Time for answers at Broward Health

Today is a defining moment for Broward Health board members who’ve refused to discuss two momentous decisions they supposedly made on the public’s behalf, but that have instead ignited a public uproar.

Today, members will meet for the first time since their special Dec. 1 meeting where, without any hint of a problem, they unceremoniously fired interim CEO Pauline Grant, long a star of the public hospital system.

It happened after a Tennessee lawyer they’d never met got up and said that after reading another lawyer’s review, he believed Grant have violated a federal anti-kickback law. Without asking what Grant specifically did wrong — or for any evidence at all — the board voted 4-1 to fire her. Just like that.

At the same time, without a word of discussion, they voted to hire a management firm to take over the public healthcare system that generates $1.3 billion in annual revenues. This, after paying about $300,000 in public funds to a CEO search firm that had helped them narrow the field to three finalists.

We’ve never seen anything like it. It was like they already knew what they were going to do. As we said at the time, it looked like a clear violation of the Sunshine Law, which prohibits government officials from crystallizing decisions behind closed doors, then ceremonially approving them in public. When we later asked board members what prompted them to fire Grant, we heard only “no comment” as they scurried to their cars.

So we’re grateful that State Attorney Mike Satz’s office has issued subpoenas and begun investigating how this set-up went down. Specifically, we’re curious about a series of rapid-fire meetings allegedly arranged by General Counsel Lynn Barrett, who hired that Tennessee lawyer to review a complaint against Grant, apparently without the board’s knowledge.

Something stinks here, especially since two previous inquiries — including by a lawyer in Barrett’s office — had cleared Grant of any wrongdoing.

The complaint reportedly came from an orthopedic surgeon seeking more on-call work. He suggested his hours were limited because he didn’t refer enough patients to Broward Health North, the hospital Grant previously ran. She denies the allegation and says the decision was based on ensuring good patient care. That she was eligible for a bonus if the hospital met revenue goals is how it’s alleged she violated the anti-kickback law.

While we’re no experts on the Stark Law, this all sounds like a stretch to us. And that this board leapt to a guilty verdict without asking for details, sounds awfully suspicious.

It’s time board members questioned the guidance they’re getting from Barrett, who survived a dismissal vote earlier this year following multiple complaints about her performance, including on Sunshine matters. Since then, she has been able to spend millions of dollars on outside law firms grateful to feed at the public trough.

Many people tell us they believe the chaos at Broward Health could ebb if Barrett were replaced. The system deserves better.

Maureen Canada, the only commissioner to vote against Grant’s dismissal, had hoped to discuss firing Barrett today. With her term up this month, Canada asked Gov. Rick Scott to let her remain on the board long enough to engage the conversation.

Instead, Scott moved at-large Commissioner Beverly Capasso into Canada’s single-district seat Friday. So rather than let Canada serve until a new member is found, as tradition allows, the governor squeezed her out. And that’s a shame because from having closely watched this board since the system’s CEO committed suicide in January, we’ve found Canada the most forthcoming.

Canada expects to attend today’s meeting, if only to help people understand her absence. Today, too, a contingent of AfricanAmerican leaders is expected to show up to express concern about what happened to Grant, who is black. Frankly, with the allwhite board having recently dismissed three black executives — the CEO, the internal auditor and the compliance officer — the optics don’t look good.

But we encourage citizens of all stripes to attend, for this matter is bigger than color. This is about fairness and public accountability at one of Broward’s two public hospital systems, a system that serves our friends, families and all of us.

You have to show up in person, though, because the board refuses to let audio or video of its meetings be put online for fear you might misunderstand something. Despite all their talk about transparency, they’d rather make you formally request meeting minutes or recordings.

Today, too, the board is likely to see Grant, who’s holding her chin high and fighting back. Standing beside her is attorney Eugene Pettis, a former president of The Florida Bar, himself an African-American.

Pettis wants to get the truth on the table so “people will see how blatantly unfair this whole process has been.” He has filed an emergency petition in district court, seeking a declarative judgment that the board violated the Sunshine Law. And because the vote happened in an illegal meeting, he’s asking that Grant’s dismissal be voided. He also wants the board to address the investigation in the sunshine.

It’s hard to know how this will all play out today. Likely, board members will hear from their constituents during “Public Comments,” a time when they generally say nothing in response.

But today, these board members need to speak up and explain themselves.

This community is concerned about what we’re seeing play out at Broward Health. That’s why, under “Legislative Update,” the board will likely hear about proposed legislation by Sen. Gary Farmer to merge Broward Health with its sister taxing district to the south, Memorial Healthcare System. More on that later, but for now it’s good to see this new senator help send a message that this community is watching, is tired of the dysfunction and wants to see fiscal discipline.

Broward Health board members are appointed by the governor, but they are answerable to the public.

Today, the public wants answers.