Mayor Davis expresses trust in county hospital’s staff in wake of CEO’s departure
An employee wheels a cart Monday morning along the front driveway at Hardin Medical Center.
Hardin County Mayor Kevin Davis said Monday he appreciates the work former HMC CEO Nick Lewis did to maintain and improve the county-owned hospital.
Lewis resigned, effective last Sunday. (See full story in the upcoming print edition.)
“Patient care is the first and foremost issue for Hardin Medical Center, and I have faith and trust in our hospital and the employees and the board that they will continue to provide excellent care to our community,” said Davis.
He continued, “I was born in our hospital, had surgery in our hospital, had broken bones fixed in our hospital. When people need help they need that hospital and need to know they can count on it being there – they want to go to ‘their’ hospital.”
He said that, “unlike many other rural hospitals, ours is financially sound, and we’ve steadily increased the services and procedures and care it can offer. Nick Lewis, as well as so many others, played a large part in making that happen. But change comes to everything, so now we look forward to the next chapter.”
Davis thanked HMC employees for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I honestly don’t know how they do it, day in, day out, every day on the front lines treating people with COVID, all those suspected of having COVID – and that’s on top of all their regular patients,” he said.
“They have to be worried about their own health and the health of their families, but they still show up, short staffed, as it is all over the country, exhausted. They show up and do their jobs and have for over a year now, wearing all the extra PPE (personal protective equipment) and care for those who need it. We owe those folks a debt of gratitude I don’t know how we’ll ever repay,” Davis added.
Thanks needs to be given to all those who worked double shifts They are the ones who need the big bonus
Can some help be hired to help care for the patients? I know from my personal experience, the lab is extremely short handed. They are a good hardworking crew. I have been told it’s that way all over the hospital and that people are quitting every day. They have lost many very good employees.
The new system in patient registration makes the check-in process take way too long. Try it and you’ll see what I’m talking about. They said the wait would not be shorter with future visits.
Thank you Mayor Kevin Davis for the job you do.
When I hear complaints made against our hospital HMC my mind goes back to numerous friends that had serious life threatening accidents & by all rights should have died at the scene of these accidents which were gunshot in nature. One was accidental & the other attempted murder. Both of these patients survived thanks to the surgeons, HMC Staff & EMT SERVICES for getting them to the hospital. There are more such occasions that I can name but space will not permit. I’m sure some complaints are well founded but just want to recognize HMC for what it really is to its’ citizens, a place you can count on to get you well if you become sick or have an accident. Thank you HMC & STAFF for being there for people that are usually at their worst, at the time of illness. Cary Duncan Savannah.