Upheaval among doctors at Holston Medical
April 8. UPDATE 7:30 am April 9. By Dave Yochum. Twenty-one physicians who requested to leave HMG to form an independent group have been suddenly furloughed by the Tennessee-based medical group which launched here a year ago. A decline in patient visits due to COVID-19 may be part of the reason.
The situation has left both patients and HMG in disarray.
A group of three dozen physicians had planned to form an independent group, whether a more independent branch of HMG or an entirely independent group, come fall of 2020. Negotiations apparently fell apart in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patients of the 21 physicians who were furloughed received a letter from HMG yesterday stating that their doctors had “resigned,” with no mention of their plans.
More than three dozen physicians left Novant Health last year to join a private practice—Holston Medical Group—which had a “patient-first philosophy.” The doctors who left for Holston included the former head of Lakeside Family Physicians, Dr. David Cook, who has since left Holston.
Holston officials, acknowledging that 35 physicians resigned from HMG, said the doctors were scheduled to transition out of practice with HMG in September of 2020.
COVID-19 affected volume
“That being said, COVID-19 has impacted many healthcare organizations like ours in surprising ways,” HMG said.
With urgent COVID-19 cases being admitted to hospitals and the stay-at-home order limiting check-ups and elective care, there has been a “dramatic reduction in physician office visits—significantly impacting our organization.”
Twenty-one of the three dozen physicians—those with significantly reduced patient visit volumes—were dismissed from patient care responsibility, HMG said.
The HMG statement blaming low patient volume is the subject of some dispute. One of those physicians was out for some period of time for treatment of a serious medical problem.
Patients are expressing concern about where their physicians are, including whether they will be practicing locally in future. Of course, HMG said they are welcome to stay with them.
Huntersville OB/GYN physicians also left Novant to join HMG. Among them were well-known doctors with loyal patient followings.
It’s unclear where the doctors—and patients—will land. Included in the departure from Novant last year were a number of doctors from Huntersville OB/GYN.
Continuity of care is a core value within the ob-gyn specialty, centered on a physician-patient relationship built over a long period of time.
NEW: This message was later posted on the HMG web site
To our North Carolina patients,
The past few months have seen some changes and we want to summarize those here in order to provide some clarity about the impact to you as our patients, and HMG as an organization.
Earlier in the year, 35 physicians resigned from HMG. Honoring scheduled patient visits and contracts, these physicians were scheduled to transition out of practice with us in September of 2020. That being said, COVID-19 has impacted many healthcare organizations like ours in surprising ways. With urgent COVID-19 cases being admitted to hospitals and the “Stay at Home Order” in place limiting check-ups and elective care, we have seen a dramatic reduction in physician office visits – significantly impacting our organization.
With this in mind, 21 of those 35 physicians were dismissed from patient care responsibility.
Though this transition happened earlier than anticipated, rest assured that we are here to support every one of you throughout this uncertain and unprecedented time. If you have questions or concerns, please call 1-877-464-1213 and our team members will provide you with the information you need.
If you have received a notification in the mail regarding your doctor, and you need any of the following, our team has access to your records and is here to help you:
Schedule or reschedule appointment
Address any health concerns
Refill medications
Transition your care to another provider of your choice
If you choose to remain within HMG, you can find a list of all locations and providers here.
Additionally, we will work with any other provider of your choice to transition your care and make your records available.
As always, our primary focus remains making sure your needs are met. We remain open and available for you, and will continue to provide you with factual, up to date information on this page about how and where to receive care as related to COVID-19 and beyond.
Sincerely,
Holston Medical Group
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Would be so helpful if you could list the doctors who remained as well as those who left and if they are available locally with contacts.
Yes, who and where!
You can call HMG and ask if your physician was affected – or, if you would rather not talk with them, sign onto your MYHMG account. Go to messages. If the ‘compose’ button is grayed out or unavailable (mine told me I did not have a relationship with a provider that had email) your provider has left HMG.
You call you only get a recording and my pt portal is completely shut down.
The letter was blunt and uninformative.
We need to know where our doctors are now!!
