Updated Aug. 3, 10:20 am*
As much as the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital would like to move forward since the June firing of CEO Joe Woodin, it is dogged by questions raised by the community.
Over the weekend, Petra Lent McCarron of Vineyard Haven posted an online petition seeking answers, and as of Wednesday, 170 people had signed it. The petition asks about how much control Partners HealthCare has over the Island hospital, past compensation for former CEO Timothy Walsh, and where donations to the hospital are spent. It also asks about Mr. Woodin’s firing, and how Timothy Sweet, chairman of the board of trustees, has kept that position for 17 years, among other issues.
It’s just the latest outpouring from the community in the wake of Mr. Woodin’s sudden ouster. “I would recommend transparency to the board, because in the absence of transparency — when you have something so alarming as the firing of Joe Woodin — you get a whole lot of conspiracy theories,” Ms. McCarron said.
Separate from the petition drive, another concerned group, led by Alan Brigish, has met with the board and brought up similar questions.
“We’d like them to answer the questions. We spent a lot of time as a group formulating a list of questions, sitting down with board, and they gave us a non-answer,” Mr. Brigish told The Times. “They say they want more community input. How believable is that, given their track record?”
On Tuesday, Timothy Walsh, the board’s acting CEO, said the hospital can’t answer some of the questions raised by Mr. Brigish or the petition, especially about Mr. Woodin’s firing. The board is listening, and is attempting to address issues by hiring a consultant to review the board’s role and its communication, he said.
“We’re trying move forward as fast as we can to address this community connection,” Mr. Walsh said. A community member has been invited to serve on an ad-hoc governance committee to help hire a consultant to do the CEO search. “We can’t get it done fast enough,” Mr. Walsh said. “I wish we could.”
Also on Tuesday, members of the community group met and issued a statement urging the hospital to be more transparent.
“At this time, we want to emphasize what we feel is the urgency for transparent, two-way communication with the Island community,” the statement, released by Mr. Brigish, said. “We ask that [the board] publicly announce the development of a transparent, ongoing, public process to inform and listen to Island residents — both full-time and summer residents. This communication process should involve multiple platforms, including public meetings, traditional media, and social media outlets.”
In an email to Mr. Brigish after a board of trustees’ meeting Saturday, Mr. Walsh said not much can be said about the departure of Mr. Woodin because of privacy issues. “Based on information from members of the hospital community, the board was concerned about ensuring stability, and avoiding the loss of individuals who are essential to the operations of the hospital and the delivery of care to our patients,” he wrote.
On the day Mr. Woodin was fired, Timothy Sweet, chairman of the board, and his wife, Rachel Vanderhoop, the hospital’s development director, issued a misleading press release stating that Mr. Woodin had stepped down.
“We acknowledge that the process could have been better,” Mr. Walsh wrote in his email to Mr. Brigish. “We heard that point clearly from many residents. We want to do a better job communicating our vision and our planning.”
Mr. Brigish was unimpressed by the statement from Mr. Walsh. “We asked a whole series of questions, and they didn’t answer anything at all,” he told The Times.
The online petition expresses some of the same frustration that Mr. Brigish and other community members have been sharing.
“We the undersigned have lost confidence in the current administration and board of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital,” the petition states. “A significant change in vision, leadership style, and board membership is long overdue.”
The consultant, once hired, will interview the board and community members to do a complete evaluation, Mr. Walsh said. It’s likely to take upwards of 60 days once the consultant is hired, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Walsh said he expects the search for a permanent replacement to Mr. Woodin to take as long as six months.
As for the hospital’s role with Partners HealthCare, which seems to come up frequently, Mr. Walsh* said the local board has control, but collaborates with the parent company. He points out that the makeup of the board of trustees is 80 percent Vineyard people.
“I believe the way the bylaws are written, both sides have to agree on major issues,” Mr. Walsh said, noting that the Island hospital benefits from the relationship: “The services they bring are outstanding — things that a small hospital would never be able to do.”
Ms. McCarron is surprised by the amount of people who signed the petition in a short period of time. “I really would like this to spark a discussion,” she said. “I have nothing but good things to say about the hospital and its staff. I’m doing this because it’s so critically important to the Island community.”
The board understands that it has to win back trust, but in the meantime its work continues, Mr. Walsh said. “It’s quite a nice hospital, with a great medical staff and a great staff overall, delivering great care,” he said.
*The story mistakenly attributed the quote about the hospital’s local board being 80 percent Vineyard people to Mr. Woodin. It was Mr. Walsh who stated this.
The Board has no obligation to answer to Mr Brigish or anyone else for that matter. The termination was clearly due to management style. One can read between the lines if not the lines themselves. If Mr Brigish wants transparency would he countenance specific details of all the reasons scattered throughout the town and elsewhere designed to embarrass Mr Woodin.? I think not. Woodin will get a severance and will move on. This is not a Brigish issue.
According to the story above, “As for the hospital’s role with Partners HealthCare, which seems to come up frequently, Mr. Woodin said the local board has control, but collaborates with the parent company. He points out that the makeup of the board of trustees is 80 percent Vineyard people.” For proper transparency, I’d point out two things. First, I believe it was Mr. Walsh, not Mr. Woodin who made this statement. Second, and according to the bylaws, Partners has total control and veto power over virtually anything that occurs at the hospital. So, we may have 80% of the board as islanders, but when push comes to shove, MGH calls the shots.
Thank you, Mr. Brigish, for pointing out that it was Mr. Walsh, not Mr. Woodin, who said the board was made up of 80% Vineyarders. We’ve fixed it.
Since Mr. Woodin was abruptly terminated and the announcement botched by the married team of Sweet and Vanderhooten nothing has happened. Sweet is still Chairman (17 years and running until 2021) and Vanderhooten continues to collect her $156K salary, presumably until 2021 when her husband retires. The “Club” that is the Board continues to chug along, unchanged. Maybe they are listening, but actions speak louder. And there has been none except to bring Walsh back into the “Club”.
The Board is made up of 14 people. Well known names well educated and experienced. Are we being asked to believe that they all march in step; are a cabal and indulged in group think under the command of Mr Sweet? Did none of them judge Mr Woodin correctly or were they badgered into submission by Mr Sweet? Mr Woodin was discharged for good reason and privacy dictates confidentiality. There is no conspiracy: no deceitful collaboration and to suggest otherwise is fantasy.
,,,sure
and that’s why the island’s most trusted attorney stepped down.
Follow the money people.