Today the KHMH invited the media to a late afternoon mixer where the hospital administration noted the institution's 18th anniversary by going over some key achievements. They also provided an update on the work that's being done at the new neo-natal intensive care unit. The event ran close to our deadline, so we'll have that full story tomorrow - but tonight we do have some news that came out of the event, and it is that Gary Longsworth is staying on as CEO. His contract expires this month and he told us the Board has given him a one year extension:..
Gary Longsworth
"I should hope to be here for at least one more year, during which time I hope to get a lot of the projects well entrenched, a lot of the changes completed and then we will see where we go from there."
Jules Vasquez
"So then you have been given a contract extension."
Gary Longsworth
"Yes the offer is there."
Jules Vasquez
"Ok but then, this is not a reflection on you, but a member of the public might ask how would your contract be extended when you have presided over when the most regrettable event, when people say 13, I know the report says 8 - when 8 babies died in just a few days in May. Who would give you a renewal based on that?"
Gary Longsworth
"Well if you look for someone to blame you can always find someone to blame, but that's why we went and we got an independent report on what occurred and the conclusion from that report is that there was no negligence, no individual to blame and that includes me. So what we have to do now is learn from those system failures, because that's what happened. Many of the systems that we had in place failed to pick up what was happening and so you had a tragic outcome, and that's why I drew the analogy to the naval shipyard tragedy because you can do your best in a certain situation and you still have a bad outcome. We live with that risk every day in this hospital - that it's a risky environment in which to work, we accept that risk and we try to do our best to mitigate it, to lessen it as much as we can."
Jules Vasquez
"So but while from a technical perspective you all my have been absolved by the report from an emotional perspective of the populist. It might be said someone has to be blame for that."
Gary Longsworth
"I see it differently, I see it with a need to rectify the problem and I still believe I am the best person to make sure that we fix the problems that we have encountered and I would like to be able to do that."
Speaking with Chairman of the Board Chandra Nisbet Cansino this evening, she said the question of whether to extend Longsworth's contract was hotly debated at the board and in the end it was a split decision, with the majority deciding to extend his contract.
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