Becker's Hospital Review

40 POPULATION HEALTH 40 CEO/STRATEGY Tenet continues leadership shakeup by appointing 2 new board directors By Ayla Ellison D allas-based Tenet Healthcare an- nounced May 29 the company ap- pointed two new independent direc- tors to its board. Tenet appointed the two board directors — Lloyd J. Austin III and Meghan M. Fitz- Gerald, DrPH — as part of a plan the com- pany announced last August to "refresh" its board. "We have been steadfast in our commitment to accelerate change across the company," said Ron Rittenmeyer, executive chairman and CEO of Tenet. "is applies to all facets of operations and all levels of leadership — including adding five new directors to our board in the last seven months." Here are six things to know about the new directors: 1. Mr. Austin is a retired four-star general who served 41 years in the U.S. Army. 2. From March 2013 through March 2016, Mr. Austin was commander of the U.S. Cen- tral Command, responsible for military strat- egy and joint operations throughout the Cen- tral Region, which includes Iraq, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and 12 other countries. 3. "As a retired four-star general whose ca- reer spans more than four decades in the U.S. Army, [Mr.] Lloyd has demonstrated a pow- erful commitment to service and leadership with integrity," said Bob Kerrey, lead director of Tenet's board. 4. Dr. FitzGerald is a managing partner at L1 Health, a New York City-based investment fund specializing in healthcare. She is also an assistant professor of health policy at Colum- bia University in New York City. 5. From May 2015 to October 2016, Dr. Fitz- Gerald served as executive vice president of strategy and policy at Cardinal Health, a healthcare services and product company. She previously served as president of Cardi- nal's specialty solutions division. 6. "Meg has an impressive background that combines experience across different aspects of healthcare, including policy, innovation, business development and strategy," said Mr. Kerrey. n Erlanger CEO sued by physician claiming he ignored discrimination issues for 5 years By Alyssa Rege A longtime Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System physician filed an amended com- plaint against Erlanger President and CEO Kevin Spiegel May 14, claiming Mr. Spiegel and other adminis- trators were aware of discrimination issues at the hospital but did not act, according to the Times Free Press. Here are five things to know: 1. Thomas Brooks, MD, initially filed a lawsuit against Mr. Spiegel in January, alleging Mr. Spiegel had "full knowl- edge" of the racial discrimination complaints Dr. Brooks made, but he and previous CEOs went "out of their way to ignore and not address" them, according to a previous Times Free Press report. While the lawsuit did not disclose the complaints, Dr. Brooks claimed he frequently emailed Mr. Spiegel about them. 2. In the May 14 amended filing, Dr. Brooks said he met with black professionals in Erlanger's diversity depart- ment and on the hospital's board of directors in 2018 to discuss his concerns about possible racial discrimination at the institution. He said one individual appeared in- terested in investigating his claims, but later backed off, while another individual failed to properly investigate a claim Dr. Brooks made in 2015, according to the report. 3. Dr. Brooks claimed in the lawsuit Erlanger retaliated against him after he made the complaints by suspending his privileges at the institution, where he had maintained privileges since 1978. Dr. Brooks retired from the institu- tion in June 2017. 4. Mr. Spiegel, who was in charge at the time, had reportedly been aware of Dr. Brooks' concerns since 2013 and oversaw the discipline against him, according to the lawsuit. "[Mr. Spiegel] assured Dr. Brooks that what African-Amer- ican physicians had accomplished at [Erlanger facilities] was significant to the community and that it was 'only right' that Erlanger develop a positive relationship with the phy- sicians," the lawsuit stated. "Talk did not turn into action." 5. A spokesperson for Erlanger told Becker's Hospital Review June 8 the health system does not comment on pending litigation. n

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