Differences of opinion between the governing boards of East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center are not confined to which of three outside operators should lease the public hospitals. They also disagree on whether to solicit a recommendation from consultant Kaufman Hall, the company that has been advising the boards on the lease process, according to correspondence...
Differences of opinion between the governing boards of East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center are not confined to which of three outside operators should lease the public hospitals. They also disagree on whether to solicit a recommendation from consultant Kaufman Hall, the company that has been advising the boards on the lease process, according to correspondence obtained Thursday by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune.
The Skokie, Ill.-based consulting firm on Wednesday denied a request from East Jefferson Chairman Newell Normand for it to pick from among Ochsner Health System, Louisiana Children's Medical Center and Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA. The East Jefferson board prefers HCA, a position the board affirmed Aug. 28 in a secret, 9-1 straw vote, according to a series of resolutions that have been sent to Jefferson Parish Council members. The West Jefferson board favors Children's and, according to the newly obtained correspondence, doesn't want a recommendation from Kaufman Hall. (Read the correspondence.)
The East Jefferson board also voted Aug. 28 to recommend to Parish Council that the hospitals go with separate suitors if they cannot come to a consensus. The two boards are scheduled to meet again on Monday, in advance of a special Parish Council meeting Sept. 12 to select a lessee.
The split between the boards became apparent Aug. 13, when they failed to reach agreement on recommending a single company to lease the two hospitals. Sources close to the process say they are no closer to agreement now.
In a private meeting Tuesday, the East Jefferson board voted 9-1 to authorize Normand to request Kaufman Hall's recommendation. He followed up that day with a letter to Kaufman Hall Chief Executive Officer Terri Wareham.
Wareham replied Wednesday stating it would not be "appropriate for Kaufman, Hall to respond to a request initiated by only one of the hospitals." Wareham noted that Kaufman Hall had been engaged by the Jefferson Parish Hospital and Health Services District, an umbrella entity comprising the boards of both Jefferson hospitals, as opposed to one hospital acting alone. Providing a recommendation would fall "outside the scope of our current engagement," she wrote.
Wareham wrote that she based her reply on advice from Chicago-based attorney Edward Karlin. According to Karlin's letter to Wareham, the West Jefferson board specifically instructed Kaufman Hall not to make a recommendation. Karlin advised Wareham that "in no case did Kaufman Hall commit to provide a recommendation regarding which transaction proposal should be selected."