EDMONDS – Employees jammed the Stevens Hospital board meeting on Wednesday, and in emotional, sometimes tear-filled speeches said they were concerned about their jobs and the hospital’s future.
The employee comments came on a day when officials reported that the hospital lost $765,000 during the first two months of the year, caused in part by an unexpected decline in the number of patients admitted to the hospital.
Wednesday’s board meeting, attended by about 70 employees, was the first since the hospital announced earlier this month that financial problems will force it to lay off about 100 employees.
The taxpayer-supported hospital has 1,350 full- and part-time employees.
“Many of us are worried that our neighbors are losing faith in their hospital,” said Jackie McGeachy, a registered nurse and member of the Service Employees International Union negotiating team.
Employees who provide support services, such as making sure rooms are clean and supplies are available, “are not extras,” she said. “They make it possible to provide good care.”
Patrick Pedersen, a maintenance employee who has worked at the hospital for 10 years, presented board members with a petition signed by 354 employees. In part, it asks the board to examine the “top-heaviness” of the management staff and “let those jobs go first.”
Tami Evans, who works in a lab where heart tests are conducted, said if managers took a pay cut, “it would save one of our jobs.”
“We’re looking at every position … we’re not just looking at front-line staff,” hospital spokeswoman Beth Engel said after the meeting.
“Our focus is on making sure that we don’t do anything to jeopardize patient care.”
Engel said she was not able to get comment Wednesday from chief executive Dr. John Todd on employee requests for top managers to take a pay cut.
Cyndi Chadwick, a telecommunications manager, said she is voluntarily leaving the hospital on Wednesday. She fought back tears as she addressed the board.
Chadwick said she is worried that the jobs of some fellow employees would be outsourced or given to contract employees.
“To see everything going like this has been ripping me apart,” she said.
Board president Fred Langer told employees that he would get answers to the questions they posed during Wednesday’s meeting.
Budget reports made at the beginning of the meeting showed that surgeries declined 7.2 percent in January and February when compared to the same period last year.
The average number of hospitalized patients during the first two months of the year – 84 – was a reduction of 14.6 percent over the same period in 2005, said Gary Wangsmo, chief financial officer.
Hospital officials said they do not know the cause of the unexpected decline in the number of patients being admitted to the hospital this year.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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