Breaking News: BRHS board votes to recommend CHS over UHS | Eastern North Carolina Now

    At 5 p.m. today, the Beaufort Regional Health Systems hospital board narrowly voted to recommend that the local hospital pursue the lease proposal of Community Health Systems, over that of University Health Systems or LHP Hospital Group, Inc. BRHS hospital board members voting in favor of CHS were Alice Mills Sadler, Hood Richardson, Allen Roberson, Clifton Gray and Howard Cadmus; voting against were Sandy Hardy, Brenda Peacock, Susan Gray and Grace Bonner.

    "We truly had hoped that the hospital could continue to function independently. Earlier this year, however, it became clear to us that, as board members, we had a fiduciary obligation to consider the prospect that health care needs of this community might be better served by handing over the operations of this hospital to a third party," said Sadler at today's meeting.

    The four BRHS hospital board members who served on the negotiating team were evenly split in their opinions on which institution the board should recommend: Sadler and Richardson for CHS; Peacock and Susan Gray for UHS.

    "I'm glad to say to the board: The decision is going to be yours. The negotiating team is deadlocked, and we bring you two proposals: CHS and UHS," said Sadler.

    The vote followed an evaluation of the proposals by BRHS Chief Financial Officer Dick Reif, a personal explanation of the selection made by each negotiating-team member, and comments from the remaining five board members on their respective selections.

    The BRHS hospital board will submit its recommendation for an affiliation with CHS to the Beaufort County Commissioners at 7 p.m. tonight in the Superior Court room in the Beaufort County Courthouse. At tonight's meeting, the county commissioners will decide on the process for reviewing, amending, and approving or rejecting the hospital board's recommendation.

    Beaufort County Now will expand this article throughout the evening, into tomorrow.