Trustees give go-ahead for doctor’s agreement
By Traci Angel, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
January 21, 2009
Hospital trustees voted Thursday to allow administrators to continue with contract negotiations with Jackson Pediatrics recruit Dr. Travis Riddell, nephew of board President Ed Riddell.
Trustees voted 4-0 — with Ed Riddell recusing himself and trustees Dr. Bruce Hayse and Peter Moyer abstaining — to allow CEO Jim Schuessler to proceed with an agreement that would pay Dr. Riddell’s medical school debt payment over five years. Jackson Pediatrics is expected to hire Riddell, and St. John’s Medical Center’s commitment could be approximately $130,000 throughout a five-year period, hospital officials have said.
Hayse and Moyer said they were abstaining from the vote because they considered the matter a decision of the previous board.
Community members have recently expressed concern with the board’s decision to make an agreement with Dr. Riddell, and a guest editorial in the Jackson Hole News&Guide asked for Ed Riddell’s resignation because of a conflict of interest.
Ed Riddell emphasized at Thursday’s meeting that he stayed out of all board discussions and votes when it came to the agreement with his nephew. Trustees Barbara Herz and Jack Swann have both come to Riddell’s defense in saying he played no role in trustees’ decision to consider financial support for his nephew, who they said is a talented, young doctor.
The board voted in October to allow hospital officials to work toward the ratification of a contract, before Hayse, Dr. Emmy Knobloch and Moyer were elected to the board in November.
In December, during the new board’s first meeting, the board decided not to consider additional contracts until a more comprehensive medical staff plan that includes community and staff input reveals a more thorough assessment of community needs. They also agreed that the board would review physician contracts in the future.
Trustees on Thursday re-emphasized the board’s change in direction to a more open and objective recruiting process for new hires.
The previous physician contracts were carried out poorly, Hayse said.
“It looks like favoritism and sweetheart deals,” Hayse said. “But in the future, if we go about these contracts, let’s be very open, in a very fair manner, and examine our needs.”
Knobloch said she hoped that from now on the board seeks more involvement from the medical staff and the community when it comes to physician staffing decisions.
Hayse made another motion, to boost the board’s credibility, he said, that the board will consider other agreements in an open, transparent and competitive fashion.
Trustees and Schuessler weighed whether such a motion would back them into a corner when it comes to consultants or other future decisions. The board voted to table the motion and allow Hayse and trustee Reggie McNamara to work on the wording of such a resolution.
Chief of staff Francine Tryka reported to the board that she has talked with most of the regular, active medical staff and they also questioned the recent physician contracts. Doctors say they are aware they could earn more money elsewhere and deals for incoming physicians seem unfair, Tryka said.
“I’m not surprised doctors are talking about increased competition,” Herz said. “It’s normal for people to worry about somebody else who is coming in.”
