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Judge halts city's RMC board actions [The Anniston Star, Ala.](Anniston Star (AL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 03--A judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Anniston City Council's moves to oust the chairman of Regional Medical Center's board of directors. Calhoun County Circuit Judge John Thomason issued a temporary restraining order blocking the city's removal Wednesday of RMC board chairman Greg Kernion, and preventing the city's appointments of Paula Watkins and City Manager Brian Johnson to the board. Thomason's order had been sought by the hospital board earlier Friday in a lawsuit against the city. During a brief phone interview Friday, board member James Roberts said the board approved the lawsuit prior to being filed. However, he declined to say when and where it was approved. He instead deferred those questions to Kernion. Attempts to reach Kernion to address the question of if and when the board agreed to sue the city were unsuccessful Friday. The RMC board's suit said the City Council's removal of Kernion was illegal, as were the appointments of Watkins to replace him and of Johnson to a board vacancy earlier in September. The lawsuit also requests an injunction prohibiting the city from taking any further action to remove Kernion from his seat on the board. In an email to The Star on Friday, Kernion wrote that he was pleased with the judge's granting of a temporary restraining order. "These recent unlawful actions were hostile to the independence of RCMB as a public corporation, and we regret that the elected officials of Anniston refused the board's repeated attempts to meet in person to resolve differences that made our resort to the court necessary." City attorney Bruce Downey said the city accepted the court's decision to issue the restraining order. "The court just wants to proceed prudently. I was unavailable to be there" for a hearing Friday, Downey said. A hearing set for Oct. 10 will allow the city to argue against the restraining order. "We're very disappointed that they have resorted to litigation, and that Mr. Kernion continues to pursue an antagonizing approach to the appointing authority" of the city, Downey said. The suit alleges the city's removal of Kernion and the appointments were illegal acts that did not comply with the city ordinances that relate to Regional Medical Center. The suit also alleges that the city does not have the legal authority to remove the board's chairman. It alleges that such an act can be done only through the impeachment process under the Alabama Constitution. The council removed Kernion from the board Wednesday, a day after Kernion and the board barred Johnson from attending its called meeting. The council had appointed Johnson to the board Sept. 22 in what it said was an attempt to foster greater communication between itself and the board. The city has been trying to obtain information on the hospital's operations for several weeks. However, the board has yet to comply, according to city officials. The council appointed Watkins to the board Wednesday to fill out the remainder of Kernion's term. The city's interest in RMC was triggered by the hospital's public fight with the state's largest private health care insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. In July, RMC announced it was canceling its contract with Blue Cross -- part of a negotiating tactic to obtain higher payments for services from the insurer. Had the cancellation stood, Blue Cross customers would have had to pay for many services at RMC out-of-pocket. In September, RMC announced it had extended its contract with Blue Cross. 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 lawsuit alleges, however, that the city's ordinance creating an accountability policy is an unlawful and unconstitutional attempt to exert control over directors of independent boards, such as RMC's board, by undermining their independence. 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 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. With around 1,500 employees, RMC is one of the largest employers in the city. The city appoints seven members to the board, while the city of Jacksonville, the Calhoun County Commission and the city of Oxford each appoint two. Two RMC physicians also serve as directors in an ex officio capacity. Staff writers Eddie Burkhalter and Zach Tyler contributed reporting. ___ (c)2014 The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.) Visit The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.) at www.annistonstar.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |