Editor,
The following is a rebuttal to two of the hospital’s statements made in Wednesday’s News-Times article headlined “WGH legal battles costly.”
1. Statement: “(Whidbey General Hospital spokesperson Trish) Rose said that Dr. Borden’s behaviors led his employer (Team Health) to remove him from the hospital’s emergency room. The hospital also terminated Borden’s membership and clinical privileges following a hearing before a panel of medical staff and an appeal to the board.”
Facts: Dr. Mark Borden stepped down in February 2011 from being our emergency department director. He did so when presented with written demands (that originated with WGH) that he publicly stated “violated my civil rights, my personal ethics, and my Hippocratic Oath.” He was offered immediate employment by what is now TeamHealth. It was long after he left WGH that his privileges here were terminated for being a community activist and standing up for quality health care in his community. Our ex-CEO acknowledged that Mark was an “excellent physician.” For our hospital to spend the bulk of a quarter-million dollars on a personal vendetta is saddening. Mark continues to save lives off-Island, as he did here for six years. He also is raising his family and farming his land just outside of Coupeville. His persecution was a most despicable act, and the article shows that WGH’s spokesperson is still at it.
2. Statement by hospital spokesperson Trish Rose: “(Born’s) requests were very broad and while we attempted to work with Mr. Born to narrow his requests, we were rarely successful.”
Facts: Each time I submitted a request, I added: “If any request will cause you considerable time or expense to track down, please let me know, and I might be able to reduce or cancel the request, as I do not want them to be an undue burden to you.” My requests were narrow, not broad, often consisting of merely asking for a certain contract, which could have been pulled from the file within a minute. I never asked for things that required lengthy searches. As a good attorney, I knew my requests were proper, so paying attorneys to scrutinize them was money wasted. Except for the inordinate delays, I was satisfied with WGH responses.
In conclusion, I’m astonished by the amounts of money WGH threw away on trying to silence its critics — whose aim was only to improve healthcare on Whidbey. It is my oft-stated campaign plea that WGH “break from the past” and move forward with our new administrative team. The lesson for today is to make sure we don’t return to the past administration’s ways: bullying, intimidation and persecution.
Rob Born
Greenbank
