Business
New board members join HealthSouth
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Feb. 16, 2004
Two new independent directors have been elected to HealthSouth's board as part of a board overhaul plan first announced by the embattled outpatient services giant in December 2003.
HealthSouth said on Feb. 2 that Steven R. Berrard and Edward A. Blechschmidt were joining its board of directors and the special committee of its board of directors. The moves were effective as of Jan. 31.
Berrard is a former vice chair, president and chief executive officer of Blockbuster Entertainment Group. Blechschmidt is a former chair and chief executive officer of Gentiva Health Services and former chief financial officer of Unisys Corp.
HealthSouth acting chair Joel C. Gordon said the pair would bring extensive financial, administrative and health care experience to the board.
The Birmingham, Ala.-based company announced in December 2003 that it had agreed to replace five long-standing directors who were on the board while major accounting fraud was brewing at the company. The move was part of a settlement with Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana, a group of shareholders that sued HealthSouth in the wake of the accounting scandal.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/02/16/bibf0216.htm.
