Fifty-one Corporators of the Blue Hill Memorial Hospital Foundation came to cast their vote on new bylaws that would end the role of the foundation as parent entity of BHMH. The September 15th meeting, which lasted seven minutes, ended in a unanimous vote in favor of passage.
"I was all ready to step up and defend the decision, based on my new role as EMHS Trustee," said Katrina Parson, "but never got the chance to do so!"
"The unanimous vote shows that our trustees did a marvelous job of informing the community of the importance of this transition. There were no questions. No one abstained. No one opposed," said Timothy Garrity, BHMH CEO. "We were blown away that so many community representatives came out on a dark foggy day to express their support of our affiliation with Eastern Maine Healthcare System."
The vote was one in a long series of steps necessary for BHMH to take to become a full member of EMHS. The only actions that remain are the formal adoption of the bylaws by the BHMH boards on September 28 and the reciprocal action on the part of the EMHS board on September 21st.
"I have been hugely impressed with the quality of the professionals and the depth of knowledge and expertise available to all the members hospitals of the MEHS system," stated Parson. "The amount of interplay between all the CEOS of the member hospitals -- it's a very rich give and take. CFOs have the same kind of information-sharing which is so hugely beneficial to a small place like us."
Parson continued: "The fact that there will be economy of scale, EMR, capital equipment at lower costs will do nothing but benefit Blue Hill."
At the September 28th meeting, the BHMH Foundation board will be asked to formally authorize an action in to amend the articles and bylaws of the hospital to designate EMHS as the parent company. At the same meeting, the hospital board will be asked to ratify the affiliation agreement and to approve the amendments to the hospital's articles and bylaws.
Changes in the bylaws included modifying the purpose of the foundation from being parent of BHMH to coordinating fundraising for the hospital.
Other responsibilities of the foundation include:
-To provide advice to the hospital on financial planning – related matters.
-To provide financial support to BHMH and other charitable organizations that are operating for the benefit of the community served by BHMH, and that will assist BHMH in carrying out activities within its corporate purposes.
The procedure for approval of requests for gifts and grants from BHMH to be approved by the board of the foundation has also changed with the new bylaws. If the foundation's trustees reject the hospital's requests on two or more consecutive occasions, a special meeting of the Corporators – now called Members – will be called to review and consider approval of the request. Individual corporate Members of the foundation will continue, with new power to approve gifts and grants to the hospital.
Said Garrity: "We have already stepped up our efforts to work with EMHS to improve quality. Examples include planning for the implementation of a comprehensive electronic information system, adopting quality standards, and joining with our sister hospitals to respond to the hurricane Katrina disaster."
For more information on the alliance between BHMH and EMHS, go to www.bhmh.org or call the BHMH Community Relations department at 207-374-3404. |
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