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health and safety : Fletcher Allen Health Care : Renaissance Project scandal
Fletcher-Allen Health Care Renaissance Project Scandal
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2002-11-20: The debate continues tonight over how F.A.H.C.
should be managed in the future and what other agencies and people are to blame for the hospital's financial fallout. There are plenty of fingers being pointed by state politicians.
Congressman Bernie Sanders is crystal clear with his opinion on the Fletcher Allen scandal. He says change is needed now.
Sanders said, "I can't go back to Washington and say increase Medicare and Medicaid at a time when a hospital may be wasting substantial sums of that money or using it in an illegal way."
He doesn't think any new construction phases should commence.
While the blame game is being played, Congressman Bernie Sanders is pointing a finger at the outgoing Dean administration and the legislature.
He says the state should protect the public's interest, and instead they provided inexcusably weak oversight.
popular
Click here to read more.
2001-12-12: The state can do only so much to pressure
Fletcher Allen Health Care into opening up if the Burlington hospital refuses to do so on its own.
The push to make Vermont's largest hospital more transparent took center stage Tuesday at a town meeting sponsored by Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., where several speakers said Fletcher Allen board meetings and documents should be public record. Vermonters have called for accountability from Fletcher Allen in the wake of a scandal that could drive up health care rates and has sullied the hospital's reputation.
Forcing the hospital to function more openly could prove difficult.
A portion of the hospital's board meetings are open to the public but Fletcher Allen documents are not. Decisions are made behind closed doors. Opening hospital business further could throw off the ''balance'' between operating competitively and serving the public interest, according to the hospital.
The state might not be able to require a private organization to adhere to the same open-meetings laws....
Click here to read more.
2001-12-21: Vermont is turning up the heat on FAHC.
Health care regulators have gone to court to get documents related to the hospital's expansion.
Fletcher Allen just began a 170 million dollar construction project -- approved by the state earlier this year. But with recent changes -- the state is studying whether those changes comply with the original permit. Insurance Commissioner Betsy Costle wanted to see documents related to the proposed parking garage. Fletcher Allen refused -- saying the parking garage does not require state review.
So Commissioner Costle got a subpeona to force Fletcher Allen to turn over the documents. Fletcher Allen says they are in the process of reviewing the order and will decide how to respond after the holidays. -- end --
2002-01-02: F.A.H.C. has some explaining to do,
according to state regulators.
The state's largest hospital must respond to a state subpoena by Thursday to produce documentation relating to its planned parking garage.
Regulators are trying to decipher the relationship between Fletcher Allen and the JP Morgan Chase company, which is financing the garage's construction. Fletcher Allen
opposes the intrusion because the garage is not part of the hospital's state-approved .4 million expansion and thus should be free from review, according to a recent letter
from Dave Demers, the hospital's senior vice president of planning and business development.
State regulators asked in mid-December for more information about the garage, which Fletcher Allen management refused to supply.
2002-01-04: State regulators extended the deadline for FAHC
to produce documents relating to a planned parking garage at the Burlington hospital.
Fletcher Allen is cooperating with regulators and has until Monday to produce the documents, said Elizabeth Costle, commissioner of Vermont's Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration. That deadline could be pushed back further as the hospital works to disclose details of its relationship with the company paying for the garage construction, Costle said.
Costle subpoenaed the hospital's paperwork after Fletcher Allen management refused to turn over documents she requested. The original deadline was 10 a.m. Thursday. More than half a dozen groups Thursday united to condemn what they called Fletcher Allen's pattern of withholding information from the state.
2002-01-11: Fletcher Allen Hospital in Burlington turned over
nearly 1,000 pages of documents to the state of Vermont. The paperwork explains how the hospital plans to pay for its new underground parking garage. The garage is expected to cost million, which is twice the original estimate.
Regulators demanded the paperwork to determine if the changes violate state permits.
2002-01-31: The state will determine whether Vermont's
largest hospital has broken the law in a trial-like hearing next month.
State regulators are considering whether Fletcher Allen Health Care violated state-ordered conditions in the building of a .8 million underground parking garage. The state granted Fletcher Allen a permit for the hospital's .4 million expansion on the understanding that a third party would build and run the garage. Fletcher Allen documents indicate plans for the hospital to pay for and operate the garage.
The state notified Fletcher Allen this week of the hearing. The hospital will have to defend its actions Feb. 11 in front of an agency appointee acting as judge.
Fletcher Allen management is reviewing the information, spokesman Mike Noble said Wednesday.
2002-07-25: F.A.H.C.'s CEO deliberately avoided state
oversight by not seeking a permit for a million parking garage, a former hospital executive told regulators.
