County Commission orders proposal to create UMC board
University Medical Center might end up getting a separate board to oversee the financially ailing public hospital’s affairs.
County commissioners, acting in their capacity as the UMC Board of Trustees, directed staff Wednesday to work with a consultant to develop a proposal to create such a board.
The 4-3 vote wasn’t a final decision. Commissioners still must determine the amount of authority the new board would have.
The consultant is Larry Gage, a Washington, D.C., attorney who founded the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems in 1981.
This isn’t commissioners’ first attempt at changing the hospital’s oversight. In December 2012 they disbanded a hospital advisory board, which had operated for two years.
Commissioners Tom Collins, Chris Giunchigliani and Lawrence Weekly opposed the latest proposal.
Weekly, the UMC board chairman, said the motion was unnecessary, as commissioners routinely give direction to staff without a vote and motion.
Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, who made the motion, said he has grown frustrated with lack of progress on the issue.
“I just think we’re treading water here and we’re not moving forward,” Sisolak said.
Contact reporter Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.
