The doctor is out. And the big move comes at a time of potential upheaval at Mercy.
Dr. Robert Steele, the first physician to serve Mercy Hospital Springfield as president, is leaving to take a position as chief strategy officer at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, Ark. – the hospital where his father worked as a doctor. Steele’s last day on the job in Springfield is scheduled May 2.
Mercy announced on March 28 Steele’s decision to leave after a year in the top post, just four days after the physician administrator and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jay Guffey penned a letter to hospital co-workers attempting to squash momentum that might be building for unionization.
An unnamed union has reportedly been in contact with workers at Mercy Hospital Springfield, which prompted the letter, but a spokeswoman for Mercy said the effort to unionize has nothing to do with the doctor’s exit.
“Dr. Steele began discussions with Arkansas Children’s Hospital about this newly created position prior to the beginning of the year. The timing of his resignation is purely a coincidence,” Mercy spokeswoman Sonya Kullmann said in an email.
In the letter, Steele and Guffey addressed concerns about staffing levels, implying such concerns might be the impetus behind union talks.
“We’ve previously acknowledged concerns about staffing levels. We have a full census and we realize that puts additional strains on our co-workers, but we have been, and are, working diligently to address staffing levels,” they wrote in the staff letter. “We understand that you have obligations outside of work and that fluctuations in the census can cause frustration and concerns when it comes to staffing. That’s to be expected. But you need to ask yourself whether a union is really the answer to those frustrations and concerns. We sincerely don’t think so.”
The letter went on to decry the slow decline of union participation across the United States in recent decades – 6.7 percent of workers in 2013 compared to 24.2 percent in 1973 and roughly one-third of U.S. workers in the 1950s – as a reason against seeking union representation.
“Right now, the low membership numbers make it clear that unions are on life support. In our opinion, unions are focused on surviving – not on co-workers’ concerns,” Steele and Guffey stated in the letter.
A statement provided by Mercy indicates the hospital formally opposes unionization in favor of addressing staffing issues internally.
“Leaders and co-workers recognize that staffing levels are a challenge, particularly as we deal with a consistently high patient count. To address this concern, Mercy has hired nearly 300 new nurses so far this fiscal year for the Springfield hospital,” the statement reads. “Half are already at the bedside, and the rest will begin work by the end of spring. Recruitment efforts are ongoing, and we welcome our co-workers’ ideas for improvements in patient care and our work environment.”
Steele, a 16-year veteran with Mercy, appears to hold a different position on unions than he did in his early days as a pediatrician with the nonprofit health system.
The doctor, who declined an interview last week through Kullmann citing a full schedule, acknowledged via email that he has previously supported a call for a union election at Mercy. In December 1998, Steele was one of 16 pediatricians at the hospital who petitioned the National Labor Relations Board.
“It was through my experience in the late ’90s that I saw how effective open and direct dialogue can be when resolving co-workers’ concerns. We spoke honestly with our leadership and they listened thoughtfully. That’s what I want for all of our co-workers,” Steele said via email.
Kullmann did not respond to a question about what union was pursuing representation in Springfield. Calls to Service Employees International Union, the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees and the AFL-CIO also were not returned.
Bob Hammerschmidt, a Mercy board member and Springfield region president for Commerce Bank, believes the move to Little Rock is not a step down for Steele.
“The Arkansas Children’s Hospital is an institution that is revered almost as much as the Razorbacks,” Arkansas native Hammerschmidt said via email. “It is an amazing organization with statewide support in Arkansas. I am sad to lose Rob and wife, Renee, from the Springfield community (but) I am very congratulatory in terms of his new position.”
Also an Arkansas native, Steele has said family and friends, including a colleague he grew up with, drew him to the new job.
“Comparing Mercy and Arkansas Children’s is like comparing apples and oranges, because Arkansas Children’s focuses exclusively on kids,” Steele said via email. “As a pediatrician, that’s extremely appealing and why I got into medicine in the first place. I don’t feel it’s a lateral move – it’s a new opportunity in an advanced position where I will have statewide responsibilities.”
According to Mercy, Steele spent summers conducting research in the Arkansas Children’s Hospital lab, and his dad worked there as a pediatric infectious disease doctor. Kullmann said Steele’s brother-in-law lives in the Little Rock area.
Until a successor is selected, Mercy Central Region President Jon Swope – Steele’s predecessor – was named interim president.
Steele was the first physician to dually serve in the president’s role in the Springfield hospital’s 123-year history.
Springfield Business Journal selected Steele for its annual 12 People You Need to Know editorial series, and Editor Eric Olson is scheduled to interview Steele on
April 15 before a live audience at Hilton Garden Inn.[[In-content Ad]]
