Need a Doctor?

June 5, 2010

I have cardiac rehab exercises at the
Northstar Health System (the renamed
hospital at Iron River) three times a
week. It’s a pleasurable exercise, but
necessary, on the tread mill and
stationary bike. Heartbeat during
exercise is monitored to determine that
all is well. After the workout, I go
to the café for coffee and then down
the hall to exit through the lobby. As
I passed by the “first impression”
position (i.e., the receptionist) I
heard her say something very disturbing.
An older lady had come in and told the
receptionist that she needed a doctor.

The reply was “there are no doctors here
today.” The lady looked frail and
slightly bent over the counter and seemed,
even to a layman like me to be in need of
medical attention, but the answer was still
the same, no doctors here. She was told to
look somewhere (I couldn’t hear where) to
find an M.D. As I listened it seemed that
she was out of luck today but tomorrow she
could come back.

My sympathy for the lady tool over and I
spoke to a few people in the lobby about
what was taking place. They agreed with
me that it was a terrible injustice and
that the $18 million renovations did
nothing but enhance the looks of the
facility in Iron River. If you find you
are in need of a doctor, please make sure
it’s on a regular work day, not a day
after a holiday or on some weekends. You
may be left as this poor lady was.

I wish I had stayed longer and had
gotten the lady’s name so that I could
keep track of how she finally got the
treatment she needed.

Gloria Vajk

(Editor’s Notes: The hospital has
experienced a loss from operations of
$ 463,000 for the three months ending
March 31, 2010. The hospital has a
municipal bond relying on the City of
Iron River in the amount of $ 23,150,000
(that’s 23 million dollars, folks) yet
almost every measurement like patient
admissions and so forth have been
dropping for the duration of the reports
filed as required of all those who have
a municipal bond. This community has a
hospital and we need a regional hospital,
but offhand it looks like we have a
financial disaster in the making. How
much money did the Hospital spend this
year giving the employees gratuities
during “Hospital Week?” How much has
the hospital spent on frillish outdoor
décor this year? Have the “city fathers”
been paying attention to what’s going on
here? Are we in for another of the sorts
of surprises that the City of Crystal
Falls recently experienced? Do we like
the fact that the chairman of the hospital
board of directors is also the City of
Iron River’s attorney? What of the recent
ethics ordinance passed by the city council?
I was asked to write a favorable piece
about the hospital’s foundation that seeks
contributions, but under the current
circumstances of apparent mismanagement I
sincerely regret I am unable to do so.
http://tinyurl.com/2ajhgfd and
http://tinyurl.com/32blmp8 – Bill Vajk)