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By NANCY YOUNG, The Virginian-Pilot
© September 28, 2006
Last updated: 8:42 PM


Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System on Wednesday announced that a national physicians group will staff the emergency rooms of its hospitals in Norfolk and Portsmouth.

On Sunday, TeamHealth will begin at DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk and Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth. The group has been staffing the emergency room at Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News since July.

There will be board-certified emergency physicians "every hour of the day at those hospitals," said Dr. Randall Dabbs, president and chief medical officer for TeamHealth's Midsouth division.

Dabbs said that the group manages more than 400 emergency departments in 46 states, logging data from 5 million to 6 million patient visits a year. That information is used to troubleshoot numerous problems, including long wait times, he said.

"We worry about people leaving and having a bad outcome because they had to wait to see a doctor for an hour," Dabbs said.

The ERs at DePaul and Maryview had been staffed for many years by Emergency Physicians of Tidewater, which continues to serve several Sentara Healthcare facilities.

Earlier this year the local emergency physicians group decided to not renew its Bon Secours contract, which ends Saturday. Robert Hundley, the group's executive director, said at the time that it was a "business decision" and declined to elaborate.

"We are cognizant of the concern that the community has whenever there's a change," said Dr. Jody Gerard, TeamHealth's medical director for Maryview's emergency department. "We can assure them that the safety net will remain intact."

TeamHealth's national profile and resources were a draw for Bon Secours, said Dr. Robert Ryan, chief medical officer for Bon Secours Hampton Roads. The privately owned TeamHealth, based in Knoxville, Tenn., describes itself on its Web site as "the nation's largest provider of hospital-based clinical outsourcing." Its annual revenue tops $1.5 billion, according to Business Tennessee magazine.

Initially, some of the emergency physicians will be brought in from outside the area to insure that the ERs are fully staffed, Dabbs said.

"I'll come up there and work some shifts," Dabbs said.

Reach Nancy Young at (757)446-2947 or nancy.young@pilotonline.com.

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Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System is a leading health care organization known for providing care for the whole person with grace and clinical distinction. Bon Secours brings together a network of hospitals, primary care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities to provide quality health care services to the residents of Hampton Roads. Bon Secours, which employs more than 4,500, includes: Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital, Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center and St. Francis Nursing Center.

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