Employees sue former Patrick County Hospital owner

By Scott Leamon
WSLS10 Reporter
Published: January 14, 2009

Updated:  6:15 p.m.

I’ve read through the 12 page lawsuit and it’s pretty thorough.
It lists PCH Operations, and its former bosses Steve Womack and Gene Woodward, as the defendants, or those who the employees are suing.
I tried to call phone numbers for both men but so far they haven’t returned my message.
If they do, I’ll update with a post on their side of the story.
The suit lists about 85 people as plaintiffs, or those who filed the suit.
They range from housekeepers and cafeteria workers at the hospital up to doctors and the current hospital administrator.
They’re seeking around $1,000,000.
If you translate all the legalese in the lawsuit, you get one central point.
The employees are asking a judge to move from the back of the line as far as getting paid by the former PCH Operations to the front.
They claim PCH owes them for about one month’s work and benefits.

A little background here.
We reported on October 29, 2008 that PCH laid off most of its employees.
The new owner, Patrick Hospital LLC, then hired some of them back.
The employees claim the problems started with bounced checks and broken promises about a month before that October 29 date.

1:00 p.m.

By Scott Leamon, in the field
WSLS Reporter

A group of Patrick County hospital workers are suing the former owner of Patrick County Memorial Hospital.

85 current and former employees claim they’re owed substantial wages and benefits for work performed for the hospital’s previous owner.

According to a lawsuit filed in Patrick County Circuit Court by well known Roanoke area attorney John Fishwick, the group claims they have not been paid what was owed to them, since a number of the employees were let go on October 29, 2008.

I’ll have more information on WSLS at 6:00 p.m.