New firm named to monitor Mission Hospital compliance with HCA purchase agreement

ASHEVILLE — A new contractor was named April 2 to oversee HCA Healthcare’s compliance with its commitments as outlined in the 2019 agreement to buy the Mission Health system.

Affiliated Monitors, Inc will now be operating as the “Independent Monitor,” a designation defined by the contract. The announcement from Dogwood Health Trust comes a day after Affiliated Monitors began working as the Independent Monitor on April 1, according to a news release.

As the monitor for HCA, Affiliated Monitors will be responsible for four primary categories of work including HCA’s annual report evaluation, community engagement and education, engagement with the Attorney General's Office and continuous compliance evaluation and other activities.

The contractor will help Dogwood ensure HCA follows 15 commitments outlined as part of the acquisition of the Mission Health system, including retaining hospital services, investing in facilities, community health and wellbeing.

More: A new firm will monitor Mission Hospital compliance with HCA purchase agreement

According to the release, three individuals from the contractor will lead the work as the new Independent Monitor. They include Gerald Coyne, a former deputy attorney general for Rhode Island; Denise Moran, who serves as Director of Healthcare Monitoring Services for the firm; and Jeff Brickman, a former hospital administrator with experience in acute care hospitals in both rural and urban healthcare systems, the release said.

The company will hold in-person information sessions throughout the region in the coming months and will soon publish a variety of feedback tools and resources for community members, according to the release.

The new monitor is replacing the Nashville-based Gibbins Advisors, which was first appointed as monitor to the purchase agreement in October 2019. Ronald Winters, the firm’s founder, told the Citizen Times Feb. 9 that Gibbins did not reapply for the role.

“Affiliated Monitors appreciates the opportunity to serve as the independent monitor in this matter," Vin DiCianni, president of Affiliated Monitors, Inc., said in the news release. "We are working to develop a full understanding of the issues that Dogwood, HCA, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, and the communities served by each of the hospitals have been facing.”

More: Asheville independent hospital monitor to increase oversight; monitor oversees HCA

The Independent Monitor is paid by Dogwood Health Trust, a nonprofit grantmaking organization responsible for enforcing compliance issues with HCA’s commitments to the agreement.

A working group of six people from Dogwood guided the selection process for the new monitor: three staff members and three board members who serve on the compliance committee. The group reviewed every proposal and conducted in-person interviews with final candidates, according to the release.

"(Affiliated Monitors') focused experience in monitoring was a distinguishing characteristic that helped inform our selection," Dr. Susan Mims, CEO of Dogwood Health Trust, said in the release. "In fact, monitoring is their only business. We are confident that our region will benefit from their attention to community engagement and experience serving as the independent monitor in matters involving hospital transactions.”

The Dogwood Health Trust Board approved Affiliated Monitors as the top candidate for the new Independent Monitor, the release said. As part of the vetting process, Dogwood ran background and reference checks on AMI and obtained HCA and the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office's consent.

“I appreciate Dogwood’s efforts to conduct a thorough search for a new independent monitor,” Attorney General Josh Stein said in the release. “I’m hopeful that the new independent monitor will provide effective oversight of HCA Mission’s healthcare commitments to the people of western North Carolina.”

Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: New firm named to oversee HCA, Mission Hospital system in WNC