Deborah Hospital Foundation
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March 4, 2012
THIS IS TO BE A VERY NEGATIVE REVIEW OF DEBORAH HEART AND LUNG CENTER...I HAVE WRITTEN MANY NEGATIVE REVIEWS OF THIS FACILITY OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS...I HAVE JUST FOUND THIS SITE AND IT IS QUITE INTERACTIVE...IF THIS REVIEW GETS PUBLISHED I EXPECT TO BE SUBJECTED TO SOME CONTROVERCY...I HOPE THAT I AM NOT CONSIDERED TO BE A CASSANDRA...I HAVE ACQUIRED MUCH INFO ON DEBORAH AND WILL SHARE SOME OF MY KNOWLEDGE WITH YOU...............MY MOTHER DIED ON THE OPERATING ROOM TABLE AT DEBORAH UNDER VERY QUESTIONABLE CIRCUMSTANCES ACCORDING TO THE NEW JERSEY SENIOR HEALTH INVESTIGATORS...WHEN I CALLED THE ADMINISTRATION TO INFORM THEM OF MY FINDINGS...AN ASSISTANT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR SAID TO ME,"WE HAVE HEARD OF YOU...YOU ARE THE GRIEVING SON...YOU SHOULD TALK TO OUR ATTORNEYS"...THERE IS TOO MUCH TO ENCODE TO THE READER IN THIS VENUE...JUST BE ACUTELY AWARE THAT ALL IS NOT NECESSARILY WHAT IT APPEARS TO BE AT THIS HEART CARE CENTER...BTW...I DISCOVERED MUCH LATER THAT THIS ASSISTANT WAS MARRIED TO THE ADMINISTRATOR...ALSO, THE REVIEW OF DEBORAH BY THE NJ SENIOR HEALTH INVESTIGATORS SUGGESTED THAT MY MOTHER'S DEATH WAS THE MOST EGREGIOUS INFORMED CONSENT VIOLATION THAT THEY HAD EVER INVESTIGATED AND THAT THIS VIOLATION WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE MURDER OF MY MOTHER...I HAVE NOT "ENJOYED" ANY PEACE OR JUSTICE IN THIS CASE DUE TO NEW JERSEY LEGALITIES CONCERNING THE WORTH OF SOMEONE IN RELATION TO THEIR AGE...MEANING THAT IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO HIRE A LAW FIRM TO REPRESENT THE ESTATE OF MY MOTHER BECAUSE NJ LAW DOES NOT ALLOW AN ADEQUATE MONETARY VALUE TO BE PLACED ON THE LIFE OF A 75 YEAR OLD WOMAN AS THE RULES IN SAY PENNSYLVANIA WOULD HAVE ALLOWED... THE HEAD OPERATING ROOM SURGEON IS NOW OPERATING SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS I BELIEVE...HE DENIED DURING HIS DEPOSITION THAT HE HAD TOLD ME AND MY AUNT JUST AFTER MOM'S DEATH THAT HE KNEW TWO WEEKS BEFORE HER SURGERY THAT SHE WOULD NOT SURVIVE THE OPERATION IF HE ATTEMPTED TO REPLACE HER MITRAL VALVE...OBVIOUSLY WE WERE NOT TOLD THIS VERY GRIM NEWS AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO THE SURGERY...THERE IS NOT A SNOWBALLS CHANCE IN HADES THAT WE WOULD EVER HAVE AGREED TO THIS SURGERY...ALSO...I LOCATED AN OPERATING ROOM NURSE WHO HAD WORKED EXTENSIVELY WITH THIS SURGEON...I COMMUNICATED WITH HER VIA HER SISTER SINCE SHE WAS IN SOME FEAR OF BEING BLACKLISTED BY THE HOSPITAL ESTABLISHMENT...THE MOST PERTINENT INFORMATION GLEANED FROM HER WAS THAT SHE HAD TERMINATED HER EMPLOYMENT AT DEBORAH BECAUSE THIS DOCTOR ANDERSON (IN CASE YOU HAD NOT GUESSED HIS NAME)...WAS "EXPERIMENTING" ON OLDER PATIENTS...YOU REALLY CANNOT MAKE THESE THINGS UP...I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO PUBLISH ON DEBORAH'S SITE BUT SOMEHOW IT IS NOT BEING ALLOWED BY THE SITE MANAGER AT DEBORAH...I WONDER WHY...MUCH MORE TO TELL BUT I WILL STOP NOW...THANK YOU FOR READING THIS NARRATIVE...DOUGLAS E.
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When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2006
July 18, 2011
This is one of the best hospitals I have ever seen. People are so kind and caring. It is like one big family. It is amazing how much high tech stuff is at Deborah. Truly an amazing hospital.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
the ways the hospital touches so many lives.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Give it more money so it could help more people.
