[C]urrent and former Springfield Hospital staff members signed a petition demanding the resignation of the chair of the hospital’s board following the elimination of positions and reduction of salaries.
The petition, signed by more than 30 people, accuses George Lamb, chair of the board, of not doing enough to prevent the hospital’s troubled financial situation.
“We have watched with feelings of powerlessness and distress as the financial difficulties facing SMCS have been revealed over the past few months,” the petition states. “As employees, we need to be able to have faith in our administration, and we do not have that faith in Mr. Lamb.”
Meredith Tips-McLaine, a nurse care coordinator, collected signatures and presented the petition to a board meeting Feb. 19.
She and others were concerned about the hospital’s future with the current board.
Patrick Connelly, a patient, said board members should have cut costs and insisted on “major changes” before the hospital came to the point of near-closure earlier this year.
“You all have known for years that the hospital was bleeding money but you chose to ignore the situation and, even worse, it seems as if you hid this from the public,” Connelly said in a written statement. “Your blatant lack of financial oversight has put people out of work and may cost this area its hospital.”
Connelly asked Lamb to step down.
“It is time accept responsibility for your failures and resign from this board so that a new and more competent leader can step up to provide the vision and ethical leadership that you are sorely lacking,” Connelly said.
Lamb, who owns the Springfield law firm Lamb and McNaughton, said he’s been on the Springfield Medical Care Systems board for eight or nine years, serving two as chair. He declined to comment other than to say the board was doing its best.
“People are entitled to their own opinions,” Lamb said.
A recent financial audit found the organization lost about $14 million in two years.
The hospital nearly closed in January before receiving an $800,000 loan from the state to cover payroll and operating expenses. In February, 27 positions were cut and pay was reduced for all employees across the organization.
The hospital’s executive leadership changed at the end of last year with CEO Tim Ford and CFO Scott Whittemore abruptly leaving their positions within a week of each other. The petition asks why Lamb who “stood shoulder to shoulder with Ford and appeared to be advising him closely,” didn’t leave at the same time.
“If he was part of what was going on, I don’t know why he’d be part of the team to fix it,” Tips-McLaine said in an interview.
The petition was submitted to interim CEO Mike Halstead.
“At this time it’s such an emotional issue,” Halstead said. “Emotion turns to anger sometimes.”
The hospital holds monthly board meetings, allowing the public to speak for 10 minutes before closing the doors and asking everyone to leave.
Some urged the board to be more transparent.
Richard Andrews, a Springfield resident and patient, said he was “dismayed.”
“I think a lot of people in town are concerned,” he said after the meeting. “That there’s an unwillingness to be more transparent is more disturbing to a lot of people than just about anything else.”
John Bond, a former physician assistant, echoed those concerns.
“It’s clear that without community support, the hospital will not recover,” Bond said in a written letter. “In an effort to improve the public’s perception of the recovery, we feel a widespread house cleaning is necessary.”
Though Lamb hasn’t resigned from the Springfield Medical Care Systems board, there have been other changes recently.
Heather Presch, the executive director of the Springfield Health and Rehab Center, and Lynn Raymond-Empey, the executive director of Valley Health Connections, recently joined the board while Robert Beaudry stepped down.
“It’s a major part of our community,” Raymond-Empey said of the hospital. “It’s important to our patients. It’s important to be able to access healthcare.”
Raymond-Empey declined to comment on the hospital’s financial struggles.
Rick Bibens also became part of the Springfield Medical Care Systems board earlier this year.
Bibens, the owner of Bibens Ace Hardware, said he served on the board on and off for 10 years before he resigned about five years ago.
“I felt with my experience over the years, I could give a little advice,” said Bibens. “I care about Springfield Hospital and Windsor County and I think it’s an important institution.”
Bibens, who formerly served on the board with Lamb, also declined to comment on the petition or on the hospital’s financial challenges.
