Comment Archives: stories: Blogs: Indy Blog
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
Im a current employee and I have mixed reviews on this ordeal. I have seen only be hear say the treatment of administration on the front line work force. The worst of the mistreatment of by supervisors comes from Terri Delgadillo to the reception staff. Her staff is terrified to ask for sick time becasue of ridicule and threatening body language. They are often told to take care of patient intake at the busiest clinic in town by themselfs with no help. The poor girls are downing and on the verg of tears because they cant keep up. She will sit in her office and tell her staff to "deal with it, and figure it out."
One the other hand there is another dept head that is very understanding and willing to put her boots on and get in the trenches as they say. I like working here, i like the people that i help to serve. I dont like being under paid (as do most). I dont know what is going to make things better as im just another cook in the kitchen.
I see that some one mentioned that one employee leaves crying. That is true i have seen that, and probably been reason for it at one point. This is a tough place to work there are ungratfull and mean people that get care here. that is the nature of the beast and we have no time for cry babies. this is the real world..... I could go on.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
http://newstalkkgvo.com/missoula-county-may-be-involved-in-lawsuit-over-employee-complaints-at-partnership-health-center/
here is another link with info on this lawsuit. btw i know for a fact that the plaintiffs haven't spoken to the media yet. any quotes are taken directly from the paperwork filed with the court.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
A friend of mine works at PHC and the stories they have told me are unbelievable at best! The hostile work environment created by other employees, not Kim, Teri or Mary Jane is terrible. This friend often leaves crying. They have gone to HR Patty B and was told to move on and/or seek counselling! This persons co-workers are cruel! However, time after time they have gone to supervisors, HR and even Kim with no avail. Moral seems very low. Pay increases/evaluations for employees are unheard of. This friend takes anti-anxiety medication before going to work. With all of the above and stories from my friend I wonder how is the patient care suffering? Clearly something needs to be done. I hope this lawsuit opens some eyes. Obviously, some changes need to be made. I commend the six who finally stood up and took a stand. It would be a shame if PHC lost federal funding due to poor management and cruel people.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
@ Steve Johnson: Thanks for clearing up that you were not the person who posted as John Stevens, again, I just found it "odd". You stated that you have the highest regards for PHC employees, yet you have allowed many of us to be treated this way, knowing exactly what was going on! Where were your full regards one year and two weeks ago when I was served a letter by PDQ asking me not to return to work after having complained about sexual harrassment? That's ok, no need to respond, your actions speak loud enough! I was a dedicated employee who allowed myself to be subjected to this poor treatment because I had co-workers, patients and my family that counted on me to be there every day. I absoluetly loved my job and had never had a complaint about my performance before I was pushed out. I too don't believe in being true to who I am, I don't pretend to be someone I'm not and I 'm proud to display my name here for all to see! It's the least I can do for all of the other people that are still being treated poorly. I would be more than happy to share all of the knowledge as well as the documentation I have kept to help solidify this case. Good luck to you Mr.Steve Johnson COO. I hope that you and anyone else who has allowed this to continue will stand up now and support those dedicated employees you hold in such high regards!
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
Well Mr. Johnson, COO of Missoula county guess you have a lot of explaining to do about what has been going on and what has been covered up by HR, PHC board of directors, Masch, Delgadillo, and Nealon as well as many others that are under higher supervision such as yourself. Makes me wonder how far up the food chain does the corruption and blatant disregard of peoples bad actions, bad attitudes, and bad behavior goes? Maybe something that all tax payers should be asking
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
In response to the previous post, this is to let you know that I am not "JohnSteven." First, I have the highest regard for Partnership Health Center employees, at all levels of the organization, and I certainly do not agree with the sentiments expressed by "JohnSteven." Second, even if I did agree with those sentiments, I would not post anonymously about such a matter. That would be cowardly and unprofessional, and it's not my style. Finally, if I was going to post anonymously, I think I would be smart enough not to choose an "anonymous" name that was so similar to my real name. Thank you for the opportunity to clarify this matter. Sincerely, Steve Johnson Chief Operating Officer Missoula County 200 W. Broadway (406) 258-3293
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
As a former PHC employee and a person who seriously considered filing suit against them as well, I too can attest to the mistreatment of employees by Kim Mansch. I was never out to gain financially by standing up for what I believed in, I only wanted to be heard, and have things change for the remaining co-workers, friends and patients that I had come to call my second family whom I left behind when I was forced to leave. The accusations on this page are only the tip of the ice-burg in what I believe to be a huge cover up scheme made possible by many management members, board members, HR (Patty Baumgartner ), the Union and probably many others that I am forgetting. This is in no way exaggerated, the situation at PHC is frightening. The power that Kim Mansch has is indescribable. The only way to keep your job and be able to perform your responsibilities without fear of losing your job is to conform to what Kim wants you to be, which in most cases is weak and easily manipulated. I am not either of those things, therefore I do not work for PHC anymore. Once you stand up for yourself, the patients and what's right you have a target on your back and it's not long after that. I hope at the very least this opens eyes to what truly goes on behind those doors and somebody does some investigation. You know what they say about Karma......well I just hope I'm around to see Kim get what's been coming to her! Oh and another thing.....may just be coincidence, however, I find it interesting that the head of the HR Dept for PHC's name is Steve Johnson.....and the one person who doesn't agree with the people who have ACTUALLY been mistreated is named John Steven...something to ponder.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
I must disagree, Mr. Steven, this is not simply a case of "over-entitlement." These employees work long hours for comparatively low wages. They are not "held at gunpoint" but bound to a mission to serve the undeserved.
