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Oregon Health & Science University struggled for nearly two years to fill one of its most important jobs: health care system CEO. But not long ago, the medical center, led by new president Shereef Elnahal, announced it had finally found its man.
Now, a little more than three months after beginning his tenure, that man, Tarek Salaway, is no longer in the job, effective immediately. Elnahal shared the news Friday morning in an email to OHSU staff, which WW obtained.
The reason behind Salaway’s departure was not immediately clear. An OHSU spokesperson said the medical center would not comment beyond Elnahal’s message, which did not provide a rationale.
Salaway tells WW he was fired as retaliation for raising concerns about the institution. He has yet to provide evidence, and he and his attorney declined to elaborate in detail, but suggested they plan to take legal action.
Salaway has not been present at OHSU for some days now. Prior to Friday’s announcement to staff, his email address was sending auto-responses saying he was out of the office for an urgent matter.
Asked late last month about this—as well as the fact that Salaway’s LinkedIn account had been temporarily deactivated—the OHSU media office said Salaway was on leave for personal matters. Elnahal, the president, repeated this in an interview at an event early this week and said it was all he could say.
Salaway, by phone Friday, says he has indeed been on personal leave in California, where he is, and remains, with an elderly parent who is ill.
But he said he has also, for unrelated reasons, been in talks with OHSU over the terms of a separation agreement.
Still, he said the abruptness of Elnahal’s announcement Friday had caught him off guard.
“There’s a lot that has happened and I spoke up about, and it was extremely retaliatory,” Salaway said. “This involves some retaliation, without question, upon discovery of some pretty ugly facts.”
He did not want to elaborate without consulting his attorney, who issued a statement to WW by phone shortly after.
“We are disappointed in the decision of OHSU to terminate Mr. Salaway’s employment after failing to take his concerns about bias and resource waste seriously,” said the attorney, Jackie Ford. “Mr. Salaway is an accomplished executive and seasoned leader who addresses these matters with the utmost importance. We look forward to using the legal process to ensure these issues are taken seriously going forward.”
Later, the lawyer sent a written statement from Salaway: As CEO, he said, he has an ethical obligation to raise concerns when he believes there are issues “that could affect the affect the long-term integrity, safety, or sustainability of the institution.”
He added, “My actions were guided by that duty.”
Salaway’s hiring was announced in November and his official first day on the job was Dec. 15.
Elnahal’s email said that chief medical officer Renee Edwards will fill in as acting CEO of OHSU Health until an interim replacement is announced.
“I recognize leadership changes—regardless of the circumstances—can be disruptive," Elnahal wrote. “I am proud of the progress we continue to make together, and I am committed to minimizing any impact this may have throughout the health care mission.”
Salaway’s departure leaves a vacancy, once again, in one of OHSU’s top positions. While Elnahal runs the academic medical center as a whole, the OHSU Health CEO is a key vice president, overseeing the business and operations for the hospital and clinics of Oregon’s flagship health care institution.
The search to fill that job began in early 2024, when longtime CEO John Hunter said he would step down. Hunter departed in June that year.
Joe Ness, the health system’s chief operating officer, took on the health system CEO role in an interim capacity until late 2024, when OHSU announced a new interim hire, Ann Madden Rice. But Rice ended up leaving five weeks later in early January 2025.
Immediately thereafter, OHSU appointed Tim Goldfarb—who’d run OHSU Health decades prior—to come out of retirement to take the OHSU Health interim CEO position.
On his comeback tour, Goldfarb did some restructuring. Ness, back in the chief operating officer role, lost his job in August as part of what Elnahal has told WW was a reorganization that Goldfarb oversaw.
Goldfarb, meanwhile, served in the CEO position until Salaway took over, staying on to help pass the reins.
