Old Vineyard CEO leaves post

The uncertainty surrounding Old Vineyard Behavioral Health Services in recent months has taken a new twist with the resignation of its top official.

Rob McCartney stepped down as chief executive of Old Vineyard last month for health reasons related to his heart, according to Betty Taylor, the director of CenterPoint Human Services. CenterPoint oversees Old Vineyard as the local manager for mental-health services.

Taylor said that an interim chief executive is scheduled to take over Monday. A regional manager for Universal Health Services Inc., the for-profit parent company of Old Vineyard, is now in charge. She declined to identify either official.

Taylor said she told CenterPoint's board of directors of McCartney's departure Jan. 28.

However, no one from Old Vineyard or Universal has confirmed McCartney's departure despite repeated inquiries since Jan. 29 by the Winston-Salem Journal and local advocates. McCartney could not be reached for comment during that time.

Old Vineyard has 111 beds, 57 of which are dedicated to psychiatric residential beds for ages 12 to 17 and 54 of which are for acute mental-health care. State regulators recently approved the agency for a 50-bed psychiatric emergency department, scheduled to open in July 2011.

Both advocates and local health-care officials said they are concerned by the lack of news about McCartney's resignation and who is running the agency.

They said that if Old Vineyard is not effective in providing services, it could result in more people experiencing a mental-health or substance-abuse crisis entering the emergency rooms of local hospitals. It also could mean more hours spent by law-enforcement officers transporting those individuals to state hospitals for another care option.

"We share those concerns," said James Bryant, the director of emergency and transport services for Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. "As services become more stretched, patients and their families struggle to find care. An emergency department is their last option.

"Our concern is always for the welfare of our patients. Despite challenges, we work closely with CenterPoint and other providers to arrange appropriate care beyond the emergency department."

Old Vineyard has had significant staff turnover in recent months, with at least 25 job openings posted this week on its Web site, including nursing director and 10 nursing positions.

"Certainly full staffing would enable Old Vineyard to move toward full operational level and full service quicker," said Scott Cunningham, the police chief of Winston-Salem.

"I am sure shortages of staff will have some delays on reaching full service levels, but we believe they will overcome this temporary situation, especially in this economic market."

Over the past six months, Old Vineyard Youth Services has been the subject of investigations by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state regulators. In October, Medicare said it placed Old Vineyard in the "immediate jeopardy" category, which threatened its ability to receive Medicare payment for new inpatient services.

Among the regulators' findings were: an ineffective response of its medical staff to a patient emergency; the nursing staff not being competent in the use of emergency equipment; and its governing body failing to ensure that the hospital maintained "an effective quality-improvement program, an organized dietary department and ensuring the emergent needs of patients were met."

On Jan. 13, Medicare said that Old Vineyard was back in good standing. Old Vineyard also appears to have corrected most of a long list of deficiencies identified by state health officials.

Taylor said she is not concerned about the management changeover or the lack of a formal announcement. She said that McCart­ney had a serious heart procedure performed, and that he and his family made a decision for him to have a less stressful professional life.

McCartney told the Journal on Jan. 21 that he had been taking a medical leave to recover from treatment for his heart that included stents. At that time, McCartney said he was preparing to return to work as soon as his health permitted.

Pamela Corbett, a local psychologist, advocate and former member of CenterPoint's board, said she is concerned about Universal's silence on its plan for correcting problems at Old Vineyard.

"The quick turnover in administrators at Old Vineyard does not bode well for quality of care, adequate staffing or stability of any sort," Corbett said. "Time and money is wasted.

"But what I'm most concerned about is the further deterioration and demoralization a hospitalized person will suffer."

rcraver@wsjournal.com | 727-7376