Bay Area Hospital recall effort turns in thousands of signatures

COOS COUNTY, Ore. —Thousands of signatures have been turned in to the Coos County Clerk’s Office, in an effort to recall members of Bay Area Hospital’s Board of Directors.

The “Save Bay Area Hospital PAC” says the committee was formed to promote accountability among the board. The group believes the board is, “not good stewards of their community hospital.”

A spokesperson for the group claims the board has taken steps to close its mental health ward amid a mental health crisis, along with not properly vetting a former executive. Bay Area Hospital says the psychiatric unit was not functioning in the way it was designed to but is trying to come up with a community solution for mental health. It admits the hiring of the former executive was a “black eye” for the organization.

The recall group claims in the last several days, over 2,000 signatures to recall the entire board was stolen, two days before the petitions were due. As a result, it says only two recall petitions were filed against Board Chair Dr. Tom McAndrew and Donna Rabin.

“I think it’s inappropriate and unprecedented for them to without cause, essentially try and take down the whole hospital governance,” said McAndrew.

“When you have a community hospital that is not being taken care of appropriately you need to change up your leadership, and how you do that here is through the elected positions,” said Miles Eshaia part of the Bay Area Hospital recall effort.

The recall committee says a police report has been filed regarding the recent theft.

If the signatures are validated, there will be a special election for directors McAndrew and Rabin at a to-be-determined date.

The Bay Area Hospital released the following statement on the matter:

“Bay Area Hospital fully respects the democratic system of government and categorically disclaims any knowledge of, let alone involvement in, any alleged “theft” of signature pages. For the UFCW and ONA to imply any involvement is both false and offensive. Their statement unfortunately appears to follow a pattern of defamatory conduct by these unions for their own gain, along with trespassing at Bay Area Hospital, and spending tens of thousands of dollars supporting their political recall efforts. The UFCW and ONA do not appear to be acting for the benefit of Bay Area Hospital, its employees, its patients, or our community. Regardless, Bay Area Hospital will keep its focus on and continue to serve our community in good faith.”