My Statement to the Hospital Board, That I Didn't Get to Read

 Our local hospital has been going through some struggles for the last few months. Well, a lot longer than that, but the last few months have been really bad. At the center of the struggle is our CEO. People have tried to talk to our hospital board, but so far nothing has happened. The management style of this CEO is to yell and belittle people. On July 17 there was a hospital board meeting which turned bad. I was there and recorded the uproar. Then I also wrote a story about it. It came out in the July 23 issue of The Syracuse Journal. Since then many other things have happened. 

On August 21 there was another board meeting. For the last month I had been working on a letter I wanted to read to the board, but the day of the meeting they enacted new rules. One of those was that you could not say anything about current employees. The following letter is one I had ready to read, but because of the new rules I couldn't say a lot of it. When I got shut down on using Bryan Coffey's name, I just went to the part about Duke Millard, Elaine Keeler and a supervisor I had one time who was not exactly nice to work for. 

My hope in doing that was that Bryan Coffey would see the difference in the two styles and that one was much better than the other. I hurt for the people who have been hurt by the words spoken towards them. Here is what one lady told me who recently became a former employee of the hospital. Her words are about all of the former employees of the hospital.

"He is telling everyone we are cancer. My mother died of cancer and it is a horrible thing. To be compared to that is just,...." At that point she just shook her head and had to choke back tears. 

I had sent a copy of this letter to others and they have encouraged me to post it publicly. After thinking about it and praying about it I have decided to do just that.

The following is the letter I had prepared.




First of all I want to make this very clear that I am voicing my concerns and opinions as a citizen of Hamilton County and NOT as an employee of The Syracuse Journal. Marcus nor the paper have anything to do with this so if you have a problem with what I say, come to me.

To the board: I appreciate the fact that you don’t want to face looking for another CEO because of the past track record. Kent, you made the statement that you didn’t want to go down that road again. Might I suggest you take a different road then? Sometimes you need to stop, ask directions and take a different route. Sometimes it may take you out of your way, but in the long run will be worth it.

Bryan, at the board meeting of July 17 you stood up here and yelled at everyone that you were not going to allow 50 people to sit around and take pot shots. You proved that at your so called Town Hall meeting on August 13. Which by the way, you need to read a definition of a town hall meeting.

“A town hall meeting is an informal public meeting that gives the members of a community an opportunity to get together to discuss emerging issues and to voice concerns and preferences for their community. A typical meeting is attended by both citizens and officials, giving everyone a chance to talk personally in a relaxed environment about the things which matter to them. Typically, the organization and leadership are minimal, encouraging people to settle their differences amicably and with help from friends.”

You would not allow anyone to speak except for you and your staff even putting out the threat that if anyone did speak out they would be escorted out. You did the same thing with Michele Boy when she tried to voice concerns about events at the hospital. Basically, you talk, we listen. We are to shut up and let you say whatever you want and WE have no voice.

Well, that needs to change. You don’t want anyone taking potshots at you, but every time I have listened to you that is exactly what you have done. I have heard you do it at Rotary meetings. I heard you do it at the July 17 meeting and at the August 13 meeting you did it numerous times. You took potshots at The Syracuse Journal, The HMCO Sheriff’s Department and me personally. And that brings me to a question for you.

Just what did you mean when you commented that if anyone had questions about the Kansas Open Meetings Act to talk to Carol Roberts because she seems to know everything about it? I am not an expert, but after the July 17 meeting I made phone calls and became much more informed. I also have this card from Kansas Press Association of which I am a member, which outlines the KOMA laws.

Your potshots at various people were uncalled for and very unprofessional. You owe this whole community an apology for your actions.

Bryan, I have heard so many stories about how you treat people from those you have victimized. I have even had people call me who worked for you several years ago and with emotions still in their voice tell me word for word things you said to them that should not be said to anyone. I have the notes from those phone calls right here.

You want to focus on how much money the hospital is making now and it is good that the hospital is turning a profit, but money is not everything. YOU need to learn how to treat people.

Bryan, I would rather see some changes in you as opposed to you being released from your contract. But if you can’t change, maybe a release needs to be considered.

And since you like to read your Bible, I would like to recommend you read and study James, Chapter 3.

I also want to tell you about two supervisors I have had that did things right.

One of those was the general manager of a beef processing plant in Moore County Texas. That plant employed 2500 people and was managed by Duke Millard. As part of my job I reported directly to Duke the head count of the cattle going across the kill floor which totaled 5,000 head a day. I also figured the amounts to pay the feedlots for the cattle and typed those checks which totaled several million dollars every day. If I made a mistake Duke would walk out of his office, which all the way across a building the size of the VIP center over to my desk whistling all the way. When he did that everyone knew I had made a mistake. One day when he walked up whistling I opened my desk drawer and pulled out a box a crackers and offered him one. He just looked at me and asked “Why would I want crackers?” My co-worker started laughing and told him that way he couldn’t whistle. He then asked if it bothered me when he did that. I told him it did and the other ladies agreed it bothered them when he did it to them. He just nodded and said OK, but he never did it again.

Duke never yelled or cussed at anyone that I heard of. Someone asked him one day why. He said because people listen better when you speak to them in a normal tone of voice and with respect. I did listen to him and I always respected him. And when I left that job I told him so.

After that I worked for the trucking company that hauled the cattle for the processing plant. My supervisor was Elaine Keeler. Elaine was a lady from head to toe, inside and out. If you got in trouble for something she would call you into her office and talk to you in a very calm tone. Never one foul word came out of her mouth, but when you left her office you knew you had been chewed out. You knew you had been in trouble, but you were never degraded, humiliated or treated with disrespect. I loved her and I loved working for her.

I also worked for someone in Texas who was just the opposite. He talked to me in ways I have never been talked to. After three months I walked out and swore I would never work for someone like that again. You never get over being treated that way. It is always with you in some way.

As our hospital board, you need to listen to what the people of Hamilton County are trying to tell you. There is a problem and you need to address it. You also need to keep in mind that all of these people sitting out here are the ones who voted for you. You have a responsibility to these people and not just to one person. I feel like the Re-Think Consortium is a good start and I have high hopes that they will help, but it will take some work.

Thank you for allowing me this time.