By Rick Harvey
Eureka Springs Times-Echo
Current and former staff members of Eureka Springs Hospital told members of the city council that they have experienced a “toxic” and “hostile” work environment at the hands of the current administration, along with members of the hospital commission — including allegations of illegal activity.
Nearly half of the two-and-a-half hour Eureka Springs City Council meeting held Monday, Nov. 11, was spent on public comments, with current and former hospital staff, along with members of the community, voicing their displeasure with recent decisions made by the hospital commission and describing to council members their versions of events that have transpired at the hospital in recent months.
Of the 17 people who spoke during public comments, 15 of them spoke on the hospital. In addition, five letters on the topic were read into the record. Most of those who spoke called for the removal of hospital commission chair Kent Turner and vice chair Barbara Dicks, with many additional requests for the dismissal of hospital chief financial officer Cynthia Asbury and hospital human resources director Jodi Edmondson, who recently was elevated to temporary CEO.
Four of those who spoke or submitted letters currently work at the hospital, while some recently resigned and others were recently dismissed.
The comments came after the commission held a series of recent special meetings to make personnel changes that have not been explained publicly. Former CEO Angie Shaw was terminated Friday, Nov. 1, and received support from many who shared comments with council members.
During three special meetings held Monday, Nov. 4, the commission terminated Jessica Petrino, the hospital’s former director of nursing, put Asbury on a 60-day Performance Improvement Plan “to be monitored by the commission,” and named Edmondson acting CEO.
All decisions were made effective immediately and with no explanation from commissioners, who went into executive session to discuss each position before returning to announce their decisions.
Rudonya Chrisman, a medical laboratory technician who began working at the hospital in June 2021, outlined a series of “concerning situations” in a letter read into record, writing that over the past two years “I have observed a significant shift in the hospital’s environment, and not for the better.”
“During this time, I have witnessed numerous dedicated employees leave, many of whom genuinely cared about our community and the hospital’s success,” Chrisman wrote. “The management style at ESH, particularly from the CFO, Cynthia Asbury, and HR director, Jodi Edmondson, has become increasingly unprofessional, punitive and authoritarian.”
Chrisman wrote that on Nov. 9, just days after the dismissal of Shaw and Petrino, she was working in “inadequate emergency room operations.”
“…I was working with a team of undertrained and inexperienced staff,” she wrote. “We had only one PRN nurse, one shift-key nurse, one nurse in orientation, and a newly hired physician who was unfamiliar with our hospital’s systems. Due to the sudden dismissal of the CEO and CNO, there was no senior nursing managers available for guidance or assistance.
“As the most experienced staff member in the hospital at the time, I was asked to help locate critical medications and equipment, such as stroke medications and chest compression devices, because no one else on staff knew where they were or how to use them. This is a giant failure in emergency room operations, which could result in disastrous consequences for patient care, especially in urgent situations. If this had been a real emergency, the lack of proper training and equipment knowledge could have led to tragic outcomes.”
Another concern, Chrisman reported, was the “recent removal of essential lab tests from our in-house capabilities.”
“Previously, we were able to perform routine emergency tests …,” she wrote. “These tests were crucial for timely diagnosis and treatment.
“However, under the direction of the CFO who has no medical training/background, these tests have been eliminated, and patients must now wait 3-5 days for results. This delay can be life-threatening, especially in emergency situations. The CFO’s decision to remove these services — despite the objections of physicians who explained their importance — raises serious questions about the hospital’s commitment to providing quality care.”
A “hostile and toxic” work environment is also affecting patient care behind the scenes, wrote Shannon Magee, who has had two stints at the hospital, most recently from 2022 until this past March as admissions manager and central scheduler.
“When I say that I believe that our community needs this hospital, I do not speak lightly,” Magee wrote. “I believe in the mission of the hospital. I do not believe in the ability of the current management, nor the ability of the hospital commission to effectively command the finances, steward its resources, or care for its employees.
