Fear in Peoria--December 2019
Photo by John Carroll
So what has to happen to improve the culture of Peoria Area EMS?
First, people have to understand there is a problem with the culture of Peoria Area EMS.
But if understanding is achieved, and nothing is done, what have we accomplished for the 20,000 people in Peoria who dial 911 each year?
Nothing.
People have to act. And this is hard to do in Peoria.
I believe that the main reason for inaction the last 25 years is fear. There is a culture of fear that has been created by the leaders of our health community.
And this is bad.
People are afraid of losing their jobs, their health insurance, and their family and friends who are in the business community at large.
Keith Steffen, retired CEO of OSF-SFMC, told me years ago in his office that fear is a good thing amongst OSF employees. Steffen tried to intimidate OSF nurses and visitors in the medical center when he thought he could get away with it. I know this because they told me. And he tried to intimidate me.
And when the top Sister of OSF Corporate heard some of what Steffen had to say, she was visibly nervous and walked around her Corporate Office like a squirrel caught in a trap. She was cornered and nervous and she knew she had no good way out at that point. Sister realized that her Mission was being trampled on by her suits.
Many years ago, Dr. X, who had been Project Medical Director and was receiving a salary from Advanced Medical Transport and OSF, stood in front of a room of young resident physicians with another attending physician at his side. Dr. X, not wanting to be quoted, had the other attending physician do the speaking. The other attending physician, who is now an administrator in 2019, told the group of scared residents that if any of them disagreed with my departure from the Department, they needed to keep it to themselves or suffer severe consequences. Dr. X nodded his head in agreement. None of the young residents were wild about losing their careers in Emergency Medicine. Who would be?
What happened to “open and honest communication” at OSF-SFMC?
The PFD firefighters have recently been warned not to like or share these FB posts of mine. They like their jobs just as well as the young resident physicians at OSF liked theirs. And so more professional opinions in Peoria have been effectively snuffed out.
And I doubt that most AMT employees or people who have been associated with them in the past are wild about going public about AMT’s deepest secrets. Many are very afraid of seeing AMT in court.
Even people who have lost a loved one in a bungled resuscitation attempt fear OSF. They know what an extended lawsuit would do to their family and their kids in the “Young Republican Party”. It wouldn’t be pretty. They have told me.
I have found during the past 20 years, that almost everyone will talk when the elevator door closes. But once the floor is reached and the door reopens, all talking stops.
Elie Wiesel–
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”
John A. Carroll, MD
Comments
Post a Comment