L+M workers air grievances at packed public forum
New London — Disgruntled health care workers at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital packed a public forum Wednesday evening at the Holiday Inn, lodging complaints about short staffing and alleged mistreatment by supervisors.
The complaints dominated the state-mandated forum, the latest in a series of sessions held in connection with L+M Healthcare’s nearly 3-yearold affiliation with Yale New Haven Health. Dozens of hospital employees, many wearing T-shirts and hats
“Employees don’t feel valued. We’re working four to five people short every day. We’re frustrated and angry . ... Managers yell at employees. We’re retaliated against, harassed, bullied. How do you foresee that changing?” ANITA DUGAN, 38-YEAR VETERAN OF FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICES, TO L+M PRESIDENT AND CEO PATRICK GREEN
identifying them as members of the American Federation of Teachers, Local 5123, addressed Patrick Green, L+M’s president and chief executive officer, who listened while standing at a podium.
Workers in a number of departments, including environmental services, patient transport, food and nutrition services and the Visiting Nurses Association of Southeastern Connecticut, made similar claims, all of which have been reported to L+M’s human resources department, according to Connie Fields, the union local’s president.
“Employees don’t feel valued,” Anita Dugan, a 38-year veteran of food and nutrition services, told Green. “We’re working four to five people short every day. We’re frustrated and angry . ... Managers yell at employees. We’re retaliated against,
harassed, bullied. How do you foresee that changing?”
Green said he would meet with Dugan’s department. “We will sit down, listen to you and partner on how to deal with these issues,” he said.
A woman who works in medical records struggled to keep her composure as she described being “talked down to” and “degraded” by a supervisor. Tiana Curtis, a phlebotomist, said she “did not feel safe” when two male supervisors took her into a room to discuss her performance.
“Obviously, this is disturbing ... unacceptable,” Green responded.
Christine Bond, a telephone operator, said her complaint was that “nobody answers their phone.” She said callers she’s transferred to various departments tell her their calls and the voicemail messages they leave go unanswered. At some point, she said, callers that bounce back to her demand she transfer them to the hospital president, which she does.
“It’s not my job to ask why,” Bond said.
During the forum, Green repeatedly acknowledged the employees’ dissatisfaction and sought to assure them that administrators were working to improve the hospital’s work environment. He was traveling Thursday and unavailable to comment further, according to Michael O’Farrell, L+M’s director of public relations.
“Some of these things have come up, some have been addressed, some resolved and some are ongoing,” O’Farrell said. “We regularly ask our associates for feedback and try to engage in dialogue. We know we have to have these conversations.”
He said Green has monthly breakfast meetings with groups of employees, conducts “town hall-style” meetings a couple of times a year and makes “rounds” of the hospital “on an almost daily basis” when he is in New London. Since the fall of 2017, Green has joined administrators at the director level and above in making rounds on weekends.
Participation in the hospital’s annual survey of employees’ satisfaction has soared to more than 70 percent the last couple of years, up from slightly more than 50 percent the year before then, O’Farrell said. That level of “engagement” indicates employees believe their concerns are being dealt with and that things are improving, he said.
O’Farrell said L+M is actively recruiting workers to fill openings in virtually all departments.
The workers’ complaints overshadowed other matters up for discussion at Wednesday’s forum, notably L+M’s plans to upgrade its Emergency Department, a project calling for new waiting and triage areas and private rooms. Green said L+M officials have discussed it with residents living near the hospital and have applied for local zoning approvals.