Crestwood Medical Center Addresses Misinformation Campaign

(HUNTSVILLE, AL) SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 Crestwood Medical Center has recently become the unwarranted focus of a small but vocal group of individuals determined to spread misinformation and discredit our hospital in an effort to garner media attention. The group is passionate and persistent but, unfortunately, they are frequently inaccurate or flatly wrong in their information. Because of this, our hospital would like to be absolutely clear: Abortions are not performed at Crestwood Medical Center; Our hospital does not provide financial support to or facilitate the provision of abortions; There is no legal or business connection between our hospital and any local clinic providing reproductive services. In fact, our hospital has invested in creating a family-centered environment to support mothers throughout their labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum, and we are the only hospital in Madison County with this amenity. The nurses of the Crestwood Maternity Center have more than 200 years combined experience delivering and caring for the children of our community. Because a non-employed physician with admitting privileges at Crestwood has been specifically identified in this misinformation campaign, the individuals behind the effort have additionally targeted our hospital. As is the case at many hospitals across the country, the great majority of physicians practicing at Crestwood do so as independent private practitioners. They are expected to perform their responsibilities at the hospital, coordinate with our clinical teams in the delivery of high quality care to our patients, and maintain professional licensure with the State of Alabama. But they do so as self-employed professionals. Hospitals do not control the actions of independent physicians in their private practices or in their time outside of the hospital. Physicians on our medical staff engage in a wide variety of personal activities: some serve as professors or lecturers at area medical schools; some volunteer their time on medical mission trips; others provide care through area clinics. It is neither the role nor the desire of a hospital to monitor the personal and lawful activities of physicians on the medical staff. We respect the rights and personal choices of the physicians who practice medicine at our hospital. We would not remove a physician from our medical staff because of the way he or she votes, or the church they may attend, or the way they spend their time outside the hospital. We do not intend to nor can we legally revoke the medical staff privileges of any trained, licensed, lawful and duly credentialed physician for issues that have no bearing on his or her work or practice at the hospital. We also respect the rights of the individuals who have undertaken this campaign against Crestwood, but we do not appreciate their continued tactics to grossly misrepresent our hospital and the commitment of our nurses, employees and medical staff. We commend the talented professionals at Crestwood for their patience and support throughout this campaign and we appreciate their professionalism and continued focus on providing high quality care to our community. ###