President's Page

President's Page
June 2004

Parkland Board of Managers: 4 new members

by Warren E. Lichliter, MD
2004 DCMS President

News about healthcare issues continues to be almost daily reading. Last month, my President’s Page called for Cynthia Comparin to resign as chair of the Parkland Board of Managers, and she and three other board members sent in their letters of resignation. Since then, the Dallas County Commissioners Court has appointed four new members to the Parkland Board of Managers and selected Health Management Associates to complete the nearly $900,000 Parkland Study.

Public interest in the future of Parkland funding has continued to increase. Dallas Area Interfaith has continued its focus on the Board of Managers with attendance at Commissioners Court and Parkland board meetings. An excellent editorial by Bert Holmes in The Dallas Morning News (May 9) reiterated DCMS’ position on the importance of increased Parkland funding to help preserve the future of health care in Dallas. Concerned Dallas County residents are writing letters to the editor with the same message.

Since Ms Comparin’s resignation, your DCMS leadership worked diligently on its own and in cooperation with Dallas Medical Resource to submit names of candidates for the Commissioners Court to review. We understood from the outset that the decisions were up to the Court; we simply wanted to ensure that commissioners had several qualified candidates to fill such important positions. We were greatly encouraged during this process by the large number of people willing and eager to serve in what would appear to be an unrewarding and controversial position. It is important to understand the difficult position of the Commissioners Court. The three remaining Parkland board members represented the “save Parkland from reduced services” group, and any BOM member supportive of this view could swing the balance of power to the other group. However, so many constituents have directed an unprecedented amount of attention toward the Commissioners Court that to ignore valid candidates for the Parkland board would make the commissioners poster children for bad government, replacing the image of Ms Comparin that I mentioned in my column last month.

The four new appointees to the Parkland BOM have the potential to meet the challenges of the next critical months of budgeting and the direction of Parkland. Alan Walne, with his experience on the Dallas City Council, should bring a great deal of insight into encouraging a disparate group of people to work together. His business experience as chair of Herb's Body Shop (which his father began) is an asset—his experience at repairing damages is what the Parkland board needs. Richard Kneipper, a lawyer who runs a medically related information systems business for physicians, has the business skills and some knowledge of the complexities of healthcare delivery. His main asset may be that a great many physicians know him personally and can contact him directly about their concerns. Louis Beecherl III and his business acumen are unquestioned. His family is much experienced in healthcare matters. His father has been on the board of Baylor University Medical Center for years and is an avid philanthropist in support of health care. His son is on the teaching staff in the Department of Surgery at Presbyterian hospital. Mr Beecherl will have to be careful in his decision making if the family dinner is to be a pleasant experience. Allan Shulkin, MD, brings the number of physicians on the board to two, including Lauren McDonald, MD, the board’s current interim chair. Dr Shulkin trained at Parkland, has worked with Dr Ron Anderson, and has served on the DCMS board of directors. He knows the views of DCMS and will serve as a valuable contact, along with Dr McDonald, for promulgating the position of DCMS physicians and our patients.

The appointments generated an immediate outcry by several organizations as to the composition of the board and the failure of the Court to be more sensitive to minority issues. A great number of minorities use the Parkland system and are not represented on the BOM. The question arises as to whether the commissioners are listening to the community and to the concerns of many. At the May 11 Commissioners Court meeting, Commissioner John Wiley Price commended DCMS publicly for successfully recruiting an African-American physician as a candidate. He called the unwillingness of the Court to consider this nomination a “travesty.”

Regardless of composition, the new board will have to quickly make difficult decisions regarding the direction of Parkland. The community and your DCMS will be engaged with the members of the board. We continue to promote to the County Commissioners ideas that support our patients and Parkland, and we look forward to working with the Parkland board, as well.

DCMS agrees with The Dallas Morning News editorial of May 9. Four new members on the Parkland board must be a catalyst for accomplishing four things. One, the new board must engage each other and the public in a straightforward and open discussion of Parkland's needs. Two, the new board must end now the fractionalization that paralyzed the old board and reach consensus on difficult issues. Three, the board (and the County Commissioners, DCMS would add) must try not to micromanage Parkland hospital, and focus instead on the big picture of Parkland and its role in the health care of all of Dallas County. Four, the new board must do all these things and become a leader in the future of this region’s health care.

The Parkland study is underway and soon the community will have a chance to provide input. DCMS will be actively involved in the process.

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