I-TEAM: Former Kettering Health employee says its time to ‘clean house’ of leadership

KETTERING — A former Kettering Health employee is speaking out about changes she wants to see at her old job.

Lori Van Nostrand said Kettering Health needs to “clean house.”

Van Nostrand said she was an executive assistant to three top leaders at Soin Medical Center, which is part of Kettering Health Network, for over 5 years.

In November 2015 she had just left her job at a medical company in Columbus and came down to the Miami Valley for a visit.

At church, she ran into the chief financial officer and chief operating officer at the time, who invited her to interview for an executive assistant position. She was hired.

She was the only executive assistant at that time that had supported three top leaders, and it was proving to be a full-time job.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: I-TEAM: Complaints with Ohio AG accuse former Kettering Health CEO of abusing charitable funds

“They always joked and said the EA runs the hospital, I kind of laughed at that but you know a lot of ins and outs,” she said.

She enjoyed her job, the staff she worked with, and the people she met.

“At that time Soin just had a special feeling,” Van Nostrand said.

Around two years into her job, Van Nostrand said she started noticing decisions being made she didn’t agree with.

“It just started ... financial decisions coming down, the gross spending and everybody complained, but nobody would do anything,” she said.

After five and a half years, she said “enough was enough.”

So last year Van Nostrand quit her job and filed a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

“There was enough evidence, somebody had to do something, if not it’s going to continue,” Van Nostrand said.

>> RELATED: Kettering Health: Outside firms investigating former CEO accused of abusing charity funds, policies

When asked why she did it, she said the answer was simple.

“I was raised, you do the right thing,” Van Nostrand said.

News Center 7 previously reported that multiple complaints, including Van Nostrand’s, were filed with the AG’s Office outlining allegations of misuse of funds.

The complaints claim former Chief Executive Officer Fred Manchur and former Board of Directors Chairman Dave Weigley used charitable funds for personal use.

Manchur is accused of having the chief financial officer hide true finances at board meetings and purchase property without board approval.

Van Nostrand would not speak on specific allegations but said she believes more than 40 people make up the leadership team at Kettering Health and it’s time to “clean house”.

“The only way to start new is to get rid of everybody currently there, and everybody knows that,” she said.

Earlier this week Kettering Health said it is “fully aware” of allegations of inappropriate fiscal and operational management.

To ensure impartiality the board asked an outside firm to conduct an internal investigation and another to recommend updates to their processes and policies.

“They know what they did. People sitting there today, they know it’s true. Just admit it,” Van Nostrand said.

She currently works for another company, and said she hopes more people will come forward.

News Center 7 reached out to Kettering Health for a comment but was referred to a statement previously released by the health network.

Multiple attempts were made by News Center 7 to get in contact with Weigley and Manchur with no answer.

We are working to follow this developing story and will update as new information becomes available.

©2023 Cox Media Group