SMH board names new officers; hospital bringing new power plant online

David Gulliver - posted 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16

The Sarasota Memorial Hospital board approved veteran member Gregory Carter as its new chairman Monday.

The full board unanimously approved the slate, in which current chair Dr. Marguerite Malone moves to first vice-chair, Gerry Phillips remains second vice-chair, Robert Strasser is secretary and Dick Merritt is treasurer.

Carter, a former project manager for AT&T, is one of two board members representing southern Sarasota County and is in his second term.

The 9-0 vote of the full board masked some competition in the board's working groups, though. In a Governance Effectiveness committee meeting last month, Phillips and Carter both were nominated for the position. Carter won a 7-2 vote, with board member Teresa Carafelli backing Phillips.

Phillips and Carafelli are emerging as the board's fiscal conservatives. In September, Phillips opposed the hospital's tax increase, and Carafelli said she reluctantly supported it only to protect hospital staff from potential layoffs or cuts to salaries and benefits. On Monday, they were the two votes against allocating $1 million to cover a cost overrun in renovating the hospital's Medical Arts office building.

In other news:

-- Hospital officials reported that construction of the new Central Energy Plant project is essentially complete and sound tests are now underway. They expect to switch over to the new plant in the next month and begin demolition of the old power plant.

Residents of neighborhoods near the hospital, concerned about the potential noise from the new plant, pressed for and won design changes that cut sound levels.

-- The board approved changes to its investment policy, loosening the restrictions on how it can invest. The board will now be able to invest in bonds rated in the top three categories by two national credit rating agencies. Hospital officials said they requested the change because the national financial upheaval led to many rating downgrades and left them with few investment choices.

-- Ilene Gilbert will be the new chief executive officer of First Physicians Group, the hospital-owned doctors practice. Gilbert was regional vice president of ambulatory network at Provena Health system, near Chicago. Hospital officials described her as an expert in implementing electronic medical records systems.