Chapter 12 #2
She was tempted to demand an apology from him, but decided he wasn’t worth the energy.
Reviewing her notes again, Anna went on.
“The hospital made an official referral for Dr. Ellis to engage in therapy with the Staff Wellness team. That indicates real concern from the hospital that there was a mental health issue at play.” She took a deep breath.
“Dr. Ellis continued to have public, documented episodes of instability, each of which came accompanied by a caveat that the behavior being witnessed was deeply out of character based on what the reporters knew of Dr. Ellis’ professional capacity and general personality.
" Anna closed her portfolio. “Based on my own observations, I would have concluded that Dr. Ellis was coping with undiagnosed and untreated Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”
“This reflects what Dr. O’Shea has reported to us,” Elaine said, nodding. “With Dr. Ellis’ permission, based on his own observations and Dr. Monroe’s file, we can advise that he has officially entered this diagnosis into the record.”
“A hospital employee cannot be released from employment simply because they have a diagnosed mental issue,” Anna informed the board, not looking at any specific person.
“And there must be a paper trail documenting any reasonable offenses that could result in termination. Dr. Ellis’ record is, to the best of my knowledge, clean in this regard.
” Now, she did glance at Heather the Flunky out of the corner of her eyes, and saw the woman silently nodding in agreement.
But she could see Marcus Kinkade on the verge of exploding as he tried to catch Heather’s eye. When that failed, he turned his focus back to Anna, eyes ablaze with thwarted fury. “Fraternization is against hospital policy.”
“On hospital grounds, yes,” Anna conceded. “We have not engaged in fraternization on hospital grounds.”
“No? I remind you that the two of you were seen kissing in a stairwell?” Kinkade sneered, raising one skeptical eyebrow.
“Dr. Ellis was in the midst of a mental episode following the traumatic loss of a critical patient during a mass casualty event,” Anna explained, her voice firm, keeping her cool with ease.
“She behaved uncharacteristically. Lapses of judgment are a common effect of CPTSD.” She lifted her chin.
“I broke off the kiss, I removed myself from the area, and within days I had been able to transfer her care to Dr. O’Shea.
I did not see her as a patient again after the kiss incident.
We have not fraternized on hospital grounds. ”
They didn’t need to know about the one giggly kiss in her office before everything had gone so spectacularly wrong. For once, Anna was able to lie with a straight face; this was too important not to.
Elaine flipped her portfolio shut. “Well, I’d say that’s all questions answered,” she announced, clearly and firmly bringing the meeting to an end even as Kinkade sputtered in rage.
“Dr. Monroe, I want to thank you for your time and patience today. Your work with Dr. Ellis has been invaluable, and your ability to manage a dicey ethical situation when things began to get off-track is impressive.” She looked at each of the panel members, some more coolly than others.
“I believe Dr. Ellis can be provisionally cleared and released from comprehensive oversight. I would suggest that she continue her therapeutic work with Dr. O’Shea, and that this panel meet monthly for progress updates…
but my conclusion is that within six months, we can clear her entirely. ”
“Wait, but,” Kinkade tried.
Steve Sundstrom heaved a mighty sigh and rolled his eyes. “Marcus, shut up.”
To everyone’s gratification, the man did.
Elaine took the floor again. “Do we have a majority agreement?” She asked, staring down at Heather at the end of the table.
“Yes,” Steve said immediately.
Heather squirmed, and Heather exchanged loaded glances with Marcus Kinkade, but in the end, “Yes,” Heather said, quietly, folding her own portfolio shut.
Anna managed, but only just, to contain her shout of triumph.
With handshakes and polite farewells, the meeting broke up and people began to file out of the room. Soon enough, only Anna and Elaine were left. “You did an excellent job,” Elaine said, smiling in approval. “Thank you.”
“Victoria didn’t deserve to be the fallout in some weird crusade by a penny-pincher,” Anna said with a shrug that was much more casual than she felt. “I did my job. I would have done it for anyone.”
“While I do believe that,” Elaine replied lightly as she gathered her papers and files together and tucked them into her briefcase, “I also think your personal interest in Dr. Ellis was motivational.”
Anna stilled, and suddenly found her hands to be deeply interesting. “I suppose that’s possible.”
To her surprise, a hand touched her arm, and she looked up to see Elaine smiling with what could only be read as encouragement all over her face.
“Anna. You’re free and clear now. You won’t be part of our evaluations or Victoria’s care going forward.
” Her gaze turned questioning. “You are going to do something with that freedom, aren’t you? ”
“She doesn’t really want to talk to me right now,” Anna confessed, all her elation from the successful defense ebbing away. “There was an argument.”
Elaine smiled. “A smart girl like you, I think you can work out a way to resolve that.” She patted Anna’s arm. “Don’t let the chance at a good thing pass you by.”
With that, she picked up her briefcase and left the room, and now it was only Anna, standing still under the harsh lights and deep in thought. Did she want this chance at a good thing?
Yes, she thought she did.
But how could she get Victoria to listen to her? She still hadn’t heard from her, and her instinct to let Victoria come to her when she was ready was less cocksure than it had been two days ago. Should she try to reach out instead?
Anna didn’t know what to do. But she knew who might. She just hoped Esme would be at the Indigo Lounge tonight.