Chattanooga’s Erlanger Hospital is seen in this aerial file photo.WHAT’S NEXTThe bill to revamp Erlanger Health System’s governance is expected to be filed Monday, according to House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga.
The group representing more than 1,000 Hamilton County physicians is dismayed that a bill proposed by state lawmakers to restructure Erlanger’s board of trustees won’t promise a doctor will serve as a voting member.
“We think it’s important to guarantee there will always be at least one voting position for a physician,” Rae Young Bond, executive director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society and Medical Foundation of Chattanooga, said Friday.
But her argument met with little sympathy from Rep. Gerald McCormick, House majority leader, head of the delegation and the man who’s writing the bill to restructure the public hospital’s board.
“I think we want to be very careful,” the Chattanooga Republican said Friday. “We need physicians to have a voice but also have to be careful and remember that Erlanger hospital was fined a lot of money because of some dealings with some physicians a few years ago.”