by Anura Guruge
on November 20, 2022
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‘Dartmouth-Hitchcock‘, alas, is NOT what it used to be 20 years ago, never mind in its heyday in the mid-1900s. My youngest daughter was born there 16-years ago. It was a very different facility then. Yes, they still have some very fine & caring doctors, but they are getting fewer & fewer. I hear that they are struggling to recruit doctors!
But, the root cause of their decline, of course, has to do with the unholy, wholesale pursuit of the dollar. It is no longer a committed, dedicated medical institution, it is an amalgamation of (basically autonomous) business units each trying to outdo the other in terms of making money — in particular profits.
Quite a bit of it has been FRANCHISED! They have licensed & sold the NAME to franchisees. So, a medical center bearing the name ‘Dartmouth-Hitchcock’ might not have any relationship with the ‘hospital’ in ‘Dartmouth’. They are only using the name. Their relationship with the facility in Dartmouth would be NO different to any other clinic in New Hampshire.
The other problem has to do with SILOs. Everything is in tight, hermetically-sealed compartments — each a business unit in its own right. Getting services across the SILOs is difficult! The hospital is no longer a single, flat organization with everybody working together. They don’t work together. Plus, they are also forced to make sure that they make a profit.
Yes, alas, we still have to use DHMC. I wish he didn’t. Kind of IRONIC but of late a number of the doctor’s there have OPENLY told us to go to Boston! They have even referred us to Boston. WOW. Think about that. One even told me that we would get better & faster care in Boston. Yes, they are short staffed now.
Please don’t trust what I am saying. Check it out yourself. Find a few people within DHMC that are willing to talk to you.