Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Health board gets a scolding
Critics upset by firing of CEO
The anger of doctors, black leaders and community activists struck the board of Broward Health on Thursday during the board’s first meeting since abruptly firing Pauline Grant, the agency’s chief executive officer.
“We are very hurt by these shameful and despiMany cable accusations made against an otherwise blameless reputation,” said Dr. John Bodden, an orthopedic surgeon at Broward Health North for 41 years. “I have no more to say, but I am ashamed of you all.”
“Most of us feel that the moral integrity of the process was compromised,” said Lauderdale Lakes Mayor Hazelle Rogers. “Thirty years of impeccable service and no opportunity to defend herself. We will not be silent while the integrity and legacy of Ms. Pauline Grant contin- ues to be compromised.”
The 350-capacity room at the Broward Health corporate offices off Commercial Boulevard was packed, with some members of the audience forced to stand. Five Fort Lauderdale police officers were posted around the room.
Not one of the more than three dozen speakers supported the decision to fire Grant from the publicly supported system of five hospitals and other treatment centers that serves the northern two-thirds of Broward County.
of the doctors there, who spoke in support of Grant, wore their white coats.
Grant was fired Dec. 1, in a meeting for which the agenda gave no indication that her dismissal was on the table. An investigation orchestrated by Broward Health General Counsel Lynn Barrett, involving two outside law firms, purported to find that Grant had been involved in kickbacks, placing doctors on an on-call list in exchange
for patient referrals, in her previous job as CEO of Broward Health North, the system’s hospital in Deerfield Beach.
Grant has denied it, calling the accusations a pretext for getting rid of her. The board, appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, voted 4-1 to fire her.
Jack Selden, an outside lawyer hired by Broward Health to give advice on Grant, addressed the board and later defended the firing. Since Broward Health was operating under tight federal oversight stemming from the settlement last year of charges of illegal payments to doctors, the system had to operate in as scrupulously clean a manner as possible — including reporting infractions and imposing immediate discipline — or face further federal fines, he said.
Dennis Grant, a radio host and pastor, and no relation to Pauline Grant, asked: “Why is the police here today? Were you guys expecting us to do something because you have done something wrong? A crime has been committed, and we demand justice for Pauline Grant. We are livid. My radio audience is livid . ... All of you who voted to fire her ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
Several orthopedic surgeons at Broward Health North spoke in detail of the accusations against Pauline Grant, saying they couldn’t imagine her doing anything wrong and that the charges came from one surgeon who became disgruntled after being removed from a call list.
“As the director of the orthopedic trauma program, I feel I have to give you some of the facts,” said Dr. Steven Naide of Broward Health North. “Since I have known Pauline, I have never, ever felt there has been wrongdoing in assigning call to the orthopedic surgeons. I have never seen or had any evidence that anyone received call for bringing cases.”
Dr. Louis Yogel, medical director of Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, said doctors and other professionals were upset to the see the hospital’s reputation harmed by the actions of the board, since so many news stories have included photos of the system’s largest hospital. He said the medical staff is considering obtaining independDuring ent legal counsel to help deal with the controversies, as well as the “questionable legal decisions thrust upon us by our corporate legal team.”
Throughout all this, the five members of the board sat silently. Board member Beverly Capasso spent most of the time writing, rarely looking up at the speakers.
Sheela VanHoose, the only board member to oppose Grant’s firing, made a motion to reverse Grant’s dismissal pending a complete investigation, drawing cheers from the audience. But no one seconded the motion, and it died.
a discussion later, board member Linda Robison, a lawyer specializing in health care, said she thought part of the controversy stemmed from a lack of knowledge of health care law and its stringent requirements on hospitals.
“Part of what has been going on here and what’s been reported in the press certainly highlights the fact that we need some updates, we need some refresher courses in the basic law of health care, health care regulation, the criminal and civil parts,” Robison said, provoking angry mutterings and jeers from the audience.