A stream of people filed into G. Carlton Ritchie Hall Thursday
afternoon to show support to someone who helped them in their
darkest hours.
A reception was held and petitions were signed for Dr. Ed
Miskiel, who was terminated from his position as oncologist at
Bradford Regional Medical Center earlier this month. The petition
called for Miskiel’s immediate reinstatement.
Anne Reed, one of the organizers of the event, said she was
devastated when she found out about Miskiel’s termination. When she
approached a BRMC official about what she could do to change it,
she was told there was nothing she could do. She and others Miskiel
treated did not take that for an answer.
“He has a caring and loving way about him,” she said, explaining
how he helped her through bad times, especially when she lost her
hair.
“Annie,” he said. “Us Marines have to stick together,” she
recalled.
He also suggested she go to Northwest Savings Bank where she
works and show her co-workers.
“It gave me the courage to go on,” said Reed, who is now in
remission from ovarian cancer. “Dr. Miskiel is well loved. He will
talk about anything anytime. You need to have that compassion.”
On Wednesday, BRMC officials issued a press release which stated
they have given Miskiel the option to stay in Bradford in an
independent practice “so long as he makes a full-time commitment to
the community and completes all outstanding patient records.”
Miskiel had worked at BRMC since late 2004.
At the reception, Miskiel said his lawyer, Douglas Maloney of
Begley, Carlin & Mandio in Langhorne, who received the letter
Thursday, called the letter “contradictory and confusing.”
“It’s a totally confusing issue,” the oncologist said. “They are
trying to bring forth a breach of contract on my part.”
This is something Miskiel denies, noting he’s looked for homes
in the area and asked for more office help to aid in paperwork.
“That’s the long and short of it,” he said about being
short-staffed.
Miskiel has been replaced by Dr. Yahya Abdul-Fadl. It is not
clear whether Fadl is a permanent replacement.
Miskiel added that his lawyer will need several days to review
the letter and talk with the hospital’s attorney before he will
decide what to do. He, however, did not seem keen on opening his
own practice.
“Setting up an office can take several weeks,” he said. “There’s
no offer to stay here. It’s a bogus offer.”
As far as the reception goes, Miskiel was pleased with the
turnout and support.
“I love it,” he said. “My patients are showing support … you
can’t ask for more.”
The respected seemed to go both ways as sentiments like Reed’s
echoed throughout the hall Thursday.
Mike Confer, who was treated for colon cancer, was shocked when
he heard Miskiel was fired.
“He did right by me,” Confer said. “He’s a caring person. I
think he takes every case as personal.”
Confer’s wife, Linda, agreed.
“You’re not going to get any better,” she said. “He’s the
best.”
Miskiel himself acknowledged there’s a special relationship
between an oncologist and his patients.
“It takes a certain type of person to work with cancer
patients,” Miskiel said. His patients and their families
agreed.
“He is very understanding,” Ellen Bagnato said. “You can talk to
him and get an honest answer. He’s one of the best. I think we
should keep him here always.”
“I can’t put into words how he … makes you feel; like you can
handle things,” Linda Confer said. “I don’t know what we’d have
done without him.”
“Like being a family member himself,” Mike Confer said.
In addition to the petition at the reception, Miskiel was also
given a copy of a petition signed by all but three members of
BRMC’s medical staff.
“It’s great to know your colleagues think highly enough of you.
They want me fully reinstated. They are saying to bring (me) back.
Period.”
The Confers and others noted that Miskiel’s patients will follow
him wherever he goes if he leaves Bradford.
“I only want Dr. Miskiel back,” Reed said. “If he’s not
reinstated, I will go back to him for check-ups. I trust him that
much, and my family trusts him that much.”
