Jackson Jambalaya

Uhh… Someone needs to tell tater that cutting pork barrel fat is directly opposed to “Mississippi Values”

What are they building in the city of Madison? They are building on Bozeman Road. I was thinking since they are basically land locked and covered with crime, they might be inching their way out of Jackson.

Sounds fine to me and that truth bomb about beds and staff was quite needed from The Tater. You are already short staffed yet need our money to build another building that may never actually be used. Yeeeeeah. Puck UMC.

I'd rather receive a tax refund--

No wonder it is one of the worst rated med schools in this country.

Now get rid of C.O.N. requirements for private medical facilities and require it for, and only for, government owned facilities, including UMMC and state and county Health Department stuff.

Tater said, "Furthermore, they currently have enough money to willingly turn away patients on private insurance..."
Translation, I don't want to lose the contribution from BCBS so I'd rather screw the hospital that provides indigent care.

Good job Tate...for once.

Best students these days go to William Carey medical school in Hattiesburg.
Best zoo in the state Hattiesburg.
Best mayor ; Toby Barker

I might even consider voting for Tate after that statement. Too bad he didn’t man up to UMMC or Dobbs a year ago.

LouAnne didn't need another cookie jar to steal from anyway.

12:23. WM Carey Med School better than UMC? It's a DO program. not a fully fledged medical school.

They had to build one because their grads couldnt get to UMC...

William Carey has a D.O. program- not a medical school.

Good!

@12:33 can't argue that Hattiesburg is better than Jackson, but I can damn sure tell you that the best students do not go to William Carey by choice. Not even close. I you are accepted to both UMMC & WC I promise you the candidate is going to pick UMMC every time short of WC giving them a free ride. Even then, UMMC has some of the lowest medical school tuition in the country plus a solid scholarship endowment. William Carey can't compete with that reputation, price point, and doesn't have that endowment or alumni support. I'm involved in GME residency and fellowship, sit in the room when lists of applicants are ranked. The name of your institution carries so much weight I cannot over state this. if the program director doesn't know your school it doesn't matter how good your board scores. You are not going. At my prior hospital in North Carolina (usually #2 or #3 in USWN internal medicine) and my current hospital in Nashville (SEC!), they will not consider you if the school is new or an unrecognized name, especially a new DO program. WC does not make the rank list. Is that fair? No, but that's how it is and every GME applicant knows it.

UMMC name recognition and candidates reputation are strong nationwide in both medicine and surgery. William Carey does NOT have the name recognition, prestige, or extensive alumin base. It hurts them badly during Match Season if their candidates are applying anywhere outside of the state or region.

That said, DO programs are good, they get a bad rap, and some of the finest doctors I work with are DOs. William Carey will do good things. But they are young and unknown. DO applicants from more established programs do not have as much trouble as long as their scores are good. I bet William Carey produces damn fine doctors. If you're wanting to do family medicines AND stay in Mississippi you should look at William Carey. Anyone else should be trying hard for MD if wanting to leave or specialize in anything competitive

William Carey is, most certainly, a medical school. Just because it is osteopathic-based rather than allopathic-based doesn't disqualify it from being called a medical school. The hospitals that they use are not "academic medical centers." UMMC is different and unique (in Mississippi) in that regard.

And William Carey attracts students from all over the southeast. And I would daresay that they aren't as "woke" as UMMC is regarding their admission policies. Read into that what you will.

The Governor is right in this. No need to allot Covid-relief funds to bankroll UMMC's expansionary vision.

1:59. Id rather see a nurse practitioner than a DO for anything.

ones life is too valuable to see a doctor who isn’t an MD.

Is it true Lou Ann makes a million dollar salary?

2:16 : Depends on the application of knowledge and how much YOU put into your own health. NP's are the queens of "strep" IMO. Why is everything strep ?

The only argument he may have is the additional Medicaid money that UMMC receives, but remember that UMMC is a catch all hospital because it is a state institution. When nobody else will treat the patient, UMMC does. When nobody else can treat a patient due to complexity of case, UMMC does. I am all for fiscal responsibility, but that facility takes more patients that others can't and won't. If their facilities are not up to snuff, it will be another reason why people don't work there.

Ole Miss had an endowment of $750 million dollars and they want the citizens of Mississippi to pay for this building in one of the worst locations in Jackson! GIVE ME ABREAK! Spend your own money on this property to be located in that gun target

The MSMA folks are out in full force today!

