NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Nashville Hospital Authority Board held an emergency meeting Monday afternoon and stripped the current CEO of Nashville General Hospital of much of his authority and responsibilities.
This comes less than two weeks after Dr. Joseph Webb made the surprise announcement that he was stepping down from the job.
Webb's last day is Friday. So why the sudden need to limit what he can do?
The Board did not and would not say and they tried to make it seem as if this was something that's pretty standard.
But with very little discussion and a unanimous vote, the members voted to eliminate many of Dr. Webb's chief duties and they took away his power effective immediately to enter into any new contracts on behalf of the hospital or change existing contracts. He cannot hire or fire anyone or give promotions or raises. He also is not allowed to spend more than $5,000 on anything without written approval from the Board.
Just as Webb announced he was stepping down two weeks ago, we learned that Metro's Internal Audit division had found Webb had signed nearly two dozen contracts totaling more than $4.5 million — without getting the required Board approval first.
"We had insufficient notice to respond fully to that news at our Feb. 27th board meeting," Christy Smith, the Hospital Authority Board Vice Chair, explained before Monday's vote. "The purpose of this meeting is to put some additional processes in place that are normal for any business in this situation. We would’ve considered a package of guidelines on Feb. 27 if we’d had a little bit more notice."
Dr. Webb was not at the emergency meeting. Hospital staff said he had another previously scheduled meeting.
His last day is Friday, March 14. His contract runs through June 30.
We learned today that he's expecting to be paid through the end of June. He gets more than $500,000 a year in just his salary, and that breaks down to about $150,000 he'll be paid for the next three and a half months while he's off the job.
After Webb leaves the job, Dr. Veronica Elders will become the acting CEO. In making this selection, the board made clear that she will simply be the decision-maker until they can get an interim CEO.
Once they find the interim, then board members will focus on finding the next CEO, the person to replace Dr. Webb, which they believe will take some time.
Dr. Elders has been at Nashville General for 10 years. She's been the Chief Nursing Officer for the last five. She was described as an outstanding leader who is dedicated to quality service.
Meanwhile, we have also learned that the hospital is cutting ties with former Metro councilman Jerry Maynard, who Webb hired nearly 10 years ago.
That contract has been controversial for years because of how much the hospital pays Maynard and his company to do marketing and lobbying work. He currently receives more than $37,000 a month at the same time Metro taxpayers are paying tens of millions of dollars a year to keep the financially struggling hospital going.
