County Healthcare (CCCCH), a non-profit advocate for transparent and effective leadership from the North Shore Health (NSH) Board of Directors, posted a new online petition on March 13th. The petition seeks an independent review of Dr. Bruce Dahlman’s termination last fall by the hospital-chosen contract employee provider, Wapiti Medical Staffing.
Wapiti is a for-profit agency that provides NSH with ER doctors and other professionals. Dr. Dahlman, a long-time resident of Cook County, has served NSH for 40 years.
In a review of Dahlman’s termination by NSH staff, made public by the NSH board of directors this winter, Dahlman was cited for a dozen so-called violations, each occurring between July 2023 and the renewal date of his contract, November 1, 2023. Dahlman says neither Wapiti nor NSH notified him of those violations until November 1, 2023, when Wapiti terminated his contract, and he was offered no opportunity to defend his record. His contract with Wapiti contained language that prevented him from working directly for any facility where he worked as a Wapiti contractor. Thus, he could not be hired directly by NSH going forward.
CCCCH arose after some of its leadership withdrew a petition it had started online in November, calling for the board to terminate hospital CEO Kimber Wralstad and reinstate Dr. Dahlman. The petition had more than 700 signers within days of going live online when the hospital board called a “closed-door” meeting to discuss possible legal action for defamation, not naming who or what was considered defamatory. Petition organizers were intimidated and withdrew the petition.
Specifically, the current petition, which is at www.change.org, is asking “that the NSH Board of Directors engage an impartial third party to conduct an independent investigation into Dr. Dahlman’s dismissal to include an assessment of how a negative workplace culture may have contributed to a concerning number of locally based professionals leaving NSH over the past five to six years.”
CCCCH rejects the board’s internal review of those issues, finding it inadequate and incomplete. The petition asks that the inquiry’s results be reported to the public.
Petitioners end with this statement, “We believe such an investigation could go a long way in restoring trust and confidence in North Shore Health.”
Dr. Dahlman has accepted an assignment with a staffing firm that provides ER doctors to the International Falls, MN, hospital. The Dahlmans have rented their Grand Marais house to a young pastor and his family, recently called to the Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church. They’ve taken an apartment in the Twin Cities to be near and care for the doctor’s 95-year-old father, who is in assisted living. Dr. Dahlman will also be in Nigeria and Kenya for medical missions this spring.
“We have always considered Grand Marais our home,” Dr. Dahlman said. “We’d be back in a heartbeat.”
Dr. Dahlman supports CCCCH and its petition for an independent review of his termination.
He’s very concerned about the situation at NSH, which has led to the departure of medical professionals and other staff. He describes management’s philosophy as “Kick out rather than listen to us, which is to the detriment of patient care.”
In a March 17 report to its members, the CCCCH steering committee states, “Our group’s focus is necessarily on the actions and inactions of the board members. It’s the only reasonable portal for community members to attempt to address how the hospital is managed.”
The report reiterates the group’s primary purpose: “We want an independent investigation into Dr. Dahlman’s termination and the workplace culture at NSH, and we want improved accessibility at board meetings and better access to our elected representatives when we have questions.”
Members of CCCCH have become regular attendees at NSH’s monthly board meetings and appear to have had some success in getting the board to provide amplification devices that allow hard-of-hearing citizens to participate in discussions.
