BRHS board calls special meeting to un-hire UHS | Eastern North Carolina Now

    University Health Systems should not unpack its suitcase just yet; its stay as management of Beaufort Regional Health Systems could be very temporary.

    As of this morning, a BRHS Authority special meeting has been scheduled “to examine, approve, disapprove and/or cancel the management agreement with University Health Systems.” The meeting was called by BRHS trustees Hood Richardson, Alice Mills Sadler and Clifton Gray, three of the four board members who, at Tuesday’s meeting, voted, in vain, against BRHS trustee Jack Piland’s motion to hire UHS as management, effectively canceling the in-house succession plan in place since BRHS CEO Bill Bedsole’s resignation. The fourth member voting against UHS management was BRHS trustee Allen Roberson; the five voting in favor were Piland and BRHS trustees Sandy Easley, Grace Bonner, Curtis Potter and BRHS Chairman Sandy Hardy.

    The special meeting was called in light of the board’s acquisition of a new member since the Tuesday afternoon meeting.

    Brenda Peacock was nominated Tuesday evening by the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners to replace Sandy Easley. Her three-year tenure began Thursday. Peacock has assured the commissioners that her vote will represent the county’s will to keep the hospital independent, while moving toward financial stability, as long as possible, according to Richardson, who is also a county commissioner. Her nomination to the nine-member board will shift the weight of power into the arm opposing UHS management.

    When asked if he thought Tuesday’s meeting would result in the revocation of the position offered to UHS, Richardson was confident.

    “Oh, yeah. We will cancel it. We’ve got the votes,” he said.

    Easley, who tendered his resignation over a month ago, spent his last day as BRHS trustee on June 30, the day after Tuesday’s vote.

    “Easley is working and living in Wilmington. He took a day off and drove up from Wilmington to support this junk that went on in that meeting,” said Richardson.

    Jack Piland and Curtis Potter are up for reappointment in September, and according to Richardson, “they won’t be coming back.”

    Just a few hours after Tuesday’s special meeting was called, at 4:20 p.m. today, BRHS Director of Marketing and Public Relations Pam Shadle sent out a BRHS news release attempting to garner public support for said management agreement. Following Tuesday’s meeting, local news coverage of the management agreement has not been favorable. Concerns include the creation of a conflict of interest among BRHS, UHS and other potential lessees, as well as the lack of an established payment contract between BRHS and UHS.


BRHS NEWS RELEASE:

    Beaufort Regional Health System and University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina have entered discussions regarding the hiring of an interim chief executive officer for the Beaufort County Medical Center.
    Under the proposed arrangement, UHS would provide an interim CEO, who would oversee day-to-day operations at the hospital. The two organizations are finalizing details of the agreement, including financial terms. UHS will not be managing day-to-day operations at Beaufort County Medical Center, and the interim CEO will be restricted from sharing confidential information with UHS.
    If the parties cannot agree on financial terms that are within the parameters of fair market value for a CEO, then Edwin Hardy, BRHS Board Chairman, says he would report such to the Board of Trustees. The board would then look at other options.
    “It is normal in this industry for a board to give authority to negotiate a contract. If reasonable terms cannot be reached, then the board will resolve the matter in some other way,” said Hardy. “If there were any questions or concerns in the general public about the interim process as a result of prior statements made by me to the media that were misconstrued, then this information should clarify the matter.”

    Beaufort Regional Health System will continue with plans to evaluate proposals from 10 potential partners in a proposed sale or lease of the hospital.
    UHS and Beaufort Regional Health System have a longstanding affiliation, one that stretches back more than a decade. That relationship has given the hospital access to UHS corporate resources and services in the past. Just as it would with any of its affiliate hospitals in eastern North Carolina, UHS will continue to provide support to BRHS as requested by its management team.
    Both health systems are committed to ensuring that residents of Beaufort County and eastern North Carolina have access to the best possible care, as close to home as possible.



Judge for yourself whether or not prior statements made by Hardy to the media were misconstrued, by watching his post-meeting press conference with Betty Gray of the Washington Daily News, Brandia Deatheraeg of Beaufort County Now, Brandon Hardison of WITN and Delma Blinson of the Beaufort Observer. (Video provided by Delma Blinson of the Beaufort Observer. Other videos of the meeting are available on YouTube, search ‘webeditor’.)

    At least one person disagrees with Hardy's statement that the press misconstrued his explanation of the plan to hire UHS during Tuesday's meeting.

    "The press release that was sent out by the hospital, with the quotes from Sandy Hardy, was very different from what he said in the board meeting," said Richardson.

    Richardson said that the press release was an attempt at "damage control" and that it wouldn't change his and the other four board members' intention to reverse the decision.

    "Nothing has changed insofar as the board meeting on Tuesday," he said. "The issuance of this press release is not going to change anything we'll be doing on Tuesday."

    The special BHRS Authority meeting to revisit the UHS management agreement is scheduled for Tues. July 6 at 1 p.m. It will be open to the public.

Videos of the discussion leading up to the vote to hire UHS, at Tuesday's BRHS board meeting:




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