Romine Resigns

DAYTON - The director of nursing services for the Columbia County Public Hospital District has resigned following months of controversy over staff management and low morale at Dayton General and the Booker Rest Home.

The resignation this weekend of Virginia Romine, whose last day will be June 10, came just days after a meeting of the district's board of directors on Thursday in which former and current medical employees and members of the public pleaded for changes in nursing personnel treatment and management practices.

In an interview on Tuesday, District CEO Charlie Button said he could not elaborate on Romine's reasons for resigning or comment on the question whether she was asked to step down. He cited personnel privacy rules.

Romine herself could not eb reached for comment.

Last month, several fulltime and part-time medical employees, including two E.R. physicians, resigned after the sudden firing of Rural Clinics Director Julia Mead - a development that brought long-simmering discontent over nursing staff management to a head.

During the board's public comment period that went on for more than two hours Thursday, Romine was mentioned numerous times by current and former staff who said they could not bring problems to her or the chief executive officer's attention without fear of jeopardizing their jobs.

More than 100 district employees, former staff and community members voiced fear, frustration and anger over firings and working conditions at the hospital and rest home, saying the district has lost many good employees because of it. They packed the hospital's physical therapy gym and spilled out into the hallway. Several people made tearful pleas to "get our hospital back."

Following the long and emotional public comment period, the board went into executive session and announced an immediate firing freeze. They also vowed to seek third-party mediation or assistance to help improve staffing conditions at the district.

With emotions still running high after the board announced their actions, the district's longtime physician, Dr. Michael Luce, appealed to current staff to "stay on the job" and for the crowd to let go of their hurt and hostility.

"I do believe the board is taking your concerns seriously," he said. "We're on track now to correcting some of the problems and restoring our cooperative workplace."

In addition to implementing an immediate freeze on firing employees, Board President Blaine Bickelhaupt said an "impartial" mediator will be hired to interview staff and community members and to investigate complaints.

Bickelhaupt also said at least two board members would be required to review each proposed dismissal and that the board is committed to adding and retaining staff and to being a more "visible part of the hospital community."

On Tuesday, Button said he has already begun forming a staffing committee with Medical Director Dr. Heidi Shields and four nurses to analyze staffing needs and overhaul the current nursing personnel management structure.

He said he has learned from developments in the past several weeks that he hasn't done enough in the past to include nursing staff in personnel management improvement decisions.

"I want to empower employees to be part of the solution," he said, explaining

that an active recruitment effort is underway to fill vacancies and add positions to lighten workloads and ensure adequate patient care.

During the meeting Thursday, Shields spoke on behalf of district physicians and providers, saying she began to notice problems related to a nursing shortage last August.

She also told of an inexperienced nurse at Booker giving the wrong medication to a patient, who as a result ended up in the emergency room. Shields said she contacted Romine about the incident and was told that it was a common problem which happens all the time.

She said she then expressed her concerns to a board member who passed them on to Button.

"Charlie was more concerned that I had gone to a board member and gone over his head," Shields said.

A few weeks ago, Shields said she was again dismayed when she discovered a nurse had been on shift for 20 hours straight. "I was afraid for that nurse and afraid for my patient who she was monitoring."

Certified Nursing Assistant Joanna Prather was in tears as she told the board that employees have been pulled from the rest home to work at the hospital, leaving her, "a pregnant woman," alone to care for more than 20 residents at a time.

"You should have done something back in September when I spoke at that board meeting hellip; Nothing's changed," she said.

Special Hospital District

Board Meeting

6 p.m. Thursday

Conference Room, Admin Bld.

Topic: Administration

Complaints