To the Editor:

Hidden on page C4 of the Daily Sun is the report of the latest CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) rating of the VVRH.  Outrageous but no surprise -is the fact that the hospital has been given a rating of 1/5 stars!  Know that these visits are not surprise visits – they couldn’t even ‘get it together’ for that!
I know I have probably become the last person they or some of your readers want to hear from again. However , I do think that I and my husband (as well as my neighbors) would  like to/ should expect to be able to receive safe care here, rather than travel.
I did have ambulatory surgery recently – but at Leesburg – much better experience than at TVRH.
The administrators  of TVRH have already presented to us, recently. Sounded nice – but isn’t the proof in the pudding?”
I don’t think that the expenditure of  more money or volunteer hours are the solution. I also don’t think just making  the unit nurses/supervisors  feel solely  responsible for this by starting by expecting them to make hourly rounds. What will they do if some cannot meet this standard – once, twice? Should they leave a patient who needs them – in order to meet this standard? Rather than creating a harsh culture, why not involve front-line staff of all departments in coming up with a workable solution? No one wants to work in an organization that has such a poor reputation. There are many options for staff to exercise!
Rather than first putting pressure on the staff as a reflex, perhaps starting with expecting department head(s) to develop a performance improvement plan with time frames, and responsible parties. At some point, if someone doesn’t meet those goals, sadly, perhaps it would be time to make changes.
I apologize if my comments are viewed as arrogant. I took the time to share my opinion, based on education and experience – with the hope that we can soon expect to feel safe, if we are admitted to TVRH. I also hope that the staff won’t have to feel that they are doing a poor job – and solely responsible for this poor report.

Eileen Sullivan-Kaplan
Village of Palo Alto