“The patient sees the staff that cares for them. What they do not realize is that their care is being compromised by the management behind the scenes, including the hospital commission. There is a hostile and toxic work envionment developed and perpetrated by both Cynthia Asbury, since her arrival, and by Jodi Edmondson for years. In addition, there have been violations and mismanagement of funds, all enabled by Kent Turner and Barbara Dicks…
“I have seen tears, anger and hopelessness from former coworkers who expressed their love for ESH and the community, but also their fear and frustration as they were harassed, intimidated and retaliated against by Cynthia, my supervisor, and Jodi. The community at large will never know the extent of the personal sacrifices that employees have made to keep the hospital open and provide for its patients, including the former CEO, Angie Shaw … .”
Magee went on to allege that micromanagement by Asbury led to resignations and staffing shortages on her team.
“…I was directed to implement a new schedule that Cynthia and Jodi created for me,” Magee wrote. “When I did and the resignations began, I was confronted by Cynthia and aggressively grilled about how a pattern seemed to be developing with my employees quitting. After this, I was told I could not communicate with my staff without running it by Jodi or Cynthia. At this point, I was not allowed to manage or advocate for my team, only to deliver bad news and disciplinary actions as they requested. … I felt powerless to talk to HR about any issues such as this because of the close relationship between my supervisor, Cynthia, and Jodi.”
‘THIS IS A HIPAA VIOLATION’
More than one person who spoke or wrote letters to the council allege that Dicks had access to the hospital’s surveillance cameras, and would watch the feeds from home.
“I was a direct witness to Barbara talking about watching hospital surveillance feed from her home, which she used to suggest improvements on how my staff worked and interacted with patients more than once,” Magee wrote. “This is a HIPAA violation.”
Charlotte Bunyar, a registered nurse who worked at the hospital from 2022 until this year, echoed those comments, adding that the camera system was easily accessible when she was working there.
“One day during a shift an administrator sent me a video clip from within the hospital,” Bunyar told council members. “I asked him where he got that, where he was able to get that from because it was from our surveillance systems. He said to me that all the administrators have access to this on their cell phones, but I talked to administrators and they said that wasn’t true.
“But, I did find out I could log on from any hospital computer using a generic username and password. I could hear private conversations. I even had the ability to zoom in on cell phones, patient information, and written text. I brought this up to management on numerous occasions that policies must be put in place per HIPAA to monitor the usage of the system and to protect the privacy of patients and the privacy of employees.”
Bunyar said she was also aware of Dicks accessing the system.
“One commissioner, Barbara Dicks, often watched the live feed from her personal residence,” Bunyar said. “This is a huge HIPAA violation. It’s going to cost tons of money. My suspicions of Barbara accessing these live feeds from her home is confirmed when I was told that Barbara no longer has access to these anymore …”
Bunyar also told council members she’s been told by “former and current employees” that Dicks and “another commission member have offices in the hospital now.”
“So they can access private health care information,” Bunyar said. “How can we be sure patients are being protected from the misuse of the hospital surveillance system? This is who we really want running our hospital?”
Former registered nurse Laurie Long said she had a face-to-face encounter with the vice chair of the hospital commission.
“Barbara Dicks came into the nurses’ station, turned around, looked at my computer and said, ‘well, what are you working on, dear?’ And I said, ‘ma’am, that’s none of your business. That’s a HIPAA violation. I can’t allow you to stay back here.’
“And she said, ‘I’m on the commission. It’s OK.’ And I said, ‘It’s your commission against my license. My license will win every time. Have a nice day.’ ”
Brandie Davidson, who worked at the hospital from 2021 until this year wrote to council members that it was a “fantastic place to work up until a year-and-a-half ago when Cynthia Asbury was hired as CFO,” and outlined a series of events that she said could be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“From day one human resources knew that I had a disability,” Davidson wrote. “They moved our on-call room across the street in the basement of a clinic, from a room that was perviously used inside the hospital. I informed them that I was unable to walk down the side of the hill with the loose gravel. They made the decision to put concrete steps down the side of the hill without a handrail.
