Ancora--from Courier Press, Feb 17th, 2008
Allegations of nepotism, employees sleeping on the job and payroll abuse have brought normally private administrative hearings into the public eye at Ancora Psychiatric Hospital. Debra Weisman, a nurse at the hospital, says that over the past two years, she has complained about fellow nurses sleeping on the job, patient rounds being conducted by unqualified orderlies, and staff members claiming credit for hours they didn't work. She said her complaints go to Anita Jackson, the local union chief for nurses at Ancora. Weisman said she asked Jackson to take the complaints to Wilhemina Tameka Martin, the head nursing administrator for psychiatric services. Jackson and Martin are sisters.
"I think that's a conflict of interest," Weisman said. "How can it not be a conflict when the union head is directly related to the boss above her?" Weisman said other nurses are reluctant to complain because they are afraid of retribution. She produced an Aug. 24, 2007, memo from Martin asking her to report for employee counseling. The memo from Martin says, "Based on previous conversations I had with you, your major concerns had to do with staffing on the unit and patient care. I am most concerned with the times you stated you "did not sleep' because of the numerous calls you felt obligated to make to departments both inside and outside the organization."
Weisman said Martin was annoyed that she contacted outside agencies, including the governor's office. She interpreted the memo as "retaliation" for complaining about conditions. Martin, who was paid $81,434 in 2006, did not return calls seeking comment. But Jackson, who was paid $53,932 in 2006 as a management assistant, responded by discussing details of normally private administrative charges filed against Weisman. She divulged the charges in a conference call with Carolyn Wade, president of Local 1040 of the Communications Workers of America. Wade said employee disciplinary actions are normally kept secret, but she would make an exception in Weisman's case "since she ran to the newspapers."
"This woman (Weisman) hit another employee in the head," Wade said. "She's got problems.""Serious ones," Jackson said. "She has gone everywhere," Wade said, "with innuendos and what-have-you."
Jackson acknowledged that she and Martin are sisters. Said Wade: "What's that have to do with anything? . . . They do their jobs."
As a branch president for CWA at Ancora, Jackson "doesn't really handle any problems," Wade said, adding that "we watch over Anita's shoulder." Weisman confirmed that what she called "fake charges" were recently submitted against her by another nurse. Weisman said that she had complained, several times, that this other nurse, a longtime employee, had routinely slept on the job during the night shift. "I hit a desk with a magazine and I said, "Wake up!' because she was sound asleep," Weisman said. "By morning she was claiming I hit her in the back with a magazine."
In a separate interview, Weisman detailed other complaints, which Jackson and Wade said they knew nothing about. On Dec. 24, 2006, Weisman said, she saw an Ancora staffer signing in at the beginning of a shift, then leaving the hospital to spend the holiday with his family. At the end of the shift, the worker returned to sign out as though he'd been on the job the entire time. "The coordinator on duty was (the male staffer's) drinking buddy. The day shift coordinator told me, "I'm retiring in six months, and I don't want to know about it,' " Weisman said. Weisman said she wanted to be fair to her co-worker. "Many of the nurses and many of the staff members do an excellent job," she said. "They really care about their patients." But the nurses and other staffers who abuse the system not only endanger patients, but they sabotage morale at the institution, she said.
In a room where medicines are stored, nurses often sleep on the job, especially on the midnight to 8 a.m. shift, Weisman said . In the break room, Weisman said, "There's a whole lot of sleeping going on." When she wrote letters to the governor's office and even contacted the Human Services police to press her complaints, Weisman said she was threatened with disciplinary actions. Her fellow employees, Weisman said, are afraid to come forward because they see that when complaints are filed, they get in trouble. Asked how she felt about her union representatives revealing the charges against her, Weisman said, "I would go to a lawyer before I would depend on them." Human Services spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said the new chief executive officer at Ancora, Greg Roberts, was unaware of Weisman's complaints.
Roberts was named as the new acting CEO at Ancora after a patient, DeWitt Crandell Jr., hanged himself while he was supposed to be under watch by Ancora staffers on Dec. 10.
