Editor’s Note: Since Eureka Springs Hospital became a Rural Emergency Hospital almost two years ago, it has received federal money to be primarily an emergency hospital with no inpatient care.
Some staff, whether due to the REH designation, management choices, commission decisions, financial or other difficulties, became exasperated and contacted us months ago to listen to their stories. Following are a few, and there are more.
We welcome a response from the commission, the board and the mayor. Of those contacted, we have heard only “No comment.” We also appreciate readers’ opinions.
When the Eureka Springs Hospital changed its status to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) on Dec. 1, 2023, it was considered a lifeline to keep the facility’s doors open. Like many rural hospitals, ESH was struggling with being able to remain profitable. The hospital received a grant of about $4.6 million from the State of Arkansas for the transition and gets a subsidy of about $247,000 per month from the federal government. ESH was the second REH approved in Arkansas and the 18th in the nation.
“When we went to REH status, we relinquished in-patient services,” CEO Angie Shaw said in an interview last month. “We did lose some employees. For example, we offered some transition training for in-patient floor nurses to become emergency room nurses, but they didn’t want to make the transition.”
The changeover went well, Shaw said several weeks ago. But several hospital employees aren’t as pleased. Some quit, including some who walked off the job, and others have been laid off or fired. Former employees who did interviews with the ESI said they were subject to micromanagement and bullying from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Cynthia Asbury.
“Everyone walks on eggshells, not knowing if you’ll have a job today or tomorrow,” according to Christine Pieper, who said her dietary job was reduced from full-time, to 30 hours a week with benefits, then to 16 hours a week before she was terminated after the kitchen closed. “There are doctors in our city and surrounding cities who refuse to send their patients here because of the treatment and intimidation the doctors get from the CFO. She has been known to yell at them, refuse to fax info a second time because she sent it already, deny outpatient services unless they pay first, and quote prices that the insurance companies say are not correct. But she insists that’s what they’re going to pay and denies all accountability.”
Pieper said she was laid off without being notified. Her work record said she quit, which she denies. By being listed as leaving voluntarily, she isn’t eligible for unemployment.
A number of employees were cut to 30 hours a week. Some reported taking an additional job to make up the difference. Shaw said those reduced to 30 hours a week are still getting benefits.
Christopher Irish, who finished a 10-month travel nurse contract at ESH in February, said he initially really enjoyed working at the hospital. The chief nursing officer who hired him at the time was Lorissa Nance. Angie Shaw was CEO and Joy Kennedy was ER manager.
“Lorissa and Angie would share stories about the Eureka Springs Hospital and its heyday,” Irish wrote in an email. “The doctors at ESH would care for patients in the ER and move them into a medical surgical floor bed to monitor if needed. At discharge, referring patients to the doctors in the community clinics was natural. The community of Eureka Springs believed in all the doctors. Hospital staff would attend community gatherings like the Halloween Walk. The Eureka Springs fire department’s first choice was ESH.
But Irish said a lot changed in ten months.
“The doctors change often and do not refer patients to community clinics,” Irish said. “Asbury forced employees to do multiple jobs or be fired. The nurses left one by one. There may be two staff nurses on payroll and the rest are travel nurses. Certified Nursing Assistants were made to work in admissions. Lorissa Nance, who was tired of the politics and needed new surroundings after 18 years, quit. Angie chose Jessica Petrino to succeed Lorissa.”
Irish said he wanted to be clear that he continues to support clinical personnel including Shaw, Petrino, Tina Adams, Cassie Hale and Joy Kennedy, and hopes changes will be made to create a healthier working environment.
Regarding employees walking off the job, Shaw said in one case it was because the employee was frustrated with the new Electronic Medical Records program. She admits that it can be challenging learning a new EMR program but said the switch was necessary to get better rates of reimbursements.
Shaw said many employees come from outside of Eureka Springs because people move here to play, not necessarily to work. She also said they have had employees leave to take jobs elsewhere.
“They are chasing a better offer,” Shaw said. “There is also a shortage of nurses here in Eureka and across the country. A lot of nurses have retired, which has compounded the problem. We don’t have a large staff, and we can’t compete with what the travel nurse agencies pay.”
Shaw said the hospital provides lifesaving care but is a business just like any other business. It is not funded by taxpayers and can’t sustain continual losses and remain open.
“There has been some shifting of duties,” Shaw, who stepped in to provide nursing care in the operating room or elsewhere when needed, said. “Right now, we are more stable with our staff. One certified nursing assistant has started nursing school. We always try to support growing our staff family. It doesn’t always work out, but they can be because of choices of the staff members. For example, a nurse may want to work in labor and delivery, and we don’t deliver babies here.”
“A lot of the rules weren’t written,” Shaw said. “I think we are moving in the right direction. Healthcare in general is very challenging right now. We were bleeding red before the transition. We are still climbing out of the holes created by Covid 19. We are capturing more of the emergency room charges. And we are expanding using the clinic and working to have more specialties available through telemedicine. This hospital and this community have and will continue to be a top priority of mine and I work tirelessly to ensure it remains a resource for the community.”
Shaw was fired on Nov. 1.
Turner said the investigation of personnel problems continues. Commissioners made the decision to fire Shaw in an executive session Nov. 1 and declined to comment, which is standard procedure for public entities dealing with personnel issues.