Cardiologist, 90, has a stake in the Allina Health nurse strike, joins picket line

On a sultry Sunday, the 90-year-old with the stellar résumé took time away from a weekend with family to occupy a lawn chair at E. 28th Street and Chicago Avenue and watch the parade of nurses on strike against Allina Health.

As they passed, nurses called out to Dr. Ray Scallen, and he recognized many of them. Sixty years in the trenches with teams of nurses at Abbott Northwestern Hospital creates a bond you cannot forget.

Scallen is officially retired, but he goes into his office nearly every day and still admits patients for treatment and sees long-term patients who trusted him, literally, with their lives.

"I have a stake in what happens to the nurses," said Scallen, who has participated in three strikes while working as a cardiologist at Abbott. "When I was on the picket line I saw hundreds of nurses I have worked with over the years, and I know their competency."

More than 4,800 nurses have gone on strike for the week, largely over the health provider's desire to switch them from their current health plan to one shared by others in the system.

Rick Fuentes, a Minnesota Nurses Association spokesman, said Scallen probably received "a hundred hugs" when he appeared on the picket line Sunday because nurses appreciate the time he took to support them.

That support is nothing new, nurses who know him say.

Patel said Scallen taught compassion by example. When he was hospitalized himself at Abbott one year, "every day, he still did his rounds," she said.

Scallen's history in the local medical community is as enduring as it is endearing. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a medical degree in 1953. He has been a professor at the U over the years and has been director of cardiac care and intensive care at Abbott. He was chief of medicine from 1967 to 1970 and chief of staff from 1970 to 1973. A WWII veteran who received the Bronze Star, Scallen also ran the cardiac clinic at the Fort Snelling Veterans Administration Hospital.

"I've been around," Scallen quipped when asked about his work history.

Patel and others say Scallen is "up front, he'll tell you the truth" and is sometimes blunt.

His longevity and credentials probably make him more so. Which is why he questions the hospital he clearly loves. Bringing in replacement nurses "is costing Abbott Northwestern a hell of a lot of money," Scallen said, estimating it will cost more than the $10 million annually the hospital says it will save if nurses switched health plans.

"I'm worried about a hidden agenda," Scallen said.

Allina has said it is not about busting unions, but about being fiscally responsible while still providing nurses with good benefits.

Having worked with scores of the nurses involved in the strike, Scallen said he is "dubious about who the replacements, the scabs, are. Paper-qualified is one thing, experience is another. You can appreciate just how important this is. The nurses here are not just average nurses. They are strongly specialized, they're very intelligent, very caring."

Scallen said he helped a patient get a procedure just before the Abbott nurses went on strike because he wanted "top-shelf people" to do it. "By the way, he was a lawyer," Scallen joked.

Nurse Shirley Jensen worked with Scallen and said he tried to make sure his patients got directed to a station at the hospital where he knew the nurses were exceptionally competent.

"Dr. Scallen came to the picket line on the very first day," Patel said. "We felt needed. I think other doctors should be on the picket line because we want to feel loved and needed."

jtevlin@startribune.com • 612-673-1702