Board smart to keep Levy on as CEO
IN HER May 9 op-ed column 'How not to run a hospital,' JoanVennochi slams Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center CEO Paul Levy. She implies that the hospital board's decision not to fire him overa personal relationship with a female employee is an example of theworkings of an old boy network. But the example she uses to makethis argument is off the mark.
The Boston businessman whose name was kept secret when heinformed the law of an extortion attempt did not receiveinappropriate protection. Withholding his name was a rational andappropriate decision. We protect the names of those who reportwrongdoing in order to encourage others to do the same.
Further, she accuses Levy of being 'an arrogant CEO whointentionally put the reputation of his institution at risk.' Farfrom it. I am a Brookline primary care physician, and I havepracticed at Beth Israel Deaconess since 1970. While the hospitalwas good before Levy took over its leadership, it has become greatsince his arrival.
I am confident that the board decided to keep him in his jobbecause he is still the right man for this difficult, challengingtask. He has created a workplace where employee morale, work ethic,standards of care, and scientific achievements are all high. Farfrom damaging its reputation, Paul Levy has shaped Beth IsraelDeaconess into a world-class medical institution.
Brookline
JOAN VENNOCHI missed the point with her May 9 column about BethIsrael Deaconess Medical Center CEO Paul Levy. What has made Levysuch a clear and welcome voice in health care is his call foracknowledgement, ownership, transparency, and resolution when amistake occurs. He works with men and women of extraordinary talent,from researchers to intensive care nurses. When someone errs (andevery one of us will), he does not call for them to slink away inshame, or destroy their careers. If so, who would ever acknowledge amistake?
Perhaps Vennochi thinks the transparency was lax in Levy's owncase, but he did what he asked of others - he took personalinventory, he paid his dues, and he went on. Vennochi's off-with-their-heads attitude will lead to many valuable heads on the floor.
Waban
Sad to see hospital leader join ranks of Tiger Woods and JohnEdwards
THIS IS a hard letter to write, to paraphrase Joan Vennochi,paraphrasing Paul Levy, the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess MedicalCenter ('How not to run a hospital,' Op-ed, May 9). I applaud herwell-balanced column. As a former employee of Beth Israel Deaconess,and still a patient and a great supporter of its focus on patient-centered care, I championed Paul Levy's extraordinary leadership.It's sad to see him joining the ranks of Tiger Woods, John Edwards,and Mark Sanford. Sure these men have their foibles, but we hold ourleaders and role models to a higher standard - especially when theymake a point of standing for honesty, decency, devotion to family,or, in Levy's case, transparency.
He successfully turned the hospital around financially, but,unfortunately, left himself morally bankrupt as he betrayed hisfamily and the many employees who work for and depended on him touphold what he appeared to stand for.
Cambridge
The writer is a professional patient advocate.
Nonprofit
must disclose
financial details
I READ 'Levy is fined $50,000 for lapses in judgment: Hospitalboard cites relationship' (Metro, May 4), about the CEO of BethIsrael Deaconess Medical Center, Paul Levy. The problem that I haveis that we still don't know how the $50,000 compares to theseverance package that the former employee who had a personalrelationship with Levy was paid following her departure from thehospital.
Nonprofit hospitals can lose their tax-exempt status for givingaway their assets to 'insiders' or to others who receive money so asto constitute too much in the way of private benefit.
The Beth Israel Deaconess board has a fiduciary responsibility tosee that this does not happen, so only a fine that is equal to orgreater than the severance paid to this individual would make thispublic charity whole and not at risk for loss of its tax-exemptstatus under these circumstances.
Until we know the severance amount, the mystery surrounding thesituation and the threat to Beth Israel Deaconess remains.
Newton Centre
The writer is associate director of the master's in public healthprogram at Tufts University Medical School.
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