The new governing board of Grady Memorial Hospital must be free of political cronyism, business influences and other connections that might conflict with the best interests of the thousands of patients who depend on the state's largest public hospital. The board, whose members may be named later this week, must also be willing to accept some level of state oversight.

Several bills before the 2008 General Assembly address Grady's new management structure. At least two of them have passed the Senate and are worthy of support, with a few changes, in the House.

Conflicts of interest. Senate Bill 353 prohibits service on the board by anyone who has a financial interest in a "competitor" hospital or serves on its board. The bill would also prevent board members, administrators and their immediate family members from having financial connections to major vendors with the hospital.

As approved by the Senate, the bill could disqualify several major business leaders whose names have been offered to the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority to serve on the hospital's governing board. They include Thomas Bell, CEO of Cousins Properties, a board member of Emory Healthcare Systems; Joe Rogers Jr., CEO of Waffle House, who has been on the board of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta; and Alana Shepherd, founder of the Shepherd Center and member of the center's board.

All three of these individuals would make excellent additions to the new Grady board. Shepherd's involvement in the specialty treatment center for spinal injuries that bears her family name hardly disqualifies her from being on the Grady board since the two medical facilities do not compete for patients.

However, Grady has a relationship with Children's Healthcare, which manages Grady's Hughes Spalding pediatric hospital and has raised $34 million to build a new facility to replace it. Since he serves on both boards, Rogers may be put in an untenable position. He has indicated he may resign from the Children's Healthcare board.

But while Bell has indicated he may resign his position on the Emory Healthcare Systems board, his business connections to Emory may be more problematic. Emory runs Crawford Long Hospital in downtown Atlanta. Bell's company has a financial interest in the office tower at Crawford Long: Cousins and Emory Healthcare are in a joint venture there. With these potential conflicts, it might be best for Bell to serve Grady in some other capacity.

The House may want to clarify some of the language of SB 353 to help determine whether there are ways to resolve such conflicts short of disqualifying good candidates for the Grady board, but the general goals of the bill are worthwhile.

Grady oversight. Senate Resolution 722 creates a Grady legislative oversight committee, similar to what is now in place watching over MARTA. The committee would be empowered to look into the "operation, contracts, safety, financing, organization and structure" of Grady and issue an annual report. It would also have the power to compel witnesses and the production of documents necessary for its oversight role.

When the state bailed Grady out with a special $52 million appropriation in 1999 —- the last time the hospital was in a fiscal crisis —- the Senate wanted to set up an oversight committee as a condition for the funds. But the House balked.

That should not happen this year. Gov. Sonny Perdue and legislative leadership have pledged additional money for Grady, and the state has a legitimate role in seeing how it is spent. If state funds are handled responsibly, committee members could become advocates for Grady in future budget negotiations. The new governing board should welcome this oversight.