Memorial Healthcare System’s board unanimously voted to terminate the contract of CEO Scott Wester, an action that goes into effect Wednesday.
The board hired Wester as CEO in July 2022 under a three-year contract to run the health system, which has more than 17,000 employees and includes six South Broward hospitals and a new, free-standing cancer center. On Wednesday night, the board ended Wester’s contract a year early.
“When we hired him, we felt he would help us with Memorial’s strategy and future,” said board chair Elizabeth Justen. “Unfortunately, after two years, he came up with a strategic plan that wasn’t good, so we told him it wasn’t what we had hoped for. We reviewed it and we were disappointed with it, and he knew it.”
Memorial Healthcare System is taxpayer-funded and includes Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Memorial Regional Hospital South in Hollywood, Memorial Hospital West in Pembroke Pines, Memorial Hospital Miramar, Memorial Hospital Pembroke and numerous ancillary facilities, including a nursing home and urgent care centers.
Justen said the board and Wester disagreed on how to move the large, growing hospital system into the future. “He didn’t have a vision. When we asked him what his vision was, he couldn’t articulate anything,” she said. Wester moved to Broward County from Louisiana. Board members said Wester had good values and an understanding of health care but struggled to adapt to the diverse and rapidly changing pace of the South Florida area.
“It just didn’t fit,” Justen said.
Wester said he learned of the board’s displeasure Monday night and resigned Wednesday night. Wester earned an annual salary of $1.47 million and will receive compensation for the remaining year of his contract.
“Memorial Health System is an incredible organization that has done so much to help the residents of South Broward and all of South Florida,” Wester said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the leadership teams and all that we have accomplished together. I am a great believer in Memorial and will always do my part to help the organization in any way I can.”
Wester said he wants to stay in the health care industry, unsure of his next move. “It’s time to reassess, recharge. I’m not sure where my path will take me. Leadership is knowing when it’s time to take a different path.”
David Smith, who serves as chief administrative officer and chief financial officer, will serve as interim CEO. Justen said the board will meet to discuss a strategy to find a new CEO.
Board members told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that their mission is to provide quality health care to Broward County residents and explained that despite the leadership changes, the health system is well-positioned to provide services to anyone who needs care.
“We are financially strong and well-positioned as a system to meet the needs of the community,” said Laura Raybin Miller, a Memorial board member for 25 years. “We have 400 leaders in our hospitals, so it has never been about one person. I don’t expect we’ll miss anything.”
“The last two years have been about delivering care in a more cost-effective way,” said Raybin Miller. “I think the future needs to be about community access to primary care.”
Raybin Miller said she would also like to return to exploring opportunities for Broward Health (known as the North Broward Hospital District) and Memorial (known as the South Broward Hospital District). The boards of both systems met shortly after Wester joined, but those meetings were cut short.
“I am open to exploring mutual synergies and initiatives,” she said.
Cindy Goodman, health reporter for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.
Originally published:
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