Becker's Hospital Review

37 37 CEO/STRATEGY Board Leaders Speak Out on Abrupt Firing of Martha's Vineyard Hospital CEO: 8 Things to Know By Anuja Vaidya O ak Bluffs, Mass.-based Martha's Vineyard Hospital board members confirmed in June President and CEO Joe Woodin was fired, according to the Vine- yard Gazette. Here are eight things to know. 1. On June 5, hospital officials reported Mr. Woodin was stepping down. Mr. Woodin, however, told the Gazette he had been "summarily fired." 2. Two members of the hospital's board of trustees went on record with the Gazette, confirming Mr. Woodin was ousted. e board made the decision formally at an emergency meet- ing on June 7. However, Mr. Woodin told the Gazette he was asked to leave on June 5, "with no notice." 3. Timothy Sweet, the hospital board chairman, took re- sponsibility for the confusing way Mr. Woodin's departure was handled. 4. Mr. Sweet and Edward Miller, vice chairman of the board, also spoke to the Gazette about why Mr. Woodin was oust- ed. 5. Mr. Woodin had lost the board's confidence, Mr. Sweet told the Gazette. He did not note a specific reason for this loss of confidence, but asserted that it was not due to any "mal- feasance," rather Mr. Woodin and the board had differing opinions regarding the future of the hospital and where "final decisions should rest." 6. Mr. Woodin asked for a raise, because of which the board began an internal review. Mr. Sweet said the concerns arose out of the internal review process, culminating in the board's decision to let Mr. Woodin go. 7. e board had not formally voted to fire Mr. Woodin on June 5, when he was told to leave. However, Mr. Sweet said that "board members had been polled," regarding the decision. 8. e formal vote to terminate the CEO was taken on June 7, when all but one of the 15 board trustees voted Mr. Woodin out. "Ensuring the ongoing strength and viability of Martha's Vineyard Hospital is a responsibility entrusted to the board of trustees," wrote Mr. Sweet in a hospital statement, ac- cording to the report. "Every one of us takes this obligation to heart. We remain committed to making sure that this hospital is the best it can be now and into the future. Mak- ing difficult — sometimes unpopular — decisions is part of the role we have accepted." n MedStar Hospital Lays Off 100 Employees in Attempt to Close Budget Shortfall By Ayla Ellison M edStar Washington Hospital Center — a nonprofit, 912- bed academic medical center in the District of Columbia — is laying off 100 employees as it seeks to close a budget gap, according to the Washington Business Journal. The 100 affected employees, which include both managers and non-managers, make up about 2 percent of the hospital's work- force, according to the report. In a June 2 email to employees, MedStar Washington Hospital Center President John Sullivan blamed the layoffs on financial chal- lenges in the most recent fiscal year. "We have a sizable budget shortfall for the coming year — a gap be- tween our budgeted revenue and expenses — and we have to close that gap before July 1, when the new fiscal year begins," wrote Mr. Sullivan, according to the report. In a statement to the Washington Business Journal, MedStar Wash- ington Hospital Center said several factors have negatively affect- ed the hospital's finances, including higher pharmaceutical and medical supplies costs and a shortage of nurses that required the hospital to hire more costly agency nurses. A MedStar spokeswoman told Becker's the employees impacted by the layoffs were notified the week of May 29. Some of the affect- ed employees may be relocated within the organization. "We are confident that the changes we made in creating our FY18 budget ensure MedStar Washington Hospital Center's stability for the future, and we are starting FY18 foundationally strong — in all aspects of the important work we do for our patients and the com- munity," MedStar said in an emailed statement. n Mississippi Health System Cuts More Than 100 Jobs By Ayla Ellison M eridian, Miss.-based Rush Health Systems is cutting 4 per- cent of its 2,800-person workforce, or about 112 jobs, ac- cording to WTOK. The hospital will scale back its workforce through layoffs, early re- tirements and by leaving open positions unfilled. Rush Health Systems officials said in a statement to WTOK the hos- pital is making the cuts to offset lower reimbursement from Medi- care and Medicaid. Although the system didn't provide details on the positions affect- ed, Scott Vincent, human resources director of Rush Health Sys- tems, said in a statement to WTOK that the hospital tried to elimi- nate positions with the least impact on patient care. n

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