WORKERS SAY THEY WERE HARASSED AFTER COMPLAINING ABOUT ASBESTOS

Administrators at Deaconess Medical Center knew since 1986 they had an asbestos problem, but continually exposed maintenance workers to the cancer-causing material, state records show.

At least two of those maintenance workers charge they were harassed by hospital managers and threatened with losing their jobs after they complained to the state Department of Labor and Industries.

"I was told by a supervisor to work on projects that he knew had asbestos and never wore a mask," said Bob Clayton, a hospital plant engineer. "I was not certified to do that work. At some point, I may face asbestosis (cancer of the lining of the lungs)." Clayton, 53, has worked at the hospital, 800 W. Fifth, for three years, servicing fire, electrical and other industrial mechanical systems. The Coeur d'Alene resident also owns a consulting business and frequently works with hospitals around the region. Clayton said he was "exposed repeatedly" to asbestos at Deaconess and never warned. Asbestos is present in mechanical rooms throughout the hospital, including those on patient floors, records show. Clayton said if asbestos fibers floated into hallways or were sucked into the ventilation system, patients could be exposed. Labor and Industries records don't address whether patients or non-maintenance employees were endangered by the exposed asbestos, which has since been removed. The remaining asbestos is sealed. After he complained of asbestos and other hazards to superiors and eventually to state regulators, Clayton said, he became a target. Six weeks after he complained, he was told to improve his performance or lose his job, his evaluation states. That came one year after he earned a superior evaluation. Hospital officials also accused him of 20 "unfounded" and trivial allegations, he said, dealing with violations of hospital policy. Most of the harassment, he said, came from Tom Lienhard, then assistant vice president of support services. Lienhard had been one of Clayton's champions, praising him in a 1993 letter of recommendation. All of the Deaconess allegations were false, Clayton said, and all were eventually dropped. Lienhard quit his hospital management job a few weeks ago. He refused to comment, but said he left to continue graduate work at Eastern Washington University. "In 20-plus years working for hospitals as an employee or consultant, I was never threatened for filing safety and health concerns until my employment at Deaconess," said the soft-spoken Clayton. "I'm not a disgruntled employee. I'm a very disappointed employee. This may sound corny, but I believe God would hold me accountable if I didn't battle what I have witnessed here at Deaconess." Hospital officials refused to discuss the safety violations. Through attorney Conni Stamper, the hospital denied it had retaliated against workers and issued a written statement. "Deaconess Medical Center cannot discuss specific personnel matters because of employee confidentiality rights," the statement reads. "Deaconess invites employees to use available internal procedures to raise any valid issues which have a potential safety impact and does not allow retaliation or discrimination because an employee raises these types of questions." State law protects whistleblowers from employer retribution. Clayton said he followed internal complaint procedures. Another Deaconess repairman, Keith Largent, filed a formal discrimination complaint with the state last August. He wrote that supervisor Rudy Karg threatened he would be "written up" if a state inspector cited the hospital for exposed asbestos. Karg refused to comment. Labor and Industries officials said they could not discuss Largent's claim. Hospital inspections last July uncovered eight asbestos violations, including one "willful" citation in which the hospital is accused of knowingly exposing Largent to the dangerous substance. "That's the most extreme sanction we can put on an employer," said Labor and Industries spokesman Bill Ripple. The state fined Deaconess $20,000 for that violation alone. Deaconess conducted an asbestos survey a decade ago, but most maintenance workers did not learn the substance was present until January 1995, Labor and Industries records and employee complaints show. The tipoff came after a health care facility owned by Deaconess' parent company was inspected in December 1994. Labor and Industries cited St. Luke's Rehabilitation Institute, 711 S. Cowley, for four asbestos violations. On Jan. 4, 1995, as a result of the St. Luke's problem, Deaconess held an employee training session on asbestos-handling procedures. Clayton and several co-workers then learned Deaconess's crawl spaces were laced with frayed asbestos. Five months after workers complained to hospital management, Largent was ordered to remove 600 square feet of asbestos-laden ceiling tile in the interns' lounge. Karg, the supervisor, told Largent the ceiling contained asbestos but offered him only a partial face respirator during the 2-1/2-day job, a state report says. "The uncertified worker broke up the dry tiles to get them into the asbestos debris bags, creating a dusty work environment and a potential for significant asbestos fiber release with no method of containment," the report says.

Copyright 1996 Cowles Publishing Company
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