THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 1997 TAG: 9702150224
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 35 lines
A purchasing mistake left Norfolk Community Hospital's 300 employees without paychecks Friday.
Hospital officials said their purchasing department misjudged how long it would take to get an order of blank checks from their printing company. But the company has arranged a special printing, and, as of Friday evening, hospital authorities expected to distribute the checks today, said Phillip Brooks, hospital president.
The hospital uses an old computer system that requires custom-made, carbon-paper forms, said a representative of SFI, the Norfolk company that handles the order. The forms are compiled by a company in Georgia.
Brooks said the hospital requested a refill Jan. 29. But it takes four to five weeks to fill the order, company officials said. Brooks said the hospital orders in bulk and refills infrequently, and so hospital staffers didn't realize two weeks wouldn't be enough time.
When SFI learned of the problem, the company arranged to have the Georgia plant work overtime to finish the job Friday night and to have the forms flown to Norfolk immediately, said Frederick Katz, SFI senior vice president. The forms were expected to get to the hospital by late morning today, said Brooks.
``As soon as we get the forms, we're going to print the checks,'' Brooks said.
Initially, employees were told the checks wouldn't be available until Monday, a bank holiday.
Norfolk Community has been struggling financially in recent years, and the delay in paying salaries had prompted rumors that the problems were getting worse. But Brooks said the hospital has the money to cover the checks.