BRATTLEBORO-Brattleboro Memorial Hospital CEO Christopher Dougherty is on a leave of absence as state regulators express fears about the not-for-profit's fiscal health.
"Stated as directly as possible, we are deeply concerned about BMH's solvency," the Green Mountain Care Board wrote in a recent budget decision. "We believe that its leadership must make big strides to adjust course."
The 500-employee hospital named Dougherty as its chief executive officer in the spring of 2022. Two days after the state's Oct. 1 report, the hospital announced internally that he was taking leave.
"Please be assured the board of directors remains fully committed to keeping the hospital open and continuing to serve the community," the hospital emailed its staff on the afternoon of Oct. 3.
Dougherty, who started at the hospital after leading Shriners for Children Medical Center in Pasadena, California, hasn't addressed his leave publicly and couldn't be reached for comment.
On Monday night, the board announced the appointment of doctors Elizabeth McLarney and Tony Blofson as acting co-CEOs.
"They have a firm grasp of the hospital's day-to-day operational needs and a solid understanding of our regulatory challenges," the board said in its Monday statement.
The hospital, one of Brattleboro's three largest employers, revealed in May that it faced a projected $4 million shortfall in its $119 million annual budget upon the close of its fiscal year Sept. 30. In response, it implemented a hiring freeze and let go of six administrators in hopes of lowering its staff count by at least 30 employees.
Neither the hospital nor regulators could say Monday if Brattleboro had met its budget target. In its Oct. 1 budget decision, the state noted the uncertainty was, in part, because "missing, incomplete and inaccurate information makes it challenging to understand BMH's current financial position."
"We are deeply troubled by the quality of BMH's budget submission and its reporting because the hospital may be at risk of a sudden solvency crisis, which would potentially harm its community and the state-wide system of care," regulators wrote.
"We have a duty to establish hospital budgets that, among other items, ensure the economic operations of the hospital, preserve access and quality, and contain costs at BMH and the statewide health system," regulators continued. "We cannot fulfill this duty when a hospital misrepresents its financial data and then refuses to address its errors."
In response, the state reduced Brattleboro's requested 1.7% rise in net patient revenue for the current fiscal year to 0% and its requested 3% rise in commercial health insurance reimbursements to not more than 2.4%.
Regulators also are requiring the hospital to resubmit its current budget plan and "corrected and accurate" operating results for the past two fiscal years by Jan. 31 or face outside intervention.
"If these resubmissions remain inaccurate," they wrote, "we may hold a separate hearing to consider whether to appoint an independent observer for BMH."
Acting co-CEOs McLarney, an orthopedic surgeon, and Blofson, a primary care physician, have 50 years of combined service at the hospital.
"We are honored to serve side-by-side and together with our board, our executive leadership team, and our dedicated staff to help BMH move forward and continue providing the exceptional care our patients and community have come to rely on," they said in a joint statement.
This News item by Kevin O'Connor originally appeared in VTDigger and was republished in The Commons with permission.