They're Mostly Gone

It had been a while since visiting the medical center from which I retired, maybe about six months when I attended a Grand Rounds there.  This time I dropped off school supplies purchased a little at a time at Back to School Sales over maybe twenty years.  As I organized My Space, loose leaf paper and binders at that volume would be classified as clutter.  The Sisters, though, collect stuff like this for the school children of the neighborhood so I transported a few boxes of this stuff to her.  The environment looked the same, not especially active but with enough people inside the building to require me to park on the garage's roof.  My old office had nothing going on other than a new neurologist joining in the previous month and one of the Medical Assistants nearing the completion of her pregnancy.  I learned that the hospital's CEO would be retiring soon and sent her a mixed congratulatory and thanks note when I returned home.

Recently the administrative alignment of the network subsidiaries had changed, an initiative of headquarters a few hundred miles away.  My guess is that it would make no difference to operations, as it is not the first shuffling, none of which have dripped down to the level of patient care.  However, among Physicians Network, the two head honchos had been figuratively beheaded.  Looking back, we've had several CEO's, Exec VP's, Chief Medical Officers for the network.  They seem to arrive as a group and mostly depart as a group, often suddenly enough to suggest the exit was not a voluntary one.  I suppose the salaries they pay are rather good but the duration of the salary not very long.  Moreover, nearly all who depart suddenly are at mid-career, or at least well short of customary retirement age.  I have no idea what type of Golden Parachutes are in their contracts but it would seem prudent to ask for one given the predictably short tenure.

The clinicians seem much more secure.  Since my exit, one hospitalist moved on, one orthopedist concluded his contract, and two more clinicians came aboard.  Perhaps we protest about the management more than we need to.  Time is on the side of the clinicians.