It would appear to be the appropriate time to tell my story, or at least one of them related to the inappropriate dismissal of much needed leaders. I am throwing my hat into the ring, so to speak, in support of Lisa and anyone else whose professions and reputations have been damaged by boards of directors who lack good governance or who make reckless decisions in order to gain power, hold onto power or take secret pleasure in wiping out a person with power, especially if she is female. Make no mistake, it is not just men who populate these boards. Women do too and in my experience, they can do just as much if not more damage with intent and purposeful planning, to other women. My heart goes out to you Lisa. In a much more minor way, I have suffered as a result of terrible board decisions as well.
In 2005, I founded the province's 14th HIV clinic with the support of the AIDS Bureau and a large group of individuals who possessed a passion to help people living with HIV and dying of AIDS. I don't feel comfortable telling people that I founded an HIV clinic. It smacks of a lack of humility. Perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps if I had made it known at regular intervals who I was, the mess that has ensued over the last 4 years would not have happened.
The clinic served Guelph and Wellington County, Grey-Bruce, Dufferin and Kitchener Waterloo. A satellite clinic in Waterloo was created 5 years later by Dr. Chris Steingart and Michelle Steingart. Look up their names to find out where their path eventually took them. These are magnificent human beings. The two clinics have served thousands of HIV positive patients and their families saving hundreds of lives and preventing the transmission of HIV to their partners and many newborns.
In 2018, something felt off. As medical director of the clinic, it was my responsibility to oversea clinic services while the executive director managed the AIDS Service Organization and reported to the board of directors. The board had the responsibility of overseeing the whole ship and managing the hundreds of thousands of dollars in provincial government funding that flowed through the AIDS Bureau.
I asked to meet with the president of the board to discuss my concerns. All of the people involved in this story no longer work with the organization. You won't find their names if you look them up and I won't share their names as a matter of principle. The vice president of the board was present at the meeting. I was not aware that this person would be there. Within minutes, I realized that my concerns were not on the agenda. I was dismissed without cause. Lisa used the word 'blindsided'. I use the phrase, 'sucker punched'. Fifteen years of work wiped out by one board decision based on rumours of my character and behaviour or so I learned years later. There was no evidence of bad behaviour or poor character but who needs evidence when a malevolent force has already captured the boards attention and spent years building a pretty believable case against the founder.
In a recent article written by the Toronto Star, the author talks about what a short-sighted and disastrous decision it was for the powers that be at CTV to dismiss Lisa without cause and to do it so disrespectfully. Words like devastating, disastrous and destructive have been written repeatedly. The outcome might be a sinking CTV ship. What the author of this article suggests is that boards can be so dysfunctional and distanced from the organization they work for and so interested in their own ambitions that they forget the value of their product which in this case was Lisa and her incredible talent.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2022/08/20/no-way-for-bell-media-and-ctv-news-to-walk-back-this-disaster.html?fbclid=IwAR2w3KreA1SbF-95HeWLR486cAP-Z4DYa-cpy1jR_RCvB3eYMmHHgM1BdB4
What the mis-informed board of the organization I founded did not understand was that my patients had the right to follow me out of the clinic. And, they did. About 95% of them. I have been caring for many of these folks for over 3 decades. Why would they stay in a clinic that just ousted their physician without cause? Unfortunately, the government funding for these patients has stayed at the clinic. I continue to try to manage these sometimes very complex patients without the support of a team and without funding. The sad part is that I can name three patients who have died because of the lack of team support.
A leader leads. I will continue to care for these patients and Lisa will find a brilliant path forward too.
In my story, rumours were racing. Information trickles out when no cause is given and everyone is asking for a just cause. I was accused of being a racist. I have created an organization called Bracelet of Hope which serves the people of Lesotho, Africa. The citizens of that country are black. I was accused of being a physician who was not transgender friendly. The transgender patients in my practise might disagree with that. I was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the coffers of the organization which of course, makes no sense. A well governed board doesn't believe a rumour of such gigantic proportion without setting out to investigate and retrieve the thousands I was said to have taken. The members of the poorly functioning board that started this mess have all departed. Many of the staff of the organization have moved on too.
Last month, according to a reputable source, the newest board imploded. They all resigned. At one point, no one was leading this organization; no board, no executive director, no clinic coordinator and no medical director. That's a pretty risky place for a government funded organization to be. It is our tax dollars that are no longer being supervised or, and this is my opinion, used for the purposes for which they were designed. Services are not being delivered to the patients who need them and that is not only tragic but dangerous. .
Just like the people of Canada lost a trustworthy and well-loved news anchor, the HIV positive population in this large region of Ontario have been separated from much needed care, all because of the disastrous decision of a board of directors.
I continue to attempt to communicate with the AIDS Bureau. That's the branch of the Ministry of Health that oversees all of the HIV clinics and AIDS Service Organizations in the province. They are now involved with the process of salvaging this organization. I have offered to separate myself from my patients and allow another HIV treating physician to reconcile them with the HIV clinic. That's how desperately I want these folks to receive team care. More will die without it. No takers so far.
It is my hope that the AIDS Bureau will do the right thing and at least give the founding physicians of the two HIV clinics in our region a chance to re-introduce themselves and their patients to government funded care. My fear is that the disrespectful dismissal of a vital member of a team can soil the reputation of that person making it easy for some folks to believe the rumours they have heard.
I will continue to reach out, ever hopeful for some kind of justice to take place that improves the care of the patients I serve.
Always a take home message: The time and place for malfunctioning boards needs to end. There are governance rules and stop gap measures that can protect organizations like CTV and the one I founded from short-sited, powerful players with questionable motivations. This needs advocacy.
Anne-Marie
Please share widely. Our stories need to be told.
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https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/
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