By Willy Stern, photos by Susan Adcock

In May 1996, Gerald Hemmer got what he wanted.

For years, the roughhewn, foul-mouthed head of construction projects for Baptist Hospital had been asking a Nashville-based firm to sell him a lot on Kentucky Lake. Ultimately, a deal was struck, and the lot was sold.

But it wasn’t just any firm he was dealing with—it was R.C. Mathews Contractor. Over the past four years, Hemmer had paved the way for R.C. Mathews to build at least four major buildings for Baptist Hospital, at a total cost exceeding $18 million. Walker Mathews, president of the respected contracting company, confirms that Hemmer “had badgered” him for the Kentucky Lake lot “for years.”

The parcel in question—a .58-acre lakefront lot—was reviewed by two Humphreys County real estate agents for the Nashville Scene. After conducting a market analysis, both agents estimated the property to be worth $30,000 to $40,000. As a comparison, a nearby lot, composed of about two acres but with roughly comparable shoreline, sold for $33,000 in early 1995.

The price Gerald Hemmer and a Baptist Hospital colleague, Richard Anderson, paid for their lot: $6,000.

To an outsider, the transaction raises eyebrows. Hemmer appears to have gotten a sweet deal, one that was provided him by a company that wanted to remain in his good graces. Yet Hemmer, through his attorney, Ed Yarbrough, contends that the land was purchased for an “appropriate value,” since it was a small parcel and there were concerns about access to utilities and the property itself. The transaction, Yarbrough added, had “nothing to do with anybody receiving contracts” at Baptist Hospital.

But Washington, D.C.-based attorney William J. Lehrfeld, an expert on tax laws governing not-for-profit institutions, says that the lakefront transaction “looks like a form of excess benefit,” which is “sanctionable” by the Internal Revenue Service. In this case, the “excess benefit” would likely be the difference between the market value of the land and the amount that Hemmer and Anderson actually paid. Sanctions could include taxes of 25 percent to 200 percent on the benefit. The excess benefit law was enacted in 1996, explains Lehrfeld, to curb “insiders” at not-for-profit organizations like Baptist Hospital from taking personal advantage of their position.

At the very least, the lakefront-property transaction illustrates a disturbing pattern of questionable—and potentially illegal—activity that is now swirling around Hemmer. As part of an ongoing investigation into Baptist Hospital, the Nashville Scene has interviewed numerous Nashville contractors and subcontractors who report that they have been repeatedly badgered by Hemmer for a variety of favors. Often, the contractors confess, it was easier to do the favor than to put up with Hemmer’s persistent requests. Though some deny it, the contractors—many of whom rely heavily on Baptist’s huge construction contracts for the success of their businesses—did not want to displease Hemmer for fear of biting the hand that fed them.

Many contractors have told the Scene that Hemmer used his position at the hospital to leverage, bully, and manipulate others into doing him favors. They describe Hemmer as a crude and overbearing man who demanded “kickbacks” from local contractors and subcontractors.

Many of the questionable deals in which Hemmer has been involved—such as the Mathews property—concern the sale and purchase of land. But allegations persist about equally bad behavior in other areas. Some charge that he “rigged bids,” or accepted bids for contracting jobs at the hospital even though they were more costly than others. In what may be the most brazen example of potentially illegal conduct, one contractor told the Scene he was asked for a large cash payment by Hemmer.

Baptist Hospital is growing increasingly aware of some of these problems. On Oct. 19, Hemmer was placed on administrative leave. The hospital’s action took place the same week that the Nashville Scene faxed the hospital dozens of questions relating to Hemmer’s questionable business practices. Shortly after Hemmer’s change in work status, the hospital also hired an attorney at the Nashville firm of Trabue Sturdivant & DeWitt to conduct an internal investigation of Hemmer.

As for Hemmer himself, he has hired Yarbrough, a notable Nashville criminal attorney, to represent him. Hemmer has not been charged with any crime. However, according to legal experts consulted by the Nashville Scene, Hemmer could face a variety of criminal charges, including tax fraud, if the charges are proven to have merit. What may be most problematic for the hospital, experts say, is that the evidence of Hemmer’s wrongdoing could jeopardize the not-for-profit hospital’s tax-exempt status.

