Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1141789
34 POPULATION HEALTH 34 CEO/STRATEGY Florida hospital faces blowback for executive search firm's opacity in finding CEO By Morgan Haefner N CH Healthcare System hired a search firm to help the Naples, Fla.-based system find a new CEO, but community leaders said the process lacks transpar- ency, according to the Naples Daily News. NCH Healthcare began a national search for a new CEO after its former president and CEO Allen Weiss, MD, re- signed Jan. 23. His resignation came days after staff phy- sicians issued a vote of no confidence against him. Phil Dutcher, NCH's COO, took over as interim CEO. Concern over a new admissions policy at NCH Healthcare led to the vote. The policy stated that physicians outside of NCH could not write prescription orders. In light of the controversy, several community watchdogs have raised concerns about the system's decision to hire Russell Reynolds Associates to conduct the search for its next CEO. Everett Alsbrook, MD, a retired critical care physician at NCH, told the Naples Daily News, "My chief concern is there continues to be a lack of not only clarity in terms of what they are doing but also plans and visions going forward." Of the CEO search, Amanda Lucey, CEO of NCH's hired public relations firm The Partnership, told the Naples Daily News, "There were hundreds of candidates that were re- viewed and vetted and narrowed to roughly 30." She said the hospital plans to hire its next president and CEO by the end of the summer. n UNC Health Care CEO's memo to staff after NYT exposé By Mackenzie Bean W esley Burks, MD, CEO of UNC Health Care, sent a five-paragraph email to staff members May 30 in response to an investigative report about the Chapel Hill, N.C.-based system's pediatric heart surgery program, according to NC Health News. The 7,000-word investigative report published by The New York Times found cardiologists at UNC Children's Hospital expressed serious concerns about the safety and quality of the heart surgery program in 2016. The report has since spurred state health officials to launch an inves- tigation into the hospital. "While this program faced culture challenges in the 2016- 2017 timeframe, we believe the Times' criticism is overstated and does not consider the quality improvements we've made within this program over many years," Dr. Burks wrote in the email to staff members about the report. He noted that UNC's pediatric heart program often sees the "most complex and serious cases" in the state and said the hospital is continuously working on quality improve- ment efforts. "In addition to process changes, hospital leadership de- termined that certain personnel changes were required to improve the culture and new physicians and staff were recruited," Dr. Burks wrote. "We are proud of the pediatric congenital heart surgery program, and our team is currently receiving top results that would place us among the best in the nation," he added. n Nurses union calls for CHS chief's ouster; health system affirms his board support By Kelly Gooch T he largest union of registered nurses in the U.S. called on Wayne T. Smith, chairman of the board and CEO of Community Health Systems, to step down, but the hospital operator is calling the union's move a publicity stunt. National Nurses United called for Mr. Smith's resignation from the Franklin, Tenn.-based for-profit system in a report released May 14. e report accused Mr. Smith of mismanag- ing CHS. "Based on a review of Smith's tenure as CEO, it appears that his primary goal has been to enrich himself at the expense of patients and the corporation's assets," National Nurses United President Zenei Cortez, RN, said in a news release. "e CHS board must put an end to Smith's flagrant mismanagement." Union officials said the report documents service reductions under Mr. Smith's leader- ship, particularly in remote areas, as well as closures of CHS hospitals between 2014 and 2018 in Tennessee. Prices at CHS hospitals and Mr. Smith's compensation are included in the report as well. e union's release of the report was sched- uled to coincide with the annual CHS stock- holder meeting May 14. In an emailed statement, CHS told Beck- er's that the union, which represents only 225 of the more than 82,000 employees working across CHS, has "a long record of staging publicity stunts against healthcare providers across the country, rather than focusing on issues that matter most to its members." e statement added that CHS "continues to make progress on strategic initiatives that are strengthening our organization for the future, including a divestiture program to help reduce debt." "Our largest shareholder has repeatedly expressed support for the company and its management team," CHS said. n