Broward Health: We Had To Fire CEO Or Lose Ability To Treat Medicare Patients
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The troubled public health care system Broward Health today fired its interim CEO Pauline Grant over allegations she received a kickback from a physician seeking a better work schedule.
The firing was labeled by some as part of the power struggle between Broward Health General Counsel Lynn Barrett and her critics.
“Brwd Health Atty, Lynn Barrett orchestrates ouster of CEO Grant in Board Power Play for latest embarrassing Broward Health debacl,” tweeted Dan Lewis, a well-known political activist and longtime skeptic of the operations at Broward Health.
The health system for the northern two thirds of Broward has been torn by internal political strife since CEO Nabil El Sanadi shot himself to death in January.
Barnett has been repeatedly criticized during the turmoil but has survived while her critics such as former Board Chair David Di Pietro fell by the wayside. DiPietro quit the Board.
Grant told the Sun-Sentinel the allegations against her involved “kickbacks from a physician who wanted to get on an on-call schedule in 2015, while she had been CEO of Broward Health North. She said the allegation was not that she profited, but that her hospital did. Either way, she said, it is false,” the paper wrote.
She was fired by at a special meeting Thursday of the governing board, a group of gubernatorial appointees.
Below is a statement from Broward Health, which is legally known as the North Broward Hospital District. It was released tonight more than six hours after the firing.
Pauline Grant is no longer serving as Interim CEO at the North Broward Hospital District.
Kevin Fusco, current COO, shall serve in the role of Interim CEO. Mr. Fusco brings a strong record of integrity and wide experience in healthcare, including front-line clinical work and a variety of senior administrative roles.
It is vital that Broward Health has strong leadership as the Board continues its search for a permanent CEO. With that in mind, the Board also voted to seek the services of an outside management firm until a new CEO is identified.
The Board removed Ms. Grant because of findings of a thorough investigation by qualified outside independent counsel, findings in the Independent Review Organization (IRO) report and other compliance-related matters. The findings by the qualified independent counsel are related to probable violations of the anti-kickback statute. The Board relied on the advice of two national law firms when considering the probable violations of the anti-kickback statute. Those findings are being reported – as mandated by the Corporate Integrity Agreement under which we are operating – to the Office of the Inspector General as well as other authorities as necessary and appropriate.
The Corporate Integrity Agreement requires that the Board make a report to the OIG if a probable violation of the anti-kickback law is found, and take corrective action, or be found in material breach of the agreement with the potential consequence of losing the ability to participate in Medicare.
Transparency, integrity and compliance with the law are our highest priority. The Board remains committed to achieving these goals.
This has been a challenging time and there are more challenges ahead. We ask for the support of the community so together we can make Broward Health all it can be. The Board is confident Broward Health is on a clear path to a stronger future, acting with the highest standards of integrity while being the trusted provider of high-quality care in our community.
-Rocky Rodriguez, Chairman, North Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners
December 1st, 2016 at 8:39 pm
How much longer will this quack (re: Lynn) who was fired from two other hospital districts for literally not knowing how to do her job, get away with these shenanigans? Am I the only person who sees how BLATANT it is that the board is obviously either receiving direction from a ‘higher-up’ or on some weird power trip? And isn’t this an obvious sunshine violation? I mean, anyone who was there could realize very quickly all of this was spoken about prior to the ‘special’ meeting.
Rocky Rodriguez can’t even pronounce half of the words in that statement, much less spell them, so kudos to whomever wrote that on his behalf.
Point blank, it is absolutely ridiculous to blindside a woman who has practically more experience in healthcare than every board member combined. To not even allow, at a minimum, a suspension with a right to respond in writing in 30 days is completely absurd.
Speaking of 30 days…what happened to Lynn’s 30-day review? Oh wait, I’m sure that was looked over because of her obvious outside communication for the board and their odd fascination with her and her opinions.
The board is the laughing stock of employees, the medical staff and administration. Please, get some board members with an education, real experience in healthcare…or maybe even someone who knows how to use a sentence in a complete sentence (yes, that’s for you, Mr. Ure…a sentence ends with a period, not a thousand commas…). Please, stop talking.
This is ridiculous and it WILL destabilize the district. Maybe we should start to realize maybe the board is actually trying to sabotage the hospital district in hopes have having it sold to one of their political friends…because someone is out to make a lot of money. And, I doubt it was the CEO who was 6 months away from retirement.
GIVE ME A BREAK.
December 1st, 2016 at 9:19 pm
Some day the truth about Lynn will come out and The Board will have no where to hide.
December 2nd, 2016 at 8:39 am
Absurd on its face. Wasn’t Grant’s job to see that the hospital “profited?”
Of course we can’t know, because the details apparently, were not made public.
The Star Chamber is back.
December 2nd, 2016 at 9:01 am
Chill – all of this craziness is a subterfuge to implode the District. We will eventual give away the system to HCA. Don’t worry we will continue to tax property owners in order to enrich HCA’s shareholders and executive management.
Lynn will be “rewarded” for her complicity with a “partnership” at Foley.
Happy Chanukah!
December 2nd, 2016 at 3:21 pm
What a mess/ Tell u one thing u better Bullwinkle” to go up against Rocky there.And thatdig#1 about him was such a cheap shot. Although good reporting Buddy(now just don’t out someone’ illness)…
December 2nd, 2016 at 4:04 pm
A circus
December 4th, 2016 at 8:38 am
Di Pietro – something is wrong, wrong, wrong…What’s going on . . . What’s going on . . . ? What’s going on . . . ?
December 4th, 2016 at 10:47 am
There is no advantage, need or benefit to Broward County taxpayers in having two separate hospital districts.
There would be significant savings to taxpayers and hospital userves, not to mention significant improvements to services residents receive through merging the two districts into one, unified management structure.
Judging from recent events, this seems like the perfect time to do it.
December 6th, 2016 at 5:38 pm
After being around the hospital system for over 40 years and having served on the board. This board should be dismantled or fired. The general counsel has done this type of underhand vindictive action before and was about to be fired by her previous employer for the same type of action.
December 8th, 2016 at 9:23 pm
Taxpayers should stand together , raise the issues and file a suit. This is a banana republic. It’s a shame because this hospital has a huge amount of potential with the proper leadership in place. The governor should be hung out to dry along with Lynn. . I agree Dick Scott apparently wants to make a deal with HCA. He is transparent and the board is his puppet
December 15th, 2016 at 12:00 pm
The Board is acting like a Mafia Commission or a Stalinist Politburo. There ststement makes NI SENSE.
January 1st, 2017 at 3:31 pm
The Board is corrupt, they heard evidence from the Trauma Medical Director and Orthopedic chief that no call favoritism was given. Therefore, there is no probable cause and the law firm that investigated are caught not doing a comprehensive investigation but rather participating in railroading along with Lynn Barrett a wonderful person, i.e Pauline Grant