Mammoth Hospital speaks
Incoming Chief of Staff at Mammoth Hospital Yuri Parisky wanted to go on the record about what he calls misleading and false information about the Hospital’s new orthopedic clinic in Bishop.
Mammoth has been offering orthopedic services through an agreement, the nature of which is at contention, with Northern Inyo Hospital (NIH) since 2003. The relationship between the two hospitals appeared to be good until Mammoth wanted to open the consolidated clinic and NIH cried foul.
The matter of one hospital district operating within another district went before the Inyo County Local Agency Formation Commission. LAFCO said Mammoth has to fill out an application to operate in NIH’s district. Mammoth said it didn’t think it had to get permission, as it was asked to operate in NIH’s district. Inyo LAFCO has now sought outside legal counsel to remedy the situation.
“It would be wrong for us to poach in Inyo,” Parisky said. He added that he hoped NIH would “honor” the agreement the two hospitals made more than 12 years ago.
No written contract or agreement has been found on offering services.
NIH says it no longer needs orthopedic services from Mammoth. Parisky said both hospitals excel in different areas of practice, but for orthopedic care, “If they have a better product, offer it.”
The new clinic, located next to Bishop Animal Hospital, is not an expansion or new service provided, but a consolidation of Mammoth’s two existing clinics, a physical therapy practice on West Line Street an orthopedic clinic on the NIH campus where the lease expired.
Parisky said that between 2010-12, there was still no one or entity filling the orthopedic void in Bishop, so Mammoth continued with its business model of predicting future needs by preparing with additional personnel, training and equipment.
NIH says there was no contract with Mammoth, but Parisky said NIH had leased out office space and equipment to Mammoth, not just to one doctor, the story NIH is sticking with.
“When we left [the NIH campus] we felt we had an obligation to patients we had established relationships with,” he said. John Halfen, NIH CEO at the beginning of the relationship with Mammoth, was receptive to the ideas, Parisky said. Parisky said that he approached NIH with a breast cancer collaboration; Mammoth would send its patients to NIH for the specilaized care that Mammoth doesn’t provide. He explained NIH had purchased a specialized breast MRI machine Mammoth decided it wouldn’t make sense to get one, too. But, he said these ideas just “petered out.”
“For the two hospitals not to work together … its a disservice to the patients and a waste of money,” he said.
Parisky discounted several perceptions and erroneous statements about Mammoth; Mammoth is not expanding services to make up for a few bad snow and tourist years, “the Hospital is under sound financial footing,” he said.
NIH administration says it has to pay for post-operation complications it performs on Mammoth patients. Parisky said if a patient is re-admitted to the same hospital they were first discharged from, the hospital pays a “penalty.” But Mammoth Hospital patients, even if operated on in Bishop, are considered Mammoth Hospital patients and NIH does not have to pay for it.
Nor are complications common, he said. Parisky said Mammoth’s orthopedic care praise was earned through years of care and countless operations. He said Mammoth is not going to stop doing something it’s good at, as that would be a disservice to patients. NIH’s orthopedic program has nowhere near the experience Mammoth does, he said.
Patients from both Bishop and Mammoth migrate back and forth between the two hospitals, as in the Eastern Sierra there are few locations to get a second opinion or specialized care.
“Patients gravitate where they get the best care,” Parisky said.
Parisky said he’d like to see something fair come out of the controversy over the clinic, along with better communication between the boards and administration of the two hospitals. Doctors in the two counties communicate with each other regularly about patients and procedures, and CEO’s and administrators meet monthly now. Parisky said he’s going to “offer an olive branch” to the doctors and staff of NIH when he steps into the chief’s chair.
Sierra Center Mall to welcome new tenants
The Sierra Center Mall is being renovated to accomodate Mono County offices and incoming tenants, including Great Basin Bakery of Bishop fame, a new Mexican diner, and a micro-brew pub.
The 100,000- square foot building now has new pipes, plumbing and climate control, a brand new elevator and some new floors and ceilings. The building has separate common areas that can be closed off for energy efficiency. The underground parking is getting repaved, too.
Sierra Center Mall owner Drew Hill added that he expects the Mall to be the permanent home for many County offices, including the District Attorney and Probation Departments.
