{"id":25076,"date":"2024-10-31T11:53:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T17:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-residents-patients-support-fired-ob-gyn-doctor\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:09:07","slug":"cortez-residents-patients-support-fired-ob-gyn-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-residents-patients-support-fired-ob-gyn-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez residents, patients support fired OB\/GYN doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Southwest
Southwest Memorial Hospital offers a strong diabetes education program. (Photo by Southwest Health System)<\/span>Southwest Health System<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

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\u2019s birthing as it faced closure last year.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s monthly meeting Wednesday, at 5:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am due this Friday. I\u2019m pretty pissed at the hospital,\u201d said a patient of Schmitt\u2019s. \u201cLast year, I miscarried and found a doctor who cared about my family, remembered my family. To find out that she was fired \u2026 sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said it\u2019s hard to find a doctor to trust, \u201cand now I have to regain somebody else\u2019s trust. Two weeks I\u2019ve had to regain a relationship with a complete stranger, somebody I know nothing about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could have at least let her finish out with the patients she had \u2026 it has put more stress on us pregnant moms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jessica Kaplan and Dr. Kimberly Washburn are the only remaining OB\/GYNs on staff, according to the hospital\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, however, Shirley Jones, a chairperson on the board, said there was only one OB\/GYN on staff.<\/p>\n

When asked whether that provider was full- or part-time and also covering gynecologic procedures, Jones said, \u201cI don\u2019t know that detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recently hired Dr. Megan Viquez who started seeing patients on Oct. 30 specializes in family medicine and family practice obstetrics, which is the \u201cOB\u201d part only of \u201cOB\/GYN.\u201d<\/p>\n

The board said they would hire another obstetrician soon, but refused to comment on Schmitt\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it is a personnel issue, we cannot comment,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

A CORA request The Journal<\/em> submitted to Southwest Memorial Hospital on Oct. 24 requesting \u201cthe termination letter and all disciplinary actions regarding Dr. Erin Reardon Schmitt\u201d has gone unanswered.<\/p>\n

Southwest Health System is a nonprofit that manages the corporation. The Montezuma County Hospital District, owns and manages the property and facilities.<\/p>\n

In June 2023, Kaplan and Schmitt rallied support of the birthing center as it faced closure on July 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow 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?\u201d Schmitt asked the hospital.<\/p>\n

Later that month, Southwest Memorial Hospital announced nine layoffs to keep the birthing center open.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Megg Heath another patient of Schmitt\u2019s stood in support of her doctor. She handed the board papers with the hospital\u2019s \u201cmission and vision\u201d on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to present this in a slightly different light,\u201d said Heath. \u201cIn the 16 months since the board\u2019s announcement and its retraction of its intent to close the birthing center, there has been a number of positive developments.\u201d<\/p>\n

She noted increased public interest and awareness in the hospital, filled board and physician jobs, successful fundraisers, and a new, locally sourced CEO.<\/p>\n

But firing \u201cone of the health system\u2019s most loved and respected physicians\u201d greatly upset the public as people questioned why, as well as the future of the birthing center and women\u2019s health care at the hospital, Heath said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWas it retribution for Dr. Schmitt\u2019s 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?\u201d Heath said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know, and we won\u2019t, because it was a personnel issue. But whatever the reason, the public perception of the move is negative \u2026 and you\u2019ve likely erased the goodwill that was built over the previous 16 months,\u201d Heath said.<\/p>\n

Heath then read the hospital\u2019s mission statement to recruit \u201chighly qualified physicians\u201d and \u201cwarm and welcoming personalized care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kay Alvis spoke next, another patient Schmitt\u2019s told how Schmitt quickly came to her aid during a visit at the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got goose bumps. It made me so thrilled that someone would pay that much attention to one of their patients,\u201d said Alvis. \u201cShe\u2019s the best. I was shocked when I saw she was being dismissed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now I\u2019ve got to find a doctor, and guess what? Now that I\u2019m upset with this hospital, I\u2019ll go over to Durango for a gynecologist. This is why the hospital is losing patients \u2026 because you keep getting rid of all the good ones,\u201d Alvis said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019 notice, it is chilling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Jones, responding to a question, denied that finances were at fault, noting that the hospital has 99 days\u2019 cash on hand, well above the 60-day threshold.<\/p>\n

A father of a \u201ccouple of kids\u201d born with help of the staff, said the firing was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cA doctor like the doctor that you guys just let go, you\u2019re going to have trouble finding again,\u201d he said. \u201cI have such a big family, but every time she sees us, she remembers each and every one of our names.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m not saying that you guys aren\u2019t going to be bringing a better doctor on board,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, what I am going to say, is it\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

A pregnant woman expressed fear of a fourth miscarriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was there for us. She cried with us when we lost our babies,\u201d she said. \u201cFor a doctor to sit there and tell you, \u2018I hear you. We\u2019re going to get you there\u2019 means so much to somebody that tried to conceive for 10+ years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Another speaker asked how Southwest Health would now \u201cinvest in women\u2019s health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff and board members remained silent.<\/p>\n

Heath pushed the question as the public comment session ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of people have asked what your plan for women\u2019s health care is. We\u2019d like to know what your plan is, because this is a major blow to it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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