Everett CHC doctors, feeling like 'commodities,' speak up on ailing system

EVERETT — Scott McAfee and Daniel Goodman are both doctors heading toward retirement. They want to go out with a bang.

McAfee, 67, and Goodman, 71, are two of about three dozen union doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants calling for changes at Community Health Center of Snohomish County, based in Everett. Since the pandemic, the center, like many clinics nationwide, has struggled with an influx of patients and lack of health care providers.

But qualms about some executive decisions by Joe Vessey, who became CEO in 2019, have made it harder for staff to stay, McAfee said. Management pressures providers to increase the number of patients they see per day, McAfee said, but with fewer workers and lower pay than other health care companies offer. High turnover in the center’s medical director position, a liaison between staff and executives, has been another red flag, Goodman said.

Vessey declined an interview.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/everett-chc-doctors-feeling-like-commodities-speak-up-on-ailing-system/