Note: I have had the privilege of working with boards for decades and I have never seen a board vote of this nature voted unanimously. I am deeply humbled and grateful for the support I, and my leadership team received while enduring a blistering public misinformation campaign and an chilling series of letters containing implicit threats of violence with religious undertones.
The Letter:
It was with deep sadness that we read the article published about Intermountain in the Helena Independent Record last week. Information in the article was inaccurate and not properly fact checked with Intermountain. In fact, no current Intermountain Board of Director member was approached by the reporter to answer to any of the allegations that were made, nor was the Interim CEO Gary Larcenaire. The Board has submitted & request to the newspaper to correct the inaccurate information. However, the Board’s focus is not to engage in a back and forth in the media, rather to devote its time and energy to Intermountain’s priority which is access to mental and behavioral health for children and families.
We are well aware of the challenges facing Intermountain, but these are not new challenges. These challenges date back years. Gary was engaged to help us reduce employee turnover, improve access to care for children and families, and create a sustainable business model. Before Gary arrived, our accounting firm warned us that without significant organizational improvement and restructuring, Intermountain would deplete reserves to alarming levels and completely exhaust unrestricted assets by the end of this year. Due to changes Gary has made to improve accountability and expand services, that is now no longer the case.
Gary also inherited many other challenges, one of those being low employee morale. In his short time, he has held numerous one-on-one meetings with staff members and two all-staff meetings, as well as conducted two all-staff surveys. The employee feedback is being reviewed and a plan is being made to make positive changes to improve the workplace culture. Change takes time, and we ask for patience as Gary and his team work to make changes.
Gary and his team have our full support. We are saddened and disappointed that his introduction to our community has been under these incredibly unfair circumstances. But what disappoints and concerns us the most are the effects these negative statements may have on you and your families as stakeholders of Intermountain. We can assure you that Intermountain is in good hands. We are hopeful for the future of this organization, and we ask for your patience as we go through this time of transition, as we improve and update. We have full confidence that under Gary’s leadership that Intermountain is on a healthy course for the future. Times of transition can be challenging for organizations. What has guided Intermountain in the past and will continue to guide the organization into its next chapter is a mission that remains: “Healing through healthy relationships.”