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Former Hospital Board
w
Members Answer Charges
< Editor’s Note: This is the
complete transcript of a letter
sent to the Houston County
Commission by five former
Hospital Authority members
Who resigned recently in a
\
Mr. Frank Rozar
Chairman County Com
missioners
Dear Mr. Rozar:
The resignations submitted
you at the special County
'commissioners meeting on
September 23, 1974, was in
tended as our last involvement
concerning reasons which
prompted the resignations.
We now believe that additional
information must be made
available in response to ar
ticles appearing in the
Houston Home Journal dated
September 26, 1974, which
staled that “New” in
formation may have made
decision for commissioners
not to re-appoint members,
article in The Daily Sun dated
September 30, 1974, quoting
one commissioner “accepting
the resignations was really the
only thing we could do after
seeing the additional
wiidence”. The County
Commissioners accepted
resignations based in part on
the September 1973 Hospital
Authority Minutes. Dr. Spears
quoted, comment “The
commissioners, by their
actions if not by their words,
.exonerated me”. Dr. Spears
denied having any part in
negotiations, “I thought my
motives might be
questioned”.
The authority members
resigning felt that Dr. Spears,
as a member of the authority,
in their judgment represented
a conflict of interest. The
Inhalation Therapy, which has
been widely publicized, was
cited in the September 23,
> 4 ’ meeting as one example
which appears to be a conflict
of interest. The conflict being
Dr. Spears’ active par
ticipation in the negotiations
of and adoption of proceedings
for the proposed Inhalation
Therapy Contract. It appears
now there is some area of
contention as to whether or not
seven members of the
authority were aware of a
proposed contract with the
Clinic and if so, were they
aware of a proposed provision
in contract relative to the
hiring of hospital personnel by
the Doctor's Clinic.
As will be hereinafter
pointed out and documented,
the seven members of the
authority have never denied
knowledge of a proposed
supervision Inhalation
Therapy Contract with the
Clinic. But have each ex
;>ii*ssly denied and repudiated
the contention that they had
knowledge of an alledged
provision which would
transfer hospital employees to
the Clinic and to this date have
no actual knowledge of such a
provision.
In support of our position,
we respectively submit the
following:
1. Minutes Houston County
Hospital Authority dated July
31, 1973 (copy attached):
“Chief of Staff - Dr. Ronald
G. Severs recommended that
the Board consider the
possibility of the Anesthesia
Department and the Chief of
the Anesthesia Department
taking over the Inhalation
Therapy area and supervising
technicians who administer
treatment.
A motion was made by Dr.
Spears, seconded by Mr,
Stubbs, that the Hospital
indorse the Medical
Staff’s recommendation that
the Inhalation Therapy
Department be set up under
the Chief of the Anesthesia
Department and a meeting be
scheduled with Dr. Sanders to
work up specifics of a con
tract, Motion carried.”
2. Minutes Houston County
Hospital Authority dated
August 28. 1973 (copy at
N
dispute. The letter was written
in rebuttal of articles in recent
Home Journal's and the
Warner Robins daily
newspaper.)
tached:
‘JMr. Chester - Warner
Robins: (a) Anesthesia
Department personnel and
hospital administration are
working together to work up
specifics for a contract for the
Anesthesia Department to
assume supervision of the
Inhalation Therapy Depart
ment. A format for a proposed
contract was received today
for study.”
3. Minutes Houston County
Hospital Authority dated
September 25, 1973 (copy
attached):
“(c) The proposed contract
for the Anesthesia Depart
ment to assume supervision of
(he Inhalation Therapy
Department is being modified
on an individual contract as
earlier indicated. Mr. Chester
asked the Board Members’
opinion regarding the
Anesthesiologist performing
this service, beginning Oc
tober 1, 1973, as earlier an
ticipated, pending im
plementation of modifying the
contract on an individual basis
rather than group basis.
A motion was made by Mr.
Stubbs, seconded by Dr.
