Becker's Hospital Review

42 42 CEO / STRATEGY Hackensack, Englewood CEOs: Blocked merger harms patient care By Hannah Mitchell A federal judge temporarily blocked Edison, N.J.- based Hackensack Meridian Health's proposed ac- quisition of Englewood (N.J.) Health. In an Aug. 9 op-ed published in North Jersey, leaders from both health systems said this decision is not in the best interest of their patients or the New Jersey community. The judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission, which argued that the acquisition could raise the prices and low- er the quality of healthcare for local residents, according to an Aug. 6 North Jersey report. Robert Garrett, the CEO of Hackensack; Frank Fekete, the chair of Hackensack's board of trustees; Warren Geller, the CEO of Englewood; and Richard Lerner, the chair of En- glewood's board of trustees, co-authored the op-ed and shared several points on how the merger would have im- proved patient care instead of lowering the quality. Five details: 1. The merger would have reduced costs, which would have opened up room in its budget for the health system to focus on healthcare access for underserved communities, the authors said. It would have also enabled the unified health system to expand its digital transformation in areas such as EHRs and telehealth. The health system would have made significant investments in analytic tools and artificial intelligence to boost precision medicine. 2. Another goal the acquisition had was creating additional ambulatory care centers, urgent care offices and physician offices. 3. Both organizations began discussing an acquisition in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic further showed how part- nerships can help offset supply shortages, the op-ed said. Hackensack and Englewood marshaled supplies through their networks to meet patient needs and provide supplies to smaller health networks. 4. The partnership had already been approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. 5. "When Hackensack Meridian Health and Englewood Health signed our partnership agreement in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic upended our lives, it was clear that we would be stronger together to benefit our com- munities," the authors said. "Today, this goal takes on even more urgency as we work to address the many health and wellness needs of New Jersey and the nation." n Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center says nurses got CEO's bonus wrong on billboard By Kelly Gooch T he Ohio State University Wexner Med- ical Center in Columbus is disputing a union's pay and work grievances that were posted on a local billboard, according to WOSU 89.7 NPR News. e Ohio State University Nurses Organiza- tion, a local unit of the Ohio Nurses Associa- tion, purchased the billboard Aug. 2 for more than $1,500, the radio station reported. It in- cludes what it calls bonus amounts for Ohio State Wexner Medical Center CEO Harold L. Paz and the hospital's previous COO, David McQuaid, who has retired, listed at $788,000 and $284,437, respectively. Rick Lucas, BSN, RN, president of the Ohio State University Nurses Organization, told WOSU nurses take issue with the executive bonuses, and the union believes some of the money spent on executive bonuses should go toward patient care. He also noted that nurses received up to $300 in bonus money, as they have in other years. "We're working incredibly short right now," Mr. Lucas told the station. "We've been asking the hospital for months to take meaningful steps to address recruitment and retention, and we haven't seen the hospital act on those efforts in a way that is satisfactory for staff." In a statement shared with Becker's, Wexner spokesperson Marti Leitch expressed the medical center's disappointment about the billboard and said the union is spreading false information. "is billboard is inaccurate. e truth is e Ohio State University Wexner Medical Cen- ter spent $11.7 million last fiscal year in staff bonuses, pandemic leave pay for staff who had to quarantine or were out ill and preser- vation pay for staff who were unable to work due to the pandemic," she said. Ms. Leitch said the medical center provides market-competitive compensation. A small number of leaders and faculty have an at-risk component as part of their total compensa- tion, she said. at at-risk component is con- tingent on meeting predetermined metrics and is not a bonus, she said. "All of our compensation practices are bench- marked against comparable roles in the mar- ket, and at-risk incentive pay is a standard part of the compensation package for some roles in our industry," said Ms. Leitch. e union represents more than 3,000 nurses at the medical center. n

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