Broward Health intrigue gets deeper

Take a public hospital system that collects hundreds of millions of dollars in patient revenue and property taxes, doles out hundreds of lucrative contracts and is controlled by a highly politicized governing board and what do you get?

In the case of BrowardHealth, a mess that goes back decades.

No matter the rebranding efforts or image makeovers that bring new logos and leaders, it seems the hospital district is always finding trouble.

But things have never been like this.

Suicide of the CEO less than two weeks after he had triple-bypass surgery. Talk of an FBI corruption probe. A private corporate investigator who apparently hadworked closely with lateCEONabil El Sanadi slinging mud at the hospital district hours after El Sanadi’s funeral.

The hospital district slinging mud back.

The state announcing its own inquiry, on the same day Gov. Rick Scott paid his respects at El Sanadi’s funeral.

Allegations by private investigator Wayne Black that a nervous El Sanadi feared his officewas bugged and used his wife’s email account to avoid the hospital district’s computer server.

Allegations that evidencewas being withheld from federal investigators, and that a former executive was given a hefty severance package after possible sexual and financial misconduct.

So much for BrowardHealth turning a new page.

Thatwas the refrain from executives and commissioners in September, when BrowardHealth (also known as theNorth BrowardHospital District) reached a $70-million settlement with the federal government.

The payout involved doctors’ contracts fromthe past that might have violated anti-kickback laws.

BrowardHealth admitted no wrongdoing, even though it seemed plentywas wrong.

Besides writing a big fat check to Uncle Sam, the district agreed to a strict five-year monitoring and compliance agreement.

“We’ve closed that chapter,” El Sanadi said at the time.

But the intriguewas just beginning. And it keeps getting stranger.

This is a delicate time for everyone around BrowardHealth, with emotions still rawfrom El Sanadi’s Jan. 23 suicide.

Hewas a respected physician, a longtime emergency room chief who also held anMBA andwas picked to replace CEO FrankNask in December 2014.

El Sanadiwas an insider adept at playing the political game needed to win support, a major contributor to the Florida Republican party and its candidates while he maintained good relations with powerful local Democrats in his role as medical director for the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Fort Lauderdale and Sunrise.

When El Sanadi took over, he guided the federal settlement talks to a conclusion.

He apparently alsowasn’t afraid of triggering a whole new investigation.

Wayne Black, aMiami-based corporate private investigator, said he was retained by BrowardHealth in April to pursue information El Sanadi had about possible ongoing corrup-