William Boettcher, who has headed Fletcher Allen since 1998, told fellow executives he would rather sue Vermont regulators than apply for a state permit, former hospital Chief Financial Officer David Cox said in sworn testimony that was released this week. A hospital must apply for the state-issued permit - called a certificate of need - for capital projects exceeding .5 million.
Cox said Boettcher was determined that the garage expense not show up on Fletcher Allen’s books and that the project skirt state regulation.
Click here to read more.
2002-08-01: F.A.H.C.’s board of trustees put the hospital’s top
executive, William Boettcher, on paid administrative leave Wednesday and added three outsiders to a panel investigating alleged wrongdoing.
Philip Drumheller, chairman of Fletcher Allen’s board of trustees, and board member Louise McCarren announced the two decisions after an emergency board meeting called to respond to a wave of controversy swirling around the state’s largest hospital.
Edwin Colodny, former University of Vermont interim president, and former KPMG partner David Coates will join three Fletcher Allen board members on a committee investigating the hospital’s compliance with state laws. The additions come after allegations that the board would be unable to objectively investigate its own actions and those of senior hospital management.
Colodny and Coates will choose a third hospital outsider to join board members McCarren, Edwin Bovill and Gretchen Morse on the investigating committee, said McCarren, the committee’s chairwoman and the president of Verizon
Click here to read more.
2002-08-02: Fletcher Allen Health Care's board placed CEO
on paid leave Wednesday and added three outsiders to a panel investigating alleged wrongdoing. ...
an emergency board meeting (was) called to respond to a wave of controversy swirling around the state's largest hospital.
...
Fletcher Allen's reputation has suffered multiple hits in recent weeks, including: a fine for beginning construction on a million parking garage without a needed permit; an attempt to organize a nurses' union; and a state order to cease installation of million in software that the hospital has no permit for.
A former hospital executive subpoenaed by the state testified that CEO Boettcher intentionally skirted state law to push through the garage deal without regulatory oversight. ...
The committee will investigate how the garage deal transpired without a state permit and any other hospital instances of flouting state regulations, McCarren said. They will have full access to information they need to complete the investigation, she said.
2002-08-03: Federal and State Prosecutors will Investigate
Fletcher Allen Health Care. Vermont's top prosecutor will join forces with the U.S. Attorney to look into whether Fletcher Allen Health Care broke any state or federal laws.
Attorney General Bill Sorrell said today, "We have questions...Who knew what? When? Who participated in the decisions? Who gave the okay to follow this course?"
A former executive told regulators in April that Fletcher Allen CEO Bill Boettcher deliberately hid the cost of 55 million dollar parking garage from state regulators and the public.
Board Trustee Louise McCarren is leading an internal investigation. She says the board welcomes both entities to conduct investigations. The Board placed Boettcher on paid leave Wednesday.
... new allegations surfaced last week.
Click here to read more.
2002-08-07: Fletcher Allen's legal troubles could lead
to financial troubles. Standard and Poor's Rating Agency has placed Vermont's largest hospital on a credit watch with negative implications. That means Fletcher Allen's credit rating may be lowered.
The watch comes in light of federal and state investigations into whether the hospital broke any laws over a proposed parking garage.
Currently Fletcher Allen has an 'A-' rating. That gave the hospital low interest rates on the bonds funding most of the hospital's expansion. -- end --
2002-08-08: Vermont Hospital regulators are unsure
of FAHC's credibility. A panel appointed to review hospital spending will have trouble believing Fletcher Allen Health Care's statements during its upcoming budget review because of recent controversy at the hospital, panel members said Wednesday.
Fletcher Allen ran afoul of regulators several times in recent months, casting a cloud on the hospital's credibility. The hospital began two projects without applying for state permits. State and federal prosecutors are investigating allegations of wrongdoing by Fletcher Allen management.
State regulators said the news has prompted them to look differently at the upcoming review of Fletcher Allen's million-plus budget. Regulators have asked members of Fletcher Allen's board of trustees for assurance that the hospital's statements about the budget will be accurate, said Susan Gretkowski, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration.
2002-08-17: The CEO of Vermont’s largest hospital
has resigned, hospital board members announced Monday.
Fletcher Allen Health Care’s board of trustees accepted the letter of resignation from William Boettcher late Friday. The board placed him on leave on July 31, as allegations emerged that management deliberately misled state regulators, and federal and state prosecutors launched investigations into hospital affairs.
Boettcher, reached at his home Monday, said he did what he thought was best for the hospital. Fletcher Allen needs leadership while the investigations drag on, he said.
