December 5, 2012 -- Word traveled fast after Kevin Earls left the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, but no one was saying why he left so abruptly.
Earls, who had been vice president of policy and advocacy, had been with the association for the past 13 years, resigned November 8.
When asked for details about his sudden departure, no information was forthcoming. Instead, Andy Van Pelt, chief operating officer, issued the following statement:
“Earls resigned on November 8, 2012. He was with the organization for the past 13 years serving in various roles. There are no plans to replace his position at this time.”
Most recently Earls was the CEO of a for-profit subsidiary run by the hospital association that changed its name from Oregon Healthcare Enterprises to Apprise Health Insights. That company has been divvying up the federal portion of the hospital provider tax to its member hospitals since 2009 under a contract with the Division of Medical Assistance Programs.
In an earlier story that appeared in The Lund Report, that organization made a $100,000 contribution to the political action committee of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems last year, and earlier made contributions amounting to $85,363.
Apprise received $269,325 last year for administering that contract, and when asked how that money was spent, its consultant, Pat McCormick, couldn’t answer that question. It’s also unknown how the company spends those dollars since it does not provide the state with a line-item budget, but does provide quarterly reports showing the work that has been performed.
Image for this story by Ralf (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) via Flickr.
