Eastland Memorial Hospital ER Nurse Manager Resigns, Citing Staffing and Leadership Concerns

Originally reported by The Alliance Gazette · July 9, 2026.

Editor’s note: The following claims are attributed to a resignation letter provided to The Alliance Gazette by an anonymous source. The Gazette has not independently verified the staffing figures or other allegations described in the letter. Hospital leadership was asked to respond, and this story will be updated with any response. By The Alliance Gazette EASTLAND, Texas — The registered nurse who managed the emergency department at Eastland Memorial Hospital resigned her position effective immediately on Thursday, July 9, according to a copy of her resignation letter provided to the Gazette by an anonymous source.

In the letter, addressed to hospital leadership, Kaitlyn "Kat" Sanders wrote that "the administrative decisions over the past month have made it impossible to safely, or realistically" fulfill her obligations as a nurse. She described what she called an environment of "extreme administrative instability, operational dysfunction, and escalating legal and clinical liability." Sanders wrote that her decision followed roughly a month — "the past 32 business days," in her words — during which she said conditions in the department deteriorated. She described a severe staffing shortage, writing that the emergency department faced 26 open shifts and that five ER nurses had left over the preceding four weeks.

The Gazette has not independently verified those figures and is working to confirm them through hospital staffing records. Sanders also pointed to turnover in the hospital’s clinical leadership. She wrote that the facility had recently terminated its chief nursing officer and was operating without a quality manager, with an infection control and employee health manager also departing. She added that she had lost access to operational data she said she needed to meet state trauma-designation and reporting requirements.

Her letter referenced an "ongoing state Health and Human Services investigation." The Gazette has previously reported on employee concerns at Eastland Memorial and has public-records requests pending; it has not independently confirmed the status of any state investigation. Sanders wrote that responsibility for emergency department operations would pass to Interim Chief Nursing Officer Brandi Riley. She said she had consulted employment attorneys and clinical experts before resigning, and she closed the letter by calling the position a "fever dream of a job."

The resignation is the latest development at Eastland Memorial, which the Gazette has followed since anonymous employee complaints surfaced earlier this year. The publication is continuing to review public records related to the hospital’s operations and leadership. The Gazette has requested comment from Eastland Memorial Hospital leadership and will update this story with any response.