By ANDY GARDNER
North Country Now

MASSENA -- Town Supervisor Steve O’Shaughnessy has served notices to the Massena Memorial Hospital board chair and vice chair that he is removing them.

Chairperson Carol Fenton, who was voted into the position earlier this month, and vice chair Dave MacLennan received the notices Wednesday, according to MMH officials.

This leaves the MMH board with 11 members, six of whom are O'Shaughnessy appointees.

This is the third chair that O’Shaughnessy has either fired or opted not to re-appoint. In December, it was announced he would not re-appoint Scott Wilson, the board chair whose term expired Dec. 31. In January, he fired Sue Bellor, serving her with a notice several days after her appointment and two days after she criticized him in public.

Now, he has fired Fenton 10 days after she was made chair.

MMH’s release said Fenton will request a hearing before being officially fired, to which she is legally entitled.

“I am extremely disappointed to be arbitrarily removed from my chairperson position. In my short tenure, the Board has made great strides in arrangements for all parties to attend a presentation in response to requests from physicians members, hospital employees and community members. My goal was for an inclusive, informative presentation and discussion. My sincere hope is that the arrangements we attempted to put into place will continue,” Fenton said in a prepared statement from the hospital.

It is not clear from MMH’s release if Maclennan will also seek a hearing. Neither he, Fenton, O’Shaughnessy nor MMH Director of Public Relations Tina Corcoran returned phone calls seeking comment.

“I’m proud of my service on the Massena Memorial Hospital Board of Managers. Over the years I’ve worked with some outstanding board members who have worked hard to make our hospital successful. There is a wonderful staff at the hospital and excellent physicians,” Maclennan said in a prepared statement from MMH.

MMH’s news release announcing the termination notices said they came shortly after the MMH board had tried to meet with the town board and representatives from two potential affiliates - Crouse Hospital and St. Lawrence Health System.

“The Massena Town Council had invited the hospital Board of Managers to a special Town Council meeting last night to hold further discussions. Mrs. Fenton had sent an email to the Town Supervisor stating the Board of Managers believe the best way to move forward is to invite representatives from Canton Potsdam Hospital/St. Lawrence Health Systems and Crouse/Claxton Hepburn to present their vision and approach to affiliation as well as their long term plan for Massena Memorial Hospital to remain a viable community medical facility. She also requested both the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer attend to be ready to answer any questions. The supervisor denied allowing the two hospital executives to attend. Yesterday afternoon, Fenton sent an email to the two potential affiliate hospitals inviting them to collaborate on a date in early March for a presentation and copied the Town Council and MMH Board members. A few hours later, she received an email termination letter from the Town Supervisor Steve O’Shaughnessy,” MMH said in their news release.

The release also noted that the letters served to Fenton and Maclennan was a “carbon copy” of the one sent to Bellor where the supervisor faulted her for “failure to improve financial conditions of MMH and failure to install a management team capable of leading MMH.”

Fenton has also been publically critical of O’Shaughnessy.

During a Jan. 16 Town Council meeting, Fenton said she felt she was speaking "at my own peril, because the last Massena Memorial Hospital Board of Managers person who stood at this podium was summarily removed."

"I fail to see why you are so interested in who we affiliate with if the main purpose is your responsibility to make sure we are not in any financial constraints," Fenton said at the meeting. "If you have no money in the deal, what is your problem? I challenge you all to ask that question."

Fenton and MacLennan had been elected to their positions during a meeting earlier this month. MacLennan had already been serving as vice chairman. Fenton had been appointed by former Town Supervisor Joseph D. Gray in February 2017. Her term was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2021. MacLennan’s term would have expired on Dec. 31, 2020.