Traynor studied his notes in an effort to compose himself after Sherwood’s outburst. Traynor hated disorder.
“Thanks to Mr. Shapiro’s bequest,” Traynor went on, “the sinking fund debacle will not be lethal. The problem is to keep any outside examiners from getting wind of the shortfall. We can’t afford to have our bond rating change. Consequently, we will be forced to put off floating a bond issue for the parking garage until the sinking fund is restored.
“As a temporary measure to forestall assaults on our nurses I have instructed our CEO, Helen Beaton, to have lighting installed in the parking lot.”
Traynor glanced around the room. According to the Rules of Order, the matter should have been presented as a motion, debated, and voted on, but no one moved to be recognized.
“The last item concerns Dr. Dennis Hodges,” Traynor said. “As you all know, Dr. Hodges disappeared last March. During this past week I met with our chief of police, Wayne Robertson, to discuss the case. No clues as to his whereabouts have surfaced. If Dr. Hodges did meet with foul play, there has been no evidence of it, although Chief Robertson allowed that the longer Dr. Hodges is missing, the more likely it is that he is no longer living.”
“My guess is he’s still around,” Dr. Cantor said. “Knowing that bastard, he’s probably sitting down in Florida, laughing himself silly every time he thinks of us wrestling with all this bureaucratic bullshit.”
Traynor used his gavel. “Please!” he called out. “Let’s maintain some order here.”
Cantor’s bored expression changed to disdain, but he remained silent.
Traynor glared at Dr. Cantor before resuming: “Whatever personal feelings we may have about Dr. Hodges, the fact remains that he played a crucial role in the history of this hospital. If it hadn’t been for him this institution would be merely another tiny, rural hospital. His welfare merits our concern.
“I wanted the executive committee to know that Dr. Hodges’ estranged wife, Mrs. Hodges, has decided to sell her home. She relocated to her native Boston some years ago. She had held out some hope that her husband might resurface, but based on her conversations with Chief Robertson, she has decided to sever her connections with Bartlet. I only raise this matter now because I think that sometime in the near future the board might wish to erect a memorial befitting Dr. Hodges’ considerable contributions to Bartlet Community Hospital.”
Having finished, Traynor gathered up his notes and formally turned the meeting over to Helen Beaton so that she could give her monthly president’s report. Beaton stood up in her place, pushing her chair back from the table. She was in her mid-thirties with reddish-brown hair cut short. Her face was wide, not unlike Traynor’s. She wore a businesslike blue suit accented with a silk scarf.
“I’ve spoken to several civic groups this month,” she said. “My topic on each occasion was the financial plight of the hospital. It was interesting for me to ascertain that most people were generally unaware of our problems even though health-care issues have been almost constantly in the news. What I emphasized in my talks was the economic importance of the hospital to the town and the immediate area. I made it very clear that if the hospital were to close, every business and every merchant would be hurt. After all, the hospital is the largest employer in this part of the state. I also reminded everyone that there is no tax base for the hospital and that fundraising has been and will remain key to keeping the doors open.”
Beaton paused as she turned over the first page of her notes. “Now for the bad news,” she said, referring to several large graphs illustrating the information she was about to relay. She held the graphs at chest height as she spoke. “Admissions for April were twelve percent over forecast. Our daily census was up eight percent over March, and our average length of stay was up six percent. Obviously these are serious trends as I’m sure our treasurer, Richard Arnsworth, will report.”
Beaton held up the last graph. “And finally I have to report that there has been a drop in utilization of the emergency room which, as you know, is not part of our capitation agreement with CMV. And to make matters worse, CMV has refused to pay a number of our ER claims, saying the subscribers violated CMV rules.”