Southcoast Physicians Group Inc

“Carmen sylvester; christopher hodgson; dennis fusco; donald giumetti; elizabeth huidekoper; louis cabral; and jason rua had business relationships with david mccready; rayford kruger, md; salman bashir, md; renee clark; and wade broughman, who were employed by southcoast hospitals group, inc. David mccready; rayford kruger, md; salman bashir, md; renee clark; and wade broughman also had a business relationship.”

“Southcoast health system, inc. (shs), spg's parent corporation, is the sole corporate member of spg.”

“Shs elects the trustees and directors of spg and exercises specified reserved powers over spg.”

“Spg is organized and operates to carry out and further the tax exempt purposes of its non-profit affiliate, southcoast hospitals group, inc. ("shg") by caring for and improving the health and promoting the wellness of the people in the communities served by the hospitals group.”

“The organization prepares the form 990 with the assistance of a paid preparer. The governing board of shs, the sole corporate member of spg, reviews form 990 and its related schedules prior to filing. The review is performed by the governing board as it provides oversight for compensation and conflict of interest matters on its own behalf and on behalf of its affiliates on a system-wide basis. A complete copy of the form 990 and its schedules are posted to the shs board's website portal for all board members to review, make inquiries, and have any adjustments made prior to filing.”

“Shs has conflict of interest, legal compliance and code of conduct policies that apply to all trustees, officers, directors and employees (referred to as "members") of spg. On an annual basis, each member will complete the conflict of interest questionnaire which affirms that each person has: (1) received a copy of the policy, (2) read and understood the policy, (3) agreed to comply with the policy, and (4) understood that the system entities are charitable organizations and that to maintain their federal tax exemption, such entities must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes. To ensure the system operates in a manner consistent with its charitable purposes, does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its status as an organization exempt from federal taxation, and in connection with its compliance program, system's management shall conduct periodic reviews of the conflict of interest policy and the operation and application of it. Members shall disclose any interests or activities in which they are involved or become involved that do result, or may appear to result in a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest and shall comply with, and make all required disclosures under the conflict of interest policy prior to commencing, continuing, or consummating any activity or transaction which raises a conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest. Each member is under an ongoing duty to update and keep current the information contained in their questionnaire. At least annually, or as necessary based on disclosures, the general counsel will summarize and report all disclosures to the president and ceo and the chairman of the board of trustees (or his/her designee). Upon disclosure of financial or non-financial interests ("interests") and all material facts related thereto by member or an interested person, the chair of the system's governance committee shall determine in conjunction with the general counsel whether a conflict of interests exists. The governance committee can continue to discuss the issue with the member or interested person to clarify or obtain additional information. However, before the governance committee discusses or determines whether the member or other interested person's interests constitute a conflict of interest, the member or interested person must leave the meeting. In the event the interest involves the chair or ceo, the remaining governance committee members shall appoint one or more disinterested trustees to make such a determination. Once the determination of the conflict of interest is made by the governance committee, such determination, along with appropriate mitigation plans, will be submitted by the governance committee for review and approval. If any board or board committee has reasonable cause to believe that a member has failed to disclose an actual conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest, it shall inform such person of the basis for such belief and afford such a member an opportunity to explain the alleged failure to disclose it. If, after hearing the response of such person and making further inquiry or investigation as warranted by the circumstances, the board or board committee determines that such person has in fact failed to dislcose an actual conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest, the appropriate disciplinary and corrective action shall be taken.”

“For its physician employees, compensation is reviewed and approved upon employment or adjustment or at least annually by a committee of the board comprised of all non-physician trustees. As part of the review, an independent physician compensation consultant is engaged to express a fair market value opinion on offers of employment or for salary adjustments for all experienced physicians and assist in the development of salary ranges for physicians being employed who have recently graduated from training programs. The consultant uses safe-harbor guidelines set by the federal legislation or developed by federal agencies in formulating the opinions and developing the salary ranges. The process for determining compensation included contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision.”

“Spg makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements available to the public by providing them upon request.”

“Trustees and officers are compensated for their roles outside of their capacity as trustees and officers.”

“The mission of southcoast physicians group, inc. (spg) is to promote the availibility of high quality medical services in service areas covered by southcoast health system, inc. (shs) and its tax exempt affiliates by promoting the development of an efficient, integrated medical delivery system that will better meet the needs of the communities served by southcoast now and in the future by acquiring and establishing physician practices and developing managed care services.”

“Primary care - spg's accomplishments include the development and maintenance of an efficient and integrated primary care delivery system that successfully meets the health care needs of the communities served by spg and its non-profit affiliates. Spg serves patients of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds and provides health care services such as preventative health care, physicals, immunizations, treatments for illnesses and injuries and provides referrals to other health care specialists as needed. During fiscal 2024, approximately 41.13% of patient visits to spg primary care practices were attributable to patients whose primary health insurance was medicare, and another 15.35% of visits were provided to patients whose primary health insurance was masshealth (medicaid) and commonwealth care plans. During fiscal 2024, there were 342,955 total patient visits to spg primary care practices and 95,454 immunizations were administered to spg patients.”

“Hospitalists - spg employs hospitalists who are physicians board certified in internal medicine or family practice and specialize in the care of patients whose illness is serious enough to require admission to an acute-care hospital. Sometimes hospitalists have additional expertise in specialities such as pulmonary medicine or critical care. The hospitalists primary focus of care and expertise is for the patients of its related not-for-profit hospital they serve. Southcoast hospitals group, inc. Hospitalists are available to see admitted patients 24 hours a day 7 days a week and provide complete care to patients during their hospital stay while communicating with nurses, other health team members and each patient's primary care physicians, thereby providing the highest level of health care services. During fiscal 2024, hospitalists had 141,473 patient visits, of which 70.60% were made to patients whose primary health insurance was medicare, and another 15.95% of visits were provided to patients whose primary health insurance was masshealth (medicaid).”

“Specialists - spg employs specialists, including surgeons, oncologists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, and others. During fiscal 2024, spg specialists served 900,948 patients, of which 49.51% were patients whose primary health insurance was medicare, and another 19.61% were patients whose primary health insurance was masshealth (medicaid).”

“Transfers among affiliates 73,280,972.”