Boettcher’s resignation severs his ties with all Fletcher Allen entities, hospital board Chairman Philip Drumheller said Monday. Boettcher leaves with a ,000 retirement package.
Boettcher, 55, has been at the epicenter of months of controversy that have clouded the Burlington hospital’s reputation. State and federal prosecutors are investigating hospital affairs.
Click here to read more.
2002-08-26: State auditor is questioning F.A.H.C. bond
spending. Vermont State Auditor Elizabeth Ready, in a letter last week to the state agency that issues tax-exempt bonds, questioned whether Fletcher Allen Health Care is following regulations in how it is spending some of its million in bond money.
The hospital is in the middle of nearly million in construction projects in Burlington. The bonds were sold to help pay for cost of parts of those projects.
Fletcher Allen, the state's largest hospital, is using the bond money appropriately, Interim Chief Financial Officer Ken Fisher said in an interview last week regarding Ready's letter.
Ready's questions come as Fletcher Allen grapples with allegations that management deliberately skirted state law to begin construction of an underground parking garage. The Vermont attorney general and the U.S. attorney are investigating the hospital's actions.
Questions linger about the bonds and the project which has more than doubled in cost since its conception.
2002-08-29: State regulators reviewing F.A.H.C.s
million budget Thursday will have more than the numbers on their mind.
Fletcher Allen is mired in controversies that have shaken the faith of those people the hospital hopes will approve its 2003 budget. Evidence emerged in recent months alleging the Burlington hospital might have been less than honest with these regulators.
Members of the Public Oversight Commission -- charged with reviewing Vermont hospitals' budgets -- said they can't help but wonder whether the figures Fletcher Allen provides will tell the whole story. The seven-member panel will ask more questions. Commissioners will try not to let the hospital's management troubles get in the way of their duty to Vermont patients.
The hospital last week issued a statement saying it is working with regulators to restore trust and ensure the budget proceedings go smoothly.
2002-08-30: Chief Operating Officer Thad Krupka began
his presentation to state hospital budget regulators Thursday with an apology.
... The situation to which Krupka referred includes a chief executive on administrative leave, questions about whether a million parking garage and a million computer system were properly purchased, and three separate investigations of Fletcher Allen's conduct now under way.
"Yes, there is controversy," Krupka said, "but it is our responsibility to put that aside and address this budget."
The panel appeared divided on whether to grant his request. In a hearing that ran nearly four hours, commission members mostly delved into budget details. Some members also wanted to address what they called the hospital's damaged credibility.
The hearing was Fletcher Allen's day to explain its financial plan for next year. The hospital is seeking approval of million in spending, including a rate increase of 3.5 percent.
However, many non-budgetary issues came up during the session.
2002-09-16: Just six weeks after being placed
on administrative leave, Fletcher allen's Chief Executivce Officer Bill Boettcher has stepped down. The announcement was made Monday by Philip Drumheller - chairman of the trustees. He said that the trustees deemed it in the best interest of the hospital.
Boettcher told Brian Joyce that he too thought it best to move on. Boettcher did deny that he had done anything wrong. He said there was no effort to mislead state regulators, as was charged by the former financial officer David Cox. Boettcher said neither he nor the executive committee of the trustees, nor anyone else at the hospital has willfully mislead state health care regulators.
Click here to read more.
2002-09-19: U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. on Wednesday
called for a federal investigation into a ,000 retirement package offered by Fletcher Allen Health Care to William Boettcher.
Boettcher resigned Friday from his position as chief executive officer of Vermont's largest hospital. The hospital's board had placed him on leave July 31 after allegations that management had deliberately misled Vermont regulators.
Sanders said Wednesday it is absurd to spend ,000 in health care dollars on Boettcher's retirement package while Vermont experiences soaring insurance rates and a major nursing shortage.
Sanders sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson asking for an investigation into the retirement package.
Fletcher Allen officials said this week that the retirement package is part of Boettcher's contract with the hospital.
-- From staff, wire reports
2002-10-04: Only 3 months ago, Edwin Colodny was honored
by the trustees of the University of Vermont. He served as interim president for one year through turbulent times at UVM,... while the board searched for a permanent leader.
This morning ... deja vu .
"We have several crucial issues here at the university... excuse me the hospital"...said Edwin Colodny. As the audience laughed, he added: "we had crucial issues there too".
Colodny will be the interim Chief Executive Officer of Fletcher Allen Health Care -- until the board finds the hospital's next C-E-O. Former Chief Executive Bill Boettcher resigned last month amid allegations -- and investigations -- over potential wrongdoing by hospital management.
... The Burlington native has a long career of leading organizations .. including 35 years as the head of US Airways. ...
Drumheller says the board will look nationally for a new CEO. Colodny does not want the job for more than an interim period....
