From: Anderson, David
Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2021 12:14 AM
To: Rathgaber, Scott
Cc: Babinski, Andrea
Subject: meeting?
Hello Dr. Rathgaber,
Andrea and I have been outspoken critics of Gundersen’s Covid vaccine mandate. Are you interested in meeting in person with us to discuss it, perhaps this Friday? I understand you must be busy, but the stakes are high, and we have found ourselves put in the position of being the advocates for many staff.
Thanks for considering,
David Anderson RN
From: Rathgaber, Scott
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2021 11:01 AM
To: Anderson, David
Cc: Babinski, Andrea
Subject: RE: meeting?
David and Andrea,
I am always open to meeting with our dedicated staff. I always ask myself how meetings will advance the issue for which the meeting is scheduled. Will I hear a new perspective? Will I be able to provide additional information to affect a change?
Through national, local, and social media, the two of you have been more than clear regarding your beliefs. I am well aware of your perspective. I have been transparent regarding my perspective. You have had ample opportunity to understand it. I have no chance to persuade you to change where Dr. Gupta and a plethora of reputable science has failed.
Therefore, we are at an impasse that will not be served by meeting. We simply believe different things.
scott
From: Anderson, David
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2021 9:10 PM
To: Rathgaber, Scott
Subject: RE: meeting?
Dr. Rathgaber,
Allow me to properly introduce myself, as the impression you have of me is wrong. The last time I missed work was when my father died in 2018. I have missed less than a dozen shifts total in over nine years. I have served on many committees despite working nights full time. I volunteer for the jobs that my coworkers avoid, like taking admissions, floating, and taking tough patient assignments. If you want to hear more about my dedication, I welcome you to speak to any of my unit’s leadership or staff.
These are just a few of the reasons for which I received a Nursing Excellence Award in Leadership in 2017. The majority of my shifts are as our unit’s charge nurse - again, doing my best in a role many avoid. When I am in charge, my team gets the credit for any job well done. When something goes wrong, I take ownership and look for the personal opportunity for growth. I, again, welcome you to speak to any of my coworkers about my leadership.
More recently, I have found myself as the leader of hundreds of staff who do not want to lose their careers, but are being coerced and threatened by you. The experience has been soul-crushing. I welcome you to read the messages of your staff on their petition pictures, and know that those are a tiny sampling of the suffering you have caused. You know that fully vaccinated staff are coming to work with Covid on a regular basis. You know (or should know) that you, fully vaccinated, are still more likely to need a hospital bed than an unvaccinated nurse in their 20’s (without even factoring in natural immunity). Your words and your actions undermine the core values of this institution: evidence-based practice, individualized patient care, and informed consent. Your choice to mischaracterize us as undesirables only calls attention to your own rigidity and failure to impartially follow new information. You display staggering hypocrisy in your failure to uphold the mission and values of this organization.
Working in IBH, I am frequently faced with difficult decisions around med consents. I always support my patient’s right to refuse. Your authoritarian stance on the Covid vaccine mandate violates informed consent, and the way you have leveraged people’s careers against them is unforgivable. Your reputation at this organization will never recover, nor should it. Coercion is not consent.
You have created a toxic environment for all staff, regardless of vaccination status. People are fleeing Gundersen. Their loss is obviously impacting patient care on a daily basis. Staff who have worked here for decades say that for the first time, they don’t feel proud to say they work for Gundersen. Have we ever had as many open positions as we do right now? You might blame pandemic burnout, you might blame a national shortage of healthcare workers, but the real blame will look back at you from your mirror. Good leaders accept hard truths; this is yours.
Your staff see no ownership of these problems from you. Your videos contain hollow words. Your attempts to rally your staff create resentment. Trust is gone. Respect is gone. Do organizations with good leadership experience protests, billboards, and record staffing shortages?
I have reflected on your words, and I agree with you about the futility of discussing these things face to face. However, with competent leadership, difficult but important conversations would be welcomed. It is for this reason that I demand your resignation. It is the first and most important step to salvaging what so many of us have dedicated ourselves to, all with more integrity than you.
David Anderson RN
Your courage serves you will in such a toxic environment. Something bigger than all of us is "going down". Structures will fail, hearts (courage) will fail, leadership will fall. Not sure when, not sure how, but the arc of human history leans towards justice and freedom — God knows this current "goliath" of vested powers is big and ugly, but it's toppling is coming.
Nice response!