A local nursing home administrator, nominated for a top statewide award just four months ago, has been removed from her position.
Heather Adcock, hired as administrator of Memorial Gables in late in 2017, was removed from her position Tuesday for apparent mismanagement.
Memorial representatives would not comment on the termination, but documents in Adcock’s personnel file paint a picture of operational problems at the facility. Because Memorial is a county hospital, its staff members are considered public employees and as such their personnel files are considered public records.
“We need to go in a different direction from a management and leadership standpoint at the Gables,” Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Boyer wrote in a correspondence to members of Memorial’s human resources team.
The letter indicates that the decision was made after review of documents and witness interviews. It details a series of operational issues dating back to 2019 that have reportedly not been addressed, including communication problems, patient care considerations, a decline in quality of service, staffing problems, favoritism and inconsistent or confusing application of Memorial policies.
A second document appears to contain talking points for the separation meeting Boyer and Ashley Richmond of Memorial’s human resources department had with Adcock on June 1.
It details many of the same problems, but also notes that the reputation of the Gables is deteriorating.
“All of that points to another theme that came out of the information that I’ve been reviewing: poor management at the Gables,” the letter reads.
The letter goes on to offer Adcock two options, possibly separation agreements, but the entirety of both offers is redacted.
“You are relieved of all duties and not to report to work from this point forward … To be clear, your employment ends today,” the letter reads.
The termination seems to come at a time when Adcock was advancing quickly as a professional.
She served as administrator at Spring Meadows Care Center in Woodstock, the local Milcrest Nursing Center and worked at a skilled nursing facility in Upper Arlington before taking over at the Gables in December of 2017.
“Having served in previous leadership roles in Marysville and beyond, Heather brings with her tremendous knowledge of Union County and the region’s aging population,” Memorial CEO Chip Hubbs said upon her hiring. “We look forward to applying her extensive background to our team.”
Even as recently as January of this year, Adcock was praised for her leadership as she was Memorial’s nominee for the Ohio Hospital Association’s Health Care Worker of the Year Award. The nomination was reportedly prompted by Adcock’s leadership during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The winner of the award will be announced in the fall
Boyer will oversee operations at the Gables until a new director can be hired.