Quick Poll
Will you or someone in your family benefit from the new Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic on Highway 34?
- Yes: 19
- No: 17
- Maybe: 7
Total Votes:
Published Monday, July 28, 2008 in Opinion
Cancer center seen as negative
Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is a privately held, for-profit, Illinois-based company that owns and operates small hospitals that cater to insured or otherwise affluent persons seeking treatment for various oncological (cancer) conditions. In 2008, CTCA successfully lobbied the Georgia legislature to enact special legislation which exempts it from other laws that not-for-profit, community hospitals must comply with through Certificate of Need laws. CTCA has approached officials in several counties, including Coweta, seeking financial inducements to build a specialty cancer hospital.
In 2005, Coweta's community rallied behind Piedmont Healthcare in Piedmont's quest to bring a long-needed, state-of-the-art hospital to Coweta County. The promised new $175 million facility is well into the design development phase and is still on track for a groundbreaking later this year. Our community is now poised to support a new facility which is designed to offer a broad scope of high quality service to its citizens.
Should CTCA be built here, it will compete with Piedmont Newnan Hospital for medical and surgical oncology services, targeting insured patients. Medicare, Medicaid, under-insured and un-insured patients are not patients to whom CTCA caters. While Piedmont Newnan Hospital would continue its community mission to treat patients unable to pay for their services through the emergency room, CTCA has no such obligation. Additionally, the proposed CTCA hospital would conceivably be opening about the same time our new facility would be. The implication there is that the CTCA facility will be competing for an already inadequate supply of skilled nurses and technicians, negatively affecting our ability to appropriately staff our new acute care hospital when it opens.
I certainly hope that the citizens of this county will take heed of the negative implications of CTCA building a hospital here and would be equally appalled as I that representatives of local development agencies might financially encourage such.
G. Michael Bass
(Bass is president/CEO Piedmont Newnan Hospital)
Comment On This Story
Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.
Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.
I don't know if you have ever been to the CTCA but I had the honor of visiting the Zion, IL location with my sister who is fighting stage 3 breast cancer. She started her treatment in Fayetteville and was not having a good experience. Our entire family took it as how could you have a good experience with cancer. Then my sister looked further and found the CTCA and WOW what a difference in her attitude and feelings in general. If you know anything about cancer you know the mind is very important in fighting the disease. The attitude of the CTCA employees is enough to make anyone happy. Maybe if Piedmont Hospital would clean house and get rid of the people that don't want to be there we wouldn't want a better facility here. CTCA blows Piedmont out of the water.
Posted by Debra Carter at 3:00 PM
All of the other cancer centers have to fight for a certificate of need (CON) for their centers. This often results in cancer centers fighting each other over territory and suing each other in courts for months or years. The limited number of CONs keeps patients with good insurance going to hospitals along with no insurance patients. This usually allows the CON centers to bring in enough revenue to purchase better equipment. CTCA not being subject to this rule will allow them to build a center that will treat out of state or local patients with good insurance while leaving the no or limited insurance patients with the two other cancer centers in the area. This will eventually cause a degradation of equipment at the other two centers treating the no or limited insurance patients. As much as I hate regulation, I feel strongly that all cancer centers should compete for patients on a level playing field. This will allow competition and drive upgrades that provide more precise treatments and lower radiation exposures during treatment for everyone.
Posted by MJB at 1:38 PM
The hospital in Newnan is a joke. It has gotten to where I don't even want to go there. And don't be fooled by Summit urgent care being available. If you are insured and have a papp clinic based doctor , you have to pay full price at Summit. But it was well worth it when my little girl was sick. Healthcare based around Papp clinic sucks but its about the only game in town. Wonder why?
Posted by What a joke at 10:59 AM
No kidding-and I think the shortage at Newnan has alot to do with the caustic environment either burning them out or causing a exodus that leads anywhere out of the county. If I am going to die from something, I would rather be at the specialty hospital trying, than at Newnan, trying to survive the "make do or else" staffing strategy of a management team interested in surviving Piedmont layoffs to collect their own paychecks.
Posted by Marie at 2:49 AM
You can take the Name out of the hospital, but you can't take the hospital out of the name. No matter how many hospitals you build here, as long as the same doctors/staff run it, it will still go on to kill folks that go there or do a good job trying. I go to after hours before I go to ER here and I damn sure not going there for cancer I don't care how bright and shiny they get.
Posted by Susan at 5:02 PM
With my son in nursing school. GOOD. Glad that there will be competition for his services. Rather him stay in GA than go to another state because of pay.
Posted by John Martinez at 5:01 PM
Thankfully, I have not personally had to deal with cancer so far in my life. However, I do have another chronic illness that is very rare and has greatly affected my life. No one, including the physicians, at Piedmont Newnan Hospital knows very much about it nor do they seem to be interested in learning about it. Ever single trip to that hospital is totally exasperating. I was just thinking yesterday, after I spent another useless night in the ER, that I wish there was another facility here not connected to Piedmont. But instead, I must go to a hospital in another state to receive proper, state of the art treatment from specialists in this field. Otherwise, at Newnan, I am treated like a child because THEY refuse to admit they are not educated in a certain area. With that said, in the event I should ever develop cancer, I would welcome the CHOICE of CTCA VS Piedmont Newnan Hospital. They specialize in just cancer. They offer conventional cancer treatments plus more holistic type approaches as well. Don't be fooled by Mr. Bass and his 'concern' for the citizens of our community. He is concerned about one thing and it is not us.
Posted by ~Addyson~ at 10:51 AM
Is the objection to the CTCA Hospital because of the treatment offered or the fact that it will be competition for existing resources?
Posted by Donald Finney at 9:00 AM
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Emailed
- Commented
- Bank robbery suspect nabbed by NPD
- VA Clinic grand opening Friday
- Newnan is finalist to land Korean industry
- Cougars hold back Indians
- Coweta Health Department again out of H1N1 vaccine
- 30th anniversary band festival Saturday at NHS
- County to cut overgrowth along Hwy. 34
- Election day: Something old, new on city councils
- Newnan offense comes to life in fourth to hold back Indians
- Downtown Newnan weekend bringing glimpse of holidays
- Downtown Newnan weekend bringing glimpse of holidays
- Census team testing for jobs at Powell Library Friday
- Newnan among 'Great Places in Georgia' State award '...is a great honor for our city.'
- Newnan is finalist to land Korean industry
- Waivers granted for Southern Living Idea House in Senoia
- 30th anniversary band festival Saturday at NHS
- Auction benefits ECHS drama group
- Man fined for 911 call over missing McDonald's OJ
- Central Baptist on collectible 2009 ornament
- Big Bird's still huge as 'Sesame Street' hits 40
- Newnan offense comes to life in fourth to hold back Indians
- Coweta Health Department again out of H1N1 vaccine
- Indians offense to be challenged by Newnan 'D'
- Tribute to veterans tonight by Northgate High Viking Band
- County to cut overgrowth along Hwy. 34
- Tall grass on Highway 34 small example of budget crisis pitting state vs. local governments
- 30th anniversary band festival Saturday at NHS
- Gasoline prices continue roller coaster ride
- Check those water leaks; they can be costly
- Downtown Newnan weekend bringing glimpse of holidays
Hospital Employee suggests you check facts
11/23/2008
Link To This Comment
Before you trash any nurses and physicians who are in the life saving business, make sure you have your facts straight.Make sure you understand the staffing challenges a Hospital faces as opposed to a place that does not offer the same hope to people who have no insurance coverage. Really-think about it.
Posted by renee at 11:11 AM