Baptist Health System (BHS) trustees stopped any sale of Alabama’s largest health care provider July 12.
Following a seven-hour meeting just a week before trustees were to announce how or if a partnership, merger or sale of BHS with Triad Health Systems of Texas would work, BHS trustees announced all sales were off. The board also called for and accepted the resignation of BHS CEO Dennis Hall and reaffirmed their confidence in the future of BHS as a locally controlled, faith-based organization.
William Hynson, current BHS executive vice president of hospital operations, will act as the system’s senior manager on behalf of the board as it searches for a new CEO.
Discussions about a potential merger between BHS and the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Medical Center were also ended, according to the board.
Board member Gary Furr, pastor of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, said, “The trustees simply do not believe that we have to give up control of BHS for our hospitals or system to prosper. … The majority of the board believes we have a vibrant system that can — and will — continue to prosper as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization.”
However, not every board member agreed with the decision, resulting in five resignations, including chairman of the board Bobby Keith.
Keith, who could not be reached for comment following the meeting, told The Alabama Baptist in an interview prior to the meeting that restructuring was still an option. The decision about BHS’s future has been a “very difficult and arduous process” because of all of the parties concerned,” Keith said the day before the meeting. “We’re trying to do that which is best for BHS and the community.”
The other board members who resigned July 12 were: Jim Daniel, vice chairman; Vick Nichols, chair of the financial committee; Cecil Sewell, interim pastor of McElwain Baptist Church, and John Bell.
Dr. Michael Drummond, a vascular surgeon, emerged as the new chairman of the board. “Bobby Keith is a fine Christian gentleman, but often when you change direction, there is also a change in leadership,” Drummond said.
“The honest and sincere disagreement over the direction of BHS” did not reflect a disagreement over the mission of the organization, Drummond explained. Instead, it was a disagreement over the best way to accomplish that mission, he noted.
While financial concerns about maintaining the hospitals led to talks with Triad in June, Drummond said the board decided BHS was financially healthy enough to be able to invest in its future without the aid of an outside source.
BHS has a strong market share and strong operating margins and liquidity ratios, Drummond said, emphasizing that all discussions regarding a partnership, joint venture or search for a new capital partner were over.
Following his resignation, Hall described BHS as a “strong, successful system. I am proud of what it has accomplished.
“My hope and prayer is that it will continue to build on what it has accomplished,” Hall said.
BHS was established in 1922 by the Birmingham Baptist Association (BBA).
Ricky Creech, director of missions for BBA, said the board’s actions “reaffirm the Baptist commitment, ‘One Promise. Our Promise.’ And it’s here to stay.”
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