Best thing that’s happened to Gritman in 16 years. Via the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:
Kara Besst, Gritman Medical Center CEO, has called a private meeting of the 40-member general board of the community nonprofit and is asking them to remove former board chair BJ Swanson from all her board positions.
Swanson was board chair for about 16 years, before being replaced last year by Greg Kimberling. She has been critical of the way he has been handling two major conflicts of interest after taking over the chair. Recently, she was also removed as an officer of the 10-member board of directors.
Kimberling is the broker for Gritman’s hazard insurance policies, and his sister owns Sprenger Construction Inc., the hospital’s favored contractor for several years.
Besst’s email – calling the meeting for 5:30 p.m. July 12 at Gritman – was sent Friday evening.
Swanson said Sunday by email that she was writing her resignation from the board.
“I can’t compete with the money and expensive attorneys hired by Gritman and am working on my letter of resignation,” she wrote in an email to a general board member Sunday morning. “I no longer want to be associated with the Gritman Board and Administration’s raping of the community to enrich just a few individuals.”
“The request is following allegations by BJ Swanson against Mr. Kimberling,” Besst wrote Friday. “The Board has investigated the allegations on several occasions and, each time, has concluded that the allegations are unwarranted.
“Instead of accepting the Board’s decisions, Ms. Swanson chose to publicly disparage Chair Kimberling, the Gritman Board, and Gritman Leadership, and, in the process, has undermined the public’s trust and confidence in GMC.”
Some members of the 10-person board of directors listened to both Swanson and Kimberling state their positions at a meeting Tuesday, Besst said. Then all those present voted to support Kimberling. Besst’s email did not say they had voted to remove Swanson.