Beware of Walsenburg, Colorado

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cabinbuilder

Urgent Care Physician
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Hey all, rural medicine is a great thing and the patients are gratefull for all the care they get. However, not all rural health clinics/critical care access hospitals are the same.

I found out after the fact that I was the 6th provider to go through Wals in 14 months, not a great track record and the clinic manager resigned soon after. This place treats the doctors like janitors, no say about call, schedule, what patients you can see. The clinic staff tell you how it is and the nursing staff runs to the admin if they have to lift a finger to work and actually take care of the patients instead of reading the paper. There are lots of other underlying issues as well.

If a recruiter tries to present this job to you - run the other way. They breached my contract in so many ways, I stopped at 3 pages.

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Were you and the other 5 physicians able to get out of your contracts and move onto other places that needed/appreciated your services?
 
Yes, I was released from my contract on the day of my resignation. I was able to walk out without notice - no need to prolong the agony. I was able to show that staying there would jeapordize my ability to maintain patient safety that could affect my license. Finished my charts that day, had to pay back my sign on bonus - fine by me. I would rather do that than have to stay under duress for 2 months for them to find a replacement.
 
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JUST and FYI to all you new grads. Walsenburg, CO now has ZERO providers there in family medicine. The last provider quit here a few weeks ago. Now they just have an ER running and a few visiting specialists. Very bad place to be. DO NOT sign a contract to work there. You will be miserable.
 
JUST and FYI to all you new grads. Walsenburg, CO now has ZERO providers there in family medicine. The last provider quit here a few weeks ago. Now they just have an ER running and a few visiting specialists. Very bad place to be. DO NOT sign a contract to work there. You will be miserable.

You know, you'd think the Admin would figure this out and get their **** together! For being a small town with very few primary care providers, you'd think they would want to be trying to change their system to be more friendly and KEEP people!
 
You know, you'd think the Admin would figure this out and get their **** together! For being a small town with very few primary care providers, you'd think they would want to be trying to change their system to be more friendly and KEEP people!

Well, there is a husband/wife physician couple who have been there forever. Whatever political forte they hold over the hospital board I still haven't figured out. The admin/CEO is a major part of the problem there. I found out during a locums job in Texas that his prior hospital job ran him out. He doesn't have that great of a reputation in Texas either. I just feel really bad for the patients there, they never know who will be working in the clinic - now it's really nobody. Maybe locums. Never know. I don't really care anymore.
 
Just found out that the major caregivers in Walsenburg have since resigned due to the whip cracking and lack of administration support to the providers needs. There is no longer any primary care that are full time an taking patients at the family practice clinic. Very sad for the patients. Can't say I didn't see it coming.
 
Just found out that the major caregivers in Walsenburg have since resigned due to the whip cracking and lack of administration support to the providers needs. There is no longer any primary care that are full time an taking patients at the family practice clinic. Very sad for the patients. Can't say I didn't see it coming.

So where do the patients go? Pueblo? Trinidad?

Very very sad that in this economy which is already killing small towns, we're losing providers. Even worse when you consider that a few years earlier all the primary care left Angelfire/Raton as well. Must be a huge Primary Care Shortage area from Vegas to south of Pueblo!
 
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I was planning on rural when I started back to school. I only interviewed at one place and based on this thread it looks like I got lucky. The group that I work with functions as a co-op and so we share front office and facility expenses but its like self-employment for dummies. We get rural subsidies and tax credits and there is plenty of work. We are on the coast of southern Oregon and although its not the Rockies it is pretty nice. If anyone is looking I'd be happy to give more detail.
 
Just found out that the major caregivers in Walsenburg have since resigned due to the whip cracking and lack of administration support to the providers needs. There is no longer any primary care that are full time an taking patients at the family practice clinic. Very sad for the patients. Can't say I didn't see it coming.
Sounds like the perfect place to organize a direct primary care practice. I am speaking
of independent of the hospital here. Outpatient only, including surgery. No insurance.

Membership only, dues paid directly to the practice.

INDY
 
Sounds like the perfect place to organize a direct primary care practice. I am speaking
of independent of the hospital here. Outpatient only, including surgery. No insurance.

Membership only, dues paid directly to the practice.

INDY

Only problem is that everyone is Walsenburg either works for the hospital or is on medicaid. Be hard pressed to find patients who would pay up front.
 
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