General Health System

“During preparation of the 990, senior administrative and finance leaders are consulted to provide any additional information on certain, various transactions on an as-needed basis. Upon completion of the 990 but prior to filing, said leaders are provided with a draft copy of all forms/schedules for their review and comments. Upon clearing any review comments, revised draft copies are emailed to all members of the board via secure board network. The executive committee has been tasked by the board to fully review the form 990 at their next meeting and forward their recommendations to the full board.”

“As part of its annual work plan, the internal audit & corporate compliance department administers a mandatory electronic conflict of interest (coi) survey through which all leadership employees (ranging from supervisors to executive management), ghs foundation board members and trustees of the organization are prompted to timely disclose any interests that could give rise to conflicts. After the survey period is over, members of the internal audit & corporate compliance department sort through & organize all survey responses received and conduct an initial review of all disclosures flagged as potential conflicts and obtains additional information/documentation as necessary from key stakeholders to clarify or rectify (through appropriate mitigation) any conflicts noted so as to ensure business decisions are driven by the best interests of the organization. Upon completion, the corporate compliance officer formally communicates conflict results to the chief financial officer, chief executive officer and the chairman of the audit/finance committee of the board.”

“The compensation committee of the board of trustees oversees all executive compensation matters. The committee engages an independent third party consulting firm to conduct an annual independent market-based compensation review of executives in comparable healthcare systems and uses this data in determining reasonable and appropriate executive compensation levels. All compensation committee members are independent with no conflict of interest with regard to executive compensation matters. The compensation committee considers many factors in determining executive pay levels. Some of these factors are, but are not limited to, the knowledge, experience and competencies of the executive, performance of the executive, areas of responsibility, importance of executive retention and peer calibration and talent management rating. The committee documents its decisions and the process it follows in detailed and contemporaneous minutes. It diligently follows the prescribed process for establishing the presumption of reasonableness.”

“The taxpayer makes all governing documents, conflicts of interest policies and tax returns available to the general public on an as-requested basis.”

“Column f-other compensation to officers and designated executives includes 401k and deferred compensation benefits subject to future vesting. See schedule j for additional information related to executive compensation.”

“In january 2020, the world health organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency and in march 2020, declared it to be a pandemic. Actions taken around the world to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus included restrictions on travel, quarantines in certain areas and forced closures for certain types of public places and businesses. The coronavirus and the actions taken to mitigate it have had, and are expected to continue to have, an adverse impact on the economies and financial markets of many countries, including the united states and more specifically, the state of louisiana. In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the louisiana state governor's office of homeland security reached out to provide financial assistance to the baton rouge general medical center to assist with start -up costs related to the restart of acute care services at its mid city campus. Those efforts by the baton rouge general resulted in the formation of a reformed hospital, now known as "the general". The acute care services included, but were not limited to, the rapid increase (surge) of emergency beds in the greater baton rouge area to address the increasing need for inpatient and intensive care services. The creation of the general re-opened 129 additional acute care beds with an additional 102 available as needed to respond to a rapidly growing healthcare crisis. As well, the mid city campus re-opened its 23,000 square foot, 33 bed emergency room which had been closed 5 years before due to unsustainable financial losses. In response to the adverse economic impact of covid-19, the coronavirus aid, relief and economic security act (cares act) was enacted by congress and was subsequently signed into law in march 2020. The cares act included a variety of economic assistance provisions for business and individuals. Under certain provisions in the cares act, the taxpayer received financial assistance in the form of healthcare provider relief funding. Also under the cares act, the taxpayer received current payments for future services under the medicare accelerated and advance payments program (aapp) in april 2020.”

“No change in the organization's audit oversight process or auditor selection process. The audit committee of the board of trustees is tasked with the oversight of the annual audit and selection of the independent auditors/accountants.”

“The general health system (ghs) board of trustees also serves as the board of trustees for its wholly-owned, 501c3 hospital affiliate, baton rouge general medical, ein 72-1025017.”