8 of 9 nurses resign at Richardton Health Center

Talk about it

Internal problems may have been the cause for eight of nine nurses to resign from the Richardton Health Center, officials said. However, the issues are under review and replacements are being found so the facility can carry on with business, they say.

“There was a number of things as far as how the facility was being operated,” Board President John Gengler said about reasons for leaving given in the resignation letters.

Former Director of Nursing Denise Beckler said Wednesday that she and seven other nurses put in resignations, which would leave the facility with one licensed practical nurse.

The Health Center is a 20-bed-rated nursing home that employs about 40 workers with nurses, maintenance, administrations and office personnel, Gengler said.

The board accepted eight resignations from nurses at a meeting Thursday night, Gengler said, adding that four positions have been filled and two of the resigned candidates have asked to be reconsidered for positions. Others said they will definitely not be coming back, he said.

Beckler said Wednesday that she put in her resignation and was expected to be done July 6. However, a Health Center employee said she no longer worked there on Friday. Beckler cited “problems with administration” as the reason for leaving.

Beckler said she thought some acts of the administration were smothering the operations of the small nursing home facility.

“My job is to take care of residents and my staff, and I can’t do that now,” she said Wednesday.

Beckler added that she has been asked by administration to do things she thought were unethical.

“I have worked too hard for my license to lose it over illegal things,” Beckler said.

Gengler said some resignations were more in depth than others and that he can’t “divulge any of the internal things that they were talking about because we (the Board) are dealing with those.”

Beckler said concealment of information is a hindrance to the operation of the small facility.

“It seems like there is a lot of secrets around here,” she said. “There is no communication and that is the problem.”

Resigned candidates are being reviewed and reconsidered, Gengler said.

“They told us why they resigned in the first place, so before we would consider rehiring we will have our administrator visit with them and a couple board members and see just exactly what the whole story was,” he said.

Gengler said he could not specify what the disquiet was about, but said “there were some internal things and some of them weren’t really nursing concerns.”

Administrator Lynn Blakeman said it is not uncommon to have turnover and that residents will be well taken care of.

Medical Director Armand Gehring declined comment.

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