From the start of Erlanger’s Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, it was clear the board wanted the meeting to look different from its meeting on Dec. 4, 2014.
That previous meeting — when the board originally made its controversial decision to grant $1.7 million in bonus pay to managers — was sparsely attended. The resolutions were added to the board’s agenda at the last minute. And little discussion took place before the vote was made.
This time, the meeting was packed with white-coated doctors and administrators. A sign-up sheet was set up for members of the public who wanted to speak. Trustees devoted the entire meeting to the discussion. The board members who were silent during the original meeting of the bonus vote peppered administrators with questions. And the hospital videotaped the entire meeting.
At the start of the meeting, board Chairman Donnie Hutcherson gave a statement, saying that the meeting would not be spent debating how the board made its original decision, but by debating the matters of incentive compensation.
While Erlanger, the region’s only safety-net hospital, matters to people throughout the region as a “unique community asset,” Hutcherson said it also draws “an equal measure of scrutiny” because of its status as a public hospital.