South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Strum looks to return home as hospital CEO
DeSantis’ chief of staff vying for the vacant job at Broward Health
For the past two years, Shane Strum has been one of the first people South Florida leaders call when they need to cut through government red tape in Tallahassee or get onto Gov. Ron DeSantis’ agenda.
Strum, 51, works behind the scenes as chief of staff to DeSantis, and his deep political roots in
Broward have provided a direct link to the governor’s office in Tallahassee.
Now, he’s hoping to return home to Fort Lauderdale. He is one of three candidates vying for the vacant CEO job at Broward Health, one of the largest public hospital systems in the country.
“Health care is in my wheelhouse. It’s something I enjoy. It’s something I like,” Strum told the South Florida Sun Sentinel during an interview in Tallahassee. “I’m a Broward guy. I love Broward. It’s my beloved home. My family is still back in Broward. It’s been over two years. I think I’ve always known that I would return to Broward
County.”
His unique background has made him a favorite to land the job. It would provide Strum with a large bump in pay. Broward Health’s CEO, Gino Santorio, earns nearly $993,000 a year, or nearly six times as much as the $180,000a-year Strum earns as chief of staff in the governor’s office. Santorio announced his resignation in November and his last day will be Feb. 11.
Strum has deep political roots in Broward, and is a former executive at Nova Southeastern University and at Broward’s other hospital
district, Memorial Healthcare in Hollywood, where he was chief operating officer before DeSantis tapped him to be chief of staff after the 2018 election.
He also served eight years as a gubernatorial appointee to Memorial’s oversight board, known as the South Broward Hospital District. Broward’s safety-net hospitals are governed by boards of political appointees, and they have the power to levy property taxes to pay for health care for all.
Strum’s 25-month tenure is unusually long for the high-stress job of a chief of staff, and it has been especially difficult because of the coronavirus pandemic. The typical shelf life for a chief of staff is from nine months to a year.
State Rep. Chip LaMarca, who is friends with Strum, said that as chief of staff, Strum has helped Broward County with everything from vaccine distribution to sewage overflows in Fort Lauderdale.
“We would miss him in Tallahassee, but it would be a huge benefit for Broward County if he is in that role [at Broward Health],” said LaMarca, a Lighthouse Point Republican. “Shane would be somebody who would continue the long-range planning and work with state and federal government on issues.”
Strum said he got a phone call from Santorio, who’s leaving after a short two-year run to take over the top job at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach.
The seven-member North Broward Hospital District board that oversees Broward Health has had three vacancies for an extended period of time. On a four-member board, three members constitutes a quorum that can make decisions, so Strum has to win over only three people to get the job.
The other candidates for the Broward Health CEO position are Joseph Mullany, a former president of Vassar Brothers Medical Center in New York and former CEO of St. Petersburg-based Bayfront Health, and Michael Hochberg, president and CEO of Acclaim Physician Group in Texas.
Another change awaiting Strum is that Broward Health has a policy requiring masks to be worn by all employees and visitors, and masks are provided for people who aren’t wearing one. Strum’s boss, DeSantis, has strongly opposed a mask mandate.
Strum’s anticipated departure comes at a difficult time for DeSantis, who must find a new top adviser just before the start of the 2021 legislative session.
Strum said several key members of the DeSantis
inner circle are qualified to succeed him, and he mentioned four people specifically who could be given serious consideration.
They are deputy chief of staff Adrian Lukis, deputy chief of staff Anna DeCerchio, budget director Chris Spencer and director of Cabinet affairs Beau Beaubien.
“Each of them bring a unique background,” Strum said. “I think the governor will do an assessment, take a look at the team and see what he thinks and decide who’s the right person to elevate to this position.”
Broward Health board members agreed Tuesday to fast-track the round of interviews with Strum and two other finalists so that they can decide on a new chief executive at their next meeting Feb. 24.