The charges are yet one more controversy at Baptist Hospital, where a new president was brought in only last month to replace the former president and chief executive officer, C. David Stringfield. One of the largest non-profit hospitals in the city, with hospitals in several other Middle Tennessee cities, Baptist Hospital has struggled in recent years. As first reported by the Scene in July 1997, the hospital has been the focus of an Internal Revenue Service audit. Documents filed in U.S. Tax Court in 1996 show IRS officials have “reviewed evidence that indicated that the hospital failed to operate exclusively for charitable purposes and that portions of the hospital’s net earnings inured to the benefit of private individuals.” A mass exodus of top management at the hospital has taken place. And a proposed merger with one of the city’s other non-profit hospitals, St. Thomas, fell apart when St. Thomas concluded it could not work with Stringfield.

Stringfield, who is now chairman of the board of trustees at Baptist Hospital, and Hemmer are known to have enjoyed a close working relationship for years. Asked to discuss his relationship with Hemmer, and to respond to the numerous questionable transactions that took place under his watch, Stringfield declined all comment to the Scene. Hemmer, for his part, spoke through his attorney.

Hemmer, 63, is a stout good-old-boy, given to wearing cowboy boots and driving pickup trucks. He’s not known for mincing words, and those who work with him say he is passionate about his horses and fighting cocks. If he can be gruff, he is also occasionally amiable. Yet current and former Baptist Hospital executives who worked with him say they were troubled by his regular use of the word “nigger,” an epithet they say he used in describing Wilma Rudolph, the late track star who worked at Baptist for a short time.

Hemmer, through attorney Yarbrough, denied ever using the “n-word.” But he did acknowledge other employees had lodged formal complaints about him, including “some” sexual harassment complaints that are “rattling around” at the hospital.

Hemmer grew up in North Nashville, graduating from the now-defunct North High School in 1955. He enrolled that year at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, but left a year later, never to return to college. He then knocked about the construction business, eventually landing a job at the Nashville architectural and engineering firm of Hart Freeland Roberts in 1980.

It was through Hart Freeland Roberts that Hemmer got connections at Baptist, since the firm was doing a considerable number of projects for the hospital. In August 1984, Hemmer was hired by Baptist Hospital to work in the construction area, although his specific duties are unclear.

Hemmer’s arrival coincided with a tremendous growth spurt at Baptist Hospital. Under the leadership of Stringfield, the hospital embarked on a building-and-expansion boom. Hemmer developed a positive, well-deserved reputation as a no-nonsense man who could get things done around the hospital. He is credited with negotiating efficient, cost-saving contracts on behalf of the hospital. By hiring Middle Tennessee companies, Hemmer also won kudos from the Nashville construction community.

Hemmer also came to be regarded as a tough taskmaster. Contractors respected him for representing his hospital well, but they also chafed under his stentorian style. What aggravated them more than the pressures of a job, however, were the financial demands he placed on them.

“Hemmer was always wanting work at his farm,” reports one Nashville contractor. “I wasn’t going to take it anymore, and I quit bidding at Baptist.”

According to Yarbrough, who was retained by Hemmer shortly after Baptist placed him on administrative leave, Hemmer denies any wrongdoing. “Hemmer has explanations for all the allegations that have been presented,” said Yarbrough. Although Hemmer acknowledges receiving “gifts” like “boots and a coat” from companies that worked at Baptist Hospital, he “categorically denies” that such gifts had any bearing on which firms were awarded work at the hospital, Yarbrough said. And Hemmer, through his attorney, says that he stopped taking any gifts in excess of $50 about two years ago, when the hospital sent out a memo stating that the receipt of such gifts was not appropriate. Furthermore, Hemmer acknowledges that some contractors were “locked out” of the hospital’s bidding process, but he says this was done for “valid” reasons, Yarbrough reports.

The transactions engaged in by Hemmer vary from case to case, but many of them involve land. Records show that Hemmer, whose official title is “construction engineer”—for which he is paid $115,000 a year—has amassed fairly significant real estate holdings. In Cheatham County alone, Hemmer owns 13 properties that cover more than 500 acres, including his gorgeous 50-acre farm along the Harpeth River. These properties are appraised at more than $750,000. Documents on file in the Cheatham County Register of Deeds indicate that Hemmer never borrowed a penny to pay for any of these properties.

In addition to his lakefront parcel in Humphreys County, Hemmer also owns six properties in Davidson County. These include private homes, a warehouse, and a parking lot.

Such accumulation of property will “raise a red flag to the IRS,” said Lehrfeld. “If it chooses to get involved, the IRS may run a net worth assessment and see if [Hemmer] may have some undisclosed wealth.... How did he come up with the cash?” Hemmer, through his attorney, said he “buys low and sells high,” and has had “some success” in the real estate area. All Hemmer’s transactions “will withstand IRS scrutiny,” said Yarbrough.

