Physicians in several specialties will no longer admit or treat patients at two local hospitals due to emergency-room on-call requirements. Seven nephrologists, or kidney specialists, are telling Physicians Regional Healthcare System's leaders they want to change their status on the medical staff after they were put on the call schedule for the Collier Boulevard hospital against their wishes, said Dr. Mark Russo, one of the seven nephrologists. As of Oct. 1, the kidney specialists will stop admitting and treating patients at both Physicians Regional Medical Center-Pine Ridge and Collier Boulevard, he said. They were told by hospital leaders they had to take emergency room call at both hospitals or resign, he said. Physicians Regional spokeswoman Taylor Hamilton said administration has received requests from four kidney specialists, not seven, that they want to change to inactive status, which means stop admitting and treating patients. They still can visit their patients who are admitted by other physicians.
