I don't sense he's made any enemies. By and large, he's well-liked. People are glad that the problems are getting fixed.

From their standpoint, they need to do whatever they need to do to bring radiology back in the fold. They've got to recapture that revenue.

All he says is that he has a one-year contract. They will probably find someone else to take over as CEO. I'm not saying Joe is a guy who couldn't do it, but generally the guy who has to wield the axe is there for a short period of time.

Looking at the debt the hospital will ultimately incur is going to really challenge its ability to ever be in a situation where it has much freedom to create stable, healthy margins on a regular basis. Because of that reality, it always raises the question of whether the hospital will stay with current ownership. If they get rid of the hospital, they get rid of the debt. If they keep it, they may be chronically saddled with difficulties maintaining margins.

Hospitals that get sold are those that can't cover debt or get their debt-to-asset ratios way out of whack, and this hospital is likely to be in that situation for quite some time.

The temptation to moralize is strong; it is emotionally satisfying to have enemies rather than problems, to seek out culprits rather than the flaws in the system.