Yet there are a number of examples of troubling—and potentially illegal—behavior on Hemmer’s part:

♦ In 1981, before he went to work for Baptist Hospital, Hemmer bought a 3.69-acre piece of land in Kingston Springs for $9,000. Hemmer sold the property to Baptist Hospital in July 1997 for $320,000. The price at which the land was sold to the hospital far exceeds its assessed value. According to the office of the Property Assessor in Cheatham County, the land is assessed at $135,100.

The land, which dips into a gully, is vacant. The hospital has never had any plans to develop it, according to a senior executive at the hospital. The hospital has declined to provide the Scene with a fair market appraisal of the property, and will not say who approved the purchase.

It is known that as part of his job, Hemmer often looked at properties that Baptist Hospital was considering buying. And he often opined about their suitability as building sites. Senior executives confirm to the Scene that Hemmer lobbied the hospital aggressively to buy the site from him.

Strangely, Baptist Hospital’s name does not appear anywhere on the tax notice on file in the city of Kingston Springs. Instead, the tax notice lists the owner as “First Security Bank of Utah Trustee.” However, the tax bills themselves are sent to a street address that corresponds with Baptist Hospital’s Nashville headquarters. And Baptist Hospital’s name does appear on the property’s deed on file in the Cheatham County Register of Deeds. It is not known if the hospital is trying to disguise the true ownership of the property; the hospital declined to comment on why the property is owned by the Utah bank trust.

Attorney Frederick J. Gerhart, a partner in the tax department at Dechert Price & Rhoads, a Philadelphia law firm, said the ownership issue raises a red flag. “Why is this land titled in the name of a Utah trustee?” he asks. “You certainly would wonder about that one.”

It is not known what Hemmer did with his $320,000 windfall that resulted from the sale of the property. Curiously, however, he decided to make a “substantial” contribution within 15 days of the sale to the hospital’s Gladys Stringfield Owen Education Center, which was then in the process of being built. The center is named for David Stringfield’s cousin.

Tax experts say these transactions would likely send off alarm bells at the Internal Revenue Service. “An IRS auditor would want to look at the nature of [Hemmer’s] reported income and deductions from 1995,” explains Gerhart.

Through his attorney, Hemmer defended the hospital’s purchase of the land, saying it was based on an appraisal of the land conducted on behalf of the hospital. “If anything, Hemmer thinks it’s worth more than $320,000,” states Yarbrough. Hemmer’s attorney added there was nothing “secretive” about the deal; he said the land was purchased as a future building site for Baptist Hospital to counter Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp.’s growing presence in the area. Hemmer’s donation to the education center was unrelated to the land sale, Yarbrough added.

♦ One Nashville contractor told the Scene that in July 1997 Hemmer “asked” to be given $10,000 in cash. Failing that, the contractor said, Hemmer “asked” that a check be made out to “Gerald Hemmer.”

The contractor, who requested anonymity, said that Hemmer promised he would immediately donate the funds to the hospital. Hemmer, the contractor said, wanted to deliver the funds in person to Stringfield, to make it appear as if he had been the source of the donation. That contractor says he refused to pay Hemmer. And the contractor says he is no longer getting any significant work at Baptist Hospital.

Hemmer acknowledged, through his attorney Yarbrough, that he talked to a contractor about a $10,000 gift. But Yarbrough says Hemmer insists the contractor “initiated the conversation” and wanted to make the donation. Yarbrough says there was “no attempt” by Hemmer to have the donation appear in his own name.

♦ According to a Nashville contractor, who was provided anonymity, Hemmer asked a representative of the contractor’s construction firm to remove trees from what was then a vacant piece of property owned by Baptist Hospital in Bellevue. (That property is the site of the Tennessee Oilers’ practice facility today.)

Hemmer, according to the contractor, then “instructed” the construction firm’s workers to “trim down and transport” the trees to his Cheatham County farm. The contractor says he was not reimbursed for the work.

Through Yarbrough, Hemmer admits having a contractor bring locust trees out to his Cheatham County farm from the hospital’s Bellevue property, but he says this was done to save money. Hemmer alleges that it was cheaper to “haul off” the trees than dispose of them through some other means.

♦ Hemmer has been widely accused of taking objects of differing value from buildings owned by Baptist Hospital and from construction sites on Baptist Hospital properties.

