Complaint Review: University Hospitals Suburban Health Center

University Suburban Medical Center is a facility associated with University Hospitals of Cleveland. The present Medical Director is one Thomas Stellato MD - who was the Chief of General Surgery at University Hospitals for many years - a Surgeon - not an Internist - which is part of the problem. 

Dr. Stellato should be the Surgical Director (Director of Surgical Services), but not wearing both directorship hats so-to-speak.  There are plenty of Medical physicians renting in that office space - who can be the Medical Director.  It can't be the money at this point in his career, or if it is - that's just sad.  However, that doesn't excuse Dr. Stellato's handling of complications of his care of patients by reporting the patients who want to 'discuss' to the South Euclid Police, and for his secretary/office manager to accuse patients, or other MDs, of things that they would never do.  

No one wants to file a report on RipoffReport if things can be solved in a more private way - threatening someone in front of Carol that if they don't remove the filing, you will call the SE Police, is not ok.  That's the problem. 

Dr. Stellato, you have been asked for many years now to develop the managerial skills to sit down and discuss some things, and there is always an excuse - if it's not RipoffReport, your father is dying, or you can have the Suburban Administration threaten someone or have the people at University Hospitals threaten legal action - the letters are awful.  And it's not about legal anything, it's about your patient care and ability to deal with patients and patient problems - it's about your physician skills - which should be better at 60-some than they were at 30-some.

University Suburban's Management then calls threatening the patient through a woman at the South Euclid Police Department.  The patient didn't ask for Dr. Stellato to complicate his/her care by not being 'present,' or not thinking things through while wearing too many hats as he has done for most of his career = the problem. 

University Suburban has some responsibility to see that Dr. Stellato's staff knows how to get back to patients, MDs, etc., and has the man/woman power to do so in a professional and timely manner.  University Suburban should not be sending patient records to the South Euclid Police Department - who have nothing to do with the problems of Dr. Stellato's care of patients - records that the patient can't get - which is part of the problem.  

But to threaten after someone posts something on RipoffReport - after 5 or more years of begging Dr. Stellato to discuss - is a bit not responsible, not professional, and not physicianly or a good management decision.  No one wants things to get that out-of-control by 2012, and is Dr. Stellato so afraid as that?  He's a bit bulky at this time - time spent at the fitness gym across from University Hospitals.   

It is however, the responsibility of the physician's office staff to schedule, confirm, and change appointments by a phone call/email that they return - not the patient's responsibility to find the staff for a conversation or reply to a phone message/email.  There's only so many times you can leave a message without it being mislabeled as telecommunications harassment. 

Many problems happened during the time around 2000 that Dr. Stellato was writing an amazon book, going to Business School, and doing a full-time academic practice - patient problems that are still trying to be resolved.  The purpose of the residency work-hour reform laws has been to try to stop this extreme multi-tasking by residents, with the Surgical Staff at University Hospitals apparently continuing to expect all kinds of super-behaviors of themselves, their families, and staff?  

It's time that we all admitted that no one is superman, or supergirl, and set reasonable examples as MDs for interns, residents, medical students, colleagues, and patients.  Staying healthy, and making good decisions, about complex patient care, is not possible with extreme multi-tasking. 

Then no one checks on what Carol the Office Manager is doing - which is what happened during that time - and she then lied for her job as every other office manager does at University Hospitals.  Earth to Dr. Stellato that you have expected too much of Carol for too many years. . .despite the gifts she's only human, ditto the Administration at University Suburban, ie Carol is not the building BP girl.  Find a medical student who needs the extra cash, have rotating medical students do BP checks out of Dr. Stellato's office.  The patients will love this. 

It is far overdue time that Dr. Stellato - who would be Chief of Surgery at University Hospitals - be able to sit down and reasonably discuss a surgical complication, or problem with a patient or another MD.  He's avoided that, by having Dr. Shuck and others do it, for too many years now - for most of his career he's been very clever.   

And the one ability that any Chief has to have in spades - even more important than robotic surgical skills - is to be able to discuss, to communicate, and to give an example of professional interaction = to manage people.  By the time you get to be Chief you can forgo the daily 8-hour OR schedules, but not the people at your door asking for a decision, discussion, or some management skills.  Suburban Medical Administration should be fostering this with courses for staff, with the help needed for a Medical Director, but not with threats.

