Just when we thought Peninsula Hospital had gotten the life-saving CPR it needed, it seems the facility is once again flatlining.
Late last month, the hospital was barred from accepting new patients after the State Department of Health (DOH) shut down the lab. Reportedly, there was expired blood plasma and staffers handling samples were not wearing gloves.
Now, 230 employees — nurses, emergency room personnel and support staff — have been let go as a result.
And, as if that weren’t bad enough, the judge overseeing Peninsula’s Chapter 11 proceedings is ordering a trustee be appointed to handle all operations at the facility.
What is going on?
It seems that no one did their homework when it came to Revival Home Health Care, which took over the cash-strapped Peninsula from MediSys last year.
Already $60 million in debt at the time, Peninsula was seemingly “saved” by Steve Zakheim, whose wife owns Revival, but who was reportedly required by the DOH to sign an affidavit that he would steer clear of Revival’s operations.
Did anyone know this before Revival took over Peninsula? Or was the ink dry before the vetting process was complete?
And there are also concerns over a conflict of interest, since Todd Miller, former Chief Operating Officer for Revival, is now serving as Peninsula’s chief executive.
A very shrewd Zakheim reportedly included a provision that allows him to withdraw his offer if a trustee is appointed — meaning Peninsula may be forced to close after all.
We had hoped that the hospital would enter a new “chapter,” but it seems that its “revival” might be ill-fated.