August 10, 2010
As a volunteer I have observed that there is a lot of waste at Deborah and supervisors who really are not qualified to hold that position, or they are afraid to "supervise". Employees who make their own hours and come and go as they please. They may work an 8 hour day, but they don't give Deborah 8 hours of work. Too many coffee breaks and the smoke breaks for unbelievable. Applying for a job at Deborah is another joke. The person in charge of interviewing you is so busy trying to break into another career that too much time is wasted between applying for the job and getting the job. Administration is well-paid, and knowing that Deborah is struggling to stay above water, they, too, should have taken large pay cuts--instead, they eliminate jobs, reduce staff, cut back on cleaning the place to save money, as a means of saving money. The people they hurt were to lower salaried people.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
These results have been experience by me and by friends I associate with.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Get someone in there who is willing to open his/her eyes and clean house from top to bottom by getting rid of dead wood! Unionize the place for the employees protection, so seniority counts. Educate the doctors/nurses in people skills.
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What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Helping others Meeting nice people
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Friendly
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
Open all floors and become a neighborhood hospital
Ways to make it better...
There was fairness for all employees The all people would give an honest days work for an honest days pay Management would be honest with the employees
In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...
Having an Emergency Room that gives the impression that it is connected to Deborah Heart and Lung with the same mission statement, when in reality it is separate and apart, and WILL charge patients for their services.
One thing I'd also say is that...
The mission statement of Deborah is idealistic, but we no longer live in those times, and the Board of Directors should re-examine it. New blood is needed, and no offense to the older generation, but, Deborah needs a younger management team.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
1 person found this review helpful
August 5, 2010
1 person found this review helpful
I cannot believe that this is happening at Deborah, a hospital that had a great reputation. I hope that "overjoyed" is right, and this is all malicious gossip, but see no counter arguments with facts or numbers to refute the posts seen here. The mere fact that the current CEO has been there 40 years doesnt mean that he should keep his job if the place is failing. And he should take an 80% cut in salary as proposed in one of these posts, and give up this outrageous retirement package, for his failure to lead and save the place financially. After all this is a not for profit hospital, and all of administration appears to be grossly overpaid. Besides, if the place is doing well why is the CEO retiring so early, in December of this year? Looks like he is bailing out early with a golden parachute, as the place goes down in flames. Several posts by employees working in the hospital now have mentioned the medically unnecessary procedures being performed to put in pacemakers and stents, with the knowledge and blessing of the chief of surgery and the CEO. It also seems that the head of the pacemaker department has been reported to the Federal Government for this. This exposes the hospital to fines and lawsuits. Is anyone from the Administration going to answer these charges on a point by point basis and refute these posts with facts? We don't need nostalgic stories of how the Center was founded 80 years ago, or how long these overpaid failures in the administration like the CEO and VPMA have given service to the hospital. Their continued existence there as this hospital fails is certainly a disservice.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Ive read all of these posts. There are so many, saying the same things, that this must be the truth. The hospital has been destroyed by this CEO and Chief of Surgery/VPMA. Fraud is being committed by the Chiefs of Electrophysiology and Cath lab.
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How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About once a year
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
July 31, 2010
Since she has posted a phone number to answer the critics, perhaps the director of public relations, Donna McArdle, can answer one question that's come up around the hospital this week: Is it true that John Ernst, the CEO of the hospital, is getting a retirement "bonus" as part of his contract, of $600,000/year for an undisclosed number of years to serve as an outside "consultant" for Deborah from his retiree home in Florida, after December 31, 2010? So, this person who was responsible for bringing the place to its current financial mess, will continue to collect huge sums of money to "guide" the place, after he has retired and left? Next question: Is this hospital Board both blind and retarded, to allow this to happen, when the place is in deep financial trouble, with a total debt estimated at $40-50 million?
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
its ride to destruction. This latest news is just incredible!
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How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
One time
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
July 27, 2010
Well this last post by "dhlc-observer" seals it for many of us who are donors. The level of detail provided, the sources cited, and the specifics of the factual general narrative, makes me guess that this person was once working high up in the organization, and was likely dismissed for his/her 'no-nonsense' approach to management;his/her philosophy most certainly did not include paying such outrageously high salaries to the administrators of a NON-PROFIT organization like Deborah. We now have a fair idea of where OUR money has gone. It has been swallowed up to maintain a vision-less and fraudulent CEO and VPMA who are focused only on maintaining their high salaries. They have been enabled in this by a spineless and mindless Board, that has not provided much needed oversight these past 10 years. I do not think that this Donna McArdle has adequate answers to cover the sordid facts of this last, most damning post. She has waded too far into very murky waters. I hope she is asking her handlers as to what to say next. They seem desperately in need of a strategy now.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
observing these posts. Horrible. Just horrible.