I hope to see a veto of the $20,000,000 in Hinds County bonds for a parking garage behind the bowling alley in Fondren. That was stuck in Senate Bill 3150. Does the governor have that authority?
https://www.northsidesun.com/parking-garage-plans-underway-fondren-senate-okays-20-million

I agree with Tate this time. Good rationale.

12:33, William Carey is a DO school, not medical school. Often people go there when they can't get into a medical school.

Kudos Governor. I like your reasoning.

I've just started seeing an D.O. in Southaven. He says they are M.D.s. Did he lie to me. I think a couple of you are full of shit.

I’m a Tater hater but he done good on this one ;)

UMMC doesn't roll off the tongue, just change the name to UMC, what most call it anyway. Most abbreviations are three letters for a reason (CIA, DOD, FBI, SEC and the list goes on and on).

From the Mayo Clinic's website:

A doctor of osteopathic medicine (D.O.) is a fully trained and licensed doctor who has attended and graduated from a U.S. osteopathic medical school. A doctor of medicine (M.D.) has attended and graduated from a conventional medical school.

The major difference between osteopathic and allopathic doctors is that some osteopathic doctors provide manual medicine therapies, such as spinal manipulation or massage therapy, as part of their treatment.

After medical school, both M.D.s and D.O.s must complete residency training in their chosen specialties. They must also pass the same licensing examination before they can treat people and prescribe medications.

I think I'm going to trust both the Mayo Clinic and my own research over some crackpot commenters on a website known to draw visitors who are inclined not to believe in science, medicine, and doctors in the first place.

I bet they wish they would have negotiated quicker with BCBS now.

UMMC is the only level one trauma center in the state. Several other very high-quality hospitals in Jackson pay literally millions of dollars to lower their trauma center level in order to avoid taking care of injured patients because the work is unforgiving, resource-intensive, and financially difficult for hospitals to balance. Say what you will about UMMC or any other state institution, but if my family member were badly hurt that’s where I would want them to be taken care of.

I would like to see their line item budget. It’s our money! Why can’t UMC books be open to the public? I think we would be horrified of their extravagant spending. We may have another Nancy New on our hands.

I have practiced in the Jackson Metro Area (Yup, MD from UMC/residency & fellowship from TX Med Ctr Houston and prior clinical professor BCOM) since the mid-1990's. I have quit counting or even thinking about the couple of thousand patients I've cared for, that UMMC "wouldn't take their insurance". These folks are primarily from rural areas and tend to be compliant with Plan of Care, are covered by a variety of Medicare Advantage (Disadvantage?) plans, e.g. United Healthcare; Cigna; Humana; Windsor) or a Medicaid plan (e.g. UHC MSCan; Magnolia).
The FACT that UMMC consistently turns down these patients should be investigated. Period. It continues to amaze me how a patient may have "regular" Medicare/Medicaid, and if they change to an "Advantage" plan, these citizens are immediately dismissed. They present to our clinic upon referral, sans appropriate records, and the multiple attempts to obtain prior records from UMMC is a sad joke. Shameful, and a consistent pattern at UMMC. "Our" non-public medical institution and clinics do not discriminate based upon what M'care/M'caid or private insurance plan the patient possesses. UMMC is also competing unfairly as the physicians there can work in the ever-expanding collection of clinics in Flowood/Brandon/Madison/Ridgeland/Grenada and the professors/residents are IMMUNE from malpractice claims. Look up the precedent case of a certain neurosurgeon working at a certain hospital on N State St, in which the case went all the way to the MS Supreme Court. UMC/UMC neurosurgeon was excused due to immunity from malpractice lawsuits, and the private-practice anesthesiologist/hospital/post-op caring physicians all endured a malpractice lawsuit. Another case of double-dipping and an unfair advantage against those of us in private practice.
Governor Reeves, with whom I don't usually agree with (latest is "Confederate History Month"), provided an excellent explanation for his veto. Kudos to him. UMMC and their issue with BCBS may blow up in their set of incompetent faces.

I am a former UMC medical graduate, a practicing MS physician, and a former UMC FACULTY member.

I dont tweet or facebook or participate in whatever other social media cancers there are out there.

I am a libertarian and not a big fan of Gov Reeves.

I am not a member of msma and dont shill for them.

But Tate is 100% CORRECT on this one and he should be applauded for having the gumption to do this.

UMC has TAXPAYER FUNDED facilities spread all over the jackson area, including buying up and or running hospitals in Grenada, Lexington, and using most small er emergency rooms for a 100 mile radius as their referral base by employing umc paid nurse practitioners (NOT doctors) in these ER’s.

