Below is a copy of a letter I sent to Via Health in March of 99.
At the end of my letter is a copy of their NON ANSWER !
I haven't heard from them sense.

March 1999. 
 
On December 20, 1998, I was admitted to Rochester General Hospital with a 
heart attack. The people on duty in Emergency saved my life. The doctors really 
knew what they were doing. 
However, once my condition was under control, the rest of my experience at 
Rochester General can only be described as a nightmare! 
 
No one in Emergency came back to check on me until I was taken upstairs, 
although I could hear many people talking and joking as if they had nothing 
to do. No one volunteered that I was being admitted and was just waiting 
for a bed to open up - after several hours of expecting to see the next 
doctor on duty, my wife found out this information after talking with a nurse. 
 
Upon admission to my room it got much worse. 
 
My IV tubes were never examined, and over a period of three days they all fell 
out by themselves. 
When I had the Angiogram (Monday morning) a nurse in that area said to 
another nurse that she couldn't believe that they hadn't been taken care of 
- apparently they are supposed to be flushed and cleaned. I had the 
impression that this was a common occurrence. My wife was informed that she 
would get a call after the 20 minute angiogram to tell her whether I was 
having the anticipated angioplasty or possible open-heart surgery. After one 
hour and two phone calls from the waiting area, she finally talked to a 
young woman who "forgot" to call her and tell her my status. 
 
From Sunday until 6:00 on Tuesday, my bedding and hospital gown were not 
changed, even though they were blood spattered and messy from when the IV 
tubes were popping out. They were finally changed because I was irate by the 
time the doctor arrived on Tuesday and I complained about the situation to him. 
 
Asking for pain medication and other requests were ignored until the 
second or third request. 
One nurse went to lunch and forgot I had asked for aspirin. 
 
At the end of Tuesday, my wife realized that a doctor had not been in 
to see me for over 24 hours since the angioplasty. 
She asked the nurse, who remarked that that was indeed strange. She then 
called my GP, Dr. Cederstrom, and then called Dr. Mathews' office. When Dr. 
Tim Mathews showed up a few hours 
later, I asked him if he had forgotten me, and he became very defensive. It 
was obvious to me that between the two Dr. Matthews I actually had been 
missed, and we had a terrible argument. The next day, his nurse practictioner 
could not believe that some tests had not been performed on me. 
Later that morning Dr. Tom Mathews came in and said he took the
blame for my poor care. Needless to say I now have a new cardioligist. 
The point here is, shouldn't someone at the hospital 
have questioned why I wasn't being looked after by a doctor ? 
When I showed Dr. Tim Mathews my IV's and bloody bed clothes he went to the 
desk and raised hell. The bed clothes were changed, but no one ever took 
care of my IV's. I finally pulled the last one (already half out), because 
of the pain. 
 
After the morning angioplasty, Dr. Tim Mathews said the tube in my leg 
would be removed within six or seven hours. It was removed long after that 
(approximately 2:00 am), and only after I complained. 
One nurse told me they were going to wait until the next 
day to do it. The nurse that finally came to do it was from another floor, 
and she was so tired from overwork she was almost in tears. 
 
During the second night, after the angioplasty, an older gentlemen was 
brought into my room. He was unable to keep from defacating. I had asked if 
the alarms in the room could be shut off or at least lowered in volume, 
and was told that wasn't possible. Therefore, he would fall asleep, only to 
be wakened by the constant alarms, at which time he would defacate again. 
This kept happening until I was able to convince two nurses to try and 
figure out how to shut off the alarms in the room. They did, he fell into a 
deep sleep, no more messes to clean up, and the nurses were able to go on to 
their other work. Of course, by this time I was very upset, and asked the 
nurse why I didn't have the private room I had requested. Her answer, 
"Around here private rooms are the luck of the draw." Her flippant answer 
aside, the point is that the 
alarms sound at the desk. There is no need to have them activated in the 
rooms too, unless no one is keeping track at the desk. 
 
During my stay the hospital decided to test the fire alarms 
THREE times in a twenty four hour period. During one test an anouncement was 
made that some part of the monitoring system was down, and that everyone 
should check their patients right away. You can probably guess that no one 
checked on me. 
 
And this brings me to the main reason for this letter. 
I would repeatedly hear the day people blame the night people for not doing 
their jobs, and vice versa. 
However, I saw many of these people really trying to keep up, but couldn't. 
At other times it seemed that the chatter going on at the nurses station 
could have waited until after some attention to care - the bed wasn't 
changed, the meal tables sat in the room until the next meal, requests were 
ignored - perhaps the discussion of the prior day's television programs 
could have been postponed a bit until those duties were completed. 
My feeling is that the hospital is dangerously understaffed. I do not blame 
the nurses for my terrible care. I blame the hospital administration, 
and part of what convinced me that there is a problem is that I asked if 
the hospital had downsized, and of course it had. 
Another very revealing item is your chart dealing with getting the patients 
out sooner! Reading this chart, posted prominently on the wall, made me 
realize that I would never stay at Rochester General again. 
Rewarding the staff for getting the patients out sooner ??? 
 
Lastly, I went to my GP for a follow up two weeks later, but the hospital hadn't 
sent him any of my reports although I had been assured the paperwork would 
be forwarded. When he finally did receive the reports, he was surprised that 
some tests had not been done. 
 
I am submitting this letter in hopes that it will wake someone up to a very 
dangerous situation. While I was very impressed with the expertise of the 
team performing the angioplasty, I can only hope the rest of the hospitals 
in Rochester are better managed regarding patient care and followup and 
"customer service" in general.

Sincerely,

 David R. Kaspersin

Via Health
150 North Chesnet Street
Rochester NY 14604

April 14, 1999

Dear Mr. Kaspersin:

Thank you for taking the time to write me describing your 
recent stay in Rochester General Hospital.