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How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About once a year
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
July 26, 2010
I have been through a similar situation at my previous hospital in NYC that was a 100+ year old charity system. It is the same pattern over and over again. I cannot tell for sure what is happening at Deborah but it is walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, what do you think it is? The board is in the pocket of the administration. They don't have access to actual facts, just what the administration chooses to tell them. They are either pleasantly demented, too trusting,or they are in bed with the administration. I don't know what is worse. Some members at the top of the administration are in this for the $$$. They give themselves huge salaries and bonuses, and use oppressive tactics to silence and intimidate their employees, if they ever to speak the truth. The honest employees who care for the place get booted out, no crime necessary, and off with their heads. Administration keeps hiring outside consultants who suck the blood out of the organization, while administration fishes for and only accepts what suits their agenda, which is the stuff their own pockets full till the last heartbeat. No pun intended. This sounds awfully like campaign contributions. You pat my back, Ill be nice to you later. Sounds familiar? I believe Medicare's fraud investigators need to be notified and the truth will come out. This way may be Deborah will come back to life, true again to its mission and the nice honest people can stay. Deborah is a 5 star hospital that deserves a 5 star administration. Simple as that. Giving out your phone number needs to be matched with telling the truth.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
I have interacted with hospital staff and physicians who work there.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Investigate the CEO , VPMA , clean up the fraud and start all over again.
More feedback...
What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
The many honest and extremely skilled doctors, nurses, PAs.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Kind honest and caring
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
get sucked dry by the administration again.
Ways to make it better...
The minority who commit fraud should be eliminated and sent to prison. Let the honest people speak and work in peace.
In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...
The administration is driving this place to hell. Call Medicare fraud.
One thing I'd also say is that...
A serious investigation for fraud and abuse needs to start right away.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About once a year
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
July 25, 2010
I am a person with a name, Donna McArdle, and a phone number, 609-893-1200 ext. 5845. I am not afraid to publicly post my opinions and I welcome calls about all these allegations. I am sickened by all these malicious anonymous posts. I am very thankful that there was no internet when Ms. Shapiro founded this hospital. With a NIMBY attitude she had a hard time finding a town that would let TB patients recuperate. I can imagine what the chat room would have been like then. I am also thankful there was no internet around during the Depression when Clara Franks and her staff had to avoid the milkman because they couldn't pay the bill and the hospital was nearly foreclosed on because they couldn't make the mortgage. What a field day Deborah detractors would have had then! Deborah has done an admirable job of caring for thousands of patients over the years, and if people have built careers and made a living along the way, that is a good thing. There are more pressing problems facing the hospital today than nasty posts from disgruntled former associates, including a stagnant employment market which each day leaves more people without health insurance as they lose jobs and time-out on COBRA benefits, and federal and state governments that have no monies for health care. Deborah continues to deliver as one of NJ's 17 licensed cardiac centers, day after day. Major companies, with astute savvy to analyze Foundation financials, continue to fund the hospital. It is an institution many people are proud of. I do not doubt that these comments will fuel another bout of malicious hate posted. I am thankful that in America we have the freedom of choice. Choice for you to pick your hospital and Foundation, and choice for me not to enter a negative internet site. Deborah is a wonderful hospital and a great community asset.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
delivering health care to many
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How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
July 24, 2010
Please read word by word from " Sandlady" on July 22 2010,she is extremely insightful about Deborah's situation.I and my family donated to Deborah before,but to realize how the top administration and VPMA squander the money into their own pockets and pour it down the drain,I swear I'll never donante one more dollar to this failing institution. With all the experienced cardiologists gone, I will not risk my life there even if it's for free.I give it 5 stars because I want everyone to read this.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
many ways
More feedback...
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every week
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
July 23, 2010
I agree with the last post. I also know that these review sites can be terrible. The only people who ever take the time to review something are the ones who had a bad experience. It seems like every time I travel I read reviews on hotels and it is always the people whose reservations were wrong, whose room was not right, or who had a problem that write a bad review. I have stayed at places that were great, but if you read it online, it sounds like the worst hotel in the world! I don't know about the boards and the reports and other things written here, but I know in my heart that Deborah is a good hospital that cares for people and I will keep selling car raffle tickets to help people who have no insurance get the heart care they need.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Helping children all over the world get life-saving surgery they needed, and my neighbors without much money.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Try to find a way to get more Chapter volunteers. Our meetings are getting smaller and smaller.
More feedback...
What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Besides helping people making great Chapter friends
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Very, very nice
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
Help even more people
Ways to make it better...
We had more help
In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...
Chapter members getting too old to help out
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every month
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2010
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