SOUTHAMPTON: Hospital's Bosses Have Resigned
Southampton Hospital announced yesterday that its president and chief executive officer, Annette Leahy, had resigned on Tuesday. Bill Kowalewski, the hospital's chief operating officer, also resigned, according to a spokesman.
The board of directors, in a press release, announced that John N. Kastanis, most recently president and chief executive officer of the Hospital for Joint Diseases in Manhattan, would serve as interim C.E.O.
Mr. Kastanis is credited with transforming that hospital into a profitable operation with growth in both its revenue and volume. According to the release he was also instrumental in "crafting the strategic plan to develop a new health system comprised of New York University Medical School hospital affiliates" and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
The announcement comes on the heels of weeks of speculation and increasing distrust and frustration on the part of employees and medical staff at the hospital. Doctors affiliated with the hospital, most speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of legal reprisals, welcomed the news of a new director.
Howard M. Sklarek, a pulmonologist affiliated with the hospital, said, "In my opinion the medical staff thought the direction the hospital was going in did not meet the mission or the strategic plan of being the best community hospital in the country." He added that he was not a board member so could not comment on their opinion, but thought their actions were a validation of the talent and efforts of the entire staff.
One doctor described Mr. Kastanis as "the real deal," someone who truly understood the state health care system. He said the medical staff viewed Ms. Leahy, who was from Massachusetts, as an outsider and found her reliance on consultants to be evidence of her lack of knowledge of how to run a hospital in New York.
In fact, Mr. Kastanis served on the 2004 board of the Healthcare Association of New York State. He is also on the advisory board of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine graduate program in health care administration. He has a house in Water Mill and is a registered polo player from Southampton.
One doctor affiliated with the hospital said that there was growing concern among employees that the imperiled financial situation and the culture of intimidation in the hospital would eventually affect patient care. Many good employees who have left in recent years, but still live locally, would probably return to the hospital under new leadership, he said.
On Saturday, according to staff members, employees were brought in one by one to speak to the board about their concerns. Ms. Leahy and Mr. Kowalewski were said to have stood outside the door writing down each entrant's name.
The meeting appears to be a result of a "grass-roots effort" among the employees, one doctor said. A petition was circulated among them stating there was no faith in the management and no communication between the management and staff, according to someone familiar with it.
Donna Sutton, a hospital spokesperson, would not comment on the meeting and said that board members would also not be available for comment.
Despite the recent problems and bad feeling, staff members said that they were proud of the work they did and felt that they were what was keeping the hospital together. "We need a hospital here, everybody has to rally behind it," one said.
The Rev. Peter Larsen, the hospital board president, gave the staff his support in the press release. He stated that a recent review by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations praised the "high quality of care provided throughout the hospital. That is a testament to the outstanding work and dedication of the hospital's employees and medical staff."