Former Tupperware CEO to lead hospitals board
BY PAUL ROCK
June 18, 2008 | 5:53 PM
Members of the county's new Health and Hospitals System board on today chose as their new leader a former executive at Tupperware.
Warren Batts, 75, was named chairman of the board, which met for the first time today.
He admitted he faces a daunting task as he tries to help turn around a system that has seen dramatic staffing cuts and management troubles.
"I'm not sure I'm as honored as I should be," Batts joked as he took his new seat.
Batts served as chief executive officer of Tupperware in 1996 and 1997. He also was director and chairman of Children's Memorial Medical Center.
He said his fellow board members might have chosen him to lead because of his business background.
"We have a mission to fulfill to take care of the people who show up at the door," Batts said. "We need to try to operate as efficiently as possible."
Soon after grabbing the gavel, Batts outlined the priorities for the 12-member panel, which is comprised of county commissioner Jerry Butler (D-Chicago) and others appointed by County President Todd Stroger to turn around the system's financial woes.
Among the board members are Benn Greenspan, who was CEO of Sinai Health System for 13 years; Sister Sheila Lyne, CEO of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center; Andrea Zopp, senior vice president and general counsel of Sears Holding Corp.; and Jorge Ramirez, secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
Batts said the board has six months to name a new chief executive of the hospital system, though he said that deadline may need to be extended to a year.
The board has a list of candidates for the top job, but Batts would not say how many people are on that list, or whether more names would need to be added.
Robert Simon, the current chief of the health bureau, said progress has been made since Stroger appointed him to the position. He told the board that he has managed to trim $100 million from the budget while maintaining the system's services.
"My goal was to cut $100 million without eliminating essential services," he said. "I accomplished that goal to my satisfaction."
One of the worst signs of poor management by prior regimes is that 77 boxes of bills were found at hospitals that had never been sent out for collection, Simon said.
"They were so old we couldn't process them," he said.
Now, the system employs a more efficient electronic billing system, Simon said.
Stroger said the health system has taken significant steps to cleaning up its finances.
"The first steps necessary in this process were to make the vital changes we have made over the past year, and to provide the health care revenue which makes health care reform possible," Stroger said. "Now we must take the next step, making health care reform a reality."
The health and hospitals board later voted to begin a search for a chief financial officer and corporate compliance officer, though members agreed that those positions should not be permanently filled until a permanent CEO is in place.
Warren Batts, 75, was named chairman of the board, which met for the first time today.
He admitted he faces a daunting task as he tries to help turn around a system that has seen dramatic staffing cuts and management troubles.
"I'm not sure I'm as honored as I should be," Batts joked as he took his new seat.
Batts served as chief executive officer of Tupperware in 1996 and 1997. He also was director and chairman of Children's Memorial Medical Center.
He said his fellow board members might have chosen him to lead because of his business background.
"We have a mission to fulfill to take care of the people who show up at the door," Batts said. "We need to try to operate as efficiently as possible."
Soon after grabbing the gavel, Batts outlined the priorities for the 12-member panel, which is comprised of county commissioner Jerry Butler (D-Chicago) and others appointed by County President Todd Stroger to turn around the system's financial woes.
Among the board members are Benn Greenspan, who was CEO of Sinai Health System for 13 years; Sister Sheila Lyne, CEO of Mercy Hospital and Medical Center; Andrea Zopp, senior vice president and general counsel of Sears Holding Corp.; and Jorge Ramirez, secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
Batts said the board has six months to name a new chief executive of the hospital system, though he said that deadline may need to be extended to a year.
The board has a list of candidates for the top job, but Batts would not say how many people are on that list, or whether more names would need to be added.
Robert Simon, the current chief of the health bureau, said progress has been made since Stroger appointed him to the position. He told the board that he has managed to trim $100 million from the budget while maintaining the system's services.
"My goal was to cut $100 million without eliminating essential services," he said. "I accomplished that goal to my satisfaction."
One of the worst signs of poor management by prior regimes is that 77 boxes of bills were found at hospitals that had never been sent out for collection, Simon said.
"They were so old we couldn't process them," he said.
Now, the system employs a more efficient electronic billing system, Simon said.
Stroger said the health system has taken significant steps to cleaning up its finances.
"The first steps necessary in this process were to make the vital changes we have made over the past year, and to provide the health care revenue which makes health care reform possible," Stroger said. "Now we must take the next step, making health care reform a reality."
The health and hospitals board later voted to begin a search for a chief financial officer and corporate compliance officer, though members agreed that those positions should not be permanently filled until a permanent CEO is in place.
Tagged: Cook County, health
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