Ohio hospital system fires second CEO in two years

For the second time in less than two years, the MetroHealth System in Ohio has fired its CEO, and once again, a legal battle appears likely.

MetroHealth System in Ohio has fired CEO Dr. Airica Steed, saying she failed to meet expectations and the board had lost confidence in her. Steed's attorney defended her leadership and said she's exploring all options, including legal action.

The MetroHealth’s board announced last week that it had voted to terminate Dr. Airica Steed, who joined the organization in late 2022. The board said that she fell short of expectations and she was terminated on Aug. 9.

E. Harry Walker, MD, chair of MetroHealth’s board, said in a statement issued by the health system that the board’s confidence in Steed’s leadership had eroded.

“It has become clear that the Board and Dr. Steed fundamentally disagree about the priorities and performance standards needed from our CEO for MetroHealth to fulfill its mission,” Walker said in a statement.

“We believe Dr. Steed’s performance is not meeting the needs of MetroHealth,” Walker said. “As a result, we have lost confidence in her ability to lead the organization going forward and believe it would not be in the best interest of the System for her to continue in her position. Therefore, we are exercising our right to terminate her at-will contract.”

Walker said MetroHealth thanked Steed for her service and added, “We had high expectations when she arrived in 2022 and are sorry those expectations have not been met.”

‘Blindsided’ and ‘stunned’

For her part, Steed appears poised for a fight. Steed’s firing comes just weeks after MetroHealth announced on July 26 that she was on medical leave.

After MetroHealth announced its firing of Steed, her attorney, F. Allen Boseman, Jr., issued a statement saying that Steed was “unlawfully terminated while on an approved FMLA leave.” The attorney said Steed is exploring all of her options, including legal action.

Boseman said in the statement that Steed was “blindsided” and “extremely disappointed,” adding that she is “stunned that the Board has taken action that directly conflicts with prior representations made publicly as well as to Dr. Steed privately.”

Steed met all financial goals, and other goals set by MetroHealth in 2023, and expected to reach the system’s targets in 2024, Boseman said. The attorney said Steed’s firing appears to be in response to her bringing up concerns of discrimination. Steed is MetroHealth’s first female CEO and the first Black CEO, Boseman noted.

“Based on what we know, we have good reason to believe that the Board’s decision today is a direct response to Dr. Steed engaging in protected activity,” Boseman said in the statement.

He added the MetroHealth board’s statements about her dismissal reflect “an intent to irreparably harm Dr. Steed’s superb reputation and standing in the medical community.”

“Dr. Steed is determined to protect her interests and the interests of other MetroHealth employees who have voiced serious concerns about discrimination and the wrongful treatment of Dr. Steed and others,” Boseman said.

Other CEO ouster

Steed succeeded former MetroHealth CEO Akram Boutros, who was ousted in late 2022. The health system said at the time Boutros improperly paid himself more than $1.9 million in bonuses without disclosing the payments to the board.

Boutros denied MetroHealth’s accusations and filed a wrongful termination suit after his dismissal, but he withdrew the suit late last year due to a health issue, Cleveland.com reported. Boutros’ attorney indicated at the time that he’d refile the suit at a later time, according to the news outlet.

Steed came to MetroHealth in 2022 after serving as executive vice president/system chief operating officer of Sinai Chicago Health System and president of Mount Sinai and Sinai Children’s Hospital. Steed joined MetroHealth at a difficult time and the board lauded her leadership in her first year, according to her attorney. Boseman also said Steed had raised concerns about troubling behavior.

“Dr. Steed has internally voiced concerns about discrimination in the workplace as well as other ethical and legal issues, and now the Board has conveniently raised alleged performance deficiencies and disparaged her good name. Dr. Steed, however, will not be silenced and she will be exploring all of her options, including legal action,” Boseman said in the statement.

In late July, MetroHealth named Christine Alexander-Rager, MD, as the system’s acting president and CEO, after announcing that Steed was on medical leave.

Alexander-Rager has spent nearly 30 years at MetroHealth, most recently as interim executive vice president, chief physician executive & clinical Officer. She served as MetroHealth’s chair of family medicine for 14 years.

After announcing the firing of Steed, MetroHealth offered a vote of confidence in the system’s current leadership.

“With Dr. Steed’s departure, we are confident we have senior leaders who can step in and guarantee that MetroHealth will continue to be a beacon of excellence for our patients and our community,” Walker, the board chair, said in a statement.

Signal Cleveland, the news outlet that first reported Steed’s firing, reported tensions grew between Steed and the board months ago over the time and money she spent traveling and away from the health system.

MetroHealth, based in Cleveland, operates five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers.