Re: Firing Rad Safety Officers...

["George Anastas" <ANASTASG@facmgmtserver.fm.csus.edu>]

Daer Alden:



 the Barrow Neurological Institute/St.
Joseph's Hospital In Phoenix, AZ, USA as a nuclear medicine 
researcher (in PET
and SPECT.) This prestigious private-not-for-profit hospital recently 
decided to
RIF (reduction-in-force, i.e., FIRE) their Radiation Safety Officer. was
the act of stupid high level administrators trying to rapidly cut 
hospital costs
(and save their jobs...) Not a bright move as we have the broadest 
license in
the state.

 assistant who
the hospital was proposing to be his replacement. Unfortunately she 
was 8 months
pregnant and scheduled for extended maternity leave AND the 
hospital didn't
realize it takes months for the State of Arizona to approve new RSOs 
(and on top
of that, this woman didn't even have a B.S. degree or any physics 
background AND
our hospital was scheduled for a State ARRA inspection in late May!) 
When it
dawned on the VP head of Risk Management that he would NOT have 
a RSO for the
summer, or longer, he approached me to serve as Alternate. During 
my few weeks
of hell (and quiting in disgust) I came to wonder about a few things.

1) Is it commonplace for States (Countries?) to approve individuals 
with little
or no science training as RSOs at large hospitals/universities? 
Arizona has no
written degree or training requirements!
{answer:  The RSO must be adequately trained and have relavant 
experience, for a position at the hospital, and RSO would be hard to 
find}
2) How often do RSOs face lawsuits, either do to their own negligence, 
or do to
unsafe actions of other individuals in the hospital? And when 
hospitals have
lost lawsuits for misadministration - has the RSO been held partially 
liable?
{answer:  The people, administrators,  that went along with the 
elimination of the position really are hung out to dry, watch them 
wave in the wind!!!!!  Can't recall an RSO getting nailed, but 
"<mis>management, read that as administrators who don't 
understand and ignore the advice of people that do understand, sure 
as the devil can be nailed, as well as their hospitals}
3) What level of fines are possible for unsafe practices with 
Radiation?
{If the State of Arizona doesn't focus on this, then I believe it is a 
health and safety issue which is concern to the NRC because of 
compatibility, if the state program does not provide for the health and 
safety associated with the use of "agreement mateiral" <byproduct, 
source and small quantities of SNM> then it may (will become 
embarasssing for the state.  State could suspend license, issue a 
show cause order, all makes great reading and gets donors and 
research grant awarding people very nervous).

I basically have a running arguement with the Administration
(one can only argue<reason with intelligence>, it sounds like the knee 
jerk (grin:) reaction to reduce expenditures was done by person(s) 
who are not very...

 Any
comments?
 
(will be watching the papers and the trade press, what about any 
accreditation, no qualified RSO, lose accrediation)

Note that RSOs must have qualifications, do administrators need any 
qualifications?  Probably could have "saved" more $ by eliminating 
the position(s) of the the Administrator(s) that thought this one up and 
having the RSO do their work.

My 13 yen, 4 rubles, and $0.03. 


Of course this is disclaimed.

George Anastas

Alden N. Bice, Ph.D.
Dept. of Radiology
BNI/St. Joes
350 W. Thomas Road
Phoenix, AZ 85012

George Anastas, Director
Environmental Health and Safety
California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA  95819-6002
Telephone 916/278-6456
FAX 916/278-5960

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