ECU’s interim chancellor has weighed in on a fight between the state and Vidant Health over appointments to Vidant’s board. East Carolina University released a letter signed by interim chancellor Dan Gerlach and Brody School of Medicine Dean Dr. Mark Stacy about the controversy. The Pitt County Board of Commissioners in May approved action that would end the UNC system’s nine appointments to the 20 member Vidant Health Medical Board. The state reacted, with the UNC system filing a lawsuit and a proposed state budget that would lower Medicaid reimbursement rates to the hospital. The letter from Gerlach and Stacy says “this is a fight that ECU did not know about, start, invite or need.” It also said the county’s actions came “behind closed doors” and that no one at ECU or the Brody School of Medicine was consulted about the change. The letter pointed to court-directed mediation as “the best way to handle concerns.”
ECU responds to Vidant Medical Board controversy