At a 1995 party for Baptist Hospital employees hosted by Hemmer at his home in White Bluff, employees say he showed off various architectural niceties, including cabinetry work, that he boasted of stripping from “Bligh House.” Baptist Hospital purchased a residence from Michael and Leslie Bligh at 2008 West End Ave., on Feb. 10, 1995. According to Metro’s Assessor of Property office, the hospital paid $450,000 for the site.

Elsewhere, two former Baptist Hospital executives and one current employee said Hemmer also acknowledged taking hay from the hospital’s Bellevue property for use on his farms. A colleague of Hemmer’s said that he had witnessed Hemmer on numerous occasions going to Baptist Hospital construction sites and “loading up his truck with whatever he could find.” That colleague said that Hemmer was “a scavenger. If there was a piece of drywall or a load of bricks or a few pieces of lumber, he’d take off with it.”

Hemmer “categorically denied” taking any materials from the Bligh House, or taking hay from Baptist properties, said Yarbrough. Hemmer “may have received some things from other houses,” said Yarbrough, but he will have “evidence of payment” for any materials received. Hemmer may also have received permission from the salvage company to take materials, according to Yarbrough.

♦ One former Baptist Hospital employee stated that Hemmer, in either 1995 or ’96, demanded that she “white-out” a low bid submitted by Solomon Builders, a Nashville construction firm. She then replaced the dollar figure presented by Solomon with a higher number, as Hemmer instructed her to do. That effectively put Solomon out of the running for the job the company was bidding on.

The employee, who requested anonymity, said Hemmer told her not to “ask any questions. He (Hemmer) told me that if I went behind his back and told anybody, he’d have me fired.”

Solomon Builders co-owner Greg Turner reports, “We had heard rumors of bid-rigging at Baptist Hospital, but we had no specific proof.” He confirmed that his firm had submitted bids on two large projects to Baptist Hospital during this time. Neither bid was selected. “My subs [subcontractors] had told me that I was wasting my time bidding over there given the unfair playing field,” added Turner. One current Baptist Hospital official who is familiar with Baptist Hospital’s bidding procedures said that Hemmer “regularly” manipulated the bids.

Legal experts differ as to whether it is illegal for a non-profit institution to manipulate bids. Yarbrough says that Hemmer never threatened anybody with dismissal. Yarbrough said that Hemmer acknowledged that Solomon had been “deleted” from Baptist’s list of potential contractors by Hemmer, but adds Hemmer had received reports of poor work done by the contractor on a Baptist project at a local doctors’ office. Hemmer, his attorney said, didn’t want “to take a chance on them.”

But a spokesperson for the medical practice said that Solomon had done an “excellent job” and placed blame for any construction-related problems directly on Hemmer’s shoulders. In general, Yarbrough said that Hemmer tried to protect the hospital’s interests by eliminating firms from working on Baptist Hospital construction projects who for “some reason” Hemmer deemed were not “suitable.”

♦ Several Nashville contractors have confirmed a variety of penny-ante favors requested by Hemmer.

One contractor said Hemmer received from his firm small items, such as cowboy boots and a Radio Shack police scanner, costing in the range of $160-$170. A former secretary who worked for Hemmer confirmed she was regularly instructed to “rip up” any bills for his private residences from firms doing work for the hospital. “Gerald would call them up and say, ‘I’m not fucking going to pay this bill if you want any more business here,’ ” recalls a former colleague of Hemmer’s, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Through Yarbrough, Hemmer conceded that he has received gifts from suppliers of services to Baptist Hospital. Saying that this practice is “customary” in the construction business, Yarbrough said Hemmer does not believe that “any such gift was given in order to receive inappropriate benefits from Baptist Hospital.”

♦ Another Nashville contractor, who has done much work at Baptist Hospital, confirmed that in early 1994 his firm had sent out three carpenters for a couple of days to fix a barn on River Road property that Hemmer owned. The contractor was not paid, but acknowledged that he “probably” never sent a bill to Hemmer for the labor costs, which ran around $500. The contractor added that Hemmer did reimburse him for materials on the job. Through Yarbrough, Hemmer said he paid all costs associated with the roof.

♦ A different contractor told the Scene that Hemmer had “repeatedly suggested” to him in recent years that the contractor buy property Hemmer owned west of Nashville. Yarbrough acknowledged that Hemmer may have talked with others about selling his land, but said Hemmer never told anybody that they “needed to buy” any property.

