Key: Senate Bill Protect CRMC, Employees

A new bill would allow hospitals like Cookeville Regional Medical Center more freedom when hiring certain specialists.

Cookeville Regional CEO Buffy Key said most hospitals in the state have to use third-party companies to hire emergency room physicians, radiologists, anesthesiologists, and pathologists. Key said the senate bill would remove that requirement so hospitals have the option to use external companies or directly employ those specialists.

“It’s not that we want to take that livelihood,” Key said. “We actually want to be sure that we ensure that livelihood for these physicians if anything like this ever happens to them and their company closes that they’ll have that option of being hired by a hospital if necessary.”

Key said the bill would also protect hospitals as they have to replace the personnel if a third-party company shuts down. Key said she does not believe the bill would have a noticeable impact on the hospital in the immediate future as the hospital is doing well with its current staff.

“The only way that there would be any impact for us is if, like I said, the opportunity ever came up that they said, ‘You know what, we don’t want to work for a third-party company anymore or we don’t want to do this anymore, we would like to be employed with the hospital,'” Key said. “We would be able to offer them that option.”

Key said the restriction has existed for many years but it did not create any issues for Cookeville Regional until the company handling its emergency room personnel closed last year. Key said the hospital was given thirteen days to find another company that would provide the necessary physicians.

“That put us at risk as a hospital in not being able to provide medical provider services in the emergency room,” Key said. “Which obviously that can never happen.”

The bill was introduced by Senator Paul Bailey and Representative Johnny Garrett in early December. Key said Bailey coined the term “physician employment freedom” the explain the main idea of the bill.

“This is actually the second year that Senator Bailey has championed this,” Key said. “Which I can’t say enough things about Senator Bailey and all that he does for us, but we actually testified in the senate committee last year at the Day on the Hill in February of last year to give our testimony about why this is so important to us.”