Becker's ASC Review

61 HEALTHCARE NEWS e CEOs are pushing more of this work to the forefront during the hiring process. "If the company is known to be generous and to be a community benefit, I think it increases the value of being part of that team," Mr. Patterson said. "You feel good about it even if you don't participate." While it's easier to showcase community involvement opportuni- ties, not all aspects of a place can be engineered. Take OrthoIndy's market, for example. "Indianapolis is a great city," Mr. Dicke said. "We have a good living environment. We have the Costcos and the Cheesecake Factories and nothing can be denied there, but it comes down to … well, do I want to live with the weather?" Until CEOs have a grasp on that one, Dr. Scopelliti suggested giving recruits a North Face gi certificate as a signing bonus and calling it a day. n Creditor seeks to oust hospital chain CEO By Ayla Ellison A creditor filed a motion in bankruptcy court seeking to oust the CEO of Americore Health, which presently owns and op- erates hospitals in Arkansas, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Americore and its affiliated hospitals filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late December. In court documents filed in January, Americore Founder and CEO Grant White alleged his company was forced into bankruptcy by one of its lenders, Delray Beach, Fla.-based Third Friday Total Return Fund. Mr. White claimed Third Friday and its principal officer hijacked Americore's bank accounts and tried to oust him from his company. Third Friday and its manager Michael Lewitt officially requested Mr. White be removed as CEO in Feburary. Third Friday filed a motion in bank- ruptcy court seeking to remove Mr. White as Americore's leader. In an affidavit to support the motion, Mr. Lewitt says Mr. White is unfit to man- age Americore. "As debtor's senior lender, I have worked closely with Mr. White over the last 18 months and believe he is unfit to manage debtor's business," states the affidavit. "He not only lacks ad- equate knowledge of the hospital and healthcare business, but he conducts business in a highly unethical man- ner in which he consistently breaches contracts, violates loan agreements, deliberately misleads lenders, vendors and employees, and consistently acts in a manner that damages the reputa- tion and prospects of debtor." Mr. Lewitt claims Americore and its hospitals will be "irreparably harmed" if Mr. White continues to manage the company. The official committee of creditors filed a motion Feb. 7 asking for an investigation into the business and financial affairs of Americore, and the U.S. Trustee is seeking access to Americore's financial information. "This information will allow the United States Trustee to take appropriate actions to protect the bankruptcy estate, as well as the safety of the patients currently in the care of these debtors," lawyers for the U.S. Trustee wrote in court papers. In an interview with Bloomberg on Feb. 7, Mr. White said patient safety is not an issue at any of Americore's hospitals. He declined to comment on why Americore hasn't filed financial statements in the bankruptcy case. n Lawmakers, patients, staff blast HCA's takeover of Mission Health By Ayla Ellison P atients, staff and elected officials are raising concerns about HCA Healthcare's management of Mission Health one year after the for- profit company acquired the Ashe- ville, N.C.-based health system. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA complet- ed its purchase of Mission Health, a six-hospital system, in February 2019. As part of the deal, an independent monitor was hired to oversee HCA's compliance with obligations stem- ming from the acquisition. Gibbins Advisors, the firm hired to monitor compliance, has recently held four meetings across Western North Carolina to hear from lo- cal residents about HCA's first year operating Mission, according to the Asheville Citizen Times. The most recent listening session brought the same results as the previous three — employees, patients and politicians are displeased with the takeover. During the meeting in Asheville, state Sen. Terry Van Duyn shared concerns from her constituents regarding patient safety, physician disenfranchisement and charity care, which were detailed in a letter co-signed by state Reps. John Ager, Susan Fisher and Brian Turner, Ashe- ville Mayor Esther Manheimer and Buncombe County (N.C.) Commis- sion Chair Brownie Newman. "The time for patience in the transi- tion has passed and the time for real conversation with HCA leadership about these problems has come," Ms. Van Duyn said. Former patients and hospital staff also raised concerns. Jennifer Kirby, RN, a nurse at Mission Hospital, said the facility is "critically understaffed." Though Gibbins Advisors' purview pertains to the obligations within HCA's asset purchase agreement with Mission, a representative for the firm who attended the meetings said he would share other concerns he hears with HCA management. n

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