New York hospital board scolds member for Facebook post on finances, 'poor service'

Morgan Haefner -

Massena (N.Y.) Memorial Hospital's board of managers rebuked a social media post made by a member that cast the hospital's finances and patient services in a negative light, according to the Watertown Daily Times.

During a board of managers meeting April 8, Massena Memorial endoscopy clerk Clyde Leffler said a comment made by veteran board member Paul Morrow was offensive to employees of the hospital.

Mr. Morrow, who responded to a March 25 Facebook post, said in a comment: "News Flash MMH is losing one Million dollars a Month with a [sic] average daily census of 11 patients. On top of losing 450 [to] 500 patients during the past few years. And guess why? many of them left because of poor service and the attitude of our employees," according to the post cited by the report.

Mr. Leffler responded to the comment during the meeting, saying, "I find that offensive. To say that is wrong. We work hard here at Massena Hospital. We go above and beyond here."  

Mr. Morrow told the board his comment was based on statements he heard from patients, according to the Watertown Daily Times.

Loretta Perez, the board's chair, said the hospital's board members "need to be positive toward our hospital. I don't think we should be negative toward our hospital. We have a lot of positive things happening at this hospital."

On April 8, board members also voted unanimously to apply for Critical Access Hospital designation as financial problems mount.

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