Opinion: Their boards may be a reason that many nonprofit hospitals are failing Americans

Nonprofit hospitals are failing Americans. Their boards may be a reason why The composition of the boards of nonprofit hospitals may contribute to the gap between rhetoric and reality with respect to health equity. Patrick Skerrett STAT

...many hospitals — both nonprofit and for-profit — have failed to meet their workers’ expectations. Throughout the pandemic, staff members had to proactively organize for key protections — tests, masks, and vaccines — while flooded with patients. Nurses nationwide have accused hospitals of placing financial interests before safety in adopting imbalanced staffing ratios. All this while many institutions fail to pay their employees a living wage.

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The lack of frontline employees on nonprofit hospitals’ boards raises questions about whose voices are heard, whose experiences inform decision-making and, above all, who is valued. The near absence of workers other than physicians on boards is particularly notable, given the critical roles and vantage points of nurses, therapists, technicians, and other staff.

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