Click here to read more.
2002-10-11: Nearly halfway through construction
of its mammoth Renaissance Project, Fletcher Allen Health Care hasn't filed an update with Vermont regulators on the hospital's progress in 12 months.
The reports are meant to keep regulators a- breast of changes to projects requiring permits from the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration.
Last time Fletcher Allen filed an update with the state, the Renaissance Project had changed significantly from what its permit covered. That report was dated October 2001. State regulators have yet to rule on those changes nor has Fletcher Allen filed any further construction updates.
The state permit requires that the hospital file progress reports every six months "after the initial bidding process is completed."
2002-10-12: F.A.H.C.'s newly appointed interim C.E.O.
has started cleaning house.
Edwin Colodny has named Burlington lawyer Spencer Knapp, president and managing partner of Dinse Knapp & McAndrew, the hospital's acting general counsel. Part of Knapp's job will be taking over the role formerly played by the state's largest law firm, Downs Rachlin Martin, led by attorney Allen Martin, Fletcher Allen spokeswoman Maria McClellan said.
Knapp will handle the hospital's relations with state regulators in the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration, McClellan said. David Sylvester, an attorney with Downs Rachlin Martin, will continue to work on regulatory issues under Knapp.
Colodny also named Theresa DiPalma, a former Health Care Administration employee, as a special adviser.
2002-10-14: The huge expansion at F.A.H.C. is again making
waves with Vermont regulators. The state health care commissioner says the project is running million over budget and suggests it may have to be scaled back. The expansion, called the Renaissance Project, was approved by the state with a million price tag. Then came the parking garage -- another -million. Now an additional million in costs -- putting the project at million. State Health Care Commissioner Elizabeth Costle has written to the hospital demanding to know why the project is costing so much. In it, she says the hospital knew of the overruns before applying for state permission to go forward with the project. Costle adds that Fletcher Allen needs to review the costs and priorities to concentrate on patient care not bricks and mortar. ... Hospital officials tell Channel 3 newly appointed CEO Ed Colodny is making the Commissioner's concerns his top priority. And he's developed a plan of action to find out the true cost and scope of the project.
Click here to read more.
2002-10-15: Fletcher Allen Health Care's massive expansion
is running nearly million over the cost approved by the state, according to Vermont's top health care regulator.
Elizabeth Costle, commissioner of Vermont's Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration, has asked the Burlington hospital to slow work on the project. She said Monday that even after Fletcher Allen management met with regulators in late September and informed the state of the changes, the hospital's story does not add up.
Costle said she wants the hospital to reassess the size of the expansion and scale it down to match the originally projected price tag of .4 million.
She estimated project costs are now hovering about .3 million. She based that figure on .3 million in cost overruns and a million parking garage that has a permit, but was not included in the original projections.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-08: Elizabeth R. Costle, Vermont's Commissioner
of the Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Healthcare Administration said today that Fletcher Allen Health Care's
Interim CEO Edwin I. Colodny has confirmed to her that the true cost of the so-called Renaissance Project is more than million, not .4 million. Commissioner Costle said today that it appears that there was a plan by Fletcher Allen Health Care management to extensively and deliberately withhold information from the Department, the Public Oversight Commission, and the public about the true costs of its major construction project. While welcoming the candor and openness of Fletcher Allen's Interim CEO, Commissioner Costle made it clear to Fletcher Allen Health Care in a letter this morning that the "apparent pattern of deceit and efforts by Fletcher Allen management to conceal this cost from the public, from the Public Oversight Commission, and from this Department is an affront to the people of Vermont and their government."
Click here to read more.
2002-11-08: In our recent discussions, we have presented
an evolving picture of hidden capital expenditures related to the so-called Renaissance Project, expenditures which are likely to be close to million. None of these expenditures, many of them already incurred, were presented to the Department for Certificate of Need review. While you have indicated that the numbers are not final - and may change somewhat - these expenditures, together with a million garage debt
previously concealed and the million approved in the March 2001 CON, bring the true cost of the project to more than million. The apparent pattern of deceit and efforts by Fletcher Allen management to conceal this cost from the public, from the Public Oversight Commission, and from this Department is an affront to the people of Vermont and their government.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-08: Interim CEO Ed Colodny today released
new information about the hospital's renovation and expansion project. The true cost of the construction totals 326 million dollars, nearly triple what Fletcher Allen first told the state and the public. It's the latest example of recent decisions by the administration to hide financial information about the project.
Regulators originally approved 120 million dollars for the so-called Renaissance Project. Then the hospital wanted 50 million more for other related projects which regulators also approved, unaware the project was really much more.
