Conflicts between Northeast Health System CEO Stephen Laverty and his subordinates are, unfortunately, nothing new.
By now, in fact, they have taken on a weary familiarity. After persistent rumors of unrest, a group of subordinates goes public with their frustration and resentment of the CEO. This past week, it was the nurses union, with members at both Beverly Hospital and Gloucester's Addison Gilbert Hospital, that took a "no confidence" vote in Laverty.
The union is now trying to pressure the board of trustees to fire him, saying Laverty has created a "punitive organizational culture (with) ... oppressive management practices." And a 2005 Beverly Hospital citation by OSHA, which surfaced along with the nurses' discontent, gives credence to that claim.
The nurses, of course, are not alone. This past April, it was doctors who took a no confidence vote. In 2006, the Massachusetts Nursing Association filed a formal complaint against Laverty for entering operating rooms unannounced to observe surgeries.
Yet, the response from Laverty is always the same — no response. And his spokespeople offer little more than vague references to "challenges" and "competing agendas," concluding with how proud they all are of themselves.
Of course there is more than one side to every conflict. Gregory Bird, Beverly Hospital's chief nursing officer and senior vice president for patient care, said he didn't think the union vote represented the view of the majority of nurses. Indeed, while the vote among about 200 nurses was nearly unanimous — and included nurses at both Beverly Hospital and Addison Gilbert — that was only a third of the union's 600 members.
It's also true that, in any large business, especially one as competitive as health care, there are sure to be conflicts between management and labor. It's also true that Laverty has presided over a $60 million renovation of Beverly Hospital, and more than one analyst has praised his financial management.
Still, it has to concern the Northeast trustees that every time there is trouble or unrest, Laverty is at the center of it.
It should concern them that morale continues to sink under his style of leadership, which most subordinates agree is a mix of arrogance and intimidation. Effective leaders don't assert their authority by demeaning their subordinates. They lead by building people up, not tearing them down. They lead by inspiring, not breeding resentment.
The truth is, Northeast still inspires shaky confidence among Cape Ann residents for a variety of reasons, including the corporation's out-and-out refusal to share numbers regarding the number of ambulance transport "diversions" from Addison Gilbert to Beverly — and, more recently, Northeast's stewardship over Addison Gilbert's wonderful endowment of artwork.
The recent arrest of a former Beverly Hospital associate vice president — a reported friend of Laverty — on charges of stealing donated art and antiques worth more than $200,000 from the hospital, hardly inspires confidence. And public confidence is one of the most important assets any health care institution has, since its patients are entrusting their health and livelihoods to it.
At times like this, when the public starts asking questions about problems, Northeast officials tend to retreat behind the "private corporation" wall. It is true that Northeast is not part of the public sector. But it regularly seeks donations from the public. It has received at least $1.5 million in state money, supposedly to support its services to the public, but somehow still finds enough money to pay Laverty well more than $600,000 a year.
The trustees surely should not take the nurses vote as the only credible word on Laverty. But they need to take it, along with other continuing conflicts, very seriously.
They should remember that they are presiding over a business that needs a community of consumers to prosper. When prospective consumers see that the CEO and his staff can't get along ¬— if they lack confidence in Northeast's credibility — they may choose to go elsewhere for their health services.
That's something the trustees — and their beleaguered CEO - had better consider.
