate" by staff writer Amy Joyce:
"Staying independent is not an easy task, but it's not insurmountable."