Corporate pirates

Dear Editor:It is interesting to note that in his 10 years as medical director of Downey Regional Medical Center, culminating in his written endorsement and support of this troubled Downey institution, Dr. Kim seemingly neither recognizes nor, perhaps, remembers the source of DRMC's fiscal ailment. Indeed, it was on his watch that previous CEO Allan Korneff bled the hospital of its financial resources all the while running the organization on a shoe string budget. Korneff's million dollar annual salary alone was, if not undeserved, definitely fiscally unsound. As Korneff was lining his own pockets, and those who served him, he also opened the hospital to "greater opportunities" with insurance providers outside the hospital's historic relationship with CareMore. When the other insurance providers would not take the bait, for good reason, they were not going to buy into a healthcare facility whose quality of care was becoming decreasingly less, Korneff then reconciled with CareMore, forgiving them the debts they owed DRMC. At least CareMore could now staff the hospital with real medical doctors with degrees in medicine, unlike the cadre of osteopaths, homeopaths, chiropractors and chiropodists Korneff wooed into the staff ranks in the name of "New age" and "alternative medicine." If the people of Downey want to know why their regional hospital is in bankruptcy, they should look at its long history of mismanagement by greedy corporate pirates. - Michael J. Parmer, Downey

********** Published: October 2, 2009 - Volume 8 - Issue 24