Spears that the Anesthe
siologist begin performing the
Inhalation Therapy service
October 1, 1973, if this change
can be worked out orally
pending implementation of
contract. Motion carried,”
4. Minutes Houston County
Hospital Authority dated
October 30, 1973 (copy at
lached):
“(d) A contract to cover
services rendered by the
Anesthesia Department in the
direction and control of
Inhalation Therapy in the
Houston County Hospital is
being drawn up. It was agreed
that a meeting would be
planned between the Hospital
Attorney and the Doctor's
Clinic, Professional
Association Attorney to
discuss contract on individual
basis as originally desired or
contract with Doctor’s Clinic,
P.A
Mr. Stafford made a motion
that the Board table
discussion of the Inhalation
Therapy contract and con
tinue operating under the
present agreement until
specifics of the contract can
be decided upon. Mr. Stubbs
seconded, and the motion
carried by unanimous vote.”
5. Minutes Houston County
Hospital Authority dated
November 27, 1973 (copy
attached):
"Although the Inhalation
Therapy Control was not
discussed, it will be brought
before the Board at a later
date. Dr. Spears requested to
be excused from the voting or
discussion of the Inhalation
Therapy Contract due to his
personal involvement with the
Doctor's Clinic, P.A.
Chairman McConnell an
nounced that a brief
Executive Session would
follow and asked that the
Administration and attorney
remain.”
6. Letter from a member of
Medical Staff to Mr. Mc-
Connell dated November 1,
1973, “As a member of the
executive committee, I was
present when Doctors Sander
and Carter requested
authorization to supervise
inhalation therapy at H.C.H. I
was not aware that they were
going to enter into a contract
with the authority and take
over the department. I do not
believe that other members of
the committee understood
their interest either Certainly
the matter was not brought
before the staff.”
7. Letter dated November
26, 1973, to Mr. McConnell and
signed by fifteen doctors not
associated with the Clinic and
representing a majority, “We
the undersigned recommend
the Chief of Staff to appoint a
Chief of the Inhalation
Therapy Department to
supervise the department
without pay as is done in other
departments (Medicine,
Surgery, Ob-Gyn).
We can see no medical
advantage in a change in the
former care pattern rendered
here.
The undersigned also feel
the Hospital Authority
member who is on the
Hospital Staff should
disqualify himself from voting
on and discussing this issue
because of a conflict of in
terest.”
8. The Daily Sun article
appearing in the November 28,
1973, issue, “The Daily Sun,
barred from the “executive
session” that followed the
regular monthly meeting of
the hospital board, has
learned from informed
hospital sources that the
Iward read a letter from the
local facility’s medical staff.
Content of the letter is not
known at this time, but is
believed a conflict may have
developed between the
hospital medical staff and a
group of the city’s physicians
over who should get the
contract for the new service.
Question of whether the
contract should be drafted in
the name of an individual
doctor or with the Doctor’s
Clinic, a local corporation,
arose at last month’s regular
board meeting.
Authority member Dr.
Wentford A. Spears, a
member of the Doctor’s
Clinic, said before the closed
meeting that he would not vote
on the matter when It comes
up.
However, Spears did attend
the “executive session” last
night.
During the October session
of the authority, Spears
commented that if the con
tract is drafted with an in
dividual, the Doctor's Clinic
could lose its tax exempt
status as a corporation and
such action would jeopardize
fringe benefits for the group’s
employees.
Beverly Chester, ad
ministrator of the hospital
disagreed, saying people
would rather do business with
an individual rather than a
group.”
9. Dr. Spears did actively
participate in the Executive
Session held November 27,
1973, and continued until Mr.
McConnell read the letter
from the 15 doctors at which
lime Dr. Spears went to the
head of conference table and
counted the number of fifteen
who had signed the letter.
Chairman McConnell was
instructed to meet with Dr.
Carter and Dr. Sanders to
work out arrangements to
transfer the Inhalation
Therapy personnel from the
Clinic to the hospital. The
Authority members stated
they were not aware of the
fact that the hospital em
ployees had been transferred
to the Clinic since this was
never discussed previously, or
that proposals being
developed included such a
transfer of personnel to the
Clinic. It was the Authority’s
understanding that Dr. Carter
and Dr. Sanders would take
over the supervision of the
department for a percentage
of charges, the percentage to
be agreed to after proposal
was presented to the
Authority.
10. Arrangements for
transferring former
Inhalation Therapy hospital
employees from the Clinic
back to the hospital was
discussed in a meeting at
tended by Dr Carter, Dr.