I have Blue cross insurance and just recently went to see my umc specialist in his expensive, expansive, brand new suburban clinic clinic, built with taxpayer $$ and well-staffed with state employees. I was treated like a deadbeat and told I was now classified as “self-pay” by umc because they are currently in a spat with blue cross and are refusing care to blue cross patients. I paid for my visit with CASH because I like my Dr and needed the visit.

Unfortunately many people in this state dont have this option. I am fortunate but I have a good income because I went to school about 27 yrs, borrowed over $100,000 at 9.5% interest so I could be a doctor, and work 70-80 hrs a week when many people my age are retired or on disability.

99% of the dumb-butt legislators in this state mistakenly think umc operates as some sort of “charity hospital.” Nothing could be further than the truth. I have tried many many times to transfer extremely ill patients needing specialty care to umc - only to be told “ummc doesn’t accept their insurance” - even a recent patient needing an organ TRANSPLANT.

Ummc is a for profit endeavor that gets huge amounts of taxpayer support. During covid they shut down beds and now operate at limited capacity because it was too expensive to hire and keep nursing and other staff, despite running their own nursing school also. They still operate at this very limited capacity so they can pick and choose which patients to accept for treatment.

In truth most all hospitals do this - so stop believing the lies spewed by those that claim your hospital is full because of covid patients. The hospitals want to be at 100% capacity all the time so they can maximize their profits. Its simple economics 101.

Finally- yes DO’s are doctors and most are very good ones. A DO has 4 yrs of college, 4 yrs of medical school, and 3-7 yrs of allopathic residency training before he or she can treat you.

A nurse practitioner can have as little as 2 yrs college, 2 yrs nursing school, then enters NP school the day of graduation from nsg school. Within about 18 mo later they can be seeing patients without physician direct supervision. NP’s have to have 750 hrs of “clinical training” which can be mostly just following a doctor around and watching.

I spent 750 hours of clinical training in the first 8 WEEKS of my internship. Probably much less. In 4 yrs of post graduate medical training (after 4 yrs of medical school) I probably had some 16,000 hours of “clinical training” (80-100 hrs per week x 50 weeks/yr x 4 yrs. Thus- 16,000 hrs (after I became a “doctor” i.e., NOT counting med school) vs 750.

Take your pick.

Boy Howdy and y’all wondering why I am taking my13th check with me to another state.

Tate didn't do this out of his great love for the taxpayers. There something in it for him.

"After all, throughout COVID, we always had adequate bed capacity for patients."

So why did the UMC have to turn the parking garages into temporary facilties and add more beds in them?

11:06 pm - I am closely familiar with the rush project to turn those parking garages into temporary hospital bed areas. They never put any patients in them. They didn't have to - it was due to a wad of federal money to do so, and UMMC got some infrastructure for future use out of the deal. Just one of many government boondoggles associated with the "scam-demic".

@9:26 p.m.

I agree with this doctor and learned a lot from the lengthy and informative post. I especially concur with the doc’s assessment of the value of nurse practitioners. They are huge profit centers for physicians but are not capable of providing anything close to the level of care that a physician can provide. Or a veteran RN, for that matter.

Oh, the doc said he or she was a “former UMC medical graduate.” Sorry, a person cannot be a “former” graduate of any school. It is like saying, “I used to be a graduate of Ole Miss.” I know-picky picky.

BCBSMS is sitting on a TON of extra money, has a strangle hold on this state, and you want to blame UMMC? BCBSMS must be paying Tater. Look, UMMC ain’t perfect, but to be ugly to them about BCBSMS when they have 740 million in reserves….

6:50 : Or maybe LouAnne was asking for to much grease for her own pocket ?

What are endowment funds for if not to be used to “better” the university? Use the endowment fund to improve the med. center rather than for free tickets, trips, parties, unmentionable expenses, etc. How long can the most arrogant school in the south be allowed to get away with this mess?

11:06 : Yeah, Tater let one slip didn't he. If folks would just open their mind and look close.....

If the post at 5:59 is accurate, and I believe it is, that is appalling! To think the state's only teaching hospital would engage in such a fraudulent ripoff of available federal funds!

This is pretty damned close to what Nancy New and her son did. And a round-table of professionals with advanced degrees voted as a board to do it! Just one more reason I'm glad the governor vetoed the set aside for this institution.

