Northeast Kingdom Human Services CEO Tomasz Jankowski has resigned, after a state investigation revealed systemic issues in leadership, staffing, and the services the organization provides.
Board president Denise Niemira sent a brief email to staff Thursday, telling them that it was Jankowski’s final day on the job. “Please join me in wishing Tomasz well in the future,” Niemira wrote.
Jankowski’s resignation comes weeks after Northeast Kingdom Human Services was placed on provisional designation by the state Department of Mental Health. The organization provides mental health, substance use and disability services to clients in the Northeast Kingdom.
The seven-month investigation revealed that NKHS was short-staffed and wasn’t providing adequate care for clients. Employees did not have the necessary qualifications for their work, and the organization wasn’t following documentation and billing procedures, the department found.
Over the past two years, more than 50 NKHS employees and clients complained to the Department of Mental Health. Multiple people claimed that Jankowski bullied and harassed staff, accused him of taking frequent vacations, and said he wasn’t responding to staff complaints.
Jankowski did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Niemira’s letter to staff, Paul Bengtson, former CEO of Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, would serve as an interim executive of the organization. The board would immediately begin to recruit a replacement for Jankowski, she said.
Niemira declined to comment further on Jankowski’s resignation.
After the state’s report was released, Department of Mental Health Commissioner Sarah Squirrell said that Jankowski and the board were working closely with the state to make the recommended changes. NKHS has until Jan. 10 to submit a corrective action plan and six months to implement it.
Squirrell said Thursday that she had “full confidence” that the organization would be able to get back on track. “Certainly their board has been completely committed to the corrective action plan and to working with the Department of Mental Health,” she said.
Jankowski, who was hired in May 2018, had previously worked for Fletcher Allen Healthcare and VNA Health Systems of Vermont, as well as at health care jobs in Ohio.
In a written statement, the board praised Jankowski for his work leading “the Agency through the first stages of payment reform and the upgrade of its IT systems” over his 2½-year tenure.