♦ In one instance, Hemmer bought property that appeared to be directly in the growth path of Baptist Hospital. On Dec. 22, 1995, Hemmer paid $174,000 for a building at 1905 State St., located in the heart of the Baptist Hospital campus. The property is across the street from a major Baptist parking garage and just a few yards down from the Baptist Hospital State Street Building. Hemmer still owns the property.

What makes the transaction interesting is that Hemmer bought the property from Rudy Mariutto and Tony Bertoli, the owners of the Florentine Tile & Terrazzo Co. The company, whose reputation is excellent, has done tiling work at Baptist Hospital facilities on “several” occasions and also at Stringfield’s private residence, according to Mariutto.

Less than 40 days after the deal was signed, according to documents in the Davidson County Register of Deeds office, Hemmer owned the property debt-free. Through Yarbrough, Hemmer said that the property was not in Baptist Hospital’s growth path, but that he had nonetheless “mentioned” the property’s availability to Cal MacKay, Baptist Hospital’s executive vice president of corporate finance, before buying it himself. MacKay, through a Baptist Hospital spokesperson, declined comment.

♦ Another Hemmer real estate deal that has raised eyebrows involved yet another supplier of goods to Baptist Hospital. In May 1986, Hemmer transferred the title to a parcel of land in Cheatham County to Robert Anderson, who, at the time, was employed by Nashville-based Wolfe & Travis Electric Company. Wolfe & Travis has been for many years the major supplier of electrical services to Baptist Hospital. The price stated on the deed, according to the Cheatham County Register of Deeds, was $45,000.

Less than one year after the property transfer took place, Anderson “quitclaimed” the property back to Hemmer for $1, records show. If these documents tell the true story, Hemmer posted a profit of $44,999 on the deal. (Not long after the transaction, Anderson joined Baptist Hospital in March 1989. Today he is the hospital’s electrical operations director.)

Hemmer said, through his attorney, that the land was temporarily given to Anderson at no cost because Hemmer was going through a divorce at the time. He wanted to hold on to the property during divorce proceedings, but did not want it to get in the way of a division of property between him and his wife. “Hemmer’s wife knew about the deal and did not object,” said Yarbrough.

While some contractors have chosen to play whatever game that Hemmer asked, others have refused. As a result, these contractors say, they were blackballed by the hospital.

Take the case of the Nashville contractor who, in the summer of 1997, decided to complain directly to Stringfield about Hemmer’s behavior. The contractor, who was promised anonymity, said when he attempted to inform Stringfield of Hemmer’s improper activities, Stringfield “reamed me out. Stringfield started saying that I was no friend of Baptist’s and that I was never going to work at the hospital again. Then he started yelling at me that I should sue the hospital if I had a problem. He said, ‘Here, let me get you my attorney’s number and you can call him direct.’ He didn’t want to hear about Hemmer. I mean, he wasn’t listening. I knew at that point that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with Stringfield and that I was probably sunk.”

While Stringfield declines comment on the incident, the overall problem presented by Hemmer suggests a lack of oversight by Baptist’s former chief executive. Explains Joshua Nemzoff, CEO of Nemzoff & Co., a Nashville-based financial advisory firm for the hospital industry: “Based on our dealings with Baptist, if you don’t get David Stringfield’s support, you can’t do business with that organization.”

Stringfield, who became chairman of Baptist Hospital’s board on Oct. 1, 1998, was ultimately responsible for having overseen Hemmer’s operations during all of Hemmer’s 14-year tenure at the hospital. Given Hemmer’s close relationship with Stringfield, some were not surprised that Hemmer was forced out only 19 days after Stringfield was no longer in charge of the hospital’s day-to-day management.

During Stringfield’s tenure as chief executive, Hemmer was said by current and former executives to be the only manager at Baptist Hospital who could enter Stringfield’s office at any time without appointment. “Stringfield and Hemmer thought they were untouchable,” explains Laurie Kelley, executive director of Baptist Hospital’s health and fitness center until 1992.

Kelley and others explained that Hemmer’s ability to get to Stringfield gave Hemmer great power. “Access is crucial at Baptist and Hemmer had better access than any of us,” reports one senior Baptist executive. “Hemmer could always get to Stringfield first, and he could get Stringfield to fire people.” Through Yarbrough, Hemmer said that his access to Stringfield was not “unusual” or “inappropriate,” considering the position he held at the hospital. He also said he never tried to get anybody fired.

