UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported): December 8, 2021 (
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| Item 5.02 | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Retirement of Benjamin C. Fordham as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Company
On December 8, 2021, Community Health Systems, Inc. (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing that Benjamin C. Fordham, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, will retire as an officer of the Company effective at the end of February 2022. Mr. Fordham informed the Company’s Board of Directors of his retirement on December 7, 2021. It is anticipated that, upon his retirement, Mr. Fordham will enter into a consulting agreement with the Company, pursuant to which he will advise the Company’s management team on legal matters as requested by the Chief Executive Officer. A copy of the press release making this announcement is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference into this Item 5.02.
Intent to Appoint Justin D. Pitt as General Counsel of the Company
In conjunction with Mr. Fordham’s retirement, the Company intends to appoint Justin D. Pitt as General Counsel effective March 1, 2022.
Mr. Pitt, age 46, has served as the Company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel since May 2017. In that role, he serves as the Company’s primary counsel for litigation, managed care, reimbursement and other legal matters and also oversees the operations of the legal and government relations departments. He joined the Company as Litigation Counsel in 2009 after several years of private practice as a litigator and lobbyist to the Tennessee General Assembly. Pitt serves as a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and on the Federation of American Hospitals’ Medicaid and Managed Care Committee. He is a Fellow of the Nashville Health Care Council and a member of the Leaders Council of the Legal Services Corporation, the largest funder of civil legal aid for low income Americans in the United States. Pitt also serves on the boards of non-profit organization including One Willco and The Village at Glencliff, which provides medical respite and bridge housing for those experiencing homelessness. He received his law degree, Order of the Coif, from Washington University School of Law, where he was a William Webster Fellow.
Mr. Pitt is not a party to any material plan, contract or arrangement with the Company entered into in connection with his upcoming appointment, and Mr. Pitt’ compensation as General Counsel has not yet been determined.
A copy of the press release related to Mr. Pitt’s appointment as the Company’s General Counsel is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference into this Item 5.02.
| Item 9.01 | Financial Statements and Exhibits |
(d) Exhibits
The following exhibit is incorporated herein by reference:
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
| 99.1 | Community Health Systems, Inc. Press Release dated December 8, 2021. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document). | |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: December 8, 2021 | COMMUNITY HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC. | |||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||
| By: | /s/ Tim L. Hingtgen | |||||
| Tim L. Hingtgen | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||
| (principal executive officer) | ||||||