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KSJd Local Newscast - October 31, 2024

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Women ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s spoke in support of a popular doctor at Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest Health System board in Cortez.

Dr. Erin Schmitt, a board-certified OB/GYN physician who had worked for SHS for a number of years, was terminated Oct. 14.

Some 20 people attended the meeting, an unusual occurrence at the board’s regular gatherings.

SHS is the not-for-profit corporation that manages the health system based in Cortez. The Montezuma County Hospital District, a taxpayer-funded entity, owns and manages the Southwest Memorial Hospital facilities.

Local residents praised the care Schmitt had provided and voiced concern about the future of women’s health care in the local area.

Registered nurse Patti Coen said she was “very, very upset” by the way Schmitt had been treated. “There is nobody more dedicated who loves her patients more,” Coen said. “She dealt with a lot of indigent people in crisis and she was amazing.”

Coen, along with several other people, said they had also been upset to lose Dr. Erin Henderson, a popular primary-care physician who left SHS several years ago, and compared her departure to Schmitt’s termination.

Samantha Gonzales, who is pregnant, said Schmitt was her obstetrician and she is due to deliver her baby on Friday. She voiced anger with the hospital, saying she was dismayed to find out Schmitt had been fired. She said she had been left with just two weeks to gain a relationship with a new doctor who was a complete stranger. “It would have been nice to let her end with her clients that she had,” Gonzales said.

Megg Heath of Mancos said she has been a patient of Schmitt’s for a number of years and that “the termination of the contract of one of the most loved and respected physicians” in the area had negated goodwill the hospital had earned over the past year and a half through a number of measures.

Kay Alvis praised Schmitt’s concern for women. She said she’d had bladder surgery in Albuquerque that had resulted in lingering pain. When she happened to mention that to an office assistant at the SHS clinic, she said, the receptionist typed on her keyboard for a moment, then said Schmitt would see Alvis later that day. “She’s the best,” Alvis said.

Dr. Jessica Cowan said she works at the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, New Mexico, but with her family living in Cortez, she has thought about coming to work for SHS. However, she said, “when I hear of a mid-career physician being let go without cause it is chilling to me.”

A young man who was there with his family and did not give his entire name said the loss of Schmitt had put “a lot of these moms under stress.” He said he has five children and a sixth one on the way. Schmitt, he said, is “a great doctor.”

“Every time she sees us she remembers each and every one of our names,” he said.

The board listened to the concerns, but did not respond with any specifics.

Board chairperson Shirley Jones said, “We would like to thank Dr. Schmitt for her contribution in providing high-quality care” but said the board could not discuss the reasons for the termination. “Because it is a personnel issue, we cannot comment.”

In response to an audience question about whether the hospital was lacking cash on hand and had fired Schmitt to save money, Jones said that was not the reason. The hospital has 99 days of cash on hand, people said at the meeting – far more than required.

Board member Eric Croke said it was painful to hear the concerns and objections voiced by the public but the board had to consider “the big picture.”

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Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.