Salard denied Wrangell Medical Center privileges

The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors voted unanimously on Wednesday, Nov. 16 to extend Emergency Room and hospital privileges to 7 physicians and one CRNA, while denying those same privileges to Dr. Greg Salard of the Tideline Clinic.

Salard attended the open portion of the meeting and spoke up with a request after he was informed that his name was once again up for review.

“Would it be possible for me to be there while your discussing my credentials?” Salard asked the board and Selle-Rea.

Board president Mark Robinson replied directly to Salard, telling him that he would not be allowed to attend the executive session dealing with his application for privileges.

“We’re not required to do that by State law,” Robinson said.

“Are you sure about that? I can’t be there while your discussing my credentialing?” Salard replied.

“Yes,” Robinson and Selle-Rea both stated flatly.

After the meeting, Selle-Rea said the board and hospital relied on Alaska’s open governmental meeting law detailed in Alaska Statutes, Sec. 44.62.

Salard’s request for privileges was most recently tabled at the Oct. 19 WMC board meeting. Under the terms of his contract with Alaska Island Community Services, the operator of Tideline, Salard is required to maintain credentialing at WMC.

After the executive session meeting and discussion, the WMC board members reconvened and voted to not renew the privileges of Salard – while approving all the other applicants seeking to work at the hospital.

The WMC board declined to comment after the vote. Salard, however, had plenty to say once the meeting was over.

“The board voted to not renew my privileges for the hospital,” Salard said. “Moreover, it was effective immediately. After the executive session concluded, they went back into regular session and voted on us. They affirmed everyone but me in that vote and they gave me no reason as to why the vote went that way.”

Carly Allen, the manager at Tideline Clinic, said the failure to renew Salard’s privileges could have a detrimental effect on how Wrangellites receive medical care at the clinic.

“Potentially, it would certainly affect our ability to provide care to our patients,” Allen said. “Our staffing profile requires our physicians to equally share the call responsibility for the ER, so losing one would be tougher on the other physicians because we can’t rely on just one or two doctors to always be on call.”

Salard added that he is weighing his options carefully in the matter.

“I’ve retained an attorney to assist me with this and I’m going to fight it,” Salard said. “This is doing more than just affecting my work, it is getting to the point where me and my family, which includes two lovely new daughters, may have to leave Wrangell. That isn’t what we want. We want to stay here.”

Salard’s attorney, Lee Holen of Anchorage, said among other actions, a whistleblower suit may filed against the board and WMC – and that barring her client from the portion of the executive session meeting that dealt with his privileges runs afoul of Alaska’s open meeting law and hospital rules.

“When you look at the reason for discussing his matter in executive session, it’s to protect his character and privacy from third parties,” Holen said. “It’s meant to keep them away from that knowledge, not the person being discussed. The purpose of the law should not be construed to exclude the person being considered.”

Holen also added that the hospital might have violated its own policies when barring Salard from the executive session.

“The major arguments regarding whether he should have had the opportunity to defend himself against the charges before losing the privilege involve Dr. Salard’s due process rights,” Holen said in an email. “It is against the hospital bylaws to take action such as ending hospital privileges without providing the accused doctor notice and opportunity to be heard and defend himself.”

Holen said Salard was denied that opportunity to refute accusations allegedly made against him.

“As it turns out, we understand the board relied on an alleged 10 patient complaints that had not even been discussed with Dr. Salard,” Holen added. “(That’s) totally contrary to their own bylaw requirements. Had he been present, he at least would have notice of the charges against him.”

According to Holen, the whistleblowing claim is based on Dr. Salard’s earlier reports to the Borough Assembly regarding problems at WMC.

“This was a report on matters of public concern and safety, for which he has been retaliated against ever since, in violation of statute,” Holen said. “It is really unfortunate for this community that the board has taken such reckless action and subjected the borough to liability. And on the other hand, the public is losing yet another practitioner at the hospital, leaving the public health more vulnerable.”

Salard also alleged that the hospital, through its own legal counsel, hired an attorney of its own to investigate his background and report back on those findings.

The attorney in question, E. Budd Simpson of Juneau’s Simpson, Tillinghast & Sorensen law firm, gave little insight as to what his role in any investigation of Salard may have involved.

“This has to do with a credentialing matter,” Simpson said in a telephone interview last week. “That said, I can’t confirm or deny that we were hired to investigate Dr. Salard.”

According to Salard’s estimation, his credentialing process should have been completed and approved by February. Now, nine months later, he said he is facing an uncertain future with his practice in Wrangell and is contemplating legal action against the hospital.

“Like I said, I am going to fight this,” Salard added.

Legal counsel for the hospital and board did not return calls for comment by the deadline for this story.

Selle-Rea did add, however, that though the work of the board in executive session is private in nature, the decision made was not lightly.

“Personnel issues are all confidential so we can’t discuss the details of the meeting,” Selle-Rea said. “It was certainly a very long and difficult process and the decision was unanimous. We had a thorough discussion and followed policies and procedures. It was not a quick or spontaneous decision and they came to that decision, minus board member Linda Bjorge.”

Bjorge removed herself from the meeting due to an on-going legal matter between Salard and her husband, Bucky Bjorge.