Tag Archives: Employment Agreement

Erlanger’s board faces overhaul if conflict of interest bill becomes law

Posted on by • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged , , , , , , , • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/erlanger-s-board-faces-overhaul-if-conflict-of-interest-bill-becomes-law.html

Image result for conflict of interest

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System may have to upend its board of trustees if a bill targeting ties between governing bodies and public hospitals is signed into Tennessee law, according to the Times Free Press.

The bill, which passed the state’s Senate and is moving through its House, aims to protect consumers who live near a county or publicly owned hospital. It would prevent hospital authority trustees and former trustees from signing an employment agreement with an authority until at least 12 months after the trustee’s tenure of service on the board. The bill would not affect private or nonprofit hospitals.

The Times Free Press reviewed a list of current and former trustees from Erlanger to see if anyone would be affected by the bill. A hospital spokesperson told the publication “it would be premature for Erlanger to speculate who this bill impacts at this point.”

After reviewing conflict of interest disclosures trustees have to complete, the Times Free Press found current physician board members could have to choose between ending any financial ties with Erlanger or staying on the 11-member board.

Erangler’s Board Chairman Mike Griffin told the publication having physicians on the board is “a tremendous asset.” He added, “I am hopeful that the bill, in its final form, will not impact physician participation on Erlanger’s board.” 

 

 

 

Atrium Health releases 92 physicians looking to break away

Posted on by • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged , , , , , , , , , • Leave a comment

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-physician-relationships/atrium-health-releases-92-physicians-looking-to-break-away.html

Hospital-Physician Relationships

Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health said April 25 it will grant the request of a group of physicians looking to separate and end their employment agreements with the health system Sept. 1, according to The Charlotte Observer.

In an emailed statement to Becker’s Hospital Review April 25, Atrium confirmed it will release a group of roughly 92 Mecklenburg Medical Group physicians from their noncompete agreements, effective Sept. 1. The physicians will continue practicing as part of the health system until Aug. 31.

“While we were hopeful that our many months of discussions would lead to an acceptable solution for everyone involved, we will not seek to prevent these physicians from forming a standalone practice,” the health system told Becker’s.

Atrium said it will also offer the physicians new employment agreements “in the hopes they remain at Atrium Health and their MMG practice … and join the other 1,900 physicians who provide care for our patients,” the health system told Becker’s.

The group of roughly 92 Mecklenburg Medical Group physicians filed a lawsuit against Atrium April 2, arguing the health system engaged in monopolistic and anticompetitive behavior. Atrium said the same day it would allow the physicians to leave the organization. On April 16, the physicians filed a complaint against the health system with the North Carolina Medical Board, alleging the health system violated board regulations by intentionally misleading patients.

Atrium acquired Mecklenburg Medical Group in 1993, according to The Charlotte Observer. In a statement to the publication, the physicians said their attorneys will meet with Atrium’s lawyers to further assess the situation.

Atrium Health CEO Eugene Woods told The Charlotte Observer the health system is in the process of hiring roughly 20 physicians to help fill the vacant positions left by physicians planning to leave Mecklenburg Medical Group. The health system also previously offered to give employees who choose to say a bonus of up to 10 percent of their salary if they remain through the end of the year.

“We feel for our staff, and our first concern was making sure that they feel that we’re with them,” Mr. Woods told the publication. “We offered them retention bonuses because some of them were scared about what the future is going to be.”

 

 

Arbitrator awards fired Swedish Health whistleblower surgeon $17.5M

Posted on by • Posted in Uncategorized • Tagged , , , , , , , , • Leave a comment

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/arbitrator-awards-fired-whistleblower-17-5-million?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal&mrkid=959610&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWWpaa1lUTXlOREU0WldReSIsInQiOiI5Zzg4Q1p0YUpoZklLQTdYRWFjOFNsTFJBM3RXdHBDdlhjT3dpXC9BUUJWWjdcLzF1QWg0NXpHWFA4bk1Oc01taUhcL3Q0YjFqdWptYmY5V2VwUjkzK2poNElYdUNOelpIUHV1RzY3Z3dTV1lDckY1SUVQRFdwUnp6amV4RTIzalEwNyJ9

Legal cases

A substantial payout for a fired whistleblower has Swedish Health crying foul. The organization will now challenge the arbitrator’s award in court.

David Newell, M.D., blew the whistle on a high-profile case involving neurosurgeons who double-booked patients for surgeries at a Swedish Health hospital in Seattle. The fallout from that case was sufficiently brutal for the CEO of Providence St. Joseph, which acquired Swedish, to take out a full-page ad in The Seattle Times apologizing to the organization’s employees and patients.

Now, The Seattle Times reports, an arbitrator has agreed with Newell’s claim that Swedish fired him in retaliation for his whistleblowing activities, and awarded him $17.5 million. The award reportedly includes $15.5 million in lost earnings and another $1 million for emotional distress.

Swedish Health contends it fired Newell after he failed to immediately disclose he had been arrested in a prostitution sting, as required by his employment agreement. The organization also protested the amount of lost earnings requested, noting that the figure represented nearly 10 times his annual compensation in 2014, and that he would have needed to perform more than 3,000 complex brain-aneurysm procedures in a year to reach such an amount.

Guy Hudson, M.D., the CEO of Swedish, blasted the ruling in a statement (PDF). “For this arbitrator to award Dr. Newell $17.5 million—at a time when many people cannot afford healthcare or fear losing their insurance, and when there is an epidemic of sex trafficking and exploitation of women—is unconscionable and outrageous,” he said.

But the newspaper reports that in a recent court filing, Newell’s attorney maintained that evidence presented showed Swedish Health’s actions “were part of a pattern of targeting and interfering with established neurosurgeons’ practices, retaliatory behavior, and a disregard for patient safety.”

In a similar case, a court recently ruled in favor of a Boston-based surgeon who lost his job at an upstate New York hospital after speaking out about concurrent surgeries performed there by another doctor. Lost wages in that case totaled $88,277.