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Lawsuit: Hospital Director Fired After Virus Patient Concern

A former director at a West Virginia hospital has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was fired after he raised concerns about the safety of patients who were on ventilators and receiving other respiratory care services during a surge of COVID-19 cases.

Mark Mustard was fired as director of cardiopulmonary and therapy services at Princeton Community Hospital in September 2021. His departure from the West Virginia University Medicine affiliate came amid the surging delta COVID-9 variant “at a time when respiratory care was crucial to the community,” according to a lawsuit filed last week in Mercer County Circuit Court.

Mustard, then 63, alleges he was terminated after he reported concerns about the quality of medical care being provided as the number of patients requiring respiratory care increased during the pandemic. Mustard was “highly outspoken” about the need for more staff in the respiratory services department “in order to provide an adequate level of care to its patients and the community,” the lawsuit reads.

The suit states he was not warned that his job was in jeopardy or given a reason for the termination, which came less than one month after he received an “exceptional” performance review that included an incentive bonus of more than $6,000.

Angela Jones-Knopf, director of media relations and public affairs for West Virginia University Medicine, declined to comment Tuesday on the lawsuit.

“We do not comment on pending litigation,” she wrote in an email.

Mustard was employed at Princeton Community Hospital from August 2017 until his termination on Sept. 23, 2021, according to the lawsuit. He started at Princeton Community Hospital as the director of cardiopulmonary in 2017. In 2018, was promoted to director of cardiopulmonary and therapy services.

Under his new title, his job responsibilities expanded to include speech therapy, pulmonary rehabilitation and occupational services, and physical therapy. Over the course of his time as director, Princeton Community Hospital continued to increase Mustard’s job responsibilities, according to the lawsuit.

When Princeton Community Hospital acquired Bluefield Regional Medical Center, the lawsuit states that Mustard was charged with overseeing Bluefield Regional Medical Center’s respiratory services department.

Throughout August and September 2021, while the COVID-19 delta variant was surging nationwide and the hospital’s ICU pends were full, Mustard met with Princeton Community Hospital’s executive team multiple times to voice his concerns. He said the night shift respiratory staff was exhausted and being overworked and that patients were not receiving the appropriate number of aerosol treatments.

In response, a hospital executive told him to “be more positive,” according to the lawsuit. He was later fired.

Clarksburg’s Psychiatric Hospital Partners With Mon Health

Mon Health and Highland-Clarksburg Hospital announced a management and clinical partnership this week. It’s not a merger; the hospital will maintain its own local board.

“We as a hospital have an area of expertise in inpatient care. Mon Health has an area of expertise in outpatient and telehealth services,” Highland-Clarksburg’s executive director Vickie Jones said. “Together, we will be able to combine the knowledge and the expertise that we have from the clinical perspective. And as a result, the patients that we care for will receive much better care.”

The hospital is one of just a handful of acute, inpatient psychiatric hospitals in the state.

It serves West Virginia’s most vulnerable mental health patients from across the state, including those committed against their will. The hospital opened in 2013 and operates 115 beds.

Jones said pooling together management resources with the larger Mon Health system will cut costs. In turn, that could help Highland-Clarksburg hire more staff and offer more services. The affiliation will also connect the hospital with other providers serving similar clients.

“We have a real lack of behavioral health services in this state. And in particular, for our youth population,” Jones said. “Working collaboratively with the Mon Health System will actually create an environment where we can serve individuals at home, because of the lack of services that currently exist.”

This announcement comes just weeks after Mon Health announced a merger with Charleston Area Medical Center.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Mon Health And CAMC Announce Merger

Both parties have entered a non-binding agreement. The deal is contingent on state and federal regulators’ approval.

Two hospital systems in West Virginia’s northern and southern regions are merging together.

Charleston Area Medical Center and Mon Health announced Thursday they are merging into one health system to be called Vandalia Health.

“Neither one of us are buying the other. Both of us are coming in together with everything we own and are reconstituting our board,” said Mon Health CEO David Goldberg.

Both parties have entered a non-binding agreement. The deal is contingent on state and federal regulators’ approval.

