Baystate Medical Center

[deleted800561]

As an EM program, I think Baystate is okay at best. The program has issues with teaching and resident professionalism.

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[deleted800561]

But there's no way you spent 3 years there in all the different specialties that you've posted in.

We get it...you mad bro. So mad that you have to necrobump the same crap all over the place.

Just stop. You're embarrassing yourself and make us think the program(s) really isn't all that bad.

Lol.....I did not spend 3 years in all those specalties, but during my time there, I gathered enough data on how the organization is currently run.
Some of the issues are out of their control, but their way of managing their problems is something I am able to comment on.
If you see the same sad story repeated again and again, there has to be something wrong in the way the organization is managed.
There is no excuse for faking clinical trial data or showing up intoxicated at work or sexually harassing your sub-ordinates. It simply means that it is a dangerous place to work, something everyone should be cognizant of.

 

[deleted800561]

I do, you can look at the following resources:
1. The Masslive website about the issues at Baystate Medical Center
2. Board actions by the Board of Massachusetts for doctors at Baystate
3. Law suits against Baystate medical center currently in court

It is not to say that this organization does not have good residents or faculty. But, I would have severe reservations for recommending this institution to someone. As I trainee, one has to be cognizant of the leadership issues at an institution.


I can describe one incident here to help clarify some issues. This happened during my time at Baystate as a resident. The dialysis unit at the hospital was trying to make money by dialyzing more patients than they had capacity for. The equipment was not cleaned properly and there were a lot of staffing issues. Patients often suffered and were exposed to infections. This was common knowledge among the staff who had to keep quiet to avoid a whistle-blower situation. There was severe infighting among the faculty at the Western New England Renal Transplant group. One of the attending's complained to the Massachusetts department of health about the protocol violations, left his job at Baystate and found another job. The department of health paid an immediate visit to Baystate and found out what was going on. Baystate was put under probation. Our department chair Dr. Andrew Artenstein announced this incident at the academic half day.


This is not a one time occurrence at this institution but one of many. It just happens, such things are not talked about to cover up the issues at the institution.

 

[deleted800561]

Can anyone comment about the moonlighting situation?

Well, depends on what you are looking for.
This is based on me talking to hospitalist colleagues and co-residents who were moonlighting, please verify this with others if you need to.
1. Some days will be worth the money and some days won't be
2. Lot of administrative issues on shifts
3. Support from ancillary staff is poor
4. The Hospital has a high hospitalist turnover rate because of their bad geographic location, high-crime neighborhood, Medicaid patient population in Western Mass, poor financial situation and poor staff support, so you can expect to be part of the drama
5. Having said that, the administration can never find enough staff to cover their moonlighting shifts, so there is always availability
6. Lastly, Baystate has been investigated for several cases of Medicare and Medicaid fraud, the dialysis protocol failures being one of them( it was a deliberate act on the part of the Nephrology group). So you will run into this issue when you are at Baystate ( i.e. Practice situations which are misleading does patients). You have one of two options: you can turn a blind eye and pray to god that the right people correct the issue or you have the option to report it to the board which is the right thing to do. You will run the risk of being negligent in the first case in case an investigation is under way and being a whistle blower in the second one where you have reported your employer to the board of Massachusetts. So, you have to tread carefully at all times at while at work
7. If you are good with all the above you should moonlight at Baystate .

 

[deleted800561]

Well, I would be open to feedback about what happens at other institutions.
From what I can see, most of the issues at Baystate are related to their geographic location in a high crime neighborhood in Western Mass ( its terrible, Springfield is the armpit of Massachusetts ), poor staff morale, poor financial structure and lack of ethical behaviors on part of the leadership.

From what I can see, one has to be very careful before signing a contract.

 

[deleted800561]

Well lets get down to the facts at this point and move past personal experiences.

These articles should probably help with that.




Specific issues about residents and faculty at Baystate :

http://www.gazettenet.com/Archives/2016/01/Hampcops-hg-011116

Daniel Marotta is a psychiatry resident at Baystate.

The famous case for one of the biggest fraud's in academic medicine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/health/research/11pain.html?ref=us






Lawsuits against Baystate:

https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/6-2-16b.cfm

http://wwlp.com/2014/02/27/complaint-filed-against-baystate-health/

http://wwlp.com/2016/04/06/baystate-noble-hospital-now-facing-lawsuits-from-25-patients/

http://archive.boston.com/business/...baystate_medical_sued_over_billing_practices/

http://masscases.com/cases/sjc/415/415mass202.html

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/985/211/1569606/




And more issues about Baystate:


1. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/10/baystate_health_in_springfield.html

2. http://www.masslive.com/business-ne...baystate_health_outlines_layoffs_cuts_ou.html

3. http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/04/baystate_health_asks_for_10_mi.html

4. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/baystate_noble_in_westfield_no.html

5. http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2016/08/baystate_profitability_report.html

6. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/04/baystate_medical_center_notifi.html



I think someone should pay attention to their surroundings and the organization they work for.

 

[deleted800561]

Well, I can describe my experience not of someone else. People do have good and bad experiences depending on their strengths and weaknesses, what they are looking for and what can they live with. Some faculty at Baystate are good people, I wouldn't question that. I would take into consideration the larger picture in front, some might want to ignore it completely.

 

[deleted109597]

Nobody is doubting you had a rough time at Baystate. But you're not an emergency resident. And then you start picking data from 20 years ago, which is likely not relevant to people today or the "culture" at Baystate.
If you can't keep on topic for emergency medicine, the posts will get deleted.

 

[deleted800561]

The posts are not meant to attack Baystate in any way. My experience at Baystate was a learning experience and all experiences can be productive in some way. Reality is what it is. I would encourage anyone to seek information and learn as much as they can about the institution that they train at before making a decision. I am happy that you had such a wonderful experience at Baystate.

 

[deleted800561]

Well, I would disagree with certain points.


Lets talk about the data from American Community Survey 2009-2013 estimates.
This is publicly disclosed information and is available on resources like Wikipedia for all to verify and also made available on public databases.

The per-capita income for the state of Massachusetts is $35,763, for United States it is $28,155, for Hampden County itself it is $25,817 and for Springfield this figure is $18,133.

Now based on this, I would not jump to conclusions about Western Mass being a " depressed area" but the figures do appear quite concerning to me. Again, these are relatively concrete numbers and not "opinions".

In my experience, Baystate did have some commendable faculty in the past, many have left the institution and have moved on to better positions. Currently, some of the faculty tend to be verbally abusive and have harassed residents on occasion. One faculty proudly exclaims in front of the staff, " You know what reputation I have in this institute".

It is quite sad that such stories are not discussed openly in the Medical Community. It would help eliminate such obnoxious behavior from among the medical staff. Unfortunately, the hierarchical system and the chain of command protects these people.


This institution serves a population that does not contribute back to the society but have care needs. Medicaid reimbursements are poor and the institution is struggling financially.

Baystate: Hospital profitability report only shows part of the picture

I would describe all of this as a " learning experience", may be not the best one but it did teach me to think and put the bigger picture into perspective. I would refrain from any generalized opinions about any institutions and communities but my concerns are based on concrete numbers, direct experience and facts.

 

[ycho18]

Baystate is what I would call a congregation of " Classic Ghetto People" living in poverty in Western Mass. The hospital and their programs should be shut down.