EL DORADO -- Scott Street announced his resignation as chief executive officer of the Medical Center of South Arkansas in an email sent to staff Tuesday afternoon.
His resignation followed two votes of no confidence in his leadership by members of the hospital's general medical staff, as well as a request for "new administrative structure" by the hospital's Board of Trustees.
In his email to hospital staff, which has the subject line "Notice of Resignation," Street said the decision to leave was one of "the hardest choices" he's ever made.
"I'll be honest and tell you that I'm sad about leaving our great team, but I'm also sure this is the right decision at this point in our journey. Sometimes, change is needed to move forward. That's true right now even though it means leaving a job I love and a team that I really care about," he wrote. "But, I'm confident in the [Medical Center of South Arkansas'] future and that good things are ahead for this wonderful hospital."
Street was first named the hospital's top executive in October 2017. He has worked at a number of other hospitals in Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
Before coming to El Dorado, Street as chief executive officer led Nacogdoches Memorial Health in Texas, a position he resigned after less than three years, according to The Daily Sentinel community newspaper.
Street did not give a specific reason for his decision to resign in the email to the hospital staff, though he did reference the difficulties the covid-19 pandemic has caused on the health care industry.
"The covid pandemic has made our jobs harder. That's especially true for physicians, nurses, therapists and the rest of our patient care teams, as well as for those of you who support their work. It is also true for those of us who are trying to lead hospital operations," Street wrote.
He continued, "We haven't always managed these challenges perfectly, but I want you to know that I've always tried to do what I believe is the right thing for our team, our patients and our community. I know you have, too."
He also noted multi-million dollar renovation projects the hospital undertook during his tenure, as well as the expansion of the clinical services offered at the hospital.
According to previous El Dorado News-Times reporting, in the nearly four years Street led the the Medical Center of South Arkansas, hospital facilities that were renovated as part of the project he referenced.
They included the Robert C. Tommey Conference Center, Cafe 870, second-floor patient rooms for surgical recovery, the hospital lobby, basement, emergency room, ICU and third-floor patient rooms. Renovations completed in 2018-19 had cost about $9 million and that the hospital planned to invest $5 million to $6 million more in additional renovations, Street told the News-Times in 2019.
Earlier this year, when the hospital's ICU renovation was completed, he said an additional $10 million was to be invested in renovations and technology this year.
The hospital also partnered with other health care providers in the state, including Arkansas Children's Hospital and Baptist Health.
In Street's email to staff was a note from Kevin Stockton, a regional president for Community Health Systems -- the company that owns the the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
Stockton said Street would be taking another position with the company in Northwest Arkansas. However, Street will not be leaving the El Dorado hospital immediately, in order to "ensure an effective transition of leadership."
A statement issued by the hospital said that the search for a new CEO would begin soon. The statement read Street would start in Northwest Arkansas "once interim leadership is identified" for the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
Street said he has been "inspired" by medical center staff, and that he is proud of the hospital's team.
"Our employees are phenomenal, caring, dedicated people and I am thankful for the time I've had to work with you," he wrote. "It has been -- and still is -- an honor."
REACTION
Vicki Gilliam, an attorney who represents 11 physicians who participated in the original vote of no confidence, said her clients are hopeful that with Street's resignation will come more respect for their medical opinions with regard to quality patient care.
"My clients do feel as if their voices have been heard by the higher management of the corporate owner of the hospital, CHS. They hope that, going forward, those senior officers will respect their medically sound expert opinions more quickly, when it comes to the environment needed to provide the best quality of patient safety, care and treatment at MCSA," Gilliam said in an email to the News-Times. "A vote of 'no confidence' in leadership is not something that is ever given or should be received lightly."
Rob Robinson, chairman of the hospital's Board of Trustees, also issued a statement provided by the the Medical Center of South Arkansas following Street's announcement.
"We extend our sincere thanks to Scott for his leadership and many contributions to our hospital and our community, and we wish him well in his new role," Robinson said.
