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In 2000, concerned shareholders and others came together to form the Tenet Shareholder Committee (TSC). The aim of the committee was—and is—to bring corporate reform and improved performance to Tenet Healthcare Co., currently the second-largest private hospital company in the country, with responsibility for tens of thousands of patients nationwide. In the years leading up to the formation of the TSC, many Tenet shareholders and outside observers watched with increasing alarm as the company became entangled in scandal after scandal, paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state fines, pleading guilty to felonies, and coming under the control of an imperial CEO who rewarded himself and his minions with hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries, stock options and perks, while the quality of Tenet hospitals declined and patients suffered.

Led by Dr. M. Lee Pearce, the TSC has campaigned for six years for improved patient care, changes in Tenet’s bloated management structure, and sweeping corporate reform. In 2000, the TSC waged a proxy fight to gain seats on Tenet’s board as independent members. The committee’s views were endorsed by such large institutional investors as J.P. Morgan, Barclays, and Deutsche Mellon Bank, as well as CalPERS and Institutional Shareholder Services. With Tenet’s stock sharply rising at the time—a matter now reportedly under investigation by the SEC—the TSC lost the fight for board seats. But Tenet continued to be engulfed in scandal. Two years after the battle for board seats, The Wall Street Journal noted that “while the [TSC] dissidents lost, their worries seem to have been vindicated by events.”

Today, Tenet continues to face many serious problems. The TSC website provides extensive historical documentation on Tenet, as well as up-to-date monitoring, and reports and commentaries about legal, financial and other issues facing the company. In addition, some issues of concern to the TSC go beyond Tenet Healthcare, touching on such matters of broad public concern as corporate governance, the quality of medical care and the effectiveness of federal regulators. In all these matters, the TSC welcomes input from the public through participation in The TSC Blog and emails to TSC officials.

Membership in the Tenet Shareholder Committee is free and open to the public. You do not have to own shares in Tenet Healthcare to join. Hospitals are a public trust. Therefore, our membership is open to the public.