Let’s not forget all the hourly employees HMG already let go. Awful ccompany! These employees followed their docs and didn’t even get a year from HMG. Covid 19 is just an excuse.
Please let it be noted that David Cook is not the founder of Lakeside Family Physicians. It was actually my father, Dr. Donald Copeland, who started Lakeside. He actually brought David Cook into the practice. David Cook continues to take credit for something that he did not found.
Thank you for clarifying this. Dr Copeland was my and my family’s doctor for decades. I knew he was the founder of Lakeside Family Physicians. Give credit where it’s due. To a wonderful man and Doctor.
Thank you for this!
Ann Copeland Rust
You should talk to some of the Doctors who have been affected. I am a patient on one and HMG has not notified me that my Primary Care Doctor has been dismissed. Which is not the term originally used. HMG bit off more than they could chew when the partnered with the group of Novant doctors. They have fallen down in supporting their members in so many ways. I think that you should look at the practices that they are in the process of destroying. Dig a little deeper into what is happening.
Not sure what you are saying exactly. Are you dissing HMG or the doctors who left Novant and tried to go to a practice that promised, patients first?
I am so frustrated by these doctors. Why are they leaving again after a year. The first transition and experience at HMG has been terrible and now this. I should have never left Novant!!!! I feel like my doctor who I loved has been caught up in this mess created by David Cook. Now I don’t know when or if I’ll ever be able to see my doctor again.
Don’t blame the doctors. Their intentions were spot on. Novant required that a doctor spend no more than 15 mins with a patient so they could make more money. The physicians who went to HMG were told that their mission was the patient first. When the doctors got over to HMG it was a whole different story. I had more issues with HMG than I care to list and I have nothing to say about the Tennessee call center – sarcasm. Issue after issue.
KIPP It’s never to late to return to Novant Health. Just saying. I know you miss your physician, but what is important is that you have continuity of care and a system in place to support you. You will find this with Novant Health. Best of Luck.
The doctor is the one referred to in this statement. “One of those physicians was out for some period of time for treatment of a serious medical problem.” He is the only doctor that I trust. Now, I have no idea what to do during this time. I don’t know if I’ll stay with HMG since he is now gone.
The doctor you are talking about has been my Dr for 21 years! I feel lost.
I totally agree. My husband and I received exemplary healthcare by him for 21 years. He was an excellent and caring physician. How dare HMG use his medical diagnosis as part of the reason for a decline in patient visits. He is greatly missed.
All I know is that Dr. Cook and Dr. Claughas are my doctors and I want them to continue being my doctors. Dr. Cook has been my husband’s doctor and my doctor since he started with Lakeside Family Physicians. Dr. Claughas has been our doctor while Dr. Cook was doing administrative things. They’re both great and we want them to be our doctors. Where are they??
I like our Doctor and still do when he open up another office which I hope is independent of any Group I will be very happy. I was never really happy woth HMG
The problem is that Dr. David Cook doesn’t have enough business sense to run a lemonade stand and he was entrusted to put the deal together to bring HMG to the Charlotte area. He neglected to bring in the right people to define all parameters with HMG. It’s a shame. Now we are left to find another physician group for our care.
I received a letter from HMG on Monday, (April 7, 2020). The letter is dated March 27, 2020 and states that my physician, Dr. Barbara Meyer has resigned and is no longer with HMG. The letter expresses that their primary intent is on me and my continued care. HMG indicates they still have my records and would be happy to schedule me with another provider or transition me to a provider outside of HMG.
I am frantic, about loosing my physician, whom I have been seeing for over 10 years. I researched, and sent an email to FSMB PDC.org requesting to find out where Dr. Barbara Meyer had moved her practice. The organization replied within minutes stating that no address could be provided, but that she was in good standing and her license was good in the State of North Carolina.
Thank you for having the information about HMG letting staff go. I heard this on your newscast April 10, 2020 at 11 pm. Please keep the community informed about this group of physicians who have numerous patients waiting to set appointments with them.
Dr. Meyer was my doctor as well. Please post if you find out where she lands. I’ll do the same.
