Why's He Smiling?

         John Johnson 
       Holy Cross CEO

   Charity patients at Fort Lauderdale's Holy Cross Hospital are as common as condoms in the Vatican.
   Which is why I was mega-boggled when Sun-Sentinel executives honored the Hospital's CEO John Johnson as Broward's “Excalibur” Businessman of the Year for his good works a few weeks ago.
   “Especially,” the newspaper noted, for Johnson's “commitment to actively particulate as a leader in charitable and civic groups.”
   Holy Cross, you may remember, is where the hospital's Sisters of Mercy used armed guards to disperse their board of directors – this after the board refused to let the black-robed Brides of Christ raid some $70 million in donations from local residents. (The Sisters got the dough.)
   No matter.
   As far as the Sun-Sentinel's top executives are concerned, Johnson represents all that is noble and good in Broward's business community after shepherding “Holy Cross Hospital through 12 of the institution's most challenging, yet rewarding years.” .
   In Johnson's tenure, the Sentinel wrote, "the nonprofit hospital owned by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy has cllimbed toward the front of the pack."
   However.... 
  Johnson's real world numbers at Holy Cross suggest the Sun-Sentinel's top executives spend most of their time 28 stories above downtown Fort Lauderdale in the gilded confines of Tower Club..
   But you do the math.
   Which the Sun-Sentinel brass sure as hell didn't.
   Even worse, no one at the Sentinel has the basic knowledge to grasp the dismal picture the data below paint for the Johnson years at Holy Cross.
   Johnson was hired as CEO of the non-profit Roman Catholic hospital in 1998.
   That said, let's look at the Holy Cross numbers for the year before Johnson went to work as the Our Man in Fort Lauderdale for the Sisters of Mercy (1997) versus the latest numbers from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration (2008).

                                    1997                 2008 
                              Pre-Johnson
Surgical
Operations             9,904                      9,770
Average Daily
  Patient Census
  Insured                 248                         246 
  Uninsured           15                            8
Beds                       577                         571
Occupancy             45%                        44%
Med/Surg. Beds   397                         392
Occupancy             35%                        35%
Newborn Beds     48                           24
Occupancy             17%                        27%
Obstetrical Beds  40                           24
Occupancy             26%                        61%
Gross Patient
  Care Charges*   $16,503*                $49,797*
Surplus (Loss)     $11.8 million         ($25.0 million)
                                 *Per adjusted admission

   But there's more data the Sun-Sentinel biggies failed to consider in honoring the Holy Cross CEO as Broward's best and brightest business leader for 2010.
   Like, as hospitals go, the numbers clearly show Johnson's Holy Cross is seriously white, expensive as hell and – charity-wise – totally un-Christ-like!
   Just consider the un-holy demographics for four chronic DRG's at Holy Cross – compared to the numbers for your average Broward hospital.

Chronic             All Broward         Holy Cross
DRG                   Hospitals             Medical Center
Diabetes
Average Cost    $47,456                $61,441
Percent
White                   55%                       77%
Black                   29%                       15%
Hispanic             10%                        6%
Charity                4%                          0.7%
Asthma
Average Cost    $34,247                  $50,996
Percent
White                  49%                         81%
Black                  32%                         11%
Hispanic            13%                          6%
Charity                4%                           0.8%
Congestive
  Heart Failure
Average Cost    $64,402                  $70,460
Percent
White                  66%                         86%
Black                  22%                          9%
Hispanic             8%                            0.3%
Charity                3%                            0.4%
Hypertension
Average Cost    $40,326                   $55,292
Percent
White                  63%                          84%
Black                  24%                          10%
Hispanic             9%                            5%
Charity                4%                            0.5%
SOURCE: Broward Regional Health Planning Council