Posted by mdwork on 9/3/2009, 9:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Been to a Veteran's Hospital?"
It seems that there is always a report on subpar care in a VA Hospital, or agency wide during sweeps week(s) in the news business, on TV or in a newspaper.
--Previous Message--
: Quality government health care at its finest.
:
: My FIL is a disabled Vietnam Vet due to
: after affects of agent orange, and the care
: he receives from the government after many
: years of miliatry service is subpar compared
: to the private insurance he held until he
: became permanently disabled and was no
: longer able to work. It is very sad.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Can't say that I have. What does that have
: to
: do with anything?
:
: --Previous Message--
: Enough said.
:
: --Previous Message--
: It's the shop where wealthy American
: liberals
: buy their groceries.
:
: But the American supermarket chain Whole
: Foods Market has found itself at the centre
: of a storm of controversy after its chief
: executive, John Mackey, wrote an op-ed piece
: in the Wall Street Journal presenting a free
: market alternative to President Obama's
: proposed healthcare reforms.
:
: Mr Mackey began his article with a quote
: from Margaret Thatcher and went on to add
: that Americans do not have an intrinsic
: right to healthcare - an idea strongly at
: odds with the views of a large proportion of
: Whole Foods' customer base.
:
: The company, which has 270 stores in North
: America and the UK, sells organic
: vegetables, biodegradable washing powder and
: sustainable seafood to a well-heeled
: clientele and champions its liberal
: credentials.
:
: Customer protests
:
: It is hypocritical and disingenuous and it
: really cheapens the brand
:
: Former Whole Foods devotees responded to Mr
: Mackey's article by picketing outside
: branches of the store in Washington DC,
: Maryland, New York and Austin, Texas.
:
: Others stormed Twitter and Facebook to vent
: their rage and called on shoppers to boycott
: the store.
:
: Russell Mokhiber led picketers outside Whole
: Foods' P Street store in Washington DC. He
: said, "I have been a Whole Foods
: customer for many years but I, like many
: former customers, am disgusted by John
: Mackey's stance on healthcare."
:
: Representatives from the United Food and
: Commercial Workers (UFCW) labour union also
: picketed outside the Washington store.
:
: Protesters said they were disgusted by John
: Mackey's views on healthcare
: "Mackey's views are totally at odds
: with those of the company - he has to
: go," said UFCW spokesperson Mark
: Federici.
:
: Outside the store, customers Emily Goulding
: and Ileana Abreu said the controversy had
: made them think twice about shopping there.
:
: "It is hypocritical and disingenuous
: and it really cheapens the brand," said
: Ms Goulding.
:
: "Whole Foods is expensive but people
: shop here because they identify with the
: social conscience of the company - now it
: turns out that ethos was just a marketing
: exercise," added Ms Abreu.
:
: Seemingly caught off-guard by the unfolding
: PR crisis, Whole Foods sought to distance
: itself from its chief executive's comments.
:
: "We've had a lot of emails and phone
: calls and people coming into our stores to
: talk about it," said Libba Letton,
: spokeswoman for Whole Foods. "Our top
: priority is addressing their concerns."
:
: Mark Rosenthal has set up a "Boycott
: Whole Foods" page on Facebook But
: public relations experts criticised the
: store for bungling its response.
:
: "You have two choices: you either take
: a proactive approach and wade right in and
: sort it out or you sit back and wait,"
: said Erica Iacono, executive editor of
: industry magazine PR Week. "The company
: seems to be taking a wait and see approach
: and hoping it goes away. It's a
: mistake."
:
: Massachusetts-based playwright Mark
: Rosenthal's "Boycott Whole Foods"
: Facebook page has so far attracted 24,738
: fans, including supporters in the UK and
: Canada.
:
: Rosenthal said, "I read the article and
: it stunned me, the hubris of this man who
: has made his millions selling his products
: to progressives in America based on an image
: of caring for the community."
:
: Damage limitation
:
: John Mackey, who started with a single store
: in Texas in 1980 and has built a company
: worth $3.8bn (£2.3bn) on the Nasdaq stock
: exchange, has previously described himself
: as a free market libertarian.
:
:
: Experts say the Whole Foods brand is strong
: enough to weather the storm
: Responding to the healthcare controversy in
: his Whole Foods blog, Mr Mackey said,
: "I gave my personal opinions... [the]
: company has no official position on the
: issue."
:
: As part of their damage limitation strategy,
: Whole Foods' in-house public relations
: division has created a forum on its website
: for customers to discuss the issue. There
: are nearly 17,000 posts, compared with 63
: posts on the dairy-free forum.
:
: Some posts were scathing in their criticism
: of Mr Mackey but others defended the right
: of the controversial boss to express his
: views. One respondent said, "Bravo John
: Mackey! Finally we hear the voice of reason.
: I plan to start shopping in your store in
: protest at this liberal lunacy."
:
: I would urge customers to keep the big
: picture in mind when they are deciding
: whether or not to boycott the store
:
: Libba Letton, Whole Foods spokeswoman
: The controversy has come at a bad time for
: Whole Foods which is struggling to grow its
: sales during the recession.
:
: Dubbed "whole paycheque" by
: customers on account of high prices
: in-store, Whole Foods' share price is
: currently $28, more than 60% below its
: all-time high at the end of 2005.
:
: Strong brand
:
: Mr Mackey is known for his directness. He
: was recently quoted in a newspaper saying
: that as well as healthy, organic produce,
: "we sell a bunch of junk", a
: remark reminiscent of Gerald Ratner's 1992
: comment that an item sold in his British
: jewellery chain was "total crap".
:
: The brand is strong enough to bounce back,
: predicted Iain Ellwood, head of consulting
: at global branding consultancy Interbrand.
: "They need to focus the public's
: attention back on the company's core
: principles as a community-based brand,"
: he said.
:
:
: Carol Kramer drove from Virginia to
: Washington DC to join the protests
: Whole Foods' Libba Letton attempted to do
: just that, calling on customers to remember
: the grocer's long history in supporting
: sustainability and organic farming, food and
: nutritional labelling, and ethical treatment
: of animals.
:
: "I would urge customers to keep the big
: picture in mind when they are deciding
: whether or not to boycott the store,"
: she said.
:
: Opinion was divided outside the P Street
: branch in Washington. While many customers
: entered the store undeterred by the
: controversy, some left empty-handed, vowing
: to shop elsewhere.
:
: Teacher Carol Kramer had driven from
: Virginia to take part in the protest. She
: said, "There are a lot of people out
: there who really invested in the Whole Foods
: brand, emotionally and financially. We are
: feeling really betrayed."
:
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