“I did fall several times going up and down those steps. I notified my boss which she had asked about a handrail being installed on multiple occasions. Several months went by and she then had asked again about the railing and Cynthia would not approve of the railing being put in.
“This is a huge issue, not only for me with my disability but to anyone else walking up and down those steps.”
Tina Adams, who has worked at the hospital for the past five years, said she has witnessed “retaliatory behavior” firsthand, including the issue with Davidson’s request for a handrail.
“ESH has a violence in the workplace policy which clearly states a zero tolerance towards intimidation, bullying, retaliation and harassment regardless of the individual’s position,” said Adams, who told council members she recently submitted a five-week notice. “Cynthia Asbury stands at meetings, creating a dominance and belittling environment. She uses phrases like, ‘You’ve been told,’ … which asserts her authority in an aggressive manner. She glares at staff, making it clear not to dispute any issues.
“An example of her retaliatory behavior would be when she refused to put up a railing at the clinic, even though we had a disabled employee, which is an ADA violation. It is still not completed. … [Asbury] will throw anyone under the bus to save herself.”
Adams said she has also experienced retaliatory behavior from Edmondson, and also witnessed a potential HIPAA violation incident involving Dicks.
“Barbara Dicks… exhibited intimidating behavior and pressured me to remove window blinds in the lab so she could see in, which would expose patient privacy and patient information from the computer, which is a HIPAA violation. She laughed at the loss of patient information.”
Other violations alleged by current and former staff included Asbury requiring all patients to pay $100 up front for emergency services, council members were told.
“I personally witnessed negative account balances for patients who had no idea that the hospital owed them money … because of an aggressive money upfront policy for outpatient visits that was initiated by Cynthia,” Magee said. “I encourage any former patients of ESH to request a statement from the billing office.”
Bunyar said during her time she was once asked to hang signs that could have violated The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
“I was given signs to hang that informed patients they couldn’t be seen by a medical doctor if their reason for coming to the ER was deemed non-emergent by a nurse,” Bunyar said. “… I was told that it was a new policy mandated directly from Cynthia Asbury.
“I didn’t hang the signs up. Instead, I gathered them all along with a copy of the law enacted by Congress in 1986, [EMTALA]. This law was designed to provide emergency care to all patients, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. It’s tied to Medicare reimbursements and severe violations can lead to termination of the hospital or Medicare provider agreements and fines can reach $100,000 per violation. I was thanked by the CNO at that time for not hanging the signs up and for putting in Cynthia Asbury’s box a copy of it. I was also told by the CNO to be careful.
“I feel like Eureka Springs Hospital can’t have a CFO that’s making decisions and creating policies about health care practices when she’s not familiar with the laws.”
‘SADLY HAD TO RESIGN’
Joy Kennedy, who worked at the hospital for 10 years, the last three as ER director and overseeing the hospital’s trauma, stroke and sexual assault program, said she “sadly had to resign,” on Tuesday, Nov. 5, the day after the latest rounds of administrative changes made by the commission.
“I’ve been exposed to a hostile and toxic work environment for some time now,” Kennedy told council members. “Cynthia Asbury, CFO, has had a negative impact on the hospital since her employment. We’ve had an unbelievably high staff turnover. Her unwelcoming behaviors have affected me mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Her lack of respect, communication and transparency has caused me great stress.
“Cynthia sends emails requesting that I review patient accounts and states that there are charge issues but doesn’t say what the issues are. And when I ask, all she says is ‘all I can say is there’s charge issues, so you need to review.’ When I would tell her that certain procedure charges weren’t dropping, she either didn’t reply, blamed my nurses, or she said she could give examples of where the charges were dropping correctly. When I asked for those examples, she never responded.
