Did the City of Sioux Falls Health Director ask for a vaccination mandate for city employees?

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I don’t know the answer to that question because obviously there has been NO mandate at this point, and I don’t expect the city’s top employee manager, Mayor TenHaken, a (closet) right-winger, to mandate one. I believe he could do so by executive order, but lacks the spine to do it.

Several of my city moles have told me that Dr. Chima, the Health Director, did ask that the city has a vaccination mandate. If that is true, he was obviously denied, which is no surprise.

I have also heard from people visiting Falls Community Health that many people working at the clinic don’t wear masks even though the CDC requires a clinic receiving Federal money should require the employees to wear masks. Supposedly one person working at the clinic was asked wear their mask was and they said, “The mayor said I don’t have to wear one.”

I wonder how the CDC and Medicare would feel about that and future Federal funding of the clinic?

I find this concerning, because this place does receive Federal and Local tax dollars, and common sense would tell you that when working in a medical clinic you should be wearing a mask. The private clinics require it and follow CDC guidelines. Heck, Burger King employees even still wear masks.

I fully support vaccination mandates for taxpayer funded employees. As major employers like Sanford and Tyson Foods have proven, compliance is over 95%. Mandates work and the handful of employees you would lose wouldn’t be missed. Maybe the city has $49 million laying around for severance 🙁

Will a major merger be announced on Monday in Sioux Falls?

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Just when we thought the big announcement was Amazon there is another one brewing in Sioux Falls. I wasn’t going to say anything because I figured it was going to be headlines on Stormland TV last night. I guess not, but enough peeps have been blowing it in my ear, and it sounds like the announcement could be as soon as Monday, so I will give you a teaser.

So here is what I will give you, and you can draw your own conclusions (please, feel free to comment, but I will delete any comments that mention either party). A major healthcare provider in Sioux Falls is planning a ‘Merger’ (not an all out sale) with another major provider. The kicker is that the other provider is NOT local, they are not even regional. They are from a western mountain state.

But this is where the news gets juicy, while I have heard the name of the system that wants to merge with the Sioux Falls system, I was a little taken back. They are owned by a large religious organization, and let’s just put it this way, it’s not Catholics or Protestants (or even Jews).

If the merger happens, and all the parties I have been told that are involved are truly involved, healthcare in Sioux Falls is going to look very different a year from now.

Oh, and probably expect more people knocking at your front door 🙂

Why do SD politicians and family members run off to Minnesota for medical treatment?

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We recently saw it in the news, a prominent SD politician’s family member has a serious medical condition and they are seeking treatment . . . in Minnesota.

First off, I wish them the best, secondly I don’t blame them for wanting to go to one of the most advanced healthcare providers in the world. I have had many friends use the facility for all kinds of different treatments and have had great success.

But what I often find ironic is how our prominent politicians in the state will tell us how great our local Industrial Complex Healthcare providers are with research, treatment options, and jobs, jobs, jobs! Yet when one of them gets a serious condition, they run to Minnesota.

I wish they would go to Minnesota for legislative advice also, because we have a serious sickness in Pierre that needs advanced treatment.

Here’s a story that is years past due

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When the state legislature was arguing to increase teacher pay from last place with a half-penny sales tax increase, I argued at the time ‘What about the rest of us?’ Especially other professionals in the state, like nurses;

According to the American Nurses Association, South Dakota’s registered nurses have the lowest annual salary of any state and the District of Columbia, ranking 51st behind Mississippi, Alabama and Iowa.

The association reports that South Dakota’s 12,530 registered nurses received an average annual salary of $57,010, or $27.41 per hour in 2017. California’s RNs posted the highest compensation at $102,700, $49.37 per hour.

Health care officials say many factors contribute to South Dakota’s comparatively poor compensation levels for nursing, including the rural nature of the state, as well as low reimbursement rates to hospitals from Medicare, Medicaid and Indian Health Services.

I would agree Medicare/Medicaid expansion probably would help. But I have argued for years that if we want to increase teacher pay, we should concentrate on raising EVERYONES PAY! I have had several friends leave the state who work in the healthcare industry for the same reason, PAY. In fact two of my friends that are RNs literally DOUBLED their pay overnight by leaving the state. Think about that. DOUBLED! They also told me the same stories about the healthcare industry in Sioux Falls, where pay is top heavy and run amuck with corruption and greed. They also said, when it comes to nursing pay between the two major hospitals, there is obvious wage collusion going on. One of my friends who worked at both systems before she left for greener pastures said to me, “Don’t you think it is a little strange that both hospital’s nursing pay is IDENTICAL?” Yeah, things that make you go hmmmm.

But I don’t want to make this about nursing alone, many professionals in our state are below average when compared to other states. So when I hear our teachers need more pay, I would agree, but in reality your pay is reflective of what the rest of us are making.

So why has it taken so long for a news agency to cover this story? I think we know the answer to that question.

Should Hospitals invest in Sports Bars?

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As Washington debates the repeal of the ACA, right here in Sioux Falls one of our industrial hospital complexes seem to be so awash in money they are investing in a new Sports Bar at the Sanford Sports Complex. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think they own the original restaurant that was there, some ownership in the hotel and the sports complex itself which includes a basketball stadium.

Sanford has argued in the past that funding these things is a ‘small percentage’ of their entire budget. But I ask a two-part question, 1) If Sanford is losing money on these facilities, how does that affect healthcare costs in Sioux Falls and wages (SD is nearly last in nursing pay in the country) or 2) if these investments are actually making money, why aren’t healthcare costs going down and paying employees more?

Sanford would argue they need these amenities to bring in good doctors with families, I get it. But what should be the true duty of healthcare? Entertaining rich doctors or bringing top notch affordable healthcare to patients? I’ve never understood making a profit on healthcare, whether that is hospitals, pharma, insurance or even ambulance service.

While patients are drowning in debt or not getting care at all, our hospitals are worried about Sports Bars and basketball, and we wonder why healthcare in our country is such a mess.