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Status of RMC board leadership unclear after chairman's removal [The Anniston Star, Ala.](Anniston Star (AL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 03--The Anniston City Council booted the top decision-maker of Anniston's largest employer in a clear, decisive manner Wednesday evening. Less clear on Thursday were the next steps in an ongoing struggle between the council and the board of Regional Medical Center. A day after the council removed RMC board chairman Greg Kernion from his seat, there were still unanswered questions: Who gained leadership of the board, will the city's request for more information on the hospital be met and could legal action be taken in response to the council's decision? Attempts to reach Kernion for comment Thursday were unsuccessful. Attempts to reach the board's attorney for comment Thursday also were unsuccessful. In a Thursday email to The Star, RMC interim CEO Michael Morgan wrote that RMC was aware of the city's decision to remove Kernion Wednesday. "We are thoughtfully and respectfully evaluating the proper and appropriate response to the action," Morgan wrote. Bruce Downey, city attorney, said he could not yet comment on what the city planned to do now that Kernion is gone. "It's premature to comment because the city's two new appointees have yet to pay their respects to the new board chairman," Downey said. It was unclear Thursday if the board had appointed a new chairman. The council appointed city manager Brian Johnson to the board Sept. 22 and Anniston resident Paula Watkins on Wednesday to fill out the remainder of Kernion's term, which ends May 31, 2018. The board's next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Oct. 20. The council removed Kernion by resolution for alleged violations of two city ordinances. One ordinance created the RMC board in 1974 while the other created an accountability policy for residents the council appoints to boards, commission and authorities. The removal came after the RMC board barred Johnson from attending its called meeting Tuesday. The ordeal was the culmination of a weeks-long struggle between the city and the board over whether the board is a public entity, how autonomous it is from the city and how much information about the Anniston-based hospital it must provide to the public. Violations listed in the resolution include that the RMC board on Sept. 5, without the council's consent, submitted a notice to the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency of its intent to transfer 15 psychiatric beds from RMC to RMC Jacksonville. The resolution states Kernion implemented a surreptitious and illegal strategy to avoid the city's consent restriction by merging RMC with RMC Jacksonville on Sept. 22 -- doing so without notice to the city, the Alabama Department of Health or the Alabama State Health Planning and Development Agency. The resolution states that failure to notify state agencies violates state law and has potentially resulted in the board jeopardizing various state licenses and certificates of need to RMC Jacksonville. It has also brought into question the ability of the board to legally bill for services provided in Jacksonville's hospital, the resolution states. The resolution also states that Kernion, in his capacity as chairman, took illegal steps to exclude Johnson from participating in a board meeting, though he had been lawfully appointed to that body. Kernion has also failed to comply with various records requests from the city regarding the condition, status and direction of RMC, the resolution states. The city started requesting information after RMC's public fight with the state's largest health care insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, over payments for services. In July RMC canceled its contract with the state's dominant health insurance provider, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, part of an effort to get the insurer to pay more for care provided to patients at the hospital. If the cancellation had stood, Blue Cross -- the insurance carrier for 90 percent of Alabamians with private health insurance -- would no longer have paid the hospital for many services, leaving patients to pick up the bill on their own. In September, after RMC announced it had reached a deal with Blue Cross, hospital CEO David McCormack abruptly resigned, reportedly to spend more time with his family. City officials have said they want more information about RMC to better help the hospital grow and prosper in the future. ___ (c)2014 The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.) Visit The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.) at www.annistonstar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |