tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post2687062888398412869..comments2024-03-18T09:00:31.992-04:00Comments on Doctor Grumpy in the House: Things that make me grumpyGrumpy, M.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/09858110332436246760noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-78513026335291921852013-06-28T03:10:07.321-04:002013-06-28T03:10:07.321-04:00I work at MDA, and I am kind of tired of the email...I work at MDA, and I am kind of tired of the emails I have gotten from Dr DePinho about various scandals and how they aren't true. It started from the beginning of his presidency, and he has only been in this position two years! I wish he would step down; it is embarrassing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-47352123253390528312013-06-12T09:26:04.748-04:002013-06-12T09:26:04.748-04:00mmm nepotism at it's best.mmm nepotism at it's best. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-19523124441074570592013-06-10T21:49:33.835-04:002013-06-10T21:49:33.835-04:00http://www.factcheck.org/2011/01/congress-not-exem...http://www.factcheck.org/2011/01/congress-not-exempt-from-student-loans/<br />I case you want to know.Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02422033405836436980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-44025145224718038252013-06-09T09:50:52.029-04:002013-06-09T09:50:52.029-04:00I still am laughing that Mr Merville's first ...I still am laughing that Mr Merville's first retorical post was to the wrong byline...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-74938389483971112252013-06-08T08:43:30.118-04:002013-06-08T08:43:30.118-04:00Mr. Scott Merville,
Why do you need to spend ove...Mr. Scott Merville, <br /><br />Why do you need to spend over $26,000 on furniture for a 187 sq ft office? THAT is excessive. That is ridiculous. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-80794479016072287822013-06-08T04:05:27.663-04:002013-06-08T04:05:27.663-04:00One of the ways they could cut costs is to stop se...One of the ways they could cut costs is to stop sending us bills to show us that our balance is 0! My son is a patient there and every so often we get the same bill showing us that we have a zero balance. I have called and was told that this is routine. Can you imagine how much money this wastes?Melissiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04400720995551600134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-47225197900032543032013-06-05T18:42:57.667-04:002013-06-05T18:42:57.667-04:00Sounds like what is going on with Health Managemen...Sounds like what is going on with Health Management Associates. No vacation accrual for the next 5 months and no pay raise in the last year or this year. Yet the CEO has an effective pay raise of 17% http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/compensation-issues/pay-package-for-hma-ceo-gary-newsome-climbs-17-to-83m.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-47161703961571610682013-06-04T14:20:28.780-04:002013-06-04T14:20:28.780-04:00This does not jibe with the major Time Magazine st...This does not jibe with the major Time Magazine story from February which included the following from author Stephen Brill:<br /><br />"The hospital's hard-nosed approach pays off. Although it is officially a nonprofit unit of the University of Texas, MD Anderson has revenue that exceeds the cost of the world-class care it provides by so much that its operating profit for the fiscal year 2010, the most recent annual report it filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was $531 million. That's a profit margin of 26% on revenue of $2.05 billion, an astounding result for such a service-intensive enterprise.<br /><br />The president of MD Anderson is paid like someone running a prosperous business. Ronald DePinho's total compensation last year was $1,845,000. That does not count outside earnings derived from a much publicized waiver he received from the university that, according to the Houston Chronicle, allows him to maintain unspecified "financial ties with his three principal pharmaceutical companies."<br /><br />DePinho's salary is nearly two and a half times the $750,000 paid to Francisco Cigarroa, the chancellor of entire University of Texas system, of which MD Anderson is a part. This pay structure is emblematic of American medical economics and is reflected on campuses across the U.S., where the president of a hospital or hospital system associated with a university - whether it's Texas, Stanford, Duke or Yale - is invariably paid much more than the person in charge of the university."<br /><br />I'd like to hear the rep from MD Anderson defend or dispute this information.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-16928518268524442522013-06-04T11:23:55.238-04:002013-06-04T11:23:55.238-04:00And BTW, here's another good read from the per...And BTW, here's another good read from the perspective of a faculty member at MDACC:<br /><br />http://www.lenzwelling.blogspot.com/Happy Trails in Houstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08427931715651551331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-73792813835744473122013-06-04T11:21:35.874-04:002013-06-04T11:21:35.874-04:00@Anon, 6/4. One error doesn't make the whole ...@Anon, 6/4. One error doesn't make the whole story bu11shit, and if you're not a follow on drone merely posting what your masters have to say, perhaps you'd care to point out what other errors contained within the post make it *all* bull5hit?<br /><br />You might want to read the article in the local paper BEFORE you respond to this post:<br />http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/During-tough-times-UT-OK-d-550-000-office-4570155.phpHappy Trails in Houstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08427931715651551331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-24541079602208295952013-06-04T09:20:31.400-04:002013-06-04T09:20:31.400-04:00Grumpy, when are you going to retract this story s...Grumpy, when are you going to retract this story since it's obviously bullsh*t? Did you honestly think she had a 25,000 sq ft office? A bit gullible aren't we? Be a man and admit you were wrong. But you won't...it's too easy to hide behind a keyboard. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-49189892595547744382013-06-03T02:38:15.997-04:002013-06-03T02:38:15.997-04:00I don't know about the others, but only people...I don't know about the others, but only people who sign up to teach in low income schools get their loans covered out of all teachers. So they have to commit to doing what is essentially community service for a certain number of years before they can have their student loans forgiven.Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07902764475071156504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-76046329725264777572013-06-03T00:46:48.158-04:002013-06-03T00:46:48.158-04:00Hi Dr. Grumpy,
Dr. Depinho has been at MDA for l...Hi Dr. Grumpy, <br /><br />Dr. Depinho has been at MDA for less than two years, yet the damage done under him in such a short time has set the place back decades. Very sad. <br /><br />-EZ in TX<br /><br /><a href="http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2012/06/m-d-anderson-president-goes-on-cnbc-extols-his-own-company/" rel="nofollow">Dr. DePinho: Stupid, Sleazy or P-Whooped?</a>.EZkeeperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15445696107431145276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-43066484703655106262013-06-01T20:42:36.562-04:002013-06-01T20:42:36.562-04:00Wake Forest Baptist Health employees rec'd a v...Wake Forest Baptist Health employees rec'd a very, very similar email (almost same language) in a very, very similar situation. Greed is destroying it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-752279206790640022013-06-01T00:04:59.961-04:002013-06-01T00:04:59.961-04:00Dear Scott,
Is your hospital incapable of saving m...Dear Scott,<br />Is your hospital incapable of saving money year to year? "We spent that money last year, so it has no relation to our problems this year" does not make any sense or help your position.<br /><br />P.S. Your "P.S." would make more sense written as "note:" or "edit:" <br />Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-70257976455872166102013-05-31T20:27:06.464-04:002013-05-31T20:27:06.464-04:00Nice spin, Scott or whatever worker drone is posti...Nice spin, Scott or whatever worker drone is posting under you name.<br /><br />MD Anderson won't be getting anymore of my money.<br /><br />Research medicine is getting just as vulgar as the government. Oh little worker drones, you simply don't understand...<br /><br />Blah.<br /><br />Impi<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-84243506709569487042013-05-31T15:59:09.541-04:002013-05-31T15:59:09.541-04:00Well, Scott sure took the wind out of my proposed ...Well, Scott sure took the wind out of my proposed posting rant! One of us should drive down to Texas to see this first hand. Any volunteers?bunkywisenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-62377328376577849502013-05-31T13:24:37.895-04:002013-05-31T13:24:37.895-04:00Dear Dr. Grumpy:
If a single office suite at MD An...Dear Dr. Grumpy:<br />If a single office suite at MD Anderson was really larger than a house and many times the size of your office, your grumpiness would be understandable. However, that’s simply not the case for the renovation of 12,000 square feet of office and lab space to accommodate our Department of Genomic Medicine and our Institute for Applied Cancer Science.<br /><br />Dr. Lynda Chin’s office is 187 square feet and the cost of her furniture was $20,251. This compares with 160 square feet and $15,000 for the average department chair at MD Anderson. Her suite includes a 121-square-foot meeting room and 124 square feet for office space for her assistant.<br /><br />None of this is out of line for a scientist and leader who both chairs an academic department and serves as scientific director of an institute designed to improve the efficiency and speed of cancer drug development.<br /><br />Dr. Chin is one of the world’s leading experts on cancer genomics, a crucial field that is helping us better understand abnormalities that drive tumor survival and growth in order to better treat and prevent cancer. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and serves in leadership roles for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) of the National Institutes of Health and the International Cancer Genome Consortium.