Hospital board chair accuses newspaper of attack

After the Dallas Morning News reported on Saturday that most of Parkland Memorial Hospital's board is being kicked out, and that Dr. Ron Anderson's tenure as CEO is nearing its end, the chair of Parkland's board of managers disagreed with the paper's take.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," board chair Dr. Lauren McDonald's email to media and hospital supporters said. She accused the paper of "Pulitzer-baiting." In recent months, the Morning News has written many investigative articles describing patients needlessly harmed and put at risk at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

In her email, she wrote: "The truth is, the Morning News had to wrap up its year-long attack on Parkland in order to meet its Feb. 1 deadline to submit their application for the Pulitzer Prize. They didn't let truth get in the way of writing their stories, nor do we expect this attack to stop."

However, McDonald did confirm that five members of the board could be replaced in the next few weeks. She said the changes are part of the regular process and not "as the Morning News would have their readers believe, unusual and vindictive."

Last August, investigators were digging into the Dallas-based hospital's financial records. Five years ago, the hospital said it owed about $50 million for overcharges to Medicare and Medicaid. As of the end of August 2010, it had repaid only $1.4 million.

To learn more:
- here's the Dallas Morning News story (subscription required)
- read the Dallas Observer blog post which features the board chair's email
- read the Houston Chronicle article

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