Hospital CEO search nears end

Public to discuss process Tuesday

Memorial Healthcare System board members are down to two finalists in their search for a new chief executive officer, but a question about one of the candidates remains unanswered:

What caused Dr. Robert Kelly to resign from his previous job, as president of New York-Presbyterian Hospital?

“It was personal reasons why I left,” he said in an interview Wednesday.

Kelly declined to elaborate andwould not say ifhe told commissioners why he resigned.

“We’ve pressed him a number of different ways and he’s essentially been consistent,” said Jose Basulto, chairman of the board. “You can’t force somebody to tell you something.”

The unanswered question comes amid the board’s controversial search to hire a CEO for the public health district, a taxsupported system serving south Broward, as board members for months have been advised to make more information public to comply with open-government laws.

Commissioners are scheduled to hold private one-on-one meetings with Kelly on Thursday and Friday. They also said they planned to meet with Aurelio Fernandez III, the other candidate and the system’s interim president and CEO, ahead of a public meeting to discuss the search on Tuesday. Both candidates have also been involved in public meetings as part of the

process.

Attorney and former U.S. Sen. George LeMieux and Kimarie Stratos, the district’s general counsel, have told board members they are allowed to interview candidates one-onone in private but recommended they do the entire process in public.

Pat Gleason, special counsel for open government in the Florida Attorney General’s Office, said she agrees with their recommendation.

At a March 24 meeting where board members reduced the list of candidates to Kelly and Fernandez, from a group of four, commissioners provided few specifics.

Stratos urged the board members to have more dialogue about their final decision.

The Memorial Healthcare System operates six hospitals, a nursing home and urgent care centers, in addition to providing home health services and conducting research studies.

It is legally known as the South BrowardHospital District.

The CEO position was previously held by Frank Sacco for 28 years before he retired Feb. 29.

Korn Ferry, a search firm on a $330,000 contract to help commissioners fill the position, conducted background checks of Kelly and Fernandez and found nothing of concern, a representative said at the March 24 meeting.

The firm also prepared a public report on Kelly based on reference interviews and was told there were no criminal or internal issues involved in his resignation, according to a summary of reference comments.

shobbs@tribpub.com or 954-356-4520 or Twitter @bystephenhobbs