Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Fight in Friend Over Doctor's Suspension

Because many Dorchester residents receive their health care treatment next door in Friend, we felt it was important to highlight a story appearing in today's Lincoln Journal Star.

According to today's Journal Star, Dr. Robert McKeeman, whose hospital privileges were suspended in January 2006, will still not be allowed to see patients at Friend's Warren Memorial Hospital. The article states that "despite the urging of McKeeman’s patients to allow their doctor to treat patients in the hospital, the hospital board took no action on the issue at their Tuesday night meeting.

"The hospital board voted to suspend McKeeman from performing surgeries and admitting patients to the hospital and emergency room for three years, citing quality-of-care issues. The state conducted an investigation into McKeeman’s practices and last month said they found no evidence of wrongdoing. But in the meantime, a rift had formed in the Saline County community between those who supported the board’s decision and those who didn’t. And in April, McKeeman filed a lawsuit against Warren Memorial Hospital and the clinic affiliated with it; the city of Friend, which owns the hospital; the five hospital board members; the two other Friend doctors; and former hospital Administrator Amy Fish. The suit is pending.

“(R)esidents, like Shirley Fox-Thomsen, said she didn’t want to use the hospital if she couldn’t see McKeeman, a longtime Friend doctor who rides his bicycle to house calls and telephones his elderly patients on their birthdays. Brenda Manning, director of the radiology department at Warren Memorial Hospital, said she feared that Friend’s hospital would suffer in the long run if McKeeman’s patients maintain that attitude. Already, she said, some patients have taken their business elsewhere, adding that it has been difficult to see the town divided."

2 comments:

  1. Very interesting and a shame........ My grandmother used to talk about how she loved Dr. Panter in Dorchester who used to have his office where R Lounge is today............. Friend residents should be grateful they have doctors in town and use them!

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  2. Dr. McKeeman has been very good to our family and I continue to go to him. He has given so much to so many of us. Dr. McKeeman will still talk to you personally when you call, still makes house calls and asks about family members and has never hestitated sending me on to a specialist if he wasn't absolutely sure about what was going on. He has my support and thanks.

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