ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, April 2, 1996 TAG: 9604020063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ELISSA MILENKY STAFF WRITER
When Gene Wright sent e-mail to his staff at Columbia Montgomery Regional Hospital in September, he probably never realized it would be used against him seven months later. Now the hospital's chief executive officer is doing some explaining.
``In reviewing the `game film' of this call, sitting here seven months later, I would do that one differently,'' Wright said in a news release.
This response came days after Radford Community Hospital officials asked for an investigation into a memo at a fact-finding hearing in Richmond held last week to obtain information on the two competing proposals to build a hospital in the Radford area.
The e-mail, sent to Montgomery Regional managers, offered $20 to any employee who could bring to Wright the original petitions of support being circulated by Montgomery Regional's competitor, Radford. The petitions were being circulated before a September public hearing on two proposals, one from Radford Community and one from Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.'s Montgomery Regional and Pulaski Community hospitals. Both sides were trying to show community support for their respective proposals.
Wright said he wanted to send the petitions to the state health commissioner and had no intention of destroying them. The action came after a Montgomery Regional employee was asked to sign a petition in support of Radford Community's proposal in a nursing class by a fellow student.
The student and the instructor of the class worked at Radford Community.
"Mr. Wright recognizes the aggressiveness of his reaction to what he perceived as heavy-handed attempts by Carilion [Health System] to inflate the appearance of public support for its project prior to the public-side review of the projects," the news release said.
Susan Lockwood, a spokeswoman for Radford Community, said it is normal procedure to circulate petitions for such projects.
"In our opinion, the document speaks for itself, and it was introduced at the appropriate time at the certificate of public need process," she said.
Raymond Perry, the officer who presided over last week's hearing, said he will not investigate the matter because it is "outside the realm of public need." Instead, Perry has asked a Richmond attorney for Columbia/HCA to look into the matter and return a report to him.
The three hospitals are waiting for Perry to make a recommendation to the state Health Commissioner, who will make a final ruling on the proposed projects.
Incidentally, Wright never had to put his money where his mouth is: No one ever delivered a petition to claim the $20.
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