The Wrangell Medical Center Board of Directors held their regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 19 – the first since being reformed during the Aug. 21 special election to replace 8 recalled members.
The meeting began with a presentation by staff members Jane Bliss and Brian Smith which showed board members portions of the physical operations plant and kitchen area – where Bliss informed them that more than 12,000 meals were served during the past year.
After the presentation, during the Persons to be Heard section of the agenda, Wrangell resident Bill Knecht spoke up in favor of Dr. Greg Salard’s efforts to be reinstated at the hospital with full privileging.
“I have been in this town for 40 years, so I’m not quite a lifer but I’m close,” Knecht said, continuing on, “We have a great hospital and last winter I needed to spend a month in one of those beds. I think our hospital staff is outstanding and I’m just here to ask you to really read Dr. Salard’s letter. I think he is a very good doctor and a very great asset to this community.”
The letter Knecht referred to from Dr. Greg Salard was accepted into the record as correspondence. It was originally delivered during the Aug. 29 special board meeting, and asks them to reconsider his privileges at the hospital.
“I am requesting that you, the newly elected members of the WMC Board of Directors, reconsider and reverse an action taken by the recalled members you are replacing,” the letter states. “Specifically, I ask that you reconsider my application for privileges at WMC. Some of you may not be aware that my application was vetted by Bartlett Hospital, and our own Credentials Committee recommended approval, as did the WMC Medical Staff. In spite of these opinions by medical experts, the board denied my application.”
The letter also states that Salard has been credentialed at 13 different hospitals in the past, and holds unrestricted privileges at hospitals in Arkansas and Louisiana.
“Prior to the actions of the previous administrator and your recalled predecessors, I have never been denied or lost privileges at any hospital. But now on I must go through the embarrassing process of explaining this to the medical boards of three states every year when I renew my medical licenses, as well as to every hospital when I renew or apply for privileges for the rest of my life!”
Local resident Wayne Spencer also spoke up for the beleaguered physician.
“I would also like to address the issue of doctors, and not just Dr. Salard,” he said. “I’m not only friends with (Salard) but I consider him my doctor. I’m an old man and for the last ten years I have had several medical issues and … when Dr. Salard came here, I went to him a few times and we’ve been friends ever since. I won’t deny I’m friends with the man and know him pretty well, and after being a cop for 30 years I’m a pretty good judge of character. I think Dr. Salard’s character is right up there at the top.”
Spencer then went on to speak about how Salard’s denial of privileging has affected other medical professionals coming to the borough.
“Not only is Dr. Salard a good doctor, and we need good doctors in this town, I think there are some doctors sitting out there waiting to see how this pans out. You (the board) are the ones in control of this. We’ve already had a doctor that was pretty much hired who decided not to come here because of the problems. I’m not saying they are going to come if you reinstate Dr. Salard’s privileges right away because I think they’re probably going to sit back and see whom the new administrator is. But I would like to see you reinstate Dr. Salard and get (him) back in here.”
At that point, confusion over a motion to begin reinstatement proceedings began with a question from board member Dorothy Hunt-Sweat.
“I have a question,” Hunt-Sweat said. “Could, at this juncture, could we add this to the agenda? What these two gentlemen (have said) can we do anything at this point? I’m only asking because I have been a part of this for a long, long time and it’s time that we look at what other people are saying rather than just preconceived ideas.”
Hunt-Sweat then asked for a discussion of the privileging matter to be added to the agenda.
“Based on what Kim (Flores) told us you shouldn’t add anything that might be of a financial interest,” said board president Woody Wilson. “This could be of a financial interest. It would be a large item that was not noticed in the community. That would be my concern.”
Wilson then went on to explain what the public might perceive if they moved to reconsider Salard’s privileges at the meeting.
“We just became a board and this notice on the agenda has been out there and people haven’t seen any reference to this item on the agenda,” he added. “Even if we did take action on it this evening, we might be criticized for having not noticed the meeting. In my view, it wouldn’t be correct to do that.”
Hunt-Sweat then raised the specter of Noel Rea’s firing as it related to noticing by the former board.
“I don’t mean to be argumentative, but it wasn’t noticed on the agenda that Noel Rea would be fired and yet he was,” she said. “All I’m saying is, could we not notice something?”
Wilson’s response was direct and to the point: “I’m saying that would be inappropriate, in my opinion.”
Judy Allen then asked if it would be appropriate to even discuss the matter without taking any action.
“I don’t think you’re prepared to discuss it, and furthermore, all credentialing is to be done behind closed doors, (in executive session)” Wilson said.
Under Alaska State law, credentialing matters fall outside the scope of the Open Meetings Act.
A motion was then made by Allen to hold a special session dealing with the credentialing issue – and confusion over modifications to the motion ensued with Hunt-Sweat wanting, at first, to modify the motion made by Allen to hold a special meeting – and then a withdrawal of her desire to amend the motion.
Wilson, for his part, insisted that the board have the input of the interim hospital administrator, Kendall Sawa, before any decision was made – but Sawa’s contract has not been finalized yet, leading to confusion as to when to hold the meeting regarding Salard.
At that point, Borough Assembly member Billie Younce interrupted the meeting, saying “Not to cause any corruption (of the meeting) but an administrator follows the will of the board. You are the board.”
Wilson quickly gaveled Younce silent saying, “You are out of order.”
Nonetheless, the board voted unanimously to hold a special meeting on Oct. 3 to begin the process of reviewing Salard’s credentialing.
A planned managerial report from Sawa was not available, as he did not attend the meeting due to ongoing contract negotiations.
A resolution, the first to be considered since the formation of the new board, also passed unanimously and states that the top goal of the board is to build a new hospital for the community.
Board president Woody Wilson explained why he feels building the new hospital is so important for Wrangell.
“I believe it’s the number one priority because we have the money and have the architectural parts all taken care of,” Wilson said. “The longer we wait to build this, the longer it costs us, based on inflation. The sooner we get after it, the less we have to put in and the more we’ll get out of it.”
Another point of the resolution states the board’s support for the borough’s lawsuit against former WMC administrator Noel Rea.
“Be it further resolved that the Wrangell Medical Center Board agrees with the actions of the Assembly in matters concerning the return of funds and with the pending legal action to that end…” it states.
Aside from the Oct. 3 special meeting to begin the reinstatement process for Salard, the next regular meeting of the board is scheduled for Oct. 17.
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