Mon Health operates hospitals in Morgantown and other northern cities. CAMC in Charleston is the largest hospital in the state.

Goldberg said he’s partnered with CAMC CEO David Ramsey for years. The two have helped each other’s businesses learn new payment and telehealth systems.

“It’s been a great collaboration and then just this past December, Mr. Ramsey and I were having lunch … and we talked about how we can do better together,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said patients won’t see big changes anytime soon, but the deal should offer patients more options in the near future.

“Do I think everybody from central West Virginia that’s a patient of Mon Health system will go down to Charleston? No. Do I think everybody who’s from the southern part of the state will come north? No,” Goldberg said. “But for the services that matter, where our cardiologists collaborate, our oncologists collaborate, our surgeons collaborate, and all other doctors in between, now there’s choice.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

As COVID-19 Cases Drop, W.Va. National Guard Ends Hospital Aid

Citing a declining number of COVID-19 patients in West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice said Wednesday that the National Guard will end its staffing assistance to hospitals on March 11.

The National Guard’s staffing support began in January as hospitals were overwhelmed with virus patients.

There were 481 people hospitalized for the virus Wednesday, the lowest since late August and down from the record of 1,097 on Feb. 2, according to the Department of Health and Human Resources’ COVID-19 dashboard.

The number of active COVID-19 cases statewide, about 2,140, is the lowest since July 29.

“We’re really, really getting out of this,” Justice said, though he cautioned that residents shouldn’t stop taking preventive measures against the virus.

While daily confirmed virus cases and hospitalizations continue to fall, deaths haven’t.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the seven-day average of 7.5 COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 residents in West Virginia is double the national rate of 3.64.

There have been 6,381 virus deaths in West Virginia since the start of the pandemic.

National Guard To Help Staffing Efforts At W.Va. Hospital

Two dozen members of the West Virginia National Guard are being sent to support hospital staffing efforts as COVID-19 continues to ravage the state.

The National Guard said Thursday on Twitter that 25 members will assist operations at Charleston Area Medical Center next week.

Additional National Guard members will be trained next Tuesday.

Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday directed leaders of his pandemic team to review and approve requests from hospitals for additional staffing support from the National Guard. Grafton City Hospital is among other facilities besides CAMC to make such a request.

There were at least 861 COVID-19 patients in West Virginia hospitals on Thursday, the highest figure since early October.

Huntington Hospital Strike Ends In Narrow Vote

Hospital workers in Huntington have ended their strike after almost a month on the picket line.

About 900 lab technicians, housekeepers and other workers walked off the job on Nov. 3. Members of the Service Employees International Union District 1199 accepted Cabell Huntington Hospital’s latest offer Wednesday night in a close vote.

“To say it was close is an understatement,” said union organizer Sherri McKinney who did not disclose the vote tally. “There was definitely a group of people that were ready to go back, that they thought this contract was good enough … But there’s also a group of workers who weren’t necessarily ready to get back. They thought that they had the strength in them to fight for a little more.”

McKinney said the workers put up a unified front on the picket line and were supported by others in Huntington.

“It’s difficult to go back, when you’ve been faced with so many challenges. But at the same time, people are excited to go back,” McKinney said.

The hospital said the contract lasts three years, expiring in November of 2024. Workers could return to their jobs as early as Friday.

“We value all of our employees as each plays an important role in delivering reliable, quality care to our patients,” said Tim Martin, chief operating officer for Cabell Huntington Hospital. “We are committed to being the best employer in the region with outstanding wages and benefits and this contract confirms that. We look forward to welcoming back our coworkers and resuming normal operations.”

The contract now has annual wage increases and better pay for late night and overtime shifts.

Health care coverage had been the crux of the dispute. Retirees over 65 lost their employer based health insurance plans.. Younger retirees will have to pay to keep their plans. Current workers will start paying health care premiums in 2023.

“We were still able to get those insurance premiums on a tiered system so it’s more affordable for workers who may make less money,” McKinney said.

The hospital has said it is reasonable for workers to pitch in on those costs.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.