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West Virginia Surgeons On Strike Over Malpractice Insurance
Aired January 02, 2003 - 14:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Docs walk and dozens won't perform surgeries in and around Wheeling, W.V.
It's day two of a protest over rising malpractice increase premiums.
CNN's Whitney Casey tells us about the doctors' beef and how hospitals are coping.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are here in an empty E.R. in Wheeling, W.V. There are nurses, there are physicians' assistants, there are physicians here, but there are no surgeons.
So an E.R. without surgeons is basically pretty crippled. What they had to do this morning when they had a patient came in, they had to send her an hour away to get surgery.
What they're saying is it's not only about availability, it's also about affordability and, as you can see, this is what doctors want you to see. They want you to see a foreshadowing of what it could be throughout the nation: empty E.R.'s without doctors because there aren't doctors available because they don't have the insurance here.
Now joining me now is Dr. Zaleski. He is a general surgeon, actually an orthopedist, here at this operating room.
You're not working today. You walked out. Why has this become a crisis?
Doctors have said it's about affordability and availability and it's epidemic. Why?
DR. ROBERT ZALESKI, ORTHOPEDIST: It goes much beyond affordability and availability. Those issues we're presently dealing with, with much difficulty.
It's an issue of quality healthcare and the continuation of quality care.
CASEY: But how does this affect the patient?
We see there are no surgeons here. That one patient had to be transferred an hour away. You took a Hippocratic oath. What does that mean in your ethics? ZALESKI: I would certainly jump in front of a bus if I had to to continue to serve my patients as I have for 23 years.
I have noticed the metamorphosis of quality healthcare delivery in this area rapidly changing in recent years. We have no neurosurgeon where we once had three.
Ever increasingly, patients have to be life-flighted from this institution for situations that we used to be able to deal with here. I see it as an issue that involves many people, not my particular situation. I would like to see the situation improved.
CASEY: Thank you so much for joining us this morning, doctor.
And as you can see, here in Wheeling, W.V., there are no surgeons, like Dr. Zaleski, that are working here today. And they could stop working for almost 10 days.
There was a case in Las Vegas where they walked out of the E.R. for 10 days, and they had to transfer trauma patients to nearby hospitals. That could happen here.
What they'd like to do is convince the legislature to change some of those laws.
Whitney Casey, CNN, W.V.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Insurance>
Aired January 2, 2003 - 14:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Docs walk and dozens won't perform surgeries in and around Wheeling, W.V.
It's day two of a protest over rising malpractice increase premiums.
CNN's Whitney Casey tells us about the doctors' beef and how hospitals are coping.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY CASEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are here in an empty E.R. in Wheeling, W.V. There are nurses, there are physicians' assistants, there are physicians here, but there are no surgeons.
So an E.R. without surgeons is basically pretty crippled. What they had to do this morning when they had a patient came in, they had to send her an hour away to get surgery.
What they're saying is it's not only about availability, it's also about affordability and, as you can see, this is what doctors want you to see. They want you to see a foreshadowing of what it could be throughout the nation: empty E.R.'s without doctors because there aren't doctors available because they don't have the insurance here.
Now joining me now is Dr. Zaleski. He is a general surgeon, actually an orthopedist, here at this operating room.
You're not working today. You walked out. Why has this become a crisis?
Doctors have said it's about affordability and availability and it's epidemic. Why?
DR. ROBERT ZALESKI, ORTHOPEDIST: It goes much beyond affordability and availability. Those issues we're presently dealing with, with much difficulty.
It's an issue of quality healthcare and the continuation of quality care.
CASEY: But how does this affect the patient?
We see there are no surgeons here. That one patient had to be transferred an hour away. You took a Hippocratic oath. What does that mean in your ethics? ZALESKI: I would certainly jump in front of a bus if I had to to continue to serve my patients as I have for 23 years.
I have noticed the metamorphosis of quality healthcare delivery in this area rapidly changing in recent years. We have no neurosurgeon where we once had three.
Ever increasingly, patients have to be life-flighted from this institution for situations that we used to be able to deal with here. I see it as an issue that involves many people, not my particular situation. I would like to see the situation improved.
CASEY: Thank you so much for joining us this morning, doctor.
And as you can see, here in Wheeling, W.V., there are no surgeons, like Dr. Zaleski, that are working here today. And they could stop working for almost 10 days.
There was a case in Las Vegas where they walked out of the E.R. for 10 days, and they had to transfer trauma patients to nearby hospitals. That could happen here.
What they'd like to do is convince the legislature to change some of those laws.
Whitney Casey, CNN, W.V.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Insurance>
