Stella Maris Inc

“Mercy health services, inc. ("mhs"), a 501(c)(3) corporation, is the sole member of stella maris, inc. ("smi").”

“The president and the chief medical officer of mhs and the president of smi serve as ex officio voting members of the board of directors of smi. As the member of smi, the board of trustees of mhs elects all of the other members of the board of smi. With the exception of the ex officio board members, all of the smi board members serve at the pleasure of the board of trustees of mhs and are subject to removal by the mhs board.”

“The board of trustees of mhs exercises authority over smi through its right to appoint and remove smi board members. In addition, mhs, as the member, is responsible for the following actions: a) to appoint members to smi's board of directors; b) to review and approve or disapprove the strategic plan, annual budget and the annual operating goals and objectives of smi as recommended to mhs by smi's board of directors; c) to evaluate the performance of smi's board of directors, officers, and operating management; d) to remove board members of smi in its discretion at any time; e) to approve the mission and vision that govern smi's operations; and f) to have ultimate responsibility for smi's quality assurance, performance improvement, utilization review and risk management. The following actions require the approval of and affirmative corporate action by mhs: a) any disposition of all or substantially all of smi's assets, dissolution, liquidation, winding up or abandonment of smi; b) any amendment of the articles of incorporation or bylaws of smi; c) any borrowing or lending by smi or the issuance of any guarantee by smi in an amount in excess of an amount specified by mhs from time to time; d) any merger, consolidation or institutional affiliation with any other corporation or other entity; and e) the purchase or sale of assets for an amount in excess of an amount specified from time to time by mhs. Ultimately, the corporation is controlled by mhs's 31-person community board, which includes 25 independent directors as noted above.”

“Mercy health services, inc. ("mhs"), the sole parent of the corporation, has a policy which requires the corporation's 990 to be made available for review by the mhs board and/or the mhs board executive committee prior to its filing. At its board meeting, mhs board executive committee members received a copy of the corporation's draft form 990. The mhs cfo provided a power point presentation regarding the draft and there was an opportunity for questions and discussion. Following further revision of the draft 990 and prior to its filing, it was made available in final form to all members of the mhs board and the corporation's board for their review. Any additional comments/questions from board members are responded to prior to filing the form 990.”

“Mhs has a written conflict of interest policy that covers mhs and all of its direct and indirect subsidiaries. The individuals covered under the policy include all trustees, directors, officers (including all senior and executive vice presidents) and members of any committee with board-delegated powers. Under the policy, each such person is required to complete an annual disclosure form regarding business relationships that he or she, or any family member, has with any organization that does business with mhs or its subsidiaries and relationships between and among officers, trustees and directors. The completed disclosure forms are reviewed by the mhs board chair and the mhs ceo or a designee. In addition to the annual disclosure, any person who is covered by the conflict of interest policy has an ongoing obligation to disclose the existence of any actual or potential conflict to the board or the board committee in which the matter arises. Following the disclosure, the person may make a presentation, but must then leave the meeting and the other members of the board or committee shall determine whether a conflict exists. Under the policy, a conflict of interest exists when an individual's own personal interest would, or may, interfere with his or her impartiality regarding the matter. If a conflict exists, the person may not be present during deliberations on the matter or vote on it. The board or committee, after conducting such additional due diligence as it determines is appropriate, shall make a decision on the matter based upon whether the particular proposal is fair, reasonable and in the best interest of the organization.”

“The organization's board has adopted a compensation policy (the "policy") for covered individuals. Pursuant to the policy, a compensation committee of independent directors of the board of the organization's parent corporation (mercy health services, inc.) was established to review the compensation of all employees specified as having a substantial influence over the organization and who receive remuneration from the organization. The compensation committee is advised by an independent compensation consultant, which opines to the compensation committee that the level of compensation paid and the process by which compensation is established meet applicable irs reasonableness and "safe harbor" standards. The outside compensation consultant provides data of compensation provided at similar organizations to ensure that the organization does not compensate in excess of market norms.”

“The governing documents of the organization, its conflicts of interest policy, and its financial statements are available from the organization upon request.”

“Five of the six board members of stella maris are paid employees of a related organization, and therefore, are not independent for purposes of part vi, line 1. However, stella maris is ultimately controlled by the parent corporation of the mercy health system (mercy health services, inc.) which is a section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, and mhs is governed by a 31-person board of trustees, of which 26 are independent board members.”

“Interest in mhf temp restricted net assets 659,938. Releases from restrictions -37,376. Restricted investment interest income & unrealized gains (loss) -17,602.”

“The process has not changed from the prior year”