The board of Haywood Regional Medical Center jumped the gun this month by trying to elect a chairman for the coming year in March instead of April as called for in its bylaws.

As a result, the board decided at its meeting last week to redo its vote for chairman in April. The hospital board typically elects a chairman from within its ranks each April, which coincides with the appointment of new hospital board members and is spelled out in the bylaws. This year, the hospital board decided to hold its election for chairman a month early — before any new members are seated.

On one hand, it made sense. The board was holding an election for chairman anyway to replace Dr. Nancy Freeman, who resigned in the wake of the hospital crisis. Technically, the new chairman should serve only until April, when the next regular election for chairman would be held. Instead, the board appointed Glenn White to serve as chairman for the entire coming year as well.

Some have questioned the motive of trying to solidify White as chairman before new members come on board, equating White with the old guard and with former CEO David Rice’s administration.

“It certainly raises a red flag when he has served on the board since 2000 and as treasurer for most of this time. It appears unlikely that he has fulfilled his obligation to demand financial reports not filtered by the past CEO,” said Dr. George Brown, a former board member, in a speech to the hospital board last week.

Brown called for White’s appointment to be revoked and redone. White agreed, saying, “Since the issue has been raised, I think we will have an election in April.”

The election for chairman could still be held before any new members are seated. The bylaws say only that it be done in April, and it could be late April or even May until the county commissioners have made new appointments. There are two vacancies, which have attracted 10 applicants so far.

The hospital board attorney Phil Smith had said the meeting in March when White was appointed could count as the hospital board’s annual meeting where it elects officers for the coming year. But board member Steve Sorrells said he was not aware that the meeting was the hospital board’s annual meeting. He thought it was a called meeting to replace vacancies.

Board member Jim Stevens expressed an unfamiliarity with hospital bylaws last week, saying he had not read them.

Brown criticized the hospital board last week for failure to provide oversight of hospital operations and provide a check on hospital administration.

“It appears that the general board has functioned without any significant orientation or training on how to operate a hospital,” he said in a speech to the board.

Correction:

An article in last week’s edition stated that Dr. Henry Nathan, a new appointment to the hospital board, was not sworn in as a voting member of the board until after the board had conducted an election for a new chairman. The reason Nathan was not sworn in, however, was because he had to stop by the courthouse and take an oath of office and had not had a chance to do so prior to the meeting when the board held the election for chairman.