The Observation Deck

Yesterday I got a call from Dr. Heckman Director of the new Lakewood Family Heath Center asking if I would like a tour of the finished Lakewood Family Health Care Center. I said sure, but Observer have a question that needs to be answered first. To which he answered and off we went.


Emergency Entrance


Trauma Triage Room






Emergency Room work stations.


X-Ray Room


Cat-Scan Room




















Typical exam room for outpatients and follow up.


















Lakewoodite Liz Maughans helped with art.


Back to the Emergency Room.

Dr. Heckman and crew did a fine job at this Health Center, but I for one still miss a Hospital!

You can see all of my photos from this exclusive walk through at:
http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... lk-through

Public unveiling June 30.

Thank you to Jenna and Heather for making all of my special access possible.

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Jim - The question you needed answered first??And more importantly ... the answer?

Peter Grossetti wrote:Jim - The question you needed answered first??And more importantly ... the answer?

There will be no surgeries at the Lakewood Family Health Center, all surgeries will be preformed at a CCF full hospital.

The list was put together from a marketing standpoint. They did not mean to have them read as they did. It was funny all on the tour mention The Lakewood Observer is something else. The ability to drill down instantly and find mistakes was pretty amazing.

It was explained to my satisfaction as I have a long history with some on the tour.

Dr. Heckman Director of the new Health Center is a stand up guy and from what I have been told a damn good doctor. He really wants to make this the best "Health Center" in the CCF. And he really wants to give Lakewoodites the best medical care that he can within these limitations.

Again, CCF did not ask to leave, Mayor Summers sent them an Request For Proposal on this Family Health Center, and closing Lakewood Hospital.

That is the facts, we have presented to documents.

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Thanks for the information.

It's a nice looking building.

How much is the facility fee?

How much is parking?

Are you invited to the party?

It sounds like "pre surgery" means pre surgery testing which is also available at the doctors office on Brockley and detroit.

Thanks.

And, does it cost more to go here than straight to a traditional emergency room? will I get a bad surprise when the statement comes in the mail?

Paul Schrimpf wrote:And, does it cost more to go here than straight to a traditional emergency room? will I get a bad surprise when the statement comes in the mail?

If you need an emergency room call 911 and ask to be taken to an emergency room attached to a hospital.

Bill Call wrote:

Paul Schrimpf wrote:And, does it cost more to go here than straight to a traditional emergency room? will I get a bad surprise when the statement comes in the mail?

If you need an emergency room call 911 and ask to be taken to an emergency room attached to a hospital.

Bill

Yes I was invited to the party, and other functions. I do not go for two reasons, 1) I cannot "party" with elected officials that sold out the city, lied to the residents, and continue to cover-up, hide and destroy the facts of how this happened.

2) I have zero interest in partying with the residents that orchestrated this debacle, have taken the foundation money and now gleefully give themselves jobs and access to it.

I would agree if it is serious, go to Fairview, go to Metro, go to a real hospital.

Paul, it would seem that it is costing between $1,000 and $2,500 for the second ride to a full hospital.

I will ask about the fees.

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From Emergency Services...

Less than 30% of the patients transported by LFD are admitted to the hospital most are treated and released from the ER. That means most of the patients transported by LFD could be successfully cared for at Lakewood and there would not be a transfer out.

There have been patients we took to Lakewood based on the symptoms being minor that were quickly treated and it was determined they needed to be transported elsewhere when those cases were brought to our attention LFD waived the bill so there was no double transport fee


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Nice looking building. If the City would take back its property and medical machinery and put it back across the street then maybe Metro General could make a good community hospital. Use that slick new building for a drive thru pet food store.

Stan Austin wrote:Nice looking building. If the City would take back its property and medical machinery and put it back across the street then maybe Metro General could make a good community hospital. Use that slick new building for a drive thru pet food store.

Stan

Full Service Lakewood Hospital is not coming back. This is what we have. That choice was made by Mayor Summers and his team many year ago. One reason why they lied, and continue to fight the release of public documents. Now his supporter can fault others, and other reasons that have proven to be false.

Dr. Jim Heckman, director of the Health Center has a good background from what I can find out. After speaking with him numerous times, like any manager, or director of a franchise, he wants this to be the best Family Health Center in the chain.

I wish City Hall would release all the documents and allow all of us to move on. It is the final piece of the puzzle, and I would have to be pretty bad for them to fight the release in court for nearly 3 years with the courts declaring them public. Again we should hold all elected officials to higher standard and one based on honesty, transparency and accountability. EVERYONE can make mistakes, but our government has always been set up for checks on its performance by the public. This is the first administration in Lakewood that I know fights in court the residents right to simply know and understand the facts. It is un-American.

We have an new emergency room, it is not connected to a full service hospital. We have to look no farther than City Hall for that fact.

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A recommendation on the eve of opening _ how 'bout a price board outside for typical procedures? Competition can only add to the knowledge required for a "Healthy Lakewood"

Stan Austin wrote:A recommendation on the eve of opening _ how 'bout a price board outside for typical procedures? Competition can only add to the knowledge required for a "Healthy Lakewood"

And that, truly, is the REAL “future of healthcare,” albeit one the Clinic is not adopting.

Prices will never go down when there is so much secrecy over the simple cost of a procedure. At some point, hospitals WILL be required to disclose costs up front, so that consumers can compare and choose between similar providers.

Bridget Conant wrote:

Stan Austin wrote:A recommendation on the eve of opening _ how 'bout a price board outside for typical procedures? Competition can only add to the knowledge required for a "Healthy Lakewood"

And that, truly, is the REAL “future of healthcare,” albeit one the Clinic is not adopting.

Prices will never go down when there is so much secrecy over the simple cost of a procedure. At some point, hospitals WILL be required to disclose costs up front, so that consumers can compare and choose between similar providers.

Actually

There is a desk, in the south west corner of the new Family Health Care Center on the first floor where anyone can sit down with a CCF person(s) and discuss health care costs and options. While not a menu, it was an are that seats two staff members so that you can hear before hand a variety of options, and a possible variety of outcomes for procedures, tests etc. within and potentially outside of the CCF health care system. I believe I took a photo in my first walk through.

While it is not a menu board, and certainly not a discounting system, and may not apply to those without insurance, it is a place where you can get information, prices, etc. before walking into the system. Of course this is not at the emergency room.

I would point out a few things. 1) CCF did not start the close down of Lakewood Hospital, that was Mayor Summers in 2 RFPs. The first one CCF refused to answer as they had a contract in place. 2) They are dedicated to serving Lakewood as best they can from this new Health Care Center. 3) When mistakes were made, they owned up and corrected immediately and very publicly. Something Lakewood City Hall and elected officials still refuse to do.

While it is easy to "hate the evil CCF" and we can see they were part of the decanting of Lakewood Hospital. For the most part they have been honest, and accountable for their actions. Something Lakewood City Hall and elected officials have not been. Also Lakewood City Hall owes the residents a high degree of transparency, something they continue to avoid, and fight in court against.

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