More than 20 people attended the Southwest Health System board meeting Wednesday in support of the fired Dr. Erin Schmitt, who was a champion of the hospital’s birthing as it faced closure last year.
Southwest Health fired the OB/GYN doctor on Oct. 14, igniting immediate public outcry and concern that spread on social media. On Facebook, outspoken residents encouraged people to attend the hospital board’s monthly meeting Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m.
“I am due this Friday. I’m pretty pissed at the hospital,” said a patient of Schmitt’s. “Last year, I miscarried and found a doctor who cared about my family, remembered my family. To find out that she was fired … sucks.”
She said it’s hard to find a doctor to trust, “and now I have to regain somebody else’s trust. Two weeks I’ve had to regain a relationship with a complete stranger, somebody I know nothing about.”
“You could have at least let her finish out with the patients she had … it has put more stress on us pregnant moms,” she said.
Dr. Jessica Kaplan and Dr. Kimberly Washburn are the only remaining OB/GYNs on staff, according to the hospital’s website.
At the meeting, however, Shirley Jones, a chairperson on the board, said there was only one OB/GYN on staff.
When asked whether that provider was full- or part-time and also covering gynecologic procedures, Jones said, “I don’t know that detail.”
The recently hired Dr. Megan Viquez who started seeing patients on Oct. 30 specializes in family medicine and family practice obstetrics, which is the “OB” part only of “OB/GYN.”
The board said they would hire another obstetrician soon, but refused to comment on Schmitt’s firing.
“Because it is a personnel issue, we cannot comment,” Jones said.
A CORA request The Journal submitted to Southwest Memorial Hospital on Oct. 24 requesting “the termination letter and all disciplinary actions regarding Dr. Erin Reardon Schmitt” has gone unanswered.
Southwest Health System is a nonprofit that manages the corporation. The Montezuma County Hospital District, owns and manages the property and facilities.
In June 2023, Kaplan and Schmitt rallied support of the birthing center as it faced closure on July 1.
“How are they going to get patients to Durango, and what is the cost? Do you think labor and delivery is an expensive unit to keep going now? What are the helicopter and the ambulance fees going to be bringing all these patients up to Durango? How are we going to cover that?” Schmitt asked the hospital.
Later that month, Southwest Memorial Hospital announced nine layoffs to keep the birthing center open.
On Wednesday, Megg Heath another patient of Schmitt’s stood in support of her doctor. She handed the board papers with the hospital’s “mission and vision” on it.
“I’d like to present this in a slightly different light,” said Heath. “In the 16 months since the board’s announcement and its retraction of its intent to close the birthing center, there has been a number of positive developments.”
She noted increased public interest and awareness in the hospital, filled board and physician jobs, successful fundraisers, and a new, locally sourced CEO.
But firing “one of the health system’s most loved and respected physicians” greatly upset the public as people questioned why, as well as the future of the birthing center and women’s health care at the hospital, Heath said.
“Was it retribution for Dr. Schmitt’s passionate defense of the birthing center in 2023? Was it an effort to demonstrate to the staff so they would know not to oppose future managerial moves? Who was behind it? The Community Hospital Corp.? The board? The new CEO?” Heath said.
“We don’t know, and we won’t, because it was a personnel issue. But whatever the reason, the public perception of the move is negative … and you’ve likely erased the goodwill that was built over the previous 16 months,” Heath said.
Heath then read the hospital’s mission statement to recruit “highly qualified physicians” and “warm and welcoming personalized care.”
Kay Alvis spoke next, another patient Schmitt’s told how Schmitt quickly came to her aid during a visit at the hospital.
“I got goose bumps. It made me so thrilled that someone would pay that much attention to one of their patients,” said Alvis. “She’s the best. I was shocked when I saw she was being dismissed.”
“And now I’ve got to find a doctor, and guess what? Now that I’m upset with this hospital, I’ll go over to Durango for a gynecologist. This is why the hospital is losing patients … because you keep getting rid of all the good ones,” Alvis said.
A physician from Northern Navajo Medical Center who lives in Cortez spoke about whether Southwest Memorial would continue to be a career goal for her.
“I have thought intermittently, you know, I drive all the way down to Shiprock and I could work at this hospital down the road. But when I hear of a mid-career physician who was beloved in the community being let go without cause with 10 minutes’ notice, it is chilling.”
“It looks as if mid-career providers may be more expensive, and that may be the reason Dr. Schmitt was let go. And I guess I would say, if the bottom-line is leading to the dismissal of beloved physicians, we can do it better,” she said.
And if Schmitt was fired with cause, she said she thought fellow doctors could come together for a peer review to discuss the quality of her work.
Jones, responding to a question, denied that finances were at fault, noting that the hospital has 99 days’ cash on hand, well above the 60-day threshold.
A father of a “couple of kids” born with help of the staff, said the firing was wrong.
“A doctor like the doctor that you guys just let go, you’re going to have trouble finding again,” he said. “I have such a big family, but every time she sees us, she remembers each and every one of our names.”
“Now I’m not saying that you guys aren’t going to be bringing a better doctor on board,” he said. “However, what I am going to say, is it’s wrong.”
A pregnant woman expressed fear of a fourth miscarriage.
“She was there for us. She cried with us when we lost our babies,” she said. “For a doctor to sit there and tell you, ‘I hear you. We’re going to get you there’ means so much to somebody that tried to conceive for 10+ years,” she said.
Another speaker asked how Southwest Health would now “invest in women’s health.”
Staff and board members remained silent.
Heath pushed the question as the public comment session ended.
“A number of people have asked what your plan for women’s health care is. We’d like to know what your plan is, because this is a major blow to it.”