"What Greg needs down there (at Ancora) is employees who are willing to come to him with any information, to step up and be part of . . . changing the culture," Lovejoy said. She said Roberts "would welcome complaints" by employees who wanted to be "part of the change process." Assistant Human Services Commissioner Kevin Martone said that, during a surprise 3 a.m. visit. on Dec. 27, he found employees sleeping on the job, and "that was unacceptable." Disciplinary actions have been filed against those employees
"I think that's a conflict of interest," Weisman said. "How can it not be a conflict when the union head is directly related to the boss above her?" Weisman said other nurses are reluctant to complain because they are afraid of retribution. She produced an Aug. 24, 2007, memo from Martin asking her to report for employee counseling. The memo from Martin says, "Based on previous conversations I had with you, your major concerns had to do with staffing on the unit and patient care. I am most concerned with the times you stated you "did not sleep' because of the numerous calls you felt obligated to make to departments both inside and outside the organization."
Weisman said Martin was annoyed that she contacted outside agencies, including the governor's office. She interpreted the memo as "retaliation" for complaining about conditions. Martin, who was paid $81,434 in 2006, did not return calls seeking comment. But Jackson, who was paid $53,932 in 2006 as a management assistant, responded by discussing details of normally private administrative charges filed against Weisman. She divulged the charges in a conference call with Carolyn Wade, president of Local 1040 of the Communications Workers of America. Wade said employee disciplinary actions are normally kept secret, but she would make an exception in Weisman's case "since she ran to the newspapers."
"This woman (Weisman) hit another employee in the head," Wade said. "She's got problems.""Serious ones," Jackson said. "She has gone everywhere," Wade said, "with innuendos and what-have-you."
Jackson acknowledged that she and Martin are sisters. Said Wade: "What's that have to do with anything? . . . They do their jobs."
As a branch president for CWA at Ancora, Jackson "doesn't really handle any problems," Wade said, adding that "we watch over Anita's shoulder." Weisman confirmed that what she called "fake charges" were recently submitted against her by another nurse. Weisman said that she had complained, several times, that this other nurse, a longtime employee, had routinely slept on the job during the night shift. "I hit a desk with a magazine and I said, "Wake up!' because she was sound asleep," Weisman said. "By morning she was claiming I hit her in the back with a magazine."
In a separate interview, Weisman detailed other complaints, which Jackson and Wade said they knew nothing about. On Dec. 24, 2006, Weisman said, she saw an Ancora staffer signing in at the beginning of a shift, then leaving the hospital to spend the holiday with his family. At the end of the shift, the worker returned to sign out as though he'd been on the job the entire time. "The coordinator on duty was (the male staffer's) drinking buddy. The day shift coordinator told me, "I'm retiring in six months, and I don't want to know about it,' " Weisman said. Weisman said she wanted to be fair to her co-worker. "Many of the nurses and many of the staff members do an excellent job," she said. "They really care about their patients." But the nurses and other staffers who abuse the system not only endanger patients, but they sabotage morale at the institution, she said.
In a room where medicines are stored, nurses often sleep on the job, especially on the midnight to 8 a.m. shift, Weisman said . In the break room, Weisman said, "There's a whole lot of sleeping going on." When she wrote letters to the governor's office and even contacted the Human Services police to press her complaints, Weisman said she was threatened with disciplinary actions. Her fellow employees, Weisman said, are afraid to come forward because they see that when complaints are filed, they get in trouble. Asked how she felt about her union representatives revealing the charges against her, Weisman said, "I would go to a lawyer before I would depend on them." Human Services spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said the new chief executive officer at Ancora, Greg Roberts, was unaware of Weisman's complaints.
Roberts was named as the new acting CEO at Ancora after a patient, DeWitt Crandell Jr., hanged himself while he was supposed to be under watch by Ancora staffers on Dec. 10.
"What Greg needs down there (at Ancora) is employees who are willing to come to him with any information, to step up and be part of . . . changing the culture," Lovejoy said. She said Roberts "would welcome complaints" by employees who wanted to be "part of the change process." Assistant Human Services Commissioner Kevin Martone said that, during a surprise 3 a.m. visit. on Dec. 27, he found employees sleeping on the job, and "that was unacceptable." Disciplinary actions have been filed against those employees
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