Earlier this year, the state discovered the parking garage bringing the total to 255 million. And now, we learn the cost all along was 326 million dollars. Almost half of that -- deliberately hidden from the public.
Today, Colodny apologized for the deceit.
... Colodny would not point a finger at anyone because the Board of Trustees is investigating who is responsible.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-09: FAHC’s massive expansion has nearly doubled
in cost to million, with the disclosure Friday by Interim Chief Executive Officer Edwin Colodny that hospital management deliberately hid another .3 million from state regulators. The revelation is the latest admission by the hospital that the expansion has ballooned in price.
The disclosure angered state regulators, who ordered Fletcher Allen to apply for renewed state approval. The project has grown in the past six months to million above what the state initially said the hospital could spend. Colodny said Friday’s disclosure, which included other expenses for a total of million, came after a detailed accounting of project costs.
Fletcher Allen will trim project costs and delay or eliminate future projects to make up the expense, Colodny said. Vermont consumers will pick up some of the tab, a medical policy analyst predicted.
The apparent pattern of deceit and efforts by Fletcher Allen management to conceal this cost from the public,
Click here to read more.
2002-11-12: FAHC’s admission that it has tacked million
onto its massive expansion has spurred lawmakers to contemplate changing how the state oversees hospital spending.
With two months to go before the January start of the legislative session, suggestions abound for refining state hospital review. The proposals include requiring public meetings of hospital trustees, breaking up the state permitting process and mandating that hospital managers present projects under oath.
The Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration grants permits called certificates of need based on the merits of hospital projects the department reviews. The ballooning costs at Fletcher Allen have lawmakers wondering whether the Burlington hospital’s situation is an exception to an otherwise good regulatory system or whether that system is in crisis.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-15: Committee report
(PDF File)
Click here to read more.
2002-11-16: The Securities and Exchange Commission has
asked for documents linked to three major Fletcher Allen Health Care projects, adding to the number of agencies examining the hospital's massive expansion.
The SEC requested information in connection with the hospital's million bond issue in 2000, its million parking garage project and a now-scrapped plan to install more than million in IDX software, according to a letter from the federal agency to Fletcher Allen. The request is another blow to the hospital, under investigation by state and federal prosecutors and in the process of an internal investigation connected to its flagship Renaissance Project.
Documents obtained Friday from Fletcher Allen show the SEC in August launched an "informal inquiry" into Vermont's largest hospital. Fletcher Allen Acting General Counsel Spencer Knapp emphasized Friday the SEC request was for voluntary information.
The SEC is charged with protecting investors and overseeing securities markets, such as stocks and bonds.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-19: A special investigating committee will release
its report on the controversy at Fletcher Allen Health Care Wednesday. This summer, a group of Fletcher Allen trustees launched an internal investigation after the public learned hospital management hid millions from regulators, consumers and trustees.
It all centers around the Renaissance construction project. Regulators had only approved million for the expansion, when really the project was million. The CEO resigned in September, but there are still questions about who else is responsible.
...
Sources on the board of trustees tell Channel 3 News the committee report concludes the board was deliberately and systematically misled by senior managers on the extent of the renaissance project. The trustees were also not adequately served by consultants, lawyers and accountants. And the report finds that the board just missed too much critical information and must share in the blame for the problems with the Renaissance project.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-20: Bernie Sanders held a press conference
today urging that the Board of Trustees at Fletcher Allen Health Care be fundamentally restructured. Sanders said, "Given the huge amount of taxpayer dollars that Fletcher Allen consumes, this institution must become more open, more democratic and more accountable to the people of Vermont.”
Fletcher Allen Health Care is the largest health care provider in Vermont with a budget of over million and consumes about 25% of the health care dollars in Vermont. Fletcher Allen receives over 35% of its total revenues -over million- in tax dollars from the federal and state government in Medicare and Medicaid payments.
The Hospital is currently in the midst of a major crisis because it failed to gain approval for the full scope of its massive Renaissance Project, in which over million was apparently deliberately hidden from state regulators.
2002-11-20: FAHCs Board of Trustees took full responsibility
Wednesday for the financial fiasco that's plagued the hospital. Earlier this year allegations surfaced that senior managers deliberately hid the true cost of Fletcher Allen's expansion project. Regulators gave approval for the project's million price tag when the real cost is million.
A group of board members released the findings of an internal review Wednesday. The report shows how top managers, led by former CEO Bill Boettcher, systematically kept information from trustees, state regulators and the public. The review also blames the board for not paying close enough attention to what hospital executives were doing.