<br /><br />Out of this $1.5 million renovation project, $547,434 covered furniture and renovations for 9,000 square feet of space for multiple offices and meeting rooms for IACS and the department. The balance of about $900,000 was invested in converting biology labs to chemistry labs by adding fume hoods and modifying mechanical, electrical and plumbing to accommodate that use.<br /><br />Planning for this renovation began in the fall of 2011 and the project was completed in 2012, so it’s unrelated to MD Anderson’s current fiscal challenges. <br />Many thanks<br />Scott Merville<br />External Communications<br />The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center<br /><br />PS -- I accidentally posted to the wrong blogpost first.<br />Scott Mervillenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-48877034076177399172013-05-31T10:59:17.550-04:002013-05-31T10:59:17.550-04:00I work for a hospital in Connecticut and the state...I work for a hospital in Connecticut and the state has for some years been "taxing" hospitals, using those "taxes" to get matching federal money, and then returning both the "taxes" and the matching funds to the hospitals, all to pay for the care of uninsured/underinsured patients. (Of something like that. It's very confusing.)<br /><br />We're so broke as a state that they've decided not to return any of the money to the hospitals. (They need it, not to pay off the massive deficit, but to pay for new entitlement spending.)<br /><br />There was a local town-hall type meeting a few months ago at which some of hospital admin pointed out how damaging these cuts would be. (Over $10M per year for us, and we're a small, community hospital). What wasn't reported in the paper and I heard about from a fellow staffer who was there, was the folks from state pointing out that we are a non-profit and some of our higher admin make seven figure salaries, so they assumed we couldn't be hurting that much.<br /><br />Of course <i>I've</i> seen about a 3% total raise over the last 4 years, lost my employer health insurance since they dropped my plan, (the only plan I am now eligible for costs more than the family Tricare total out of pocket expenses for the year, so I'm saving them a ton of money I won't see a penny of), and they've cut my department budget 5% each of the last three years, except for last year which was a 15% cut.<br /><br />I'm not bitter. Much.Library-Gryffonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06446982343602702829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-8413330052007149862013-05-31T09:29:28.128-04:002013-05-31T09:29:28.128-04:00You tell it like it is, and I appreciate that. The...You tell it like it is, and I appreciate that. The issue with MD Anderson royally pisses me off. Absolutely ridiculous, always makes me wonder where our "donations" are going.Beth Gainerhttp://www.bethgainer.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-42659937317832598052013-05-31T00:31:25.471-04:002013-05-31T00:31:25.471-04:00This needs to be on the front page of the "Ne...This needs to be on the front page of the "New York Times." We wonder why there are absolutely no cures for any diseases. <br /><br />There is corruption in medicine, as anywhere else. Many in the field have missed their calling as politicians. Cinch your belts tight your peonic underlings and try hard not to starve as we magnanimously allow you to eat cake. It's the MD Anderson way. Yes, we believe in research, improved treatments and cures. FAIL. Gag. <br /><br />Wonder what their house looks like. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-7552223217802402442013-05-30T22:02:26.835-04:002013-05-30T22:02:26.835-04:00To add insult to injury, apparently MD Anderson is...To add insult to injury, apparently MD Anderson is particularly aggressive about getting payment from patients - they were the first example in the TIME article:<br />http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/272-39/16241-time-why-medical-bills-are-killing-usBarbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13378199204420558607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-20470644255997881092013-05-30T21:49:23.933-04:002013-05-30T21:49:23.933-04:00Wait....your drywall is painted?! You sir are liv...Wait....your drywall is painted?! You sir are living the life. ;)Justinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-15294381790404677522013-05-30T18:59:13.892-04:002013-05-30T18:59:13.892-04:00Wow, that was depressing. Lovely taste in furnishi...Wow, that was depressing. Lovely taste in furnishings, but totally unconscionable cost.Bobbinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5883634615775822475.post-15004746889206852952013-05-30T16:16:11.926-04:002013-05-30T16:16:11.926-04:00The thing about public servants not paying back th...The thing about public servants not paying back their loans seems to be an exaggerated account of Public Servant Loan forgiveness. <br /><br />In 2007, Congress created the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work full-time in public service jobs. Under this program, borrowers may qualify for forgiveness of the remaining balance due on their eligible federal student loans after they have made 120 payments on those loans under certain repayment plans while employed full time by certain public service employers. <br /><br />http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/charts/public-service<br />SharonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com