Ghost Town

Sorry about the disappearing right side bar. It's located way at the bottom of the page. Formatting problem with the links in the previous post that I don't have the time or energy to fix at the moment. And I want those links to stay there, so we'll deal with the format issue until that post rolls off the page.

The layoffs have begun in earnest today. Yesterday 450 employees across campus were notified they were affected. Today it has started in my building. Every employee is being called one by one into the Chairman's office and being told whether they are staying or going. Those who will return are being instructed to leave the building and return at 1:00. Those who are laid off are clearing out their offices and then leaving. The silence is deafening.

The nurses and other clinic staff will officially learn their fate tomorrow, although leaks are numerous and many have already heard through the grapevine. I honestly do not know how we are going to staff our clinics the rest of the week. My first task of the morning was to write letters of recommendation for nurses I can't believe we may not have with us next week.

Faculty will learn how the decision affects us on Friday. There is no question that this will be a different workplace on Monday.

Some decisions about how to handle the situation have been made at high levels that leave me apalled. Everyone knows that the layoff is necessary. But it should have been possible to work through this painful process with dignity and respect.

My Chairman has chosen to handle things much more professionally than what I've seen happening all around me in other areas. Although we don't always see eye-to-eye on things, my respect for my Chairman's professionalism, humanitarianism, and leadership have reached a new high. At least in Family Medicine, for the things we can control, we have continued to act like family, respect one another and act with integrity.

I hold out hope that this is the bottom and from here things improve as we start to rebuild.