In the lawsuit filed March 11, South County Health alleges Claudia Swain, South County Hospital’s former vice president of development, violated a contract to not disclose confidential financial information, including details about the hospital’s donor base. The lawsuit alleges Ms. Swain, who left the organization in 2020, disclosed confidential donor data to members of Save South County Hospital, a group formed in fall 2024.
The lawsuit follows the formation of Save South County Hospital and an open letter to South County’s leadership from 40 physicians and staff, calling for leadership change and expressing concerns over staffing shortages, service eliminations and CEO Aaron Robinson’s “abrupt, callous and confrontational” management style.
Save South County Hospital was formed “in direct response to careless and capricious decisions by hospital administration,” according to a March 15 statement from the group shared with Becker’s. The hospital’s alleged mismanagement has “driven away” primary care physicians, cancer specialists, urologists and cardiologists from South County Medical Group, the organization said.
“We have repeatedly confronted hospital leadership and the Board of Trustees, only to have our urgent warnings tossed aside and ignored, as they did the pleas and concerns of the community’s most respected doctors,” the group said in its statement.
In a webpage last updated March 12, South County Health said the group’s actions have caused “confusion, concern, and anxiety in our community.”
“Their efforts have specifically targeted disrupting our critical relationships with donors — efforts that have been aided by a former employee of South County Health who violated their fiduciary duty to protect confidential donor information, placing millions of dollars in philanthropic support at risk,” the system wrote.
Save South County Hospital denied the allegations in its statement.
“Any compromise to donor trust threatens the hospital’s ability to grow essential programs, and long-term stability and ultimately jeopardizes patient access,” the system said in the statement. “At a time when we are actively engaged in potential partnership discussions, the conduct of the individual and group involved may hinder our ability to secure a beneficial partnership.”
South County Health remains financially stable, with more than $90 in pooled assets and an average of 143 days cash on hand, according to the system. The lawsuit will not affect patient care, staffing or daily operations, it said.