As a result of the report, hospital will implement changes to improve the level of review by the board. Also, two top managers who worked closely with Boettcher will resign. The new hospital management will scale back its relationship with its current law firm, Downs, Rachlin and Martin.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-20: Let me begin by applauding Interim President Ed
Colodny for beginning the process of explaining to the people of Vermont the true dimensions of the problems facing Fletcher Allen. I gather more revelations will be made this morning. I met with Ed recently to discuss these issues and look forward to working with him in the coming months.
I have distributed a longer statement for your perusal, but let me focus no on just four points.
As to who should be held accountable for this fiasco, there is clearly plenty of blame to go around. Former CEO Bill Boettcher, his advisors and the decision-makers on his staff obviously bear much of the responsibility. As importantly, the current Board of Trustees, which has a duty to oversee the activities of Mr. Boettcher, must accept their share of the responsibility. Finally, state government, which is supposed to protect the interest of the public, provided inexcusably weak oversight.
2002-11-20: Vermont Governor-elect Jim Douglas
said Fletcher Allen trustees have taken one step in restoring the public's trust by accepting part of the blame for the hospital's expansion scandal. "We need to restore the public's trust in this vital community institution", said the incoming Governor Wednesday at his weekly news conference.
Governor Howard Dean referred to the top managers as "crooks" but Douglas wasn't ready to go that far. "We do not know yet. There are investigations underway..there is a statue to make it a crime to lie to state investigators...so I am sure at some point we will learn the outcome of that investigation", said Douglas just two hours after the trustees report was released at a Burlington news conference.
Douglas said he'll ask his administration to review the state's role in the scandal. Regulators approved million in renovations. But the cost ballooned to million. "I think it is premature to conclude whether there is any error made by the regulators but I want to find out,"
Click here to read more.
2002-11-20: Two more executives are leaving Fletcher Allen
in the wake of problems with the hospital's multi-million-dollar expansion.
The hospital's interim chief executive says chief operating officer Thad Krupka and senior vice president David Demers will be leaving by mutual agreement.
Additionally, the trustees chairman will be leaving the board next month as part of a routine rotation and five other trustees whose terms expire next month may be replaced.
Already, former hospital chief executive William Boettcher has left under pressure and its staff lawyer resigned in September.
Fletcher Allen also says it is ending its relationship with Burlington law firm Downs Rachlin and Martin.
Wednesday, 11/20/02
2002-11-21: FAHC’s top management systematically
stonewalled the hospital’s board and state regulators to keep a massive expansion on track and free of additional scrutiny, according to an internal report released Wednesday.
The 72-page report was a scathing indictment of a management culture bent on secrecy and deception, of a board that failed to aggressively question management and carry out its duties as public trustees, and of legal advisers who continually looked for ways around hospital regulations.
The report, released by board Chairman Philip Drumheller and interim Chief Executive Officer Edwin Colodny, opened a window on two years’ worth of corporate misdeeds that promise to further tarnish the reputation of the state’s largest hospital.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-21: It was business as usual Thursday
at the Champlain Valley's largest hospital, despite the release of a scathing report critical of the hospital's management.
While the scandal has been unfolding for months, the happenings inside the executive offices do not appear to be having much effect on the rest of the hospital.
Approximately 6,000 people work for Fletcher Allen Health Care, and while some said Thursday that they dislike what has happened, many also said politics is not their concern.
... Nurse Nickie Powers said she is too busy to read the front pages of the newspapers, which detail the latest revelations about the hospital. ... On Wednesday, Fletcher Allen's chairman apologized to his employees and to the community after a report outlined how his former CEO led a campaign to cover up the true cost of the massive expansion under way. ... The one complaint voiced by many employees Thursday was the lack of nurses.
Click here to read more.
2002-11-21: Trustees at FAHC said Wednesday that they
accept responsibility for the scandal at the Burlington hospital, though they don't know what they could have done to prevent what happened.
... The report issued Wednesday that examined how the hospital ran afoul of state regulators with its million expansion project detailed an atmosphere in which Fletcher Allen administrators -- specifically former Chief Executive Officer William Boettcher -- intentionally kept key details about the Renaissance Project from trustees and the state Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration.
... Trustees said Wednesday that they are angered and embarrassed that the scandal happened on their watch. Gerry Gossens, a trustee and Democratic state senator from Addison County, said the board was "surrounded by a wall of silence."
The report criticizes the unpaid, volunteer trustees for failing to insist on information that administrators should have provided,
Click here to read more.
2002-11-22: Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell
met with U.S. attorney office in Burlington for nearly four-and-a-half hours Friday, about the joint criminal investigation into Fletcher Allen's Renaissance Project scandal.
