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Friday, July 30, 2010 | Serving Del Rio and Val Verde County: Since 1929
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Hospital efforts to recruit doctors hampered
Published March 5, 2007
State licensing requirements are hampering efforts by hospital administration to recruit out of state doctors, according to Val Verde Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Jack Houghton.
Houghton told members of the hospital’s district board Tuesday that it can take up to six months for an out of state doctor to become licensed in Texas, which is deterring many of the specialists he is trying to recruit to Del Rio.
“The state is working on shortening that time, but I don’t see it happening in the near future,” Houghton said.
According to information provided in the board’s meeting packet, hospital administration has worked actively to bring doctors to Del Rio to set up practice at the hospital, with the assistance of several national recruiting agencies.
Some positions Houghton is looking to fill include a nephrologists and an orthopedic surgeon, Houghton reported.
Houghton also said he is searching for an internist/intensivist to begin a program at the hospital. It is a search, Houghton said, that is important and would most likely take a number of months in order to find the right person. One young internist from Del Rio has indicated he is not interested in the opportunity because he is reluctant to be in a solo position so quickly upon completing his residency later this June, Houghton said.
Houghton said his main goal is to find qualified doctors willing to stay in Del Rio for a good length of time.
“If we’re not talking to them about coming in and moving family and becoming a part of the community then, quite frankly, we’re not interested,” said Houghton.
The hospital is also searching for a new director of nursing after Barbara Bozek’s resignation Feb. 9, said Houghton.
Houghton also reported that he was unable to retain the services of two of the hospital’s three certified nurse anesthetists during the renegotiation of their contracts. Duane Reigel is reportedly the only anesthetist to stay on at the hospital and Houghton said he would be the core of the hospital’s efforts to rebuild the important service.
Houghton said in the meantime the hospital is using temporary anesthesia providers and expects the search for qualified applicants to fill the vacant positions could take anywhere from 90 to 120 days.
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