Four days after a nurse called fire crews for backup at Silverdale, Wash.-based St. Michael Medical Center, Mike Hastings, the emergency room's interim director departed.
Mr. Hastings left the role on Oct. 12, according to an internal hospital memo obtained by the Kitsap Sun.
On the evening of Oct. 8, an emergency room nurse at St. Michael Medical Center called 911, saying with only five nurses on staff, the overcrowded department was "drowning." Fire chiefs have since dedicated a unit to monitor dropped-off patients at the hospital, according to the Sun. Four days later, CommonSpirit Health — the hospital's Chicago-based parent company — confirmed a ransomware attack that shut down EHRs and canceled appointments and surgeries nationwide.
Hospital officials told the newspaper Oct. 13 that they could not confirm or deny whether Mr. Hastings' departure was voluntary.
Mr. Hastings has served as the emergency department's interim director since January, the newspaper reported, and had previously supported its process development. According to his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Hastings previously served five years as emergency department manager for Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center. Mr. Hastings is currently a consultant for healthcare innovation company Philips and foundation chair elect of the Emergency Nurses Association, which he served as president in 2020.
In the internal memo obtained by the Sun, hospital leadership confirmed Lori Danko will assume Mr. Hastings' role Nov. 14. Ms. Danko has 15 years of clinical and leadership experience and previously served as emergency department director at Tucson, Ariz.-based Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital.