ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - The president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System is taking a temporary leave of absence after reports that about a third of the system’s board has received compensation for their businesses through the network’s contracts, the chairman of the board announced Thursday.
Board Chairman Stephen Burch said Robert Chrencik’s leave of absence will begin Monday. Burch also announced after an emergency meeting that the board voted unanimously to engage an outside, independent accounting and legal firm to conduct “an exhaustive review and assessment of Board contractual relationships.”
“There is nothing more important than the trust of those that depend upon the Board’s leadership,” Burch said in a statement. “And, over the past week, I’ve had the proper time to listen to concerns and reflect. The Board and I are firmly committed to evolving our governance principles and operating with even more transparency.”
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh stepped down from the system’s board Monday, days after it came to light that the hospital network had purchased her self-published children’s books. Two other members of the board also stepped down, and four others went on voluntary leaves while the system reviews governance practices.
The Baltimore Sun reported last week that nine members of the system’s board had business deals with the network that are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each.
Also on Thursday, the Maryland House of Delegates voted to suspend the chamber’s rules regarding the filing of legislation late in the session to file a bill sponsored by House Speaker Michael Busch to reform the medical system’s board. In what was described as an unprecedented move, the House minority leader, a Republican, rose to make the request on behalf of the speaker, who is a Democrat, in an expression of solidarity.
Del. Nic Kipke, the House minority leader, said there were a number of “troubling allegations regarding self-dealing among members of the board.”
“The allegations in my opinion are really troubling, potentially despicable and just outright rotten,” Kipke said.
The measure would require an audit of financial management at the system by Dec. 31. It also would require each board member to annually submit a financial interest disclosure including any potential conflicts of interest and bar board members from getting contracts without a bidding process.
The developments came a day after Burch and Chrencik met with Gov. Larry Hogan and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller to discuss what happened and how to fix it. Miller told reporters Thursday that he and the governor repeatedly asked about who approved the book deal with the mayor - and never got an answer.
“Well, the governor wanted to press that issue very strongly, and I asked a question also: ’Why did it continue?’ And they said: ’She continued to write more books,’” Miller said. “They didn’t tell us who authorized the check, who signed the check and who approved the deal.”
The Maryland Senate is considering a bill to bar the practice of board members having business deal with the system.
“There are certain standards everybody understands and knows about in terms of transparency that were obviously not followed,” Miller said.
The University of Maryland Medical System is a university-based regional health care system. It is one of the largest private employers in the state, with about 28,000 employees and 4,000 affiliated physicians at more than 150 locations and at 13 hospitals.
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