Lane Closure
Northern Inyo Hospital parts ways with CEO.
Victoria Alexander-Lane has been pulled over. The controversial Chief Executive Officer for Northern Inyo Hospital cut her ties with the hospital and board on Monday.
According to a letter sent to NIH employees from the hospital’s Board of Directors, the departure was mutual.
It is unsure whether Lane will receive a severance package as the board and Lane have both said that her departure was a mutual decision. Lane’s employment contract with NIH, obtained by The Sheet states that Lane “shall not be entitled to Severance Pay … in the event the DISTRICT terminates the employment relationship due to a breach of any term” of the agreement.
Her severance package is equal to one year salary, $275,000, not including unconfirmed bonuses.
The Sheet made a public records request Wednesday asking if there were another agreement made for Lane’s departure that would supersede her employment contract. NIH told The Sheet that the letter and press release stating that Lane’s employment had ended, “is the final statement from NIH. We will have no further comment on this matter.”
Reaction on the streets and social media sites has been mixed, but what is certain is Lane’s sudden and unexplained departure leaves the question of why.
There’s no single incident that could have been a tipping point, but a list.
There are civil actions being taken against her by former NIH employees claiming slander and defamation. Inyo County Superior Court confirmed Wednesday that there is a civil action being brought against one, Victoria Alexander-Lane but could not confirm it was the former CEO.
Members of the NIH nursing staff formed a union in response to policy changes introduced by Lane and the board, claiming they needed more representation in the face of changes to grievance claims and termination procedures. Represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the nurses union filed unfair bargaining practices against NIH in June.
The board and Lane convinced the Inyo County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to sue the Southern Mono County Healthcare District over Mammoth’s orthopedic clinics in Bishop. The suit filed in August is just getting underway so there’s no price tag yet or what the suit will mean for relations between the two hospital districts.
Public reaction to Lane and the board’s backing of her was to form the Concerned Citizens group with the purpose of restoring harmony at the hospital and ousting Lane and the board.
Anecdotally, the general morale at the hospital has been described as poor to dismal with staff walking on eggshells. There have been more than 70 employees canned, walked out or went someplace else during Lane’s 18-month reign, according to hospital sources. The list includes former Chief of Staff Dr. Thomas Boo who has since left to work at Toiyabe Indian Health Project on the Bishop Paiute Reservation.
Another decades-long employee of NIH was allegedly terminated after exceeding her 16 weeks of sick leave due to cancer.
Finding anyone to talk about this on the record was nearly impossible. Many were afraid speaking to the press would endanger future lawsuits. Some were waiting to see if the coast was clear or if speaking their mind would get them fired.
The Sheet did talk to dozens of people all over the county. The general reaction was shock, and not so much by her departure, but because the board had been so supportive of Lane to this point, chalking up complaints and the poor attitudes of employees to the policy changes. The employees were killing the messenger and ignoring the message seemed to be the Board’s position.
Lane might have been the face of change at NIH, but she was hired by the board, an elected body. The board chair, MC Hubbard, told The Sheet in a previous interview that Lane was making necessary changes to the hospital and all with the full backing of the board.
Board seats have been filled with the same people during Lane’s tenure as they were for former CEO John Halfen’s tenure.
Lane said from her home Tuesday, that her departure “really was a mutual agreement.” She said the board and the hospital has “taken a lot of abuse” and that a change might help get the hospital back on track.
She said it was “unfortunate it had to come to this.”
Lane said she had not heard of any personality conflicts between her and NIH employees. “Anytime you try and bring an organization to a point of change, there’s always resistance,” and it sounds like its personal but its not, she said.
Many of the people The Sheet talked to about her departure all had their own personal moments with Lane they could recall vividly. Moments that solidified for them what kind of person Lane was and her management style.
Cindy Freeman of Bishop received a letter from NIH legal counsel after she confronted Lane and the board about Lane’s intimidation techniques.
Freeman said the letter from Archer Norris stated that Freeman was harassing the hospital and that she could no longer have contact with the board.
Lane’s chair might get cold while the board looks for a replacement, but Dr. Kevin Flanigan will serve as interim CEO. Flanigan, who was brought in by Lane, was made NIH’s Chief Information Officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Operating Officer on August 25 according to Billians Health Data website.
Lane had told NIH employees she did not know Flanigan, who hails from Maine and was chief of MaineCare that state’s medicade program. Lane was CEO of Sebasticook Valley Health in Pittsfield, Maine before coming to NIH.
Lane was recorded at a meeting just two days after Leo Fries resigned as COO/CIO that she knew of a person that could fill the position, Flanigan.
Employees and people who have been motivated to organize against Lane and the board do not believe that now that Lane is gone, things will go back to normal. Lynn Greer of the Concerned Citizens group told The Sheet that while she and the group were pleased with Lane’s departure, “Its a long way from being over.”