Dr. Stellato you need to sit down and 'discuss' with the patients, and MDs, that you have hurt.  Even an Ohio Federal Judge's wife was so disappointed in your not being available - just for a phone call - years ago - it cost her two surgeries.  You couldn't spare 5-10 to get back to her and her husband.  She was so disappointed, that she still mentions this years afterwards; that despite everything her husband stands for, you couldn't return her phone call - there was no respect. 

And, it's one thing to not return the call of a female MD, but to not even call the husband Federal Judge was a bit trashy - guy to guy you should be able to talk.  This is not a South Euclid Police Department matter or problem - no one wants to stand you up for any procedure, surgery or office visit - but they do want your office to call them back and for you to be responsible in a sane way. 

Dr. Stellato - you have been given a huge education and many opportunities that other physicians didn't get - and you don't see this.  No one gets everything that they wanted, and we all have to grow up and be Steve Jobs when he was fired from Apple - we all get fired, demoted, and have to move on without killing everyone in our paths.  Life sucks, but it also always give another opportunity - which might be better than the last. 

Having Carol do extreme multi-tasking has not worked - and it's not her fault but she has blamed patients in the past - for her own job failures.  You need to be aware of that, find the names, apologize, and stop the policy.  Lies don't fix anything, but I'm sure she's seen you do it and followed suit - and no physician needs to lie - surely not a Chief of anything or a Medical Director.          

No one can do so many things as Dr. Stellato has attempted, earth to Suburban, and Dr. Stellato was told this by well-meaning colleagues years ago - who just asked that he be reasonable about his choices, his multi-tasking, etc. - if only to set a better example for residents and other staff Members at University Hospitals.  As a Chief he was poor example, about things that in the end matter most in medicine. 

It's not reasonable to expect that anyone can handle about 5 different jobs and a parent's chronic cancer illness and death - and it's not the responsibility of the patients, or other MDs, to 'understand' Dr. Stellato or Carol during those times. 

One physician asking that he take some time to 'recover' and not be too over-committed while burying his father, just got blamed for more things.  And it was meant as friendly advice and concern - not competition anything; this physician was not in his Board-Certified field, just observing and getting hurt in the Stellato career-equation offensive drive. 

University Suburban, and Dr. Stellato, need to develop better policies to deal with patient problems and getting back with patients and MDs.  Carol is too senior to be doing all the day-to-day for a number of years now - she feels, rightfully so, that you all should have gotten her more help before now.  One suggestion: hire a University pre-med to do some of the office work, and write a letter of recommendation - let them know what office work is like for patient care.  But that doesn't excuse the problems that Carol causes for other people in her exasperation - problems that have been going on for about 20 years now. 

Dr. Stellato physicianly behavior is required; you are not a blue-collar pipefitter or plumber, you have a Georgetown education which means you get back to Georgetown alumni and return the calls of Federal Judge's wives who need your consultation.  And none of this is Dr. Shuck's, or Dr. Gauderer's, responsibility.  And it should not have gotten to the point of filing a report on RipoffReport - for that you and Suburban Green Medical Center policies are responsible. 

Better is/was expected of you Dr. Stellato, and still is.  Dr. Stellato, you have been offered that reports detailing your excellence will be posted, and that anything else that people can offer - to get help for an illness or needed surgery to be done 'right,' will be done for you; people want to be well, to be able to get your help, and for you to succeed.  But calling the South Euclid Police Department? 

And for the Police Department to even get involved is ridiculous - they don't know what the patient care problem is about, and there have been no threats.  It's RipoffReport's decision to remove cases that have been resolved, and they should do this - they have been asked in cases that were just misunderstandings.  No Internet address should be a perpetual complaint blackboard site - that's poor management.  To resolve things, and move on, to update situations as now being ok is the public service.  False postings of conditions years ago is just not helpful.  When things are over, they need to be over, and comments need to be helpful and appropriate.

But it was Dr. Stellato's responsibility to see that things didn't get this out-of-control to the point where for him to notice anything, to get his attention, someone had to post something on RipoffReport.  What are you teaching medical students, interns, residents and younger Staff at University facilities?  The SE Police Department, and the Administration at Suburban Green Medical Center are at fault here too, but the responsibility is for all to handle difficult patient care situations with professionalism and compassion - with good management skills.