Presumably, many things were discussed, but neither Sorrell or the U.S. attorney's office had much to say -- at least publicly -- leaving speculation to rule the moment.
"Was this a case of somebody lining their own pocket?" asked Fletcher Allen interim C.E.O. Ed Colodny on Wednesday. "No."
Colodny says he's uncertain whether charges would or should be filed, saying it's a matter for others.
"This is a case of bad management, misjudgments, poor judgments, and in my opinion, the buck goes to the top where it starts," Colodny said. "That's what happened here in my opinion."
But should Fletcher Allen's board, which says it accepts full responsibility, be included in the investigation?
"If criminal charges are filed?" asked Board Chair Philip Drumheller. "I don't believe so, no."
Click here to read more.
2002-11-22: F.A.H.C.’s mistakes are mounting,
and Vermont’s largest hospital will pay dearly for cleaning up after the wave of scandals washing over its massive expansion.
Already, the 19- month-old project includes nearly million in hidden costs, which Vermonters will pay for in part through higher health care prices. Now, the months of legal battles, investigations and public scrutiny mean Fletcher Allen could spend millions more on the fallout from its beleaguered project.
The hospital faces application fees for new state and city permits because of changes in the cost and design of the project. An anticipated drop in Fletcher Allen’s credit rating could trigger higher interest rates. The departure of most of the hospital’s top management will require a search for replacements. The hospital has already paid a large fine for deliberately skirting state law.
How much the fiasco costs Fletcher Allen might be clearer next year when the hospital releases its income tax return for 2002.
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2002-11-25: If Fletcher Allen Health Care has a Siamese twin,
it is the University of Vermont’s medical school.
Like worried siblings, College of Medicine officials say they are concerned about the hospital’s financial and legal problems. Administrators and faculty also say their work continues unaffected by the problems next door.
"There’s the business of health care and there’s the mission of care we need to deliver,’’ said Dr. Lewis First, professor and chairman of pediatrics at the medical school. ‘‘Those of us who provide care are unwavering in our mission.’’
"Our quality of care and interest in providing care is not tainted in the slightest,’’ echoed Dr. Hyman Muss, a professor of medicine.
If the controversy drags on, however, officials across the school said it could raise problems ranging from buying needed equipment to recruiting faculty leaders.
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2002-12-03: Fletcher Allen Health Care on Monday
turned over to the state 27 binders of invoices detailing the hospital’s spending to date on a million expansion at the Burlington medical center. The hospital misspent more than million from a state-authorized, tax-exempt bond, but has since refunded the money, Fletcher Allen Treasury Director Roderick Whitney wrote in a letter to Malcolm Rode, executive director of the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency. Rode’s office authorizes tax-exempt bond issues for certain Vermont organizations. He also approves how Fletcher Allen spends its bond proceeds. Vermont Auditor Elizabeth Ready had asked Fletcher Allen for the information, saying the hospital failed, in some cases, to meet standards for verifying how it uses bond money. The invoices produced Monday are intended to answer that question. They provide a penny-by-penny account of the million of bond proceeds spent so far on the hospital’s massive expansion, which has drawn fire for hidden costs
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2002-12-03: One thick binder notebook after another stands
as evidence in Montpelier that Fletcher Allen Health Care misused more than million in state-approved bonds.
"What we have here is an over-reliance on self-reporting," said State Auditor Elizabeth Ready, who characterized the system that oversees the release of these tax-free dollars as flawed.
The result?
Fletcher Allen used some of that money on its parking garage, which is a for-profit project financed by a third party.
"Obviously, there have been some problems with these invoices," Ready said. "These problems are now going to come under some scrutiny. These problems are now going to be cleaned up."
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2002-12-05: Calling Fletcher Allen Health Care an ‘‘elitist
institution,’’ Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Wednesday it’s high time the hospital gets a piece of the public’s mind.
The hospital soaks up close to 25 percent of state health care dollars, Sanders said, and therefore should be listening to what Vermonters think is the best use of that money.
Sanders and several public interest groups are holding a town meeting Tuesday as a public discussion on Fletcher Allen’s troubles. The hospital spends public money and should be accountable to the Vermonters paying the bills, Sanders and others said Wednesday.
’’These are health care dollars,’’ Sanders said of the million in construction under way on the Burlington medical campus. The project drew fire when hospital management revealed nearly million in hidden costs. State and federal prosecutors are investigating the project.
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2002-12-10: F.A.H.C.'s board of trustees will accept
up to a half dozen appointments to its board this week and elect a new chairman as the board faces continued pressure to clean house for failing to properly oversee the mammoth expansion under way at the Burlington hospital campus.