Sanders, Mr. Stubbs, Mr. Hall,
Mr. Chester and Mr. Mc-
Connell It was pointed out in
the meeting that Inhalation
Therapy charges for the two
months involved, October 1,
1973, through November 30,
1973, was approximately
$40,000.00 and the Inhalation
Therapy personnel were paid
$5,887.78 by the Clinic for the
two months. Dr. Carter and
Dr. Sanders stated that it
appeared there was a
misunderstanding and this
was causing dissension in the
hospital staff and they would
not accept payment for any of
their charges. It was agreed
that the hospital would
reimburse the Clinic $5,887.78
lor the salaries paid to the
employees. Based on cited
figures the Inhalation
Therapy would have grossed
$240,(»()().()() a year with
salaries of $35,328.00. Alter
payment of salaries this would
leave $204,672.00 to divide
between the hospital and
doctors from the Clinic.
Dividing the $204,672.(8) on a
50-50 basis would give the
hospital $102,336.00 and the
Doctors from the Clinic
$102,336.00 lor supervising the
hospital's supervision over
Inhalation Therapy.
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Mr. McConnell made
statement in the September
23rd Commissioners meeting
that the Authority was not
aware of any Inhalation
Therapy Contract proposal
involving the transfer of
hospital personnel to the
Clinic. Mr. McConnell stated
employees were in the Clinic
lor approximately 60 to 90
days before we knew anything
about the transfer. We believe
• hat the seven Authority
members polled by the
commission chairman would
reaffirm their position taken
at the September 23rd
meeting.
We still believe that Dr.
Spears' participation in the
Inhalation Therapy function
constituted a conflict of in
terest. The lollowing as
previously stated lend to
support our belief:
I. Dr. Spears made a motion
“ hat the Inhalation Therapy
Department be set up under
Iho Chief of the Anesthesia
Department and a meeting be
scheduled with Dr. Sanders to
work up specifics of a con
tract”.
2. Dr. Spears in another
Authority meeting seconded a
motion ‘‘that the
Anesthesiologists being
performing the Inhalation
Therapy service October 1,
1973, if this change can be
worked out orally pending
implementation of contract”.
3, In the November 27, 1973,
meeting, “Dr. Spears
requested to be excused from
the voting or discussion of the
Inhalation Therapy Contract
due to his personal in
volvement with the Doctor's
Clinic, P.A." Dr. Spears did
attend the Executive Session
and actively participated in
the discussion pertaining to
the Inhalation Therapy
conflict.
4 Letter from fifteen doc
tors on Medical Staff “The
undersigned also feel the
Hospital Authority member
who is on Hie Hospital Staff
should disqualify himself from
voting or and discussing this
issue because of a conflict of
interest”.
5. Dr. Spears failed to in
form other members of the
hiring of hospital personnel by
the Clinic.
The documents referred to
above are available for the
Commission Chairman to
verify. We would appreciate
the commissioners inviting
the resigned Authority
members to any meeting
where “New” evidence is
submitted which would reflect
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL THURS., OCT. 10. 1974,
on statements made by the
undersigned and the other two
Authority members
questioned by the Commission
Chairman. Otherwise this will
be our final statement and any
further discussion if ap
propriate would be with
Cooper Speaks To
Perry Idaka Club
The Idaka Club held its
October meeting Tuesday
night at the Ochlahatchee
Clubhouse. Mr. Jackie
Cooper, a labor attorney for
Robins Air Force Base, was
guest speaker and gave an
informative talk on the im
portance of making wills.
Hostesses Nellwyn Moore and
Glenda Thompson served an
attractive and delicious
seasonal refreshment plate.
The Idaka Club has
established a memorial
Library Fund at Westfield
School in honor of Fred Lewis,
Jr. Persons wishing to make
contributions may contact
Idaka Club president Pat
Rentz or any Idaka Club
member.
Among other community
services sponsored by the club
for the 1974-75 season are
monthly activities for patients
at the New Perry Nursing
PAGE 3-A
another representative body.
Yours truly,
L A. McConnell
Louis Harper
Hugh L. Beatty
Paul Stalnaker
Freeman Colbert
Home.
It was announced that the
1975 Arts and Crafts Show, to
be held on March 29, will again
be located at the Perry
National Guard Armory.
They tried to kill him, but he
was still alive and
One
"WALKING Week
TALL” only
ityio-16
The story of a man, Buford
Puser, who fought for
right...and won! r
Special Family Nite Show
Sat.
Bad Man’s River G
Come early and eat at
The New Perry Drive-In
Phone 987-0011
A Southern Independent
Theatre