Report Reveals Facilities, Leadership & Culture Problems at Eleanor Slater Hospital Under Raimondo
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
The report on Rhode Island’s beleaguered Eleanor Slater state hospital released on Wednesday asserts that under Governor Dan McKee’s administration, the leadership team needs to be “reassessed” - and that “trust” among leadership and staff needs to be rebuilt.
After a 60-day assessment of BHDDH, Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) Secretary Womazetta Jones on Wednesday delivered the report to McKee on her findings and recommendations related to Eleanor Slater Hospital (ESH).
Among the key findings were the following:
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST* Relationship between staff, labor and leadership needs to be rebuilt so that trust and confidence can be restored
• Reports of threatening behavior, bullying, and retaliation must be reviewed
• Concerns about a culture of safety need to be addressed
• Direct service staff are committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of its patients
The report comes after McKee announced this week that Brian Daly, M.D., Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Eleanor Slater Hospital, has resigned effective July 31, 2021.
McKee also announced Jennifer White, Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH)) CFO and former Interim-CEO of Eleanor Slater Hospital has been placed on administrative leave.
According to his bio, Daly became CMO at BHDDH in August 2018; White started in her role at BHDDH in May 2019.
In October 2020, GoLocal was first to report that the newly appointed Chief of Medical Services at the Rhode Island state hospital system was previously arrested for repeatedly exposing himself and masturbating in front of children.
"Now, the State of Rhode Island has put Dr. Andrew Stone in charge of the most vulnerable population in the state’s care. These patients are served at two locations Eleanor Slater in Cranston and the Zambarano facility in Burrillville," GoLocal reported.
All started and served under previous Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration.
Raimondo is now U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Joe Biden.
“While many of the staff at Eleanor Slater Hospital provide excellent care to patients and their families, I found that there are significant leadership, budgetary, and operational challenges at the hospital,” said Jones. “Most importantly, my findings speak to the need for real and thoughtful dialogue and engagement with the community, stakeholders, and the General Assembly on what the best solutions are to provide high quality care that meets the needs of Rhode Islanders seeking these vital services.”
In April, McKee charged Secretary Jones with conducting a thorough review of the Department and making recommendations to him on issues including, but not limited to, departmental policy, operations, staffing and quality standards of care. As part of this review, the Secretary also assessed departmental plans that were developed during the prior Administration.
The Secretary has provided over 70 recommendations, both short-term and intermediate, which seek to address her key findings on Eleanor Slater Hospital. The recommendations include but are not limited to the following measures:
* Reevaluate the structure of the ESH leadership team based upon a logic model that is patient-centric;
* Reassess the current titles, job classes, and salaries of the leadership team to align with scale and scope of work;
* Allow admissions to resume for ESH and require a bi-weekly report regarding referrals and outcomes;
* Implement steps to assure competency of staff and capability of the organization to accept long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) patients;
* Create a multidisciplinary team for admissions and discharges;
* Streamline and improve operational effectiveness between BHDDH and the Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAMM), including establishing a meeting cadence with a project steering committee that meets monthly in addition to operational level bi-weekly meetings to resolve the immediate health and safety physical infrastructure needs and the ongoing physical infrastructure needs at ESH;
* Engage a consultant with extensive knowledge in patient care and licensure to evaluate the appropriate license type(s) for ESH and evaluate the correct licensure type(s) for the “new” building that will be located on the Burrillville campus;
* Reevaluate the licensing framework for ESH to accommodate for a continuum of care that is inclusive of all patient needs and levels of care;
* License the Benton facility as a psychiatric forensic hospital, separate from ESH;
* DoIT to engage in a process to determine the Electronic Health Records needs, depending on level of care and costs, for the Cranston and Burrillville campuses; and
* Close the Adolph Meyer building by outfitting a unit at the Regan building to accept court ordered psychiatric patients and a unit for forensic patients.
The State has taken several steps under McKee to address issues at Eleanor Slater Hospital including:
* Engaging the Hospital Association of Rhode Island and Care New England to provide a peer review of the clinical and operational programs;
* Retaining an outside, independent third party from Butler Hospital to review the hospital’s IMD status retrospectively and prospectively;
* Appointing, Richard Charest – who has extensive experience in hospital leadership – as the next director of BHDDH; and
* Making changes to the leadership team at the hospital.
“I greatly appreciate Secretary Jones’ efforts over the last 60 days in assessing the situation at Eleanor Slater Hospital,” said McKee. “The results of these reviews along with pending reviews by the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, Disability Rights Rhode Island and the Joint Commission – will provide the State with additional data to inform our next steps. Together, we will turn the Secretary’s recommendations into an action plan to improve the hospital’s facilities to ensure patient safety and quality of life and to unify the leadership team to establish a workplace of professionalism and respect among all staff.”
Additional reports on the Secretary’s findings and recommendations regarding BHDDH’s other divisions – Behavioral Healthcare and Developmental Disabilities – will be produced in segments over the next several weeks.
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