Tonight, Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., holds a public town meeting on the scandal surrounding the hospital, which has included the departure of its senior managers and several criminal investigations. Sanders has called for the resignation of all 18 Fletcher Allen board members, saying the board fails to represent a cross-section of Vermonters who rely on the hospital for affordable, quality health care.
Hospital trustees are under the microscope after an internal investigation found the board failed to aggressively oversee the hospital's management. The investigation yielded a report, released last month, that was a scathing indictment of hospital management.
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2002-12-10: Fletcher Allen Health Care is facing state
and federal investigations for its expansion project. Millions of dollars in costs were apparently hidden from regulators and the public. Many lay blame on former CEO Bill Boettcher. He allegedly orchestrated a deliberate scheme to keep the project's costs secret.
Bill Boettcher was introduced to the public in 1998. With a background in health care management, Boettcher was just what the doctor ordered for the hospital's financial troubles and lack of leadership.
Dick Mallary, former chair of Fletcher Allen board of trustees, says Bill Boettcher was the group's first choice. Mallary was heard of the search committee and says he viewed Boettcher very favorably.
... Boettcher's first order of business was to dig Fletcher Allen out from a financial hole and move forward with a long planned expansion. Boettcher launched the "Renaissance Project". He first appeared before state regulators in 1999. In 2001, they approved the project with a price tag of million.
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2002-12-12: After months of scandal and cost over-runs,
Vermont's largest hospital is turning a corner. Fletcher Allen Health Care's Board of Trustees met to choose a new leader Thursday.
The new board chair is Louise McCarren. She replaces Philip Drumheller, whose term expired.
The Fletcher Allen trustees have been under fire in the wake of the scandal surrounding the huge hospital expansion. Critics say the board should have kept closer tabs on hospital administrators who hid the true cost of the project.
Former Independent candidate for Governor Con Hogan was appointed to the board, along with Elizabeth Robert, President of Vermont Teddybear; William Shubart, President of Resolution, and Dr. Wendy Davis, a pediatrician at Fletcher Allen.
The board hopes the change in leadership will mark a new beginning for Fletcher Allen, in the wake of sticker shock over the huge expansion project and revelations that have shaken public confidence in the state's largest hospital.
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2002-12-12: Many lay blame for what went wrong at F.A.H.C.
at the top. Senior managers withholding information... board trustees not asking enough questions. But some say part of the blame rests with the regulators themselves. Why didn't they catch the cover-up sooner and prevent what went wrong?
Governor Howard Dean says it was because they were not from Vermont. "I think you have a bunch of people with a corporate culture that said it was all right to lie to regulators come to Vermont where it's not all right and I think our regulators were not prepared for that."
Not prepared because the people who analyze the data depend on hospitals telling the truth. State employees analyze requests for a C.O.N, a certificate of need. If you run a hospital and want to buy or build anything that costs over one and a half million dollars you need a C.O.N. Fletcher Allen was approved to spend million for its Renaissance Project. But senior managers at the hospital were apparently concealing the true cost, million.
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2002-12-13: All this week, we've shown you what went
wrong with an expansion at Fletcher Allen Health Care, from the corporate executives to the embattled Board of Trustees. Now a look at how the Renaissance Project affects you.
Fletcher Allen Health Care is embarking on a new era. When construction is done, the old University Health Center will be out and the new and improved ambulatory care center will be in. The hospitals says the new digs will streamline care, improve access for patients and update facilities for doctors. The cost will be million, a tab Vermonters across the state will have to pick up.
... A big bill that will continue to cost Vermonters even after the building is built and paid for. A bigger and more efficient facility allows doctors to treat more patients which will lead to higher health care costs.
... And Channel Three News has learned that five percent of the each doctor's salary is tied to how much work they do.
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2002-12-13: One doctor, one former gubernatorial candidate
and two chief executive officers will join the Fletcher Allen Health Care board of trustees as the 18-member panel remains under scrutiny for its role in a scandal consuming the Burlington hospital.
Dr. Wendy Davis, a Fletcher Allen pediatrician, was nominated by the University Health Center, said hospital trustee Dr. James Hebert.
Former Agency of Human Services Secretary Cornelius "Con" Hogan, who ran as an independent for governor in November, will join the board as the nomination from Fanny Allen Corp., said Sister Irene Duchesneau, chairwoman of the Catholic institution.
Elisabeth Robert, president and CEO of Shelburne-based Vermont Teddy Bear Co., and William Schubart, chairman and CEO of South Burlington's Resolution Inc., were appointed by the Vermont Health Foundation, said Penrose Jackson, who heads the foundation.
Trustees elected Louise McCarren as chairwoman to replace Philip Drumheller, a trustee since 1995 whose term has expir |