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Early this month, Oregon Health & Science University president Shereef Elnahal told staff the health system’s top executive, Tarek Salaway, no longer worked there, effective immediately.
Salaway, who had only just begun in the key job in December, promptly told WW he had been fired as retaliation for raising concerns about spending and the workplace climate. (His attorney says Salaway cannot provide documentation of this “at this time” since the matters involve confidential information.)
Prior to all of this, however, there was deeper churn in the upper reaches of the health system Salaway was tasked with running. During Salaway’s very brief tenure, at least three notable employees were leaving the department he oversaw.
One was Tim Kringen, a senior adviser at OHSU Health. Another was vice president and chief ambulatory officer Brooke Lippincott. (The OHSU organizational chart lists the position among a small handful that reported directly to Salaway.) Another person who left was Tionna Foglio-Reed, senior executive assistant to the CEO.
An OHSU spokesperson confirmed these recent resignations in an email to WW. Lippincott declined to comment, and the other two did not respond to inquiries.
Asked about the exodus that occurred under Salaway’s watch, Salaway’s attorney said: “Leadership transitions occur regularly in large academic health systems, and it would not be appropriate for Mr. Salaway to comment on individual personnel matters. Mr. Salaway remained focused on fulfilling his responsibility as CEO to raise concerns when he believed important institutional issues warranted attention.”
The OHSU Health CEO is a key position at OHSU. While Elnahal, the president, runs the academic medical center as a whole, the health system CEO directly oversees the business and operations for the hospital, clinics, and other health care operations.
