Last tram home
Danny Jacobs, the president of the Oregon medical school, OHSU, has abruptly resigned. The news broke yesterday. And his permanent replacement is being appointed today. No search, no appointments process. Wham bam.
But that sound you hear is a collective sigh of relief from pretty much the entire OHSU community. Jacobs has collected quite a few detractors in his six years at the helm. I can't remember hearing many positive words about him from anybody up on Pill Hill since he got here. And no wonder. Under his supervision, the university has become unsafe, pervy, and broke.
Lately the place has been losing money, laying off hundreds, and discontinuing services. OHSU doctors have had a letter-writing campaign going that urged the governor to show Jacobs the door. The nurses seem to dislike the guy, too.
Amidst such chaos, it's hard to believe that OHSU is going to be allowed to go a billion dollars deeper in debt (not a typo) to take over the Legacy hospital and clinic systems. My own physician, at Legacy, is retiring in a hurry rather than work for OHSU. And if the merger deal falls through, Legacy's next owners may be some "private equity" weasels like the ones who have made it impossible to get an ambulance in Portland when you need one. Meanwhile, a bunch of us have got to find a new doctor.
Jacobs was making $1.64 million a year at OHSU, and the board of directors couldn't stop jacking up his pay and pension. There is no immediate word on how much, if anything, they're paying him on his way out the door.
You have to wonder what the deal is with that board. The new chair is Chad Paulson, a lawyer from Pacific Power who is big on doing merger deals. He's got no experience in health care, as far as I can tell. His recent predecessor, Wayne Monfries, is a tax guy. Monfries, who seems to have been Jacobs's biggest fan, remains on the board. Why are people like this running a medical school? Maybe that's the root of the problems.
In any event, I can't imagine the place will be in any worse shape with Jacobs gone than it's been with him there. But you wish somebody good would take over, kick some butt, and straighten the place out. Alas, I suspect the governance rules for OHSU, which seem to have been written to suit Neil Goldschmidt, probably aren't going to bring about that result.
The new university president, Nate Selden, is a pediatric brain surgeon who's been on the OHSU faculty for 24 years. His big marching orders will be to get that merger done. I dunno, it might be better for his institution if somehow it got abandoned.
It’s sad when management skills are not of primary importance when the job is mostly about management. But, that’s what’s been happening lately in “public” organizations.
ReplyDeleteI read that Governors Tina/Aimee are unhappy that no search for a successor is being conducted. The OHSU Board of Directors is independent of the State influence/control. To wit:
ReplyDeleteIn 2011, the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 242, which shifted governance of Oregon’s universities and community colleges from a hodgepodge of state education agencies to one – the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Two years later, with the passage of Senate Bill 270, governance over Oregon’s seven public universities went from the State Board of Education to the universities themselves.
Tina/Aimee were in the Legislature when these two bills were passed.
While Governors and state legislators were allowed to appoint independent boards of regents and trustees to make fiduciary decisions at each university, AFAIK, the State Executive and Legislature have not seen fit to do this.
Suck it up, buttercups...
The political machine apparently felt compelled to step in. This is why we can't find competent leadership for public institutions in Oregon.
ReplyDeleteBoard members have a duty to act independently and provide adult leadership, particularly when faced with challenging circumstances. Their bizarre decision today to table the vote they themselves announced just yesterday amplifies the leadership crisis at OHSU. Bowing to pressure from Kotek further weakens board credibility. Nate Selden is a superstar, here’s hoping he stays engaged. The big question is……who is President? Did they reinstate Danny Jacobs? Oh boy…..
ReplyDeleteYou are very right about most being happy Dr. Jacobs was finally shown the door. It’s been a long time coming up here. The guy was wholly insufficient as a leader.
ReplyDeleteI actually feel like the Legacy —> OHSU merger will be a good thing for both systems. It might be a little bumpy at first, but it strengthens OHSU as a service provider for the region, and keeps Legacy from being bought by something terrible.