Emmot resigns as Jewell County Hospital physical therapist

Tammy Emmot has worked for Jewell County Hospital for almost 18 years, but her tenure as a the physical therapist at the hospital, serving both inpatient and outpatient residents of Jewell County and surrounding regions, has closed.

A third party contractor, Rehab Visions, has been selected by the hospital board to provide physical therapy services to the hospital as of Jan. 20. Emmot was offered a position with Rehab Visions at the same pay level she was receiving but decided not to sign on. 

During the monthly board meeting on Jan. 22, the people present in support of Tammy made their voices clear to be in favor of Tammy's decision not to become an employee of Rehab Visions.

The meeting was held in a small conference room at the hospital attended by the usual hospital board members, and both CEO and CFO of the hospital, and many others.

According to minutes obtained at the meeting on Jan. 22, the hospital board on Dec. 18, indicated Leland Tice made a motion to authorize McKimmy to sign a contract for physical therapy services with Rehab Visions in Omaha for a 3-year contract, Steve Greene, board member, seconded the motion. 

The physical therapy in the hospital setting is now under Rehab Visions' contracted responsibility. Rehab Visions already has an employee onboard and working in the hospital. 

Shannon Meier, serving on the hospital board, and a new employee in the department of emergency preparedness, read a prepared statement with a brief timeline of circumstances, events and dates of those events that transpired in Tammy's case, as the hospital saw them.

Nearly all of the people in the room who were not board members, but rather, either residents of Jewell County, or surrounding counties were welcomed visitors to the hospital board meeting in support of Tammy. There were a few present who simply wanted to know more about what had happened in Tammy's case and decided to be neutral about it until they heard both sides.

A fellow employee at the hospital, Mary Beth, still currently working in the Physical Therapy department as an office manager for the last two years, was readily vocal in her genuine support of Tammy.

During the meeting, Doyle McKimmy, the hospital's CEO, gave background and context to his overall actions and experience at the hospital in general from the beginning of his tenure to the present time.

McKimmy, noted since the beginning of his tenure at the hospital which spans approximately the same amount of time that Tammy has been working at the hospital, how he helped bring the hospital from the brink financially and into solid black now. He referred to Barry Bottger, current CFO, if anyone wanted to know more details of the hospital's financial standing. 

During the meeting, McKimmy tried to clarify circumstances and timelines, so people present could better understand his viewpoint. He expressed his frustration explaining that over time he chose to aggressively seek relief for the situation concerning Tammy as he saw it.

McKimmy thought Tammy was at the point of burn-out last year, so while making attempts with recruiting companies and universities and having failed, he basically he was not getting interest from applicants for a qualified physical therapist assistant.

McKimmy also said Nikki Nance, PTA, resigned her position as a hospital employee, a position she held in the physical therapy department at the hospital while Tammy was still onboard.