Print
E-mail
Share
del.icio.us
digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Why hasn't the owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada offered to pay for medical testing for patients possibly exposed to deadly diseases in his clinic? No doubt I lack the skills to have prevailed in the public relations business, but it seems like a no-brainer even to me... not only for PR purposes but for the public good.
Dr. Dipak Desai's full-page ad talked about third-party payers and a foundation to be revealed in days to come. But hey, it's Thursday, a week after the crisis broke. State Sen. Steven Horsford noted after today's taping that some anguished individuals are forgoing testing because the cost is out of reach. So doesn't it stand to reason the clinic would step up and offer to pay for the tests and necessary treatment?
Desai was supposed to appear on Face to Face this week but backed out. Maybe he realized there is no explaining the inexplicable.
And locking licensing agents out of his Henderson office does wonders for the image of a man who so far appears more concerned with maintaining his medical empire than healing the wounded.
Maybe crisis management is simply late on the scene. Or maybe the team recognizes a "no resucitation" case when it sees one.
Tomorrow: Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on the potential for state prosecution of the medical professionals involved.
I thought the newspaper ad was stupid. Its words did nothing but anger the people who read it. Even worse, it can be used as an admission of wrongdoing, despite its careful wording.
That's probably why there has been no offer of free testing. The lawyers are rightly telling the owners of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada that making payments may be an admission of liability.
Bottom line, there's no way in the world these guys have enough malpractice insurance to cover all of the costs and claims, and they're saving every penny they have for attorneys fees.