HCA: Another Perspective

LETTER TO THE EDITOR…

Dear Editor: I would like to add another perspective to the letter submitted last week regarding the hospital board leadership. There is no question John McNames was an outstanding Meadows board chairman. His death was felt by his employer Savannah Luggage, Meadows and, more importantly his family and friends. For perspective only, I spoke at his funeral. First, our board of outstanding civic leaders, led by John’s replacement as chairman, worked long and hard for all these years, without compensation to ensure that our region had the best hospital and doctors possible. Their success measures their work, not a disgruntled former employee who, when employed by Meadows, commuted to Chattanooga, TN, every week. Second, in my view, John would have sold the hospital just like our current board did. Maybe faster. The HCA decision was inevitable, foreseeable for many years, and, thanks to our board, we had something HCA would be interested in. Finally, and there should not be any confusion on this point, Meadows would still be a 75 year old, worn out hospital on Meadows Lane if our board had not worked as hard as they did and if they had not had the vision and courage to build the beautiful facility that our region now benefits from.

Howard Holman