Riverview Psychiatric Center has let go its director of nursing, following the resignation of the hospital’s superintendent and clinical director earlier this year.
But Dan Wathen, the court master who oversees a consent decree that protects the rights of Riverview patients, says the director of nursing was a contract position that was not renewed.
“I would prefer that always the employment situation was stable and happy, but every instability doesn’t mean that the hospital is in serious difficulty,” he says.
Wathen says he’s confident the hospital can continue to function.
“There is a new superintendent, and from what I’ve seen, he’s come in with a plan and he’s energetic and putting forth that plan, and the plan seems reasonable,” he says.
Wathen says Riverview has addressed recent concerns, including filling many staff vacancies and drastically reducing mandated shifts.
