Latest from Parkland: All the good stuff happens in executive session

Parkland Memorial Hospital's board of managers met Wednesday for its monthly committee meetings, an all-day affair starting at 8 a.m. and ending somewhere around 3 p.m. The agendas promised lively discussions about: – The federal Affordable Care Act, which likely will bring dramatic changes to Dallas County's lone public hospital. – Review of recent "safety events" at the hospital, which actually describe mistakes that had the potential to harm patients. And, most importantly, an update on the hospital's efforts to satisfy a System's Improvement Agreement with the federal government, Parkland's on-going effort to retain its government funding. However, none of these discussions occurred during the board?s public session. They took place behind closed doors so that the media and members of the general public could not hear what anyone said.