RUTLAND — The chief executive officer of Community Health Centers of the Rutland Region said he was placed on six months of paid administrative leave on Thursday afternoon.
Don Reuther, who joined the organization in December 2019, told VTDigger he believes the action was retaliatory.
Community Health was interested in opening a clinic on the former College of St. Joseph campus to complement a 200-unit senior center that’s being planned by Heartland Communities of America, a development group.
Reuther said one member of the Community Health board expressed interest in the plans, but then suggested cutting Heartland out of negotiations, so Community Health could negotiate with “someone else.” Reuther declined to identify the person.
“It’s Rutland,” Reuther said. “There’s like two degrees of separation. That’s fine, until they asked something that was unethical in negotiations. And then I had to say, ‘no, we’re not going to do that. It’s a conflict of interest.’ And pretty much, it’s been downhill ever since.”
Messages sent to board chair Rob Riley in an email and via an administrative assistant were not returned.
Communications Director Jill Jesso-White declined to comment.
“As this is a personnel matter, we have no comment at this time,” she said.
Community Health, which offers medical, dental and behavioral care, has locations in Rutland, Brandon, Castleton, Shoreham and West Pawlet. Reuther said the organization serves 75% of its catchment area in Rutland County and the surrounding region.
Reuther said he’s had limited communications with board members for the last three months. The board didn’t give him a reason for placing him on leave, he said. The board asked him to sign a statement saying that he had resigned, and “waive his legal rights.” He declined.
Reuther said he plans to speak with an attorney.
The conflict between him and the board was well-known among hospital staff, he said. When members of the executive team offered to support him, he told them not to.
“I didn’t want to damage the leadership team that I put together,” he said. “I probably could have helped myself out by doing that.”
Reuther, who was the former chief operating officer of the Baltimore Medical System, highlighted his team’s accomplishments since he began in his role 18 months ago. The organization has maintained all of its employees through the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
He established a health care network with Rutland Regional Medical Center, Rutland Mental Health and the Visiting Nurses Association. The organization is opening a children’s dental clinic and a geriatric clinic.
“They asked me to make changes so that medical leadership was more effective, so that we’re more integrated in the community,” he said. “I’ve done that.”
