Fate picked a lovely May day in 1984 to deliver its third tragedy in a decade to Riverside Methodist Hospital.

   Nearly six months had passed since the murders of employees Patty Matix & Joyce McFadden (scroll back to Parts II & III.) We memorialized these fine caregivers. Two fountains in front of a new outpatient building were dedicated to them.  

   Riverside was thriving. Patient & employee satisfaction scores were rising. Our financial performance was headed up. The hospital board was pleased. 

   Still, the murders were actually the second dark spot on Riverside's recent history. The first arose in 1976 when the terrible news broke that 400 cancer patients had been over-radiated in 1974-75 due to errors by a staff physicist. 

   In 1978, The Columbus Monthly had published a well-written & damaging article excoriating the hospital for slowness in recognizing the deadly calibration errors. When I arrived as Riverside's new President & CEO in 1983 some lawsuits were still pending.

   Although no amount of security could have prevented the murders, Riverside, Ohio's largest hospital, obviously needed to rebuild public trust. 

Another Murderer

   Paul R. Brumfield, a convicted killer & rapist, did not care. On that May day he was brought to one of Riverside's outpatient centers in the hospital's basement. Like a character in Woody's Allen's "Take the Money & Run," he had fashioned a soap gun, painted it black & used it to get his guard's gun. 

   Unlike Allen's movie, this was no joke. Brumfield took two other guards, two nurses, a doctor and another inmate hostage.

   As a veteran federal prosecutor-turned hospital CEO I had dealt with criminals. In courtrooms, not in hospitals! Like a horror serial, yet another murderer had threatened the sanctity of our hospital & challenged its leadership.  

   Once again, police converged. Soon, other prison security guards arrived to support their colleagues.

   Just as we had with the murders, we needed to reassure staff & pubic. This time, to calm patients & staff we emphasized that the incident was restricted to a basement clinic. 

   News helicopters appeared, the mayor arrived & Ohio Governor Dick Celeste called, "Erie. Do you need help?" he asked. "I've got the highway patrol." I declined. 

The Kidnapper's Demands

   Barricaded in the basement with his hostages, Brumfield issued demands. Columbus Mayor Buck Rinehart appeared in my office. Eager to help he offered a suggestion I vetoed. "We could smoke him out," the Mayor offered. 

  "He's in the basement, Mr. Mayor," I replied. "Smoke would fly up the vents into the rest of the hospital."

   A police hostage negotiator arrived. I descended to the basement to listen in. Brumfield wanted drugs.

   Dr. Tom Helmrath, our medical director, was nearby. "I know just what we can give him," he smiled.

   Over the next hours, the negotiator cut a deal with Brumfield to exchange pills for hostages. Thus, with each drug, a hostage was released. With each dose, Brumfield became calmer. 

   Soon, the only remaining hostage was a guard. As darkness descended without, a loud snoring sound rose in the basement. Brumfield had passed out!

Riverside Cursed?

   The hospital had survived another crisis. This time, thank God, no one was hurt.  But, the following day we learned of another threat. On the heels of this third nightmare a local reporter was planning a story entitled, "Is Riverside Cursed?" 

   Now, the hospital's credibility was at stake. Public confidence is especially crucial to those seeking critical care. We began to imagine patients cancelling procedures so they would not be caught in the "curse." Would you want to deliver your baby or take your sick mother to a "cursed" hospital?

  Fortunately, cooler heads at The Columbus Dispatch prevailed. The story was dropped.

   Of course, I did not know it then, but the bad news cascade was over. Across the next twelve years I served as head of Riverside there were no more such wild nightmares.

   The right team & the right vision were wheeled into place. A decade later, Riverside became the flagship of the new U.S. Health Corporation (renamed OhioHealth after I left) & was named one of America's top ten hospitals by ABC News. 

   More about that in Part V: How Riverside Rose 

-Erie Chapman, President Emeritus, Riverside Methodist Hospital

Photo credit: Dawn Lasker Beveridge