The Druid City Hospital (DCH) Health System plays a vital role in the Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama economies. However, decisions by DCH in the last decade possibly reduce the overall positive impact the System is having in Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama.

In the last 10 years the DCH administration has:

1. Contracted the management of emergency room physician services at DCH Regional to an out-of-state group when a Tuscaloosa ER group had served the System without any financial subsidy for nearly four decades and was supported by most of the medical staff at DCH Regional.
2. Contracted the management of emergency room physician services at DCH Northport to an out-of-state group when a Northport ER group had served the System without any financial subsidy for 29 years and was supported by most of the medical staff at DCH Northport.
3. Contracted the management of intensive care physician services at DCH Regional to an out-of-state group when a Tuscaloosa group of intensive care physicians had served the System for four decades without a financial subsidy and was supported by most of the medical staff at DCH Northport and DCH Regional.
4. Contracted the management of environmental services to an out-of-state group.
5. Contracted the management of dietary services to an out-of-state group.
6. Awarded the position of chief nursing officer of the DCH System to an out-of-state individual when a leading local candidate was a Moundville native, the chief nursing officer at DCH Northport for seven years, had 30 years of employment with DCH and a doctoral nursing degree.
7. Awarded the position of chief operating officer of the DCH System to an out-of-state individual when the leading local candidate was a Tuscaloosa native, had been the administrator of DCH Northport for over 12 years, had more than 19 years of employment with DCH and was overwhelmingly supported by the medical staffs at DCH Northport and DCH Regional.

And now, the DCH administration intends to contract out hospitalist services across both DCH Northport and DCH Regional to one company. The DCH Administration says it does not have any company in mind for the contract and the current local groups may apply. But the last decade raises doubts.

The apparent preference for out-of-state firms and individuals might not serve the best interests of DCH, Tuscaloosa County or West Alabama. Perhaps it is time for the DCH Board of Directors to reexamine these circumstances. The Board should consider embracing the talented individuals and businesses of Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama when possible. The Board could start by pausing the process to contract with one entity for hospitalist services. Evidence suggests the local talent of the current contract holders at DCH Regional and DCH Northport can meet and exceed the needs of DCH, Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama.

Signed,

1. Bobby Singleton, state senator District 24
2. Chris England, state representative District 70, chair of the Alabama Democratic Party
3. Janet Teer, former DCH general counsel
4. Jerry Palmer, M.D., former DCH vice president of medical affairs
5. Howard J. Falgout, M.D., former chairman of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners
6. Charles Malone, former Alabama Supreme Court chief justice
7. Paul Patterson, attorney at law
8. Michael Comer, attorney at law
9. Matt Glover, attorney at law
10. Cam Parsons, attorney at law
11. Bryan Givhan, M.D.
12. Payden Wallace, M.D.
13. John Duffy, M.D.
14. Dale Christensen, M.D.
15. Caroline Day-Teesdale, M.D.
16. Katherine Greele, M.D.
17. Remona Peterson, M.D.
18. Nikki Christensen, M.D.
19. Malika Aryanpure, M.D.
20. John Dubay, M.D.
21. Phillip Bobo, M.D.
22. Lee Loftin, M.D.
23. Karen Moore, M.D.
24. Scott Fulgham, M.D.
25. Joseph Wallace, M.D.
26. Brad Bilton, M.D.
27. Raymond Poore, M.D.
28. Bob Grubbs, M.D.
29. Keisha Lowther, M.D.
30. Myron Chwe, M.D.
31. Geoffrey Alilonu, M.D.
32. Lee Carter, M.D.
33. Luis Pernia, M.D.
34. Gordon Shields, M.D.
35. Kamal Raisani, M.D.
36. Fawad Aryanpure, M.D.
37. Bryan King, M.D.
38. Scott Atkins, M.D.
39. Charles E. Abney, M.D., J.D.
40. Barry Newsom, M.D.
41. Ramesh Peramsetty, M.D.
42. Justin Bevel, M.D.
43. Chelsea Wallace, M.D.
44. Fabian Salinas, M.D.
45. Julia Lett Boothe, M.D.
46. Jahana Hill, M.D.
47. Timothy Prestley, M.D.
48. Jeff Parker, M.D.
49. William Pridgen, M.D.
50. Sumathi Puttu, M.D.
51. Sunil Chandra, M.D.
52. Eugene Mangieri, M.D.
53. Vernon Scott, M.D.
54. Hanseek Choi, M.D.
55. Mohammed Azam, M.D.
56. Ashok Jagani, M.D.
57. Ashraf Syed, M.D.
58. Shelby Sanford, M.D.
59. Asvini Sengar, M.D.
60. Alejandro Garcia, M.D.
61. Sherly Pardo-Reoyo, M.D.
62. Chuma Ndibe, M.D.
63. Charles Gross, M.D.
64. Carlisle Stephenson, M.D.
65. James Parker, M.D.
66. Malcolm Hendricks, M.D.
67. Donald Scott, M.D.
68. Neil Honea, M.D.
69. John Brandon, M.D.
70. Richard Jones, M.D
71. Amanda Stevens, M.D.
72. Sagail Bennuri, M.D.
73. Mary Margaret Clapp, M.D.
74. Salahuddin Farooqui, M.D.
75. Dale Robbins, M.D.
76. Doug Reynolds, M.D.
77. David Verzino, M.D.
78. Elizabeth Marshall-Smith, M.D.
79. Larry Skelton, M.D.
80. Erica Day-Bevel, M.D.
81. Verquita Scott-Conley, M.D.
82. Craig Buettner, M.D.
83. Naresh Kumar, M.D.
84. Pedro Lopez, M.D.
85. Ranju Chandrashekariah, M.D.
86. Ransey O’Daniel, DMin
87. Jeanne Lipscomb, M.D.
88. Jerry McKnight, M.D.
89. Stephen Browne, M.D.
90. Carson Byrd, M.D.
91. Clint McEntyre, M.D.
92. Sarah Cantrell, PhD
93. Thomas Emig, M.D.
94. Tyler Eads, M.D.
95. Michael Gordon, M.D.
96. Robert Eaton, M.D.
97. Jennifer Burdette, M.D.
98. Jeffery Laubenthal, M.D.
99. Alexandre Todorov, M.D.
100. E. Van Johnson, M.D.
101. Quinton Matthews, M.D.
102. Audra Busenlehner, M.D.
103. Jamie Lowther, M.D.
104. Gregory Broughton, M.D.
105. Wilfred Yeargan, M.D.
106. Eric Sputh, M.D.
107. Timothy Bassett, M.D.
108. James D. Askew, M.D.
109. Sid Smith, M.D,
110. Joanne Myers, M.D.

This open letter was edited lightly for AP style.