Colorado weekly covers allegations of hostile workplace at hospital, explains why it did the story

Community newspapers have always prided themselves on publishing the stories that urban papers wouldn't find newsworthy. What makes really good community papers is the effort to report anything that concerns the community, good or bad. An excellent example is the recent reporting by the weekly Herald Democrat of Leadville, Colo., which uncovered startling claims about the local St. Vincent Hospital (website photo).

Several former employees told the newspaper that the work environment at the 25-bed, critical-access hospital was hostile, leading some of them to resign, Danny Ramsey reports: "Much of the criticism centers around supervision of the nursing staff. Several former employees said their ideas and concerns were being dismissed and that voicing them put 'a target on their backs.'”

Former operating manager Jim Yopp, who resigned Jan. 22, "said he felt his concerns regarding patient safety and the overall work environment were not being listened to. Among his safety concerns was obsolete operating room equipment that could possibly be dangerous to patients," Ramsey writes. "Yopp said he approached St. Vincent CEO Joyce Beck several times to express concern about the work environment and specific concerns about his supervision, but was chastised." Yopp said he was written up for voicing his concerns.

Kelly Doke, a former emergency nurse and electronic-health-records manager, said she experienced the same treatment, Ramsey reports. She said "She brought a patient-safety issue to her superior in August. When that issue hadn’t been addressed by January, Doke went directly to Beck to discuss her concerns. She was then written up for violating the chain of command, she said. She was also told to express safety concerns verbally and not through written means." Another employee "said she was not given any verbal or written warnings before she was asked to resign." Former employees also said they had received inadequate training.

Doke and Yopp estimated that 29 nursing staff members had quit the hospital since December 2012, a turnover rate of 100 percent. The hospital refused to provide the Herald Democrat with specific turnover numbers, and cited privacy matters when asked about specific instances. (Read more)

In an editorial published the same day as the story, Editor Marcia Martinek explains the reasons behind the story. "Hospital employees came to us with their concerns last week regarding this issue; however, we first heard of the issue this past summer," Martinek writes. "We were unable to deal with it then, as our two-person staff was tied up with other matters. It went on our 'to look into' list until the issue reared its head again. We have and are attempting to get both sides of this story."

When the paper began working on the story it had to fight instant resistance from the hospital. "One hospital official questioned why the Herald was even interested in this issue," Martinek writes. "She pointed out that the Denver Post would never run a story such as the one we are pursuing. Exactly. There’s community journalism, and then there’s the kind of journalism practiced by large metro daily newspapers. It’s unlikely your child will appear on the front page of the Denver Post. It’s far more likely that your child will appear on the front page of the Herald Democrat. We are focused on this community, providing news you’re not likely to obtain elsewhere. Good, bad and indifferent." (Read more)