You can email the doctors at [email protected] and in the subject line put your doctors name. I’m a patient of Dr. LiCause and I called their 1-800 number and was told she was one who resigned. I was told the physicians who resign have this email.
Dr. Meyer is my doctor also. I spoke to Brenda who will stay with Dr. Meyer and she told me that Dr. Meyer will contact all her patients when she knows where she will be located. It may be a while but I love Dr. Meyer and I will not be leaving her.
HMG was all about money and not patient care, they were a small rural outfit that got in way over their heads and did not give the doctors and staff what they needed to support patients, it appears Novant has backed HMG in closing these offices and paid Fowler off, HMG’s website refers patients back to Novant, Carl A. Has wanted to get back at these doctors for leaving!
I’m interested in where Dr. SHERRILL will put down roots. I hope they keep us informed.
I am also looking for Dr Sherrills new
location.
That is my doctor and my husband and we want to continue with him. I would love to see them go independant. I do know that is not easy.
My wife and I have been Dr. Berger’s patients since he first started at Lakeside. We followed him to HMG and now this happens. We are very concerned about losing our trusted doctor, especially under current conditions. We hope that he and these other fine physicians can begin taking care of their patients again and we will learn soon where they are and when they will begin.
I have not been notified at all about the status of my PCP, Dr. Faircloth, at HMG, so I haven’t a hint as to my status as a patient or a “former” patient. At least HMG could tell us which doctors are no longer at HMG.
You have no physicians left – why would we want to stay when our primary physicians are gone? We only transitioned you HMG cause our physicians left Novant- I have returned to Novant since I have never heard from my primary physician if 10 years – dr cook and his nurse Nancy Beam
– if they did not choose to contact us as to where they were going – if anywhere- then I have to take care of my own health care –
This is devastating to us. At ages 70 and 77 years old and on multiple prescriptions to be left out in the cold and having little or no information. If we need refills where do we go? This could lead to the death of someone.
HMG is a money hungry company. Uninterested in patients or care. They know we left Novant to follow our physicians. Just because they wanted to pull the “we’ll show them who’s boss card”, only hurts us. So why do you think we would want to stay there or go back to Novant. Brain Damage is all I can figure. I’ll find Dr Robyn Koeppen! I don’t want one of your robot Doctors following corporate guidelines. HMG, Atrium and Novant have forgotten how to care for sick or healthy people. It’s all about the money!! Good Day
Email [email protected] for more information about Dr. Koeppen.
I have been with Dr.Wolff forever no info where he his . Any one heard
Dr. Wolff will be joining the physicians in a new practice. Send an email to [email protected] for updates and doctor information.
So am I Dr Sherrill us awesome
I wonder if there is a way to be proactive by sending letters to all local papers asking our doctors to contact us. We would have to leave email or other method of contact since our records are with HMG and they do not have access to them. Either that or perhaps they can send a letter out to us via local papers or on social media giving us an idea about when they will jump into the new practice. I wish to stay with my doctor and will follow her as long as she leaves me some bread crumbs….. Dr Barbara Meyer is excellent and a terrific human being as well. In a crisis they let them go? What does that say about this group?? I hope they move into new space soon and work with records and insurance data to find us. I thought I was alone in this. Had no clue so many doctors were gone and the company was not forthcoming in supplying the truth about the situation until this last later. Wrong wrong wrong. Eileen Stark
Go to the following website to be put on the contact list for updates on the 35 physicians that left HMG and are now setting up an independent physicians practice [email protected]
I’ve been a patient of Dr. LiCause for over 20 years. Does anyone have information on where she will be practicing?
I recommend going to [email protected] and sending an email regarding an update on the doctor you are trying to locate. I received a response quickly that provided a lot of the information that I was seeking.
Good luck and best wishes.
We have been patients of Dr. Sherrill since 1999, and want to continue.
Any information anyone has will be gratefully accepted.
These are people’s lives, health and emotional well being that are being played with! “Dr. Berger” or any other of the doctors “has resigned” with no further information seems libelous to me. If anyone can provide more information .. it would be appreciated.