Broward Health, fired CEO to settle

System’s board considering paying over $900K to longtime executive who was abruptly let go

Broward Health has reached a tentative legal settlement with a former chief executive officer whose abrupt firing led to indictments, lawsuits and additional turmoil for the public hospital system.

The system’s board on Wednesday will consider a payment of more than $900,000 to Pauline Grant, a longtime Broward Health executive who stepped in after the suicide of a previous CEO. Grant was ousted by the board in 2016 after a kickbacks investigation engineered by the district’s general counsel, with whom Grant had clashed.

Broward Health executives said Friday that the amount of the settlement was less than $1 million and more than $500,000, saying they didn’t want to be more specific until the board meeting. But Grant’s lawyer, Eugene Pettis, said the proposed payment totaled more than $900,000.

“Pauline is very pleased that she has been treated equitably in the litigation,” Pettis said. “It brings closure to a dark chapter in the district’s history in the way Pauline was treated. We’re glad new leadership stepped in and did the right thing.”

Andrew Klein, chairman of Broward Health’s board, said he supported the settlement as the best outcome for both Grant and the hospital system.

“It’s important to close out that matter, put it behind us and provide appropriate resolution for Ms. Grant that is long overdue,” he said.

Gino Santorio, Broward Health’s CEO, said the settlement would allow the system to avoid costly legal expenses and move on.

“I believe this will save the taxpayers money, rather than going through a long, drawn out, costly litigation,” he said.

Broward Health, which operates four hospitals and various outpatient center, serves the northern two-thirds of the county. Partially supported by property taxes, the system is overseen by a sevenmember board appointed by the governor.

The board meeting at which she was ousted led to a period of intense turmoil for the hospital system. A grand jury indicted several board members and general counsel Lynn Barrett over alleged violations of the state’s open-meetings law. But a judge dismissed the indictment, finding no criminal intent to violate the law. Meanwhile, the system went through a series of interim chief executives, as morale sagged and the system took repeated public hits to its reputation.

The kickbacks allegations, which have never been proven in court, involved illegally distributing work to orthopedic surgeons during Grant’s previous job, when she ran one of the system’s hospitals. The allegation was that surgeons were favored if they provided the system with referrals. Grant denied participating in any such scheme. But Broward Health officials said the allegations led to a civil investigation by the federal government, which is still pending. They said the settlement will allow Grant to assist the district in defending itself.

“We certainly don’t want to be in a situation where we’re cross-examining her and trying to establish that she created a kickback violation,” said Gabriel Imperato, former interim general counsel for Broward Health and now an outside lawyer for the system. “That’s like shooting yourself in the foot.”

A previous federal investigation, completed while the district was under different leadership, led to a $69.5 million fine.

Santorio said the district could face significant legal and financial exposure in the current civil probe. Klein said he didn’t anticipate the investigation would lead to anything close to the amount the district paid in the previous case.