“So, what did you want to do, huh?” Lily tugged at Erin’s sleeve. “We got time.”
Smiling mysteriously, Erin drove slowly down Main and pulled up in front of the Realtor’s building. “Just wait a minute.”
She locked their doors and disappeared inside the building, but was back in only a few seconds. “No luck,” she said as she slid behind the wheel. “I don’t have a phone number for the owner of our cabin and I’d hoped the Realtor might have heard from him by now.”
“About a dog?”
Erin nodded. “I’m sorry, guys. I’d hoped we could go looking today. Anyone up for getting some pizza before we head out of town?”
Scowling, Drew slumped down in his seat. Promises. They never meant much—he’d learned that a long time ago.
“DO YOU NEED ANYTHING else?” The slender young woman shot a surreptitious glance at her wristwatch as she hesitated at the door of Erin’s office. Eager, Erin knew, to race out the front door of Blackberry Hill Memorial to meet her boyfriend, who lingered at the curb in his red Mustang every day at noon.
“I think I’ve got enough for now, Beth,” Erin said dryly, waving a hand over the stack of files on her desk. “Check in with me when you get back.”
“Madge is back from lunch, so I’ll let her know what you’ve been doing, just in case you need anything.” Beth waggled her fingers and hurried down the hallway, her heels clicking against the polished terrazzo floor.
Sighing, Erin rounded her desk and shut the door, then continued looking through the files. She’d known that the hospital was in trouble before accepting the job. Now, on her fourth day here, she was learning just how much. The picture was bleak.
With operating losses exceeding twelve percent of patient revenue, and fewer than eight hundred admissions per year, there were definite challenges ahead. And on the second Thursday of October, she’d be standing before the board to explain what was wrong and how she planned to fix it.
No small task, she thought grimly, flipping through another file.
This was her first time at the helm, and success here would mean she could move upward if this town didn’t suit. Failure would dog her forever and limit her chances at making a good, secure living for her children.
At a soft rap on the door, she glanced up. “Come in,” she called out, “it’s open.”
Madge Wheeler bustled in, her bulky frame encased in a heavy, hand-knit red sweater and plaid skirt. Sparkly crystal earrings dangled beneath a cloud of curly gray hair. “Beth told me to drop in.”
“Thanks. I do have a few questions.” Erin tipped her head toward the stack of employee files. “How long have you been here?”
Madge pulled a chair up to the front edge of Erin’s desk. “It’s all there. I started here as a teenager, helping in the kitchen. Worked my way into the front office, from receptionist to clerk, and after thirty years, I became the office manager.”
“And Grace Fisher?”
“Director of nursing for thirty-five years. Retiring this year, she says, though she’s been saying that for a while now and she never gets around to it.” Madge’s voice was filled with pride. “This hospital has continuity. None of those fly-by-night employees here today, gone tomorrow. We have good people and they stay. Newest one on the payroll is the Baxter girl, just out of high school, but the average employee has been here for seventeen years. I know, because I wrote up a report for the hospital’s fiftieth anniversary last year.”
Erin frowned. “I need to meet with you and Grace soon—tomorrow, if possible. I also need to have a meeting with the medical staff. Can you set up a date?”
Madge pursed her lips. “Something wrong?”
Nothing that more patients and fewer employees couldn’t cure, but given the small town and the longevity of the staff, change wasn’t going to be easy.
“I know you and Grace have been here a long time—you two are the true experts on the hospital and what makes it tick. I’m sure you’re both aware that we’ve got to look for ways to turn this place around, or it could go under.”
Madge’s expression grew wary. “A town this size isn’t ever going to have a big city hospital. No one expects that here.”
“But the board does expect it to break even. If it folds, and the entire patient load goes to Henderson Regional, this town will lose a very important public service for young and old alike.”
“True…”
“I’m counting on you and Grace to work with me as a team. I want this place to succeed just as much as you do.” Erin picked up a pile of papers and tapped them into a neat stack. “I want to find effective solutions. Ones that will protect jobs here and provide better service to the community.”
The older woman drew herself up. “Mr. Randall ran a tight ship,” she huffed. “We never had a penny missing, and he was well liked in this town.”
But that didn’t make him a good manager. From what Erin had found so far, it appeared that her predecessor had spent more time socializing on the golf course than tending to business. She’d called a number of times to ask questions before taking this job, and quickly realized that he came in late and left early, and also seemed to have a lot of “business lunches.”
“I’m sure he did well,” Erin said carefully. “But sometimes a little change is a good thing, don’t you think?”
“I’ll continue to do my best,” Madge said stiffly as she rose to her feet. “Grace has the day off tomorrow, but I’m sure she can meet with us Monday.”
“Sounds good.”
“The doctors have a weekly breakfast at Ollie’s Diner on Thursday mornings, so that might be a good place to meet them. Otherwise, trying to find a time when they could all be at the hospital together would likely set back your meeting a good three weeks.”
“Isn’t a diner a little too public?”
Madge waved away her concern. “They always use the booth at the back, past the ice machine and the bathrooms. No one could listen in even if they wanted to.” She tapped her pencil against her front teeth. “I’ll go do some calling and make sure they all plan to meet next week.”
“That would be fine. Thanks.” Erin watched the woman leave, then flipped open another file and began poring over the names and numbers before her.
Of the seven board members, Hadley had been the most supportive of her, Dr. Olson had been rather cool and Dr. Anderson had been openly dubious about her qualifications. The mayor and the others had been more enthusiastic.
Erin would succeed at revitalizing the Blackberry Hill hospital whether or not she had full cooperation from everyone involved, but so far, it wasn’t looking like an easy job.
And with a family to support, she couldn’t afford to fail.
STARING
