Erlanger Health System's board of trustees voted unanimously Thursday in support of hospital CEO Dr. Will Jackson after an online column last week alleged that the hospital is in chaos under his leadership.
Chattanoogan columnist Roy Exum wrote that when neurologist Dr. Thomas Devlin recently left Erlanger, it "triggered a tsunami of unwanted attention to Erlanger's bumbling hospital executives."
Exum went on to cite off-the-record communications with unnamed sources criticizing Jackson and the public hospital board.
"At Erlanger, the 'chaos' is beyond belief," Exum wrote. "According to valid hospital records, guarded conversations with hospital paid staff and doctors who are not part of approximately 170 physicians who are hospital employees, it is now believed CEO Jackson is 'far from having the ability' to guide Erlanger in a frightening storm indeed. The hospital trustees put him in place on Sept. 18 of last year. He has a one-year contract but the evidence on him is so damning it is claimed that Jackson will soon as be terminated for cause."
Exum did not include any documents or other proof of the claims.
The day after Exum's article was published, the website ran a letter from Erlanger's medical staff leaders defending the hospital and its leadership.
Erlanger's board hired Jackson - who at the time was chief medical officer - in September under a one-year contract to replace former CEO Kevin Spiegel. Although Jackson had no previous CEO experience, the board said the fact that Jackson is a physician weighed heavily into their decision, because doctors lead many of the nation's top health systems.
Erlanger trustees spent the bulk of a board meeting Thursday night formalizing a letter in support of Jackson and publicly expressing both their approval of the CEO and dismay at Exum's article.
"It is unfortunate that we as the board of trustees must respond to unfounded attacks on the system's leadership, on Dr. Jackson, on the board and on our medical personnel," Board Chairwoman Linda Moss Mines said.
"To read such an attack against the hospital, its leadership, our incredible medical staff - from the doctors, to the CNAs, to everyone who's out there on the line - I found personally and professionally distasteful, and I abhor that sort of attempt to sensationalize what we as a hospital are doing at a most critical time in our community's history," Mines went on to say.
She also thanked the trustees - an 11-member group who govern the public hospital and serve without compensation. Six trustees are appointed by the county mayor, and four are appointed by the local legislative delegation. The chief of the medical staff also serves as a trustee.
"The suggestion that the board is not engaged in governance is countered by the hours each of you spend weekly - most of you in the double digits each week - as we work together as a team to provide oversight," Mines said.
As both a trustee and medical staff member, chief of staff Dr. John Bolton said he has a unique perspective of Jackson's leadership.
"We have one common goal, and that's quality, safety and patient care at Erlanger. I've never seen [Jackson] waiver from that, and to see something like what came up in the [Chattanoogan] last week was very disappointing," Bolton said. "Erlanger is a community hospital, and I think the community needs to be in lockstep - one of Dr. Jackson's favorite words - with the hospital also."
Many of the other trustees as well as Dr. Bruce Shack, dean of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, spoke in support of Jackson.
Attempts to reach Exum for comment after the meeting were unsuccessful.
During his CEO report, Jackson thanked the group and Erlanger's team of clinicians and staff before providing an update on the coronavirus pandemic.
"We have been extremely fortunate in our region that COVID-19 has not been prevalent. Admittedly, we've seen over the course of the past few days that there has been an uptick across the region, and it's no different with us," Jackson said, emphasizing that Erlanger is safe for patients and ready to respond should the outbreak worsen.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com.