There are two important questions concerning the former chief executive that will need to be answered, according to attorney Frederick Gerhart: Was Stringfield complicit in these actions, or did he turn a blind eye to them? If either of these is true, adds Gerhart, Stringfield should share some of the blame whether he benefited financially or not.

Some charge that Stringfield’s apparent lack of oversight of Hemmer may raise questions about whether he should be allowed to remain at the hospital. “There is a pattern of personal enrichment here which should not be countenanced by any organization, especially a not-for-profit hospital,” said Lehrfeld from his office in Washington.

If the allegations are true, Lehrfeld says, Stringfield appears to be faced with questions over “mal-, mis-, or nonfeasance for allowing [Hemmer] to get away with such behavior.” Gerhart predicted that “ultimately, [Hemmer] will likely have income tax problems and possibly tax fraud problems.” And even if Hemmer is a “renegade who acted alone,” Gerhart added, the hospital would do well to move “quickly and decisively” to preserve its tax-exempt status.

Meanwhile, Baptist’s new management, under the direction of newly installed president and CEO Erie Chapman, does appear to be taking some steps to resolve the situation. Hemmer has been placed on paid leave from the hospital and his office door remains locked. Meanwhile, the internal probe of Hemmer, being conducted by Nashville attorney Gayle Malone of Trabue Sturdivant & DeWitt, is ongoing.

Attorneys Lehrfeld and Gerhart agreed that a proper internal investigation by a tax-exempt organization typically involves “independent lawyers and accountants” with no prior relationships with that institution. That would appear to disqualify Malone, since he has done legal work for Baptist Hospital for years and has a relationship with Stringfield. (Malone declined to respond to written questions from the Scene but said, through an intermediary, that he couldn’t talk to the paper without the permission of his client.)

The Hemmer probe will provide Chapman with both challenges and opportunities. Chapman has been attempting to establish a foothold on the Baptist Hospital campus, but all the while he has been mindful that he is under Stringfield’s watchful eye. Stringfield is widely perceived as a brilliant hospital administrator and visionary, but longtime Baptist executives and physicians also find him to be both insecure and paranoid.

Early last month, Stringfield relocated to a new executive office that was designed and built for him in Baptist’s just-completed North Medical Office Building. Baptist officials declined to release the building costs for Stringfield’s luxury suite, but reliable sources confirmed the build-out ran in the neighborhood of $350,000. The suite runs close to 2,000 square feet and comes equipped with two bathrooms and a high-end air and humidity system installed to accommodate Stringfield’s obsessive fear of germs. The general contractor on the building was R.C. Mathews Contractor. Hemmer oversaw the operation.

Clearly, if Chapman is looking for an excuse to undermine Stringfield’s remaining authority, the new chief executive could try to use Stringfield’s close ties to Hemmer as a way to shoehorn him out of the hospital. At least, that’s the hope of the many Baptist executives and doctors who are not fans of the controversial former chief executive.

At the very least, it seems likely that Hemmer will lose his job. Ultimately, if the internal probe is conducted properly, he could be forced to repay the hospital and the IRS for the many benefits he allegedly received through improper means.

Meanwhile, organizations like Baptist maintain their tax-free status only if the IRS believes that the hospital is acting properly within the legal guidelines that govern not-for-profit organizations. Hemmer’s apparent abuse of his position could “certainly threaten the tax-exempt status of the hospital,” according to Gerhart. True to form, what is going on behind Baptist Hospital’s executive doors remains a secret. When asked by the Scene to answer detailed questions about the controversies at the hospital, a brief written reply followed:

“We appreciate your questions and they will be reviewed. We are in no position to answer any questions and we decline any comment at this time.”

At the very least, it seems likely that Hemmer will lose his job. Ultimately, if the internal probe is conducted properly, he could be forced to repay the hospital and the IRS for the many benefits he allegedly received through improper means.

Meanwhile, organizations like Baptist maintain their tax-free status only if the IRS believes that the hospital is acting properly within the legal guidelines that govern not-for-profit organizations. Hemmer’s apparent abuse of his position could “certainly threaten the tax-exempt status of the hospital,” according to Gerhart. True to form, what is going on behind Baptist Hospital’s executive doors remains a secret. When asked by the Scene to answer detailed questions about the controversies at the hospital, a brief written reply followed:

“We appreciate your questions and they will be reviewed. We are in no position to answer any questions and we decline any comment at this time.”