Former Winneshiek Medical Center doctor writes letter

(The following is a letter to the editor by former Winneshiek Medical Center radiologist Dave Jensen):

It has been painful to watch the downward spiral of WMC over the past several years. A facility that was once the place to go for health care in Northeast Iowa is now no longer the place to go for health care even here in Decorah.  I applaud Paul Scott for his attempts to shed light on some of the issues, ask questions and stimulate public discussion. The list of problems at the WMC is long, but at the top of the list is the current administration's attitude that every hospital employee, as well as all of the physicians, are dispensable and replaceable.  No value is given to years or even decades of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, quality of service, patient continuity and community involvement. Administration has created a culture of negativity and intimidation where employees feel undervalued and bullied, and are actually fearful for their job security. Many of the people who have recently left WMC, including physicians, decided they weren't going to take it any longer.  Others left behind are unable to escape for various reasons and are forced to continue to work under these adverse conditions. People feel helpless and unappreciated, morale suffers, and in the end the quality of the product - in this case, health care - suffers.

The question that needs to be asked is: "What can be done?"  The situation is only getting worse and one begins to wonder about the future of WMC. 

First of all, we need to continue to ask questions and demand answers and accountability. It seems the hospital board is unwilling or unable to do anything. The physician leadership is powerless or intimidated. This hospital is still a county hospital. We the taxpayers support it. It is here to serve the citizens of Winneshiek County.  It's time for the citizens of Winneshiek County to demand better. All options should be on the table. We need to look at all models. Some of the most thriving critical access hospitals in Iowa, including Waverly Health Center and Regional Medical Center in Manchester, have no affiliation with any larger organization. They are doing what we used to do here: delivering excellent health care driven by happy, motivated staff in a positive environment. They are moving forward and growing rather than going backward. They are adding services, not losing services.

Ultimately there needs to be a cleaning of administrative house. The current administration have had their chance and have failed. They have lost the respect of the employees. One administrator has been shown the door but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Physicians and staff are the people who produce the product.  They're the engine that drives the machine. They're the face the public sees when they come seeking health care. The administration should be listening to and facilitating the physicians, not telling them how to practice. If, according to the administration, the physicians and staff are dispensable and replaceable, then certainly the same rules should apply to the administrators and some of their crony department heads.

We need to keep the pressure on and keep demanding answers. There's been too much smoke and mirrors. We need transparency.  It's time to put the physicians and staff back in charge and let them do what they do best, and that is to deliver excellent health care in a pleasant and welcoming environment.  Overtime, WMC can be rebuilt starting with the good people who are left and can once again become a centerpiece of the community that we can count on and be proud of.