Hospital payroll concerns raised at Washington County meeting; hospital official declines to attend

During the public comment period on July 5, two residents asked the county to respond to health-care workforce and payroll concerns.

Myrtle Brown, who said she recently opened a home care agency, asked the county to bring forward health and wellness programs to educate the community and help elderly or infirm residents navigate available resources. "Many are elderly or infirmed. They don't know what resources are available to them or how to take advantage of what is available," Brown said.

Kimberly Winstead, who identified herself as a former respiratory therapist at Washington Regional Medical Center, told the board she believes she was fired and discriminated against while pregnant. She also reported that some current WRMC employees had not received paychecks or benefits in recent weeks and asked the board to press hospital management for answers.

Frank Avignone, the WRMC official scheduled to speak, did not attend the meeting; County Manager Curtis Potter said Avignone's attorney advised him not to attend. Potter said Avignone's attorney—who previously represented the county during the hospital bankruptcy—acknowledged payroll issues and told Potter those issues stemmed from an electronic records vendor contracted by the hospital. Potter said he passed that information on to the board.

No WRMC representative addressed the board directly at the meeting, and the board did not take formal action on the staffing or payroll concerns during the session.