Can South County Hospital maintain its high rankings as internal discord goes public? Can it survive?

Shit hits the fan at South County Hospital

By Will Collette

One of the many signatures on the “open-letter” that forced South County Health’s internal problems into the open was that of Dr. Gloria Sun. She was my primary care doctor since 2004 and saved my life at least once. 

She left SCH a little over a year ago telling me she was disgusted by the grind of paperwork and bureaucracy and moved over to URI’s student health services.

We’ve experienced the effects of SCH’s high turnover and disappointing recruitment results. Since then, Cathy and I have not had a regular doctor, relying instead on a succession of family nurse practitioners. Cathy relies on getting home blood draws but that was one of the several services SCH discontinued. She used to get iron infusions at the Cancer Center, but all of those staff quit in protest.

Most alarming for us is Cathy’s primary care doctor for her kidney disease who was cited by The Public’s Radio reporter Lynn Arditi:

In the last two months, four of the five staff in the hematology and oncology group submitted their resignations, Dr. Mark Mancini, the hospital’s medical director of nephrology, said in an interview Friday.

Mancini, who cares for patients with kidney disease, said that he is “on the brink of departure” because of frustrations with operation since Robinson was appointed chief executive officer in 2019, replacing Lou Giancolo.

“We haven’t had an organized meeting with the administration specifically representing the employed physicians in five years,’’ Mancini said. “(That’s a) prime example of an administration that has completely dissociated itself and alienated itself from the individuals such as physicians and advanced practice providers who are the pillars of your hospital.”

I have no complaints about SCH staff whether at the hospital, affiliated medical groups or our go-to favorite SCH Westerly site. We’ve always felt proud to have such an outstanding hospital as “our” hospital and appreciated the regular high ratings SCH has received. I spent four days as an inpatient with pneumonia and wrote about how great I was treated HERE.

But things have changed.

Right after Labor Day, the open-letter I mentioned in the opening hit the media and created a firestorm. The letter cited a callous attitude by hospital CEO Aaron Robinson, interference with proper medical treatment, bureaucracy and under-funding as the cause for staff resignations and difficulties in recruitment and retention.

While many institutions, especially in the health and non-profit sections, may have similar complaints, the open letter and protests make SCH’s issues much more than business as usual.

Since the letter, the focus has shifted to demands for Robinson’s removal and a shakeup of SCH management.

Aaronson and the SCH Board respond that the hospital has been losing money and that its reimbursements for services are 20% lower than similar hospitals in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Their most recent audit report showed a loss of $6.3 million. They lost almost $6 million last year too. Despite these losses and all the internal turmoil, in the two years after he became CEO, Robinson enjoyed a pay hike of 60% to $757,503.

As doctors, staff and patients go public, several facts stand out: we all want South County Health to survive and thrive as the high-quality health care institution many of us rely on. Yes, there are reimbursement and market pressures pushing management to try to stem the bleeding – the state should do whatever it can to help out.

But it’s also clear that management, particularly Dr. Aaronson, are central to the problems that need to be resolved. While Aaronson may still have the full confidence of his Board - for now - he has lost the hearts and minds of a significant part of the staff and community so much so that I don’t see how he can continue.

My relationship with South County Hospital goes back 50 years to 1974 when I met their legendary, long-time CEO Donald Ford. I was working on a campaign to push hospitals to provide uncompensated care to the uninsured, a problem exacerbated by a deep recession. Donald, alone among hospital administrators, actually took out radio ads telling the uninsured and unemployed that South County Hospital would never turn them away for lack of ability to pay.

He became a source as well as a friend and mentor. He oversaw SCH’s growth and I believe he inspired the kind of care that gave South County Hospital its top rankings. He died in 2010.

I wish current administration at SCH would use the axiom “What would Donald Do?” as they work their way through this crisis.