The News-Times reached out to Street directly about his resignation but did not hear back. Lori DeWese, marketing coordinator for the the Medical Center of South Arkansas, did not answer a question about the reaction of hospital staff to Street's announcement.
"I am personally grateful that I have been able to represent these physicians in the last couple of months and I ask that the community reach [out] and acknowledge the courage of my clients when they had to continue pressing CHS to listen to physicians' concerns for the well-being of their patients, as well as, the emotional and mental health of the medical/ancillary staff at MCSA," Gilliam added.
"Any professional's worst nightmare is that of working in an environment where there is fear instead of trust, where there is apathy instead of empathy, and where there is contempt instead of concern for the employees' needs."
ONGOING CONCERN
There are ongoing concerns among the hospital's medical staff about recent decisions that have been made at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
In an Aug. 9 email to staff, Street announced several changes in hospital administration, including the resignation of Chief Nursing Officer Amy Triplet, the promotion of Chief Quality Officer Danna Taylor to "associate administrator" and that several interim leaders for the nursing and quality departments would be starting at the medical center in the days following the email.
He also announced that the hospital would be ending its relationship with SCP Health, a hospital staffing agency that several of the Medical Center of South Arkansas' physicians are employed through, including hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Ezinne Nwude and her husband, Dr. Ugo Nwude; Dr. Greg Smart, Dr. Joseph DeLuca and Dr. Abrar Khan.
DeWese said Tuesday afternoon that since Street's resignation announcement only came that day, she could not answer whether those decisions would be impacted by his resignation, but that more information on the subject would be forthcoming.
Gilliam said her clients remain concerned about the end of the hospital's relationship with SCP Health.
"As to their continued efforts to request that SCP remain in place as staffing providers to the hospital, my clients remain concerned, as the ultimate result of this decision by CHS could mean the replacement of long-serving community acclimated and attached physicians with unfamiliar doctors who may be brought in to care for patients at MCSA," she said.
VOTES OF NO CONFIDENCE
Dr. Ezinne Nwude confirmed that members of the hospital's general medical staff unanimously voted on June 15 no confidence in the Medical Center of South Arkansas leadership. She said issues with the hospital administration were affecting staff morale and patient care.
In a June 6 email to staff, Street disputed that the vote was unanimous and announced that the hospital had "engaged independent counsel to conduct a thorough and complete investigation of the matters raised," referring to concerns the general medical staff outlined in a letter to the hospital's Board of Trustees informing the board of their vote of no confidence.
A report on the investigation's findings was presented to the Board of Trustees at a July 29 meeting. According to an email Street sent on July 30 to the medical center's staff, the Board, eschewing several recommendations made by the investigative team, voted then to "request new administrative structure."
Following the Board's vote, Street forwarded an email on Aug. 2 to staff from Stockton announcing that Community Health Systems planned to send a "resource team" to the hospital "to help support the current administrative team."
On Aug. 9, Street made the announcements about SCP Health and the administrative changes.
Members of the general medical staff met with Street and other hospital employees on Aug. 12, where they again voted no confidence, this time specifically in Street's leadership, and also to maintain the hospital's relationship with SCP Health.
"The conclusion by my clients, along with the other members of the medical staff, is that this likely is retribution or retaliation for the SCP doctors who have been vocal in their support of the level of quality of patient care and treatment for the people of this community," Gilliam said in an Aug. 14 email to the News-Times.
Alexandria Bennett, executive director of business development for the hospital, denied that the decision to change staffing agencies was retaliatory. She said the change to the hospital's staffing agency has been in the works since the beginning of the year.
Gilliam said that her clients will continue to work with Community Health Systems to improve the environment at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
"Looking toward the future now, my clients will continue to work with senior level management of CHS, as well as, new local administrators to fulfill the mission of giving the very best of compassionate patient care at MCSA," she said.