Letter from Chip Northrup

Can Thompson Get It Done?

About 20 years ago, we moved to Cooperstown for the summers. In that time, there have been five CEOs at Bassett—a new one about every four years. I wish Bassett’s newest CEO, Staci Thompson, all the best. The board that appointed her presides over an organization, Bassett Healthcare Network, which is technically bankrupt: Its liabilities exceed its assets by $35 million. They could have “done a Trump” and declared bankruptcy. The main hospital in the group, Bassett, lost more than $64 million in the last reporting period, enough red ink to fill Moe Pond. In contrast, the Guthrie Medical Group, where Mrs. Thompson was recently COO, made $33 million in the last reporting period. So maybe Mrs. Thompson can turn Bassett around. To quote Margaret Thatcher: “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”

Chip Northrup
Cooperstown