U.S.
Sep. 29—The embattled head of La Familia Health was dismissed Friday, two days after the National Labor Relations Board confirmed the organization's medical staff vote to form a union.
Julia Wright "is no longer with the organization," La Familia Chief Development Officer Jasmin Milz said in a brief phone interview.
Milz supplied no other details, calling the matter a human resources issue.
"Right now, I'm suspended," Wright said in an interview Friday. "I don't know what my status is right now. I have no duties."
Brandy Van Pelt-Ramirez has been named the interim CEO, Milz said. Van Pelt-Ramirez joined La Familia in 2018 as manager of patient support services. She became director of patient program services in July 2020 and became chief program officer in November 2021, according to her LinkedIn account.
La Familia's 19 physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners and midwives this week became a bargaining unit represented by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, under the umbrella of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, more commonly known as AFSCME Local 206. Certification of the union by the National Labor Relations Board is expected next week.
La Familia was established in Santa Fe in 1972 to provide comprehensive, family-centered health care regardless of income, insurance or legal status. Its four local clinics serve more than 15,000 patients with more than 55,000 annual visits.
Wright was brought in to lead La Familia out of financial straights brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. She extended clinic hours and altered work schedules. By mid-summer, at least nine physicians and nurse practitioners had resigned or were fired.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us to right the ship," said Sue Katz, a La Familia physician for 33 years. "I'm hoping some of my colleagues who were disillusioned will come back. I'm trying to convince colleagues who put in their resignation (but have not left yet) to reconsider. We are hopeful."
The discord between Wright and the medical staff over some of the changes went public in a newspaper story after the June firing of Dr. Wendy Johnson, who had been La Familia's medical director for 10 years.
"(Management) believed providers were to be seen and not heard," Johnson told The New Mexican in July. "They were completely dismissive of our opinions."
Wright responded in an August My View op-ed in The New Mexican.
"We want to emphasize we work with our medical providers and staff to ensure a positive work environment and serve everyone in our community who needs care, regardless of their ability to pay," Wright wrote.