Furthermore, I wasn’t raised to ‘quit’ and thus, respect these courageous few who have risked their livelihood and reputation to oust this tyrannical leadership. They live in fear every day at work and perhaps litigation is their last and only hope. If you asked the plaintiffs’ to choose between a fat settlement and a peaceful, productive workplace, all six would choose the latter. Additionally, a county entity cannot be sued for punitive damages, thus financially, the risks far outweigh their potential gains.
As a patient of Partnership Health, I have witnessed a colossal rate of employee turnover. In the past 18 months, nearly 60 out of 120 employees have left or been let go. This dismal figure is symptomatic of a much deeper scourge.
From the comments below, this rabbit hole is deep and tortuous. It’s high time to take a leap inside.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
@ JohnSteven: As a matter of fact I did quit my job, which was a great financial hardship for me and my family. As tough as the Missoula job market is, many PHC employees quit rather than put up with constant harassment. The pattern of abuse and mistreatment at this institution was and is still far too pervasive to blame the victims in this case. It is absolutely the most dysfunctional place I have ever seen in my 20-year career in healthcare. Employees who did their best to take care of sick people were not acting entitled when they asked to be treated with respect. It takes courage to stand up and publicly say that the way PHC is run is totally unacceptable. We should in no way feel ashamed to be taking that stand.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
Partnership Health Center is a federally funded community health center. This means your tax money goes to help support its mission. Partnership sees over 1,000 patients per year. These are patients who are underinsured or who have no insurance and would otherwise go without healthcare or end up in our emergency rooms. They also compete for funding, which means doctors and nurses are expected to see 30+ complicated patients each day. It is a very demanding job, thus is difficult to find high quality people to do the job. Most of the professionals there are working there because they are passionate about the mission. Many of the staff there rely on the job to support their family and if they didn’t have the job would be one more of missoula’s uninsured population. You are correct, Steve, nobody is holding a gun to anyone’s head to work there. However, when someone wants to work to help serve the most vulnerable patients in the community they should be treated with utmost respect. When they are not, there is stress and high turn-over, which means incontinuity of care and low quality care. Comments like Steves are what the employees hear from administration, HR and the board over and over and it isn’t right. Mansch is correct in saying the staff work really really hard. What she didn’t say is they are unappreciated and when they can’t keep up with high volume phone calls they are belittled and threatened. Patients who are sick now and need to speak with a doctor have to wait weeks which often puts them in the hospital. Partnership is booked solid until July so new patients can’t get in, patients don’t get their questions answered, their medications on time, or the high quality care they deserve. This is not the fault of Kim’s hard working staff. It is the fault of administration. As a tax payer you should care about what happens. Abused staff know they have to take the abuse because there is no one who cares. Ask Patty Baumgartner from HR how many grievances were filed and shoved under the desk. Ask Tom Todd, the board director, how many professionals who serve patients at partnership have come to the board with these concerns. Thank you Adam, for braving the evil that prevails there. Thank you to the writer of this article. You give us hope that maybe someone will care about the employees and patients at partnership health center. Please consider putting this article in print
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
Mr. JohnSteven, these six courageous individuals did not in fact start this freedom-of-speech blog. Lawsuits are public record and therefore subject to public disclosure. In regards to your assertion that a person should just quit their job, why should any person have to quit their job because they are being treated unjust. It appears by your post and opinion, that you have either been fortunate to have a wonderful job, where you were treated as a human being, or your work history is riddled with job after job. The legal system was founded on the principle of justice....these people are asking for just that. Glad you are not the judge!
