The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-02-14
WILL ALL co OUT
Nineteen Employees at Christ
Hospital Threaten TO Resign.
Want Mrs. McKibben Retained
at the Head.
WAS FORCED TO RESIGN
Employees BelieveThat Matron's
Authority Was Reduced.
Bishop MilIspaugh Says An
other Position Was Offered.

tempest is threatened at Christ hos
pital as result of the resignation of
Mrs. F. Ct. McKibben, nlatron of the in
stitution, reported in Thursdays State
Journal.s q Nineteen of the nurses and
other employees have declared that they
will resign unless Mrs. McKibben is re-
tanned in her present position.
Among those who have given notice
that they will withdraw from the insti-
tuition with Mrs. McKibben are trained
nurses. the bookkeeper, walters, cooks
and in short nearly every emplOye OF
the hospital. This spontaneous uprising
will likely convince the doctors who are
interested in the hospital that they can
not afford to lose Mrs. McKibben-
It is believed by the employees at the
hospital that Mrs. McKibben has been
forced to resign by the higher officials
of the hospital. Mrs. McKibben's auth
GRITTY, it is said, was reduced. and she
dered her resignation.
Mrs. McKibben has been with the hos
pital for Is years and to her in large
measure is due the present splendid
standing of the institution. When she
took charge the hospital was in financial
trouble, and now it is on a good bust
ness basis. She is very popular with all
the employees, and the whole corps is
said to be up in arms against her re-
moval.
When Mrs. McKfbben was asked to-
day to make a statement concerning
the situation, she said:
Il do not care to make any statement
at the present time. At some future
tine l may have something to say"
''Is it true that all of the nurses and
employees will resign if you leave?"
Il think it is.
do the officials in charge of the hos
pital want you to stay?"
I think so. As to why I have Ie-
signed under such conditions I do not
care to say anything.
Bishop Millspaugh, of the Episcopal
church. who is the ecclesiastical head
of Christ hospital, said today:
Il have not heard that there is any
dissatisfaction at the hospital as a re-
suit of Mrs. McKibben's resignation.
want it distinctly understood that there
are no complaints on the part of the
managers of the hospital with Mrs.
woman, and would like to keep her
in the hospital. But the hospital is
getting so large that we think that
the work should be divided. We want
ed to make Mrs. McKibben superin-
tendent of the whole Institution, and
place some other woman in immediate
charge of the nursing. Mrs McKibben
has been with the hospital so long IL
entire charge that 1 suppose she did
not like to divide the work"
1t is said that the source of the whole
trouble is with certain doctors who
were dissatisfied with the way Mrs. Nc
Kibben managed the work at the hos
pital. They worked up the case
against Mrs. McKibben. They made
the board in charge of the hospital be-
lieve that the nursing should be placed
in charge of some one trained accord
ing to some other method, and that
Mrs. 'McKibben was not the one to fill
the place acceptably.
The board of directors then devised
the plan of placing Mrs. McKibben as
superintendent of the hospital and
leaving the nursing to some one else
This, it is believed by Mrs. McKib-
bens friends, was a radical curtailing
of Mrs. McKibben's authority, and
rather than accept the changed condi-
lions. Mrs McKibben resigned.
Some of the employees at the hospital
believe that Bishop Millspaugh is main
ly responsible for Mrs. McKibben's re-
tifement. They are very much in earn
est in their protests against allowing
Mrs. McKibben to leave.