We pride ourselves in the attention and care we provide to
 each of our patients and, for that reason, your letter is particularly distressing.
Your documentation of concerns will be helpful for us to determine 
where there may have been a breakdown in procedure and to address
the concerns you raised.

Be assured that I take your comments seriously
and will communicate with you after we
have had the opportunity to review your case with those directly involved.

Sincerely,

Roger S. Hunt
President and CEO

cc:  R.Constantino, MD
     D.Zimmerman, MS, RN, C


If you have a story to tell send it to me and I'll add it to this page. 
I do not publish names or email addresses unless requested.
by you.


UPDATE: Via Health closed one of their hospitals, The Genesee Hospital on 05/18/2001.
I believe Rochester would not have lost this very valuable resource if the Via Health
management knew what they were doing, and if they weren't so way over paid !
While the hospital was losing 2 million a month, the exects were building new luxury 
offices. 

Dave Kaspersin


Rochester, NY - At one minute after midnight this morning, 
Genesee Hospital's emergency department officially closed down. 

An hour later, these words were read over emergency scanners 
by Colleen Claus, Genesee's medical secretary:

"After 114 years of service to the Rochester Community, 
we are forced to close our doors. To all area hospitals, 
city clinics, and emergency personnel, it has been a 
privilege to have been able to work with you. To the 
Rochester community in general, thanks for allowing us 
to be an integral part of your lives. We wish you all 
the very best. 
This is KGN-478 Genesee Hospital signing off for the last time."



Update Jan, 2004

I haven't been sick in four years. Thank God, as I do not want to
go to a hospital again. I have heard many, many horror stories from friends
and people who work at hospitals. !

BUT:

This month I fell and received a concussion.

SO.

I thought I would try a different hospital.
I went to Park Ridge and the experience was so bad
I can't even print everything here !
And again I observed the staff are 
WAY UNDER STAFFED, AND WHY OVERWORKED !
I will think hard and long before I go to another hospital !



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    doctor, still groggy from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage
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    and help women with breast cancer get the care they need and
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Please take the minute to sign on to LIFTIME and sign the petition!
 
Thanks!
 
Joni Singer and Lou Sliwinski



Two doctors and an HMO manager died and lined up at 
         the pearly gates for admission to heaven.  
         St. Peter  asked them to identify themselves.
         One doctor stepped forward and said, "I was a
         pediatric spine surgeon and helped kids overcome 
         their deformities." St. Peter said, "You also can enter."
     
         The second doctor said, "I was a psychiatrist. 
         I helped people rehabilitate themselves."
         St. Peter also invited him in.
     
         The third applicant stepped forward and said, "I 
         was an HMO manager. I helped people get
         cost-effective health care." St. Peter said, 
         "You can come in, too."  As the HMO manager walked by, St. Peter 
         quietly added, "but you can only stay three days..... 
         After that you can go to hell.

Q. What does HMO stand for?

    A. This is actually a variation of the phrase, "Hey, Moe!"  Its roots go 

back to a concept pioneered by Doctor Moe Howard, who discovered that a 

patient could be made to forget about the pain in his foot if  he was poked 

hard enough in the eyes. Modern practice replaces the physical finger poke 

with hi-tech equivalents such as voice mail and referral slips,but the result 

remains the same.



  Q. Do all diagnostic procedures require pre-certification?

    A. No. Only those you need.



    Q. I just joined a new HMO. How difficult will it be to choose the doctor 

I want?

    A. Just slightly more difficult than choosing your parents.  Your insurer 

will provide you with a book listing all the doctors who were participating 

in the plan at the time the information was gathered. These doctors basically 

fall into two categories -- those who are no longer accepting new patients, 

and those who will see you but are no longer part of the plan.  But don't 

worry -- the remaining doctor who is still in the plan and accepting new 

patients has an office just a half day's drive away!



    Q. What are pre-existing conditions?

    A. This is a phrase used by the grammatically challenged when they want 

to talk about existing conditions.  Unfortunately, we appear to be pre-stuck 

with it.



    Q. Well, can I get coverage for my pre-existing conditions?

    A. Certainly, as long as they don't require any treatment.



    Q. What happens if I want to try alternative forms of medicine?

    A. You'll need to find alternative forms of payment.



    Q. My pharmacy plan only covers generic drugs, but I need the name brand. 

I tried the generic medication, but it gave me a stomach ache. What should I 

do?

    A. Poke yourself in the eye.



    Q. I have an 80/20 plan with a $200 deductible and a $2,000 yearly cap. 

My insurer reimbursed the doctor for my out-patient surgery, but I'd already 

paid my bill. What should I do?

    A. You have two choices. Your doctor can sign the reimbursement check 

over to you, or you can ask him to invest the money for you in one of those 

great

offers that only doctors and dentists hear about, like windmill farms or frog 

hatcheries.



  Q. What should I do if I get sick while traveling?

    A. Try sitting in a different part of the bus.



    Q. No, I mean what if I'm away from home and I get sick?

    A. You really shouldn't do that. You'll have a hard time seeing your 

primary care physician. It's best to wait until you return, and then get sick.



    Q. I think I need to see a specialist, but my doctor insists he can 

handle my problem. Can a general practitioner really perform a heart 

transplant right in his office?

    A. Hard to say, but considering that all you're risking is the $10 

co-payment, there's no harm giving him a shot at it.



    Q. What accounts for the largest portion of healthcare costs?

    A. Doctors trying to recoup their investment losses.



    Q. Will health care be any different in the next century?

    A. No, but if you call right now, you might get an appointment by then.


Email to:drk@dyrec.com 
Click here to send me a letter.