Gov. Rick Scott Appoints Former Florida Ethics Chair To Broward Health Commission
BY BUDDY NEVINS
In a lightning fast move, Gov. Rick Scott has appointed a Fort Lauderdale lawyer and former head of the state ethics commission to Broward Health’s governing board to replace David Di Pietro who resigned just four days ago.
Linda Robison, a partner at the Fort Lauderdale office of the Shutts & Bowen law firm specializing in representing health care providers including hospitals, was named today.
By appointing Robison, Scott was signaling that the troubled health care system needs a large injection of ethics. Robison was the chair of the Florida Ethics Commission until late last year.
“I am proud to appoint Linda Robison today to the North Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners. This board serves an important purpose in the community, and I am sure that Linda will be a good steward of taxpayer dollars, which the Board is entrusted to protect. I am confident she will faithfully serve Floridians with honor and dignity,” Scott said in a news release.
He also sent a message with the swiftness of the appointment. Since gubernatorial appointments usually take weeks if not months, it is obvious that Scott has been thinking of replacing Di Pietro long before he resigned.
Robison received an undergraduate degree from Auburn University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. Her term begins today and ends June 27, 2017.
She told the Sun-Sentinel in 2011 when joined the ethics commission that Scott had been a colleague when they both practiced in Texas many years ago.
Linda Robison
April 18th, 2016 at 6:22 pm
We should wish the lady good luck and hope there will be a change for the better now
April 19th, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Doesn’t she specialize in hospital acquisitions and mergers?
Interesting.
I mean, this was obviously a CYA move on Rick’s part. It’s sad he is using other people to cover the smell of his caca.
April 21st, 2016 at 8:43 am
This appointment is a step in the right direction. The Broward Health Board is responsible for setting policy. Having at least one board member with experience in the hospital and healthcare arena will go a long way helping the other board members understand issues and proposals that will come before them.
The board and management needs to focus on the business at hand and stop wasting taxpayer money. The financial results in the last five years have steadily deteriorated.
Handing out above market rate contracts to a small group of favored physicians it turns out is not only illegal, but it is also a terrible long term business model. The proof is in the terrible results we are now stuck with.
Recovering from bad business practices will take strong leadership fueled by the community demanding change.
With this appointment the Governor has sent a message and if the Board takes it seriously Broward Health might meet it’s real potential.
Good ethics is a must, but this appointment is hopefully about bringing someone with strong healthcare skills to leadership.
As an ex commissioner it is sad to see the current state of this organization.
Good luck, Commissioner Robison.