Broward Health names interim CEO

The board of Broward Health on Monday voted to give the job of interim chief executive officer to one of their own, Beverly Capasso.

Board members said they expected Capasso, a registered nurse who had served as chief executive of Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, to serve anywhere from two months to six months or more, as they search for a permanent CEO.

Capasso, who was appointed to the board last October by Gov. Rick Scott, replaces retiring interim CEO Kevin Fusco. Board members said her salary would be negotiated.

Broward Health had previously planned to pay its permanent CEO up to $955,000 a year to the run the taxpayer-supported system of five hospitals and various outpatient clinics.

Board members engaged in virtually no questioning of her background, her work experience or her likely approach to the job. No one asked whether anyone at Broward Health had talked with her previous health care industry employers about the quality of her work.

“Obviously Commissioner Capasso is wellqualified,” board member Linda Robison said.

The majority of the discussion concerned how long she would have to be in the job and whether the law would allow her to return to the board after a permanent CEO is hired.

Board chairman Rocky Rodriguez, who proposed giving the interim job to Capasso, described her as a “seasoned, skillful professional who has spent her life in health care.”

He said her appointment would avoid the cascade of personnel vacancies that would take place if the board temporarily promoted someone from within. And he said it would allow the board to put someone in the job fast, an important consideration since Fusco’s last day is May 26.

Capasso, of Parkland, had previously applied to be chief executive of two hospitals in the Broward Health system, Broward Health Medical Center and Broward Health Coral Springs.

Although her appointment had been rumored for more than a month, Capasso said after the meeting that the proposal came as news to her. During the meeting, she said she would only do it on an interim basis and hoped it would be for as short a time as possible.

Capasso had worked at Jackson with Lynn Barrett, now the Broward Health general counsel, who had organized the investigation that led to the firing of previous interim CEO Pauline Grant. Grant has sued the board, saying she did nothing wrong. The case is pending.

Capasso