Physician, cause no harm. But feel free to ripoff the taxpayers. Hell, it's free money!

Yep, you know if Tater Tot & his rosy cheeks ever get sick he better not go to UMMC. Just a warning from the wise, Anonymous!

2:52 pm ….worst part of Jackson? How much of jackson have you seen?

Would someone please investigate?

Were there entire floors of that hospital closed while they had press conferences in the garage “made for TV hospital wing” screaming about the horror and terror of Covid?

The fact that during COVID-19 UMMC let a lot of staff go in anticipation of low hospitalization rates due to passing on non-elective procedures, then hired out of state travel nurses at an exorbitant rate and wouldn't increase staff nursing pay tells me all I need to know about them. They piss on their loyal staff then roll out the red carpet to get them out of a bind doesn't sit well with me.

I would be hesitant to give UMMC a nickel until they get some financial folks who can do math. Folks in their billing department can't even add and subtract, and that is pretty much 100% of their job. They are hidden away somewhere off campus so you can't even go sit down with them to figure out their errors on your bill.

So, Reeves, who has clashed with Dr. Woodward, vetoes UMMC's appropriation but is just fine with $7 million going to Gulfport Memorial Hospital, a public not-for-profit hospital, whose CEO hosted a fundraiser for Tate at his home. The money is for a pediatric multi-specialty center "in collaboration with UMMC and Gulf Coast Community College."

Tate is also ok with giving $750,000 to East Jasper School District because someone there screwed up reporting their average daily attendance. (Senate Bill 3045; lines 398 - 401)

Tate is nothing but another sleazy politician that favors his friends and punishes those he doesn't like. Good public policy be damned.

I bet Tate will get a fat contribution from the insurance cartels for this. It’s all about the money, his money.

Emergency funding through MEMA paid for the higher-paid travel nurses.

A couple of observations about the MT story.

The same MT that is raising hell about the house GOP caucus meeting behind closed doors apparently has no problem with the legislators stuffing this $50 million appropriation behind closed doors and then rushing it through.

It also don't mention the special appropriation UMC gets for Medicaid reimbursements that no other hospital, public or private, gets in the state. UMC also gets other special benefits as well.

Of course, the project on the coast is a UMC project.

This appropriation was to fund the Ridgeland campus expansion. Of course, that expansion is going RIGHT NEXT to Barksdale's development that he is trying to cram through the Ridgeland Board of Aldermen.

What they are all raising hell about is the secret appropriation for the Ridgeland expansion. Just curious, who does that expansion serve, the rich or the poor?

Congratulations Tate, you made the correct decision. I would like to share my horror story with UMMC with Kingfish’s readers. I checked in to the emergency room a few years back at 12:30 PM. I was told I had appendicitis and needed emergency surgery immediately. They gave me shots that put me to sleep. When I woke up from the surgery, I learned that they had waited 12 hours to operate on me. Because of the delay I had developed gangrene, almost died, and had a seven-week hospital stay. Most appendix operations require one or two days stay. The following statement was in the Clarion Ledger that year:
“Out of the 33 hospitals rated in the state, UMMC was the only hospital to receive an F rating. The Hospital Safety Score is run by the independent, nonprofit hospital watchdog, The Leapfrog Group. The score was issued for the fall 2015 reporting period”.
On Monday, November 2, 2015, UMMC’s Vice Chancellor reported “We think the article was essentially accurate.” https://www.umc.edu/news/VCNotes/2015/11/Leapfrog-and-UMMC.html

Barksdalers speak out of both side of their mouths.

9:26 pm - "NP’s have to have 750 hrs of “clinical training” which can be mostly just following a doctor around and watching." Not anymore....
The MS Board of Nursing Board of Directors met on April 16, 2021, and voted to repeal Part 2840, Chapter 1, Rule 1.3 Monitored Practice Hours by an emergency temporary rule effective April 16, 2021. Therefore, monitored hours for APRNs are no longer required to practice in Mississippi. All other licensure requirements pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. Section 73-15-20 (7) and 30 Miss. Admin. Code Part 2840 continue to be mandatory for APRNs to practice in the state of Mississippi.

You have no cahonies KF have you gone "woke" ?

That was 7 years ago. UMC brought it up. UMC is currently rated a C by Leapfrog.

9:17 : Yes and all kinds of other false truths about The Covid. I was actually there Feb/March 2021 with a family member that was ill (not covid) and went room looking. Half were empty and I walked that place from end to end with no resistance or questions.