‘I’m trying to understand why I am so angry tonight after spending most of the afternoon and early evening at a pair of Broward Health Board Meetings.
I don’t think that the fact the Board, after a transparent charade, would choose now indicted and under an ethical cloud Interim CEO Capasso as Broward Health’s permanent CEO made me angry. After all, last year I wrote an article “Barrett Continues to Purge Top Broward Health Employees,” and I predicted that the Board would appoint Capasso, so that wasn’t a surprise.
In that article I wrote:
…” the permanent CEO search has been alternatively started, stopped, started, pending primarily at the initiative of Board member Chris Ure. Meanwhile, a costly “outside independent consultant” has been conducting the non-existent search and vetting candidates for a job that most think has already been filled by a Governor Scott’s appointment Capasso through what many consider an illegal Board action.”
And
… “Currently, there is no discernable effort to find a permanent CEO to replace the interim CEO, Beverly Capasso. And while this non-effort continues, Ms.Capasso is hiring permanent staff to fill purged employees. This is not the action of an interim. I again give voice to the generally accepted charade that predicts Capasso is here to stay until a competent and proficient Board is appointed.”
And
… “The unavoidable optic of these “resignations” is that Broward Health Corporate Counsel Lynn Barrett, apparently together with her pal – Interim Broward Health CEO Beverly Capasso, appear to be consolidating their hold around the neck of Broward Health, purging anyone in their path. The feckless Board continues to turn a blind eye and seems indifferent to the thousands of employees and the public they purportedly serve. “
I don’t think that the fact that Capasso could not and did not meet the qualifications to become the CEO of Broward General when she applied and was turned down for that position, let alone the standards set by the Board for all the applicants of the CEO of the Broward Health system made me angry.
I admit I got a little angry at the three black ministers plus a political operative with questionable providence, who, after meeting with Broward Health “Senior Staff,” said that not only did they represent the community but that the community wanted the Board to select Interim CEO Capasso for the permanent position. These “representatives” might represent their congregations, but they certainly don’t represent the black community as a whole nor do they even come close to representing the Broward Health community: not the physicians, not the employees, not the staff, not the vendors of goods or services and certainly not the taxpayers or close to two million residents in the Broward Health district.
This Blog gets some 30,000 pageviews per month, and I hear from hundreds of readers regularly. They tell me their views, and they share their stories with me. Many times, I have shared their stories with you through my writing. I would submit to you that that is far more representative than our four wise men claiming they represent “the community.”
I also got a little angry when the “Senior Leadership” presented their sub-par grades for the four applicants which ranged from a one to a 2.9 on a scale of 5. I was angry that a committee comprised almost exclusively of persons hired by Capasso torpedoed the four applicants for CEO, and the Board just gobbled up that crap without question.
I wasn’t even particularly angry when a practiced, meek and humbled Capasso accepted the permanent CEO position saying “gee, golly, I”ll have to sacrifice my lifelong desire to get a doctorate in nursing” (in spite of the fact she would need first an accredited masters degree) and all for a measly $700 thousand a year. (I”ll bet her new contract will be much higher and with a generous severance!)
I think disappointment is what triggered my anger. I had hoped that the new Board appointments would help get Broward Health back on track. I hoped that they would see through the nonsense and install a real, independent and experienced CEO in whom the real Broward Health community could have faith.
If I were a cynical person, I would bet that the appointment of Capasso as permanent CEO was orchestrated, just barely in the sunshine. Regardless, the Board’s decision was certainly manipulated, whether they know it or not. What this Board does if Capasso gets convicted on all counts will be interesting, even more so if she is found to have violated Florida’s ethics rules in voting for herself as well. Perhaps the Board will shrug the conviction off parroting what one new commissioner said: “It’s just a misdemeanor!” So who cares about Florida’s Sunshine laws. Certainly not the Governor, and apparently not the Board.
Oh, one last thing before I close. The Board in appointing Capasso gleefully exclaimed how everything was so wonderful. This letter from the Unified Medical Staff at Broward Health dated a few days ago paints a very different picture.
1/19/18 Unified Medical Staff Letter to CEO & Board
To respond to the Board when a few of them asked for community input. Let me summarize; I think the community wanted a deliberate, fair and impartial selection of a professional, experienced and independent CEO.
Instead, the Board insulted the community with banal pandering of the worst sort and utterly failed in one of their most important tasks. So, same old, same old. I’m not angry anymore, just sad.
Here are the videos of the meetings. The real hero on the Board was the one principled “No” vote from Rocky Rodriguez.
Note: Check back in the next day or so for the Agenda Packet update.
1/31/2018 – 1:00pm Special Board Meeting on the CEO Selection
1/31/2018 – 4:00 pm Regular Board Meeting where CEO Decision Ratified & sweetened.