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Florida Hospitals File Lawsuit

Against Opioid Manufacturers
“ You can’t separate the clinical
and Distributors and the fi nancial – not anymore.”

A group of 27 Florida hospitals have diseases that result from opioid abuse. People who know Healthcare, know BDO.
filed a civil lawsuit against the manufactur- “No party is better positioned, given the
ers, distributors and retailers of opioid- appropriate financial resources, to lead us
based drugs. Florida hospitals have experi- out of this public health crisis than our
enced significant financial and operational hospitals,” said William R. Scherer,
harm as they’ve fought and treated the founder and managing partner of Conrad
complications of addiction on the front- & Scherer, L.L.P ., representing the Florida
lines of the nation’s opioid epidemic. The hospitals. “They have measurable damages
Florida hospitals are among hundreds and must be active participants in any opi-
across the U.S. that have filed similar law- oid settlement discussions.”
suits. The complaint, filed in Circuit Court Last month the American Hospital
of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and Association urged a judge hearing one of
for Broward County , Florida, alleges negli- the opioid cases “to ensure that needed
gence, fraud and civil conspiracy by the funds are directed to the hospitals and
defendants, which include Purdue health systems that are on the forefront of
Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott caring for the victims of this epidemic.
Laboratories and almost 20 other compa- With additional resources, hospitals can
nies and individuals involved in the man- broaden access to post-overdose treatment The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation
ufacturing, distribution and sales of pre- in emergency departments, increase train-
scription opioids. ing of physicians to treat substance use As the healthcare industry enters an era of unprecedented transformation, anticipating and
The filing alleges the unlawful actions disorders, cover the costs of lengthy stays understanding the future state model of healthcare is more important than ever. From advising on
complex joint ventures, to M&A services, to healthcare redesign, BDO’s multidisciplinary teams help
are part of a decades-long practice in and follow-up care for infants with neona- organizations plan for and implement the fi nancial and clinical changes needed to transform their
which the defendants made false assur- tal abstinence disorder, and invest in elec- institutions — and thrive in the years to come.
ances about the addiction risks associated tronic health information systems to
with opioid products and used other improve coordinated care and prevent Alfredo Cepero, 305-420-8006 / acepero@bdo.com
deceptive marketing tactics to persuade overprescribing.” Angelo Pirozzi, 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com
physicians and other health care providers The case is number #95754861 in
to broaden their prescribing patterns. The Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial @BDOHealth www.bdo.com/blogs/healthcare
result has been widespread addiction, suf- Circuit in and for Broward County .
Accountants | Advisors | Doctors
fering, and loss of life in communities Hospital List: www.bdo.com/healthcare
across the country , with hospitals bearing Coral Gables Hospital
the financial burden of care and treatment Hialeah Hospital © 2019 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved.
for the victims Larkin Community Hospital
In May 2017, Florida Governor Rick North Shore Medical Center
Scott declared the opioid crisis a state pub- Palmetto General Hospital
lic health emergency . Months later, the Delray Medical Center
U.S. Department of Health and Human Good Samaritan Medical Center
Services determined a public health emer- Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center
gency exists nationwide. But the seeds of St. Mary's Medical Center
the epidemic were sown more than a Bayfront Health
decade earlier; data compiled by the U.S. Tampa General Hospital
Drug Enforcement Agency shows there Venice Regional Bayfront Health
were more than 5.5 billion prescription Shands Lake Shore Regional
pain pills supplied to Florida from 2006 to Medical Center
2012. In 2018, there were 5,922 drug- Shands Live Oak Regional
related deaths in Florida; of those, 2,733 Medical Center
were opioid-related. Shands Starke Regional Medical Center
A recently release study from the U.S. North Okaloosa Medical Center
Census Bureau indicates that 13 percent of Santa Rosa Medical Center
Floridians lacked health insurance in Heart of Florida Regional
2018, compared with a national average of Medical Center
8.5 percent. Both the state and national fig- Lake Wales Medical Center
ures were up from the prior year. Central Florida Health
The filing claims many facilities have Lower Keys Medical Center
also been forced to make capital invest- Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center
ments in their facilities to accommodate Broward Health
increased security measures and create Physicians Regional Medical Center
new treatment areas for overdose patients Flagler Hospital
and those experiencing acute and chronic Halifax Hospital Medical Center

Brumback Clinics Recognized as Among Top 10%
of U.S. Health Centers for Clinical Quality

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recognized the C. L.
Brumback Primary Care Clinics with several Health Center Quality Improvement Fiscal
Year 2019 Grant Awards, including a gold badge as a Health Center Quality Leader for
ranking among the top 10% of health centers nationally for clinical quality. The
Brumback Clinics received a total of $176,501 in grants that include these three other
awards:
• Access Enhancer Awards recognizes health centers that increased the total num-
ber of patients served and the number of patients receiving comprehensive services
between 2017 and 2018.
• Health Disparities Reducer Awards recognizes health centers that met or exceeded
the Healthy People 2020 goals, or made at least a 10% improvement across different
racial/ethnic groups between 2017 and 2018.
• Patient Centered Medical Home recognition at multiple sites recognizes health
centers that provide health care that is relationship-based with an orientation toward
the whole person.

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com October 2019 11