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
What would you have us do Mr. Steven? Give up? let wrong prevail? Let a couple of bad eggs ruin what would otherwise be a fine institution? Many of us were there before these Incompetent, abusive people. Should dozens of us just continue to clear out so a few rotten apples can ruin the place and continue to waste public money? The turnover rate has been outrageous for a few years, that should be a red alert to any competent leadership. That's whats wrong with America, lack of accountability! And you should inform yourself or shut the hell up!
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
I find the treatment of employees and patients by Kim Mansch, Terry Delgadillo, Mary Jane Nealon extremely disturbing. I know some past and present employees of PHC that have had to deal with the wrong doings of these women for years, some of which have had to seek counseling to deal with the issues while others have suffered health issues because of the hostile abusive environment. Patient care should be above and foremost to anything else however Mansch, Delgadillo, and Nealon have made it such a hostile environment that the employees and the patients suffer alike. Some may say "If you don't like your job then quite" and that "these types of lawsuits are the problem with America", however there would be no need for these lawsuits if people like Mansch, Delgadillo, and Nealon did not exploit, harass, blackmail, and plainly just treat people badly. The problem with America is that people like these women are put into positions of power and think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want. Well they are wrong and there are laws put into place for this very reason to protect the people from such abuse. These employees are not the only ones who suffer from the actions of Mansch and Nealon, the patients suffer as well by losing great medical professionals.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
This article is just the tip of the iceberg. If anyone wants to investigate there is plenty of information. Although there are only 6 lawsuits, there are plenty of others who have walked away or ended up settling a lawsuit. The board is negligent. When I was at phc I saw harassment on a daily basis. I saw Mary Jane scream at an employee who was a single mother trying to stay home 1 day with her sick child, I heard them talk meanly about women going on maternity leave, I saw them ruin the lives of employees who were passionate about the mission. There were directors of medical, pharmacy and dental who went to the board with concerns and the board looked away..and ended up dismissing them only weeks later. It is time to investigate the treatment of employees there before the medical residents come
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
You should all be embarrassed and ashamed, if you don’t like your job or the way your supervisor treats you then quit. Were any of you forced to work at partnership at gunpoint? If there is something you don’t like about your life then change it, don’t file a law suit and then start a pitiful smear campaign on the internet. This is the type of hyper-sensitivity, over entitlement, self-pity and excessive litigation that is becoming a sad standard in America.
Re: “John Mayer now lives in Montana”
I have lived in Montana my whole life - was born here. My family has been here for 5 generations. We share the same views about Montana for the most part. It's an Amazing place. As Baha'U'allah says "The earth is one but one country and mankind its citizens". Really we are just borrowing this land. Before I was the Native Americans and before them.. well maybe someone else. We should exercise kindness to all that come to live or visit. Wouldn't we expect the same back if we were in their shoes?
~Nathan Johnson - Missoula MT
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
There's not much to say that hasn't already been said in the above comments. As a former long term employee, my observation is that it's both inexplicable and shameful the way that Mansch and Nealon routinely treat employees. I can't count how many times I heard one of them utter "They've gotta go." Then they would start a campaign to create a hostile and unbearable work environment for that individual. The organization has lost many solid hard working employees due to the two of them. The quality of patient care has suffered as a result, as has the reputation of the organization in the professional community. The mission of Partnership Health Center is too important to let these issues go unaddressed. Kudos for covering this story and to the brave folks putting themselves on the line to make some positive change happen.
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
Anyone, be it the press or public or County comissioners can substantiate the claims made here by looking into the exit interviews of any number of PHC alumni. Unless of course the County Human resource dept. has cleaned out the files, and I don't think even they would be that foolish. I have offered my testimony to the Plaintiffs attorneys and know a lot of others that would be glad to do the same. Time to clean house on Mansch, Nealon and Delgadillo! Make this right!
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
First and foremost, Hal, an issue has to present itself before an allegation can be made. At least an allegation that a hard-working attorney is going to listen to, reduce to writing, file with the court, and pursue action against an entity. I have yet to see an attorney who files frivolous lawsuits on a contingency basis....knowing they don't get paid unless their client does. Seems as though placing you as a mouthpiece for the facility, has mimicked the attitude that created the complaint in the first place: evasive disregard.
Twitter
Facebook
RSS
Re: “Staffers at Partnership Health Center in Missoula allege harassment, wrongful discharge”
Why hasn't PHC board posted any board meeting minutes to the County archive since 2011? (See the archive at http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/archive.aspx.) Why aren't the names of PHC Board members listed on PHC's website similar to, for example, Butte Community Health Care Center at http://www.buttechc.com/BoardMembers.aspx? A publicly funded health care organization should be more transparent.