Becker's Hospital Review

21 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 21 CEO / STRATEGY 'Be prepared, not frightened': Scripps Health CEO's memo to staff about coronavirus By Mackenzie Bean C hris Van Gorder, president and CEO of San Diego-based Scripps Health, sent a memo to staff March 5 seeking to address any concerns or fear surrounding the novel coronavirus. "Our concerns about 2019 novel coronavirus are valid, but they are cause for us to be pre- pared, not frightened," he wrote in the memo obtained by Becker's. Mr. Van Gorder said it's important for Scripps Health employees to have an "accurate per- spective" on the coronavirus. To help keep employees regularly informed, Scripps Health is boosting its communica- tions strategy to include daily email updates. "What we know about COVID-19 is evolving each day, and I understand you will have a lot of questions. As we continue to learn, we will adapt our protocols, and your managers and supervisors will work with you to ensure you know the latest care practice," Mr. Van Gorder wrote. He said Scripps Health is going "above and beyond CDC-recommended guidelines" to ensure staff and patient safety. e health system established a virus response team to oversee all coronavirus preparations. e team outlined a detailed summary of its preparations, which was attached to Mr. Van Gorder's memo. Efforts include the implementation of visitor restrictions across all hospitals, creation of a lab testing process for COVID-19 and pro- active N95 mask fit-testing for all employees working in departments most likely to en- counter contagious patients. n How Warren Buffett would improve boards By Emily Rappleye W arren Buffett released his annual letter to share- holders of Berkshire Hathaway Feb. 22. Mr. Buffett's letter, which is widely read by investors, included some ideas on how to improve boards: 1. Boards are getting stale. "Job security now? It's fabulous. Board members may get politely ignored, but they seldom get fired. Instead, generous age limits — usually 70 or higher — act as the standard method for the genteel ejection of directors." 2. Boards need more women. "This year, it should be noted, marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed American women the right to have their voices heard in a voting booth. Their attaining similar status in a board room remains a work in progress." 3. Incentives don't line up for independent directors. Non- wealthy independent directors are more likely to be there for the money and less likely to challenge the status quo and do what's best for the company, according to Mr. Buffett. "When seeking directors, CEOs don't look for pit bulls. It's the cocker spaniel that gets taken home," he wrote. 4. Compensation committees are overly reliant on consul- tants who create needlessly complex compensation plans. "The reading of proxy material has become a mind-numbing experience." 5. Boards should meet without the CEO on a regular ba- sis. "Prior to that change, truly frank discussions of a CEO's skills, acquisition decisions and compensation were rare." n No pay raise for CHS CEO in 2019 By Ayla Ellison F ranklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' board recently approved 2019 pay packages for its top executives. CHS Chairman and CEO Wayne T. Smith's base salary is $1.6 million this year. His base pay has remained the same since 2015. The company's CFO, COO and CMO each received a raise this year between 3 percent and 4 percent, according to the Nashville Post. The cash bonuses CHS' top executives are eligible to receive this year are largely the same as in 2018. Mr. Smith can receive up to three times his base salary in incentives in 2019, according to the report. For 2019, Mr. Smith has been granted 157,500 restrict- ed shares that will vest based on CHS' performance during the three-year period beginning Jan. 1, 2019, and ending Dec. 31, 2021. That's up from the 105,000 performance-based shares he received in 2018. Mr. Smith was also granted 78,750 time-vesting restricted shares that will vest over the next three years. He re- ceived 105,000 time-vested restricted shares in 2018, according to the report. CHS released its financial results for the fourth quar- ter of 2018 on Feb. 20. The company reported a net loss of $328 million on revenues of $3.45 bil- lion in the fourth quarter of last year. That's com- pared to the same period of 2017, when CHS re- corded a net loss of $2 billion on revenues of $3.06 billion. n

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