“Cynthia portrays no teamwork or regard for her fellow coworkers. My travel reimbursement was cut short for a mandatory stroke conference, so I notified Cynthia and she said I was reimbursed for the travel reimbursement policy. I was unaware of any such policy. When I asked for the policy, I had to ask twice. And finally when it was provided to me, her name was the only name on the approval for the policy.”
Kennedy told council members that part of the blame should be on Turner.
“Kent Turner, ESH commission chair, has continued to allow this and has been known to yell and slam his fist on the table,” Kennedy said. “I witnessed this in a recent financial meeting with him, Cynthia, Jessica Petrino, Jodi Edmondson and Barbara Dicks.”
Such a meeting would be a violation of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act and the state’s open meetings law. No two or more members of any public commission can meet in private to discuss commission business.
“Kent has been made aware by the recently terminated CEO, Angie, of many staff and patient grievances and complaints, but he nor the commission took any action,” Kennedy said. “Kent was recently called to a meeting with Angie and several of us employees, and he said there would be no retaliation.
“That Friday, the commissioners voted to terminate Angie.”
Kennedy said the Monday morning after Shaw’s termination commissioner Kate Dryer took part in the staff’s “morning huddle” meeting.
“Jessica questioned who was going to be in charge since Angie’s termination,” Kennedy said. “Kate stated we would know more after the commission meeting later that day. Kate requested that I report my duties to Cynthia and give her the ER inventory and par list and that Cynthia would be the liaison.
“Why would I be reporting to Cynthia instead of my supervisor, Jessica? Maybe because the commission had already colluded with Cynthia and Jodi and had preplanned to terminate Jessica Petrino later that afternoon.”
Kennedy concluded her three-minute comments telling council members that Dicks also contributed to many of the negative issues at the hospital.
“Barbara has been known to walk into patient rooms, and she’s been seen last week rummaging around offices in which one of those was Angie Shaw’s office, which is a HIPAA violation,” she said. “Barbara has created a hostile work environment for staff, including myself, verbally and physically, with the intent to intimidate me.”
FORMER CEO SPEAKS
Shaw was in attendance at the council meeting and was one of the final speakers.
“I’m Angie Shaw, former CEO of the hospital, but in my heart, I’m an RN,” she said. “To be honest, I was advised not to speak tonight by my counsel. However, hearing everyone’s story, I have to say something.
“I want to mention one thing. Eureka Springs Hospital’s brand is ‘the hospital with a heart.’ The staff that have spoken before me are professionals and well educated in their craft. And without them, the hospital has lost its heart and the community will have lost a valuable resource.
“So, I hope you truly listen to their concerns openly without bias tonight.”
COUNCIL MEMBERS RESPOND
Council member Steve Holifield said he wanted to make sure the topic of the hospital was on the agenda for the next council meeting, which isn’t until Monday, Dec. 9.
Mayor Butch Berry said he would have Turner attend the meeting to answer any questions the council had.
Council member Autumn Slane said during her comments that she was “sad” to hear the allegations by the current and former hospital staff and responded to requests by some of the current and former hospital employees who spoke for the council to take over the hospital commission.
“We’ve had some interesting public comments today and not one thing we’ve even talked about at this table, and it seems that this has been going on since 2019 at the bare minimum,” Slane said. “At this point, I’m sad about that.
“Our hospital staff, they need protection and residents and patients need protection. This is our job and duty. Overreach and micromanagement will be talked about here, but it is our job to step in. If it’s not ours, then whose? We’ve had issues of overreach with our commissions and chair on the CAPC and now the hospital.
“The council, as I’ve said many times before, needs to have a quarterly review, at the very minimum, to talk about topics like this, because how does it get this out of hand? Every commission needs to be held to the Robert’s Rules of Order and this will maintain order and reduce the overreach. We have to do better about communicating with our commissions and the council. Our city and citizens rely on it.”
