Brattleboro Memorial Hospital announced Thursday that the hospital’s CEO would not be returning from his unexplained leave of absence.
In a message on social media, hospital interim board chair Chloe Learey asked for the community’s patience as they search for a replacement for Chris Dougherty.
“These are complex and challenging times for BMH,” Learey said. “Now, more than ever, it is crucial for us to work together to get through these challenging times.”
Since 2017, the hospital has lost money every year but one, and state regulators this year rejected the hospital’s budget plan, saying the numbers were neither reliable nor realistic.
Dougherty went on leave as the hospital was working to resubmit its budget to the Green Mountain Care Board.
Vermont’s new health care law, Act 68, gives state regulators additional authority to require hospitals to resubmit budgets, and even order outside oversight when a hospital’s finances raise red flags.
“We’re very concerned about the entirety of the health care system, including the hospitals, and amongst the hospitals Brattleboro is the hospital that we have serious concerns about right now,” said Owen Foster, Green Mountain Care Board chair. “There were issues with the budget that was submitted and there were concerns with the accuracy of the data.”
BMH is expected to submit its updated budget before the end of this month, and Foster said hospital officials will have to come in for a hearing to explain the updated finances.
“This is uncharted territory for us,” Foster said. “To my knowledge we’ve never had a hospital need to resubmit a budget because of this issue.”
Dougherty is the third Vermont hospital CEO to leave in the past few months after Sunny Eappen left UVM Medical Center in September, and Peter Wright announced his departure from Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans just this week.
“It’s a difficult time,” Foster said. “And often in times like this you do have leadership changes.”
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital never gave a reason for Dougherty’s leave, and messages left at a phone number listed for him were not returned.
Two doctors from the hospital, Dr. Elizabeth McLarney and Dr. Tony Blofson, are acting as interim co-CEOs, and the hospital said it will begin searching for a new leader.
