CLEVELAND — MetroHealth has named Dr. Christine Alexander-Rager as the system's CEO through at least 2025.
Alexander-Rager has been serving as MetroHealth's acting president and CEO since July 26, when she was appointed to replace Dr. Airica Steed while on medical leave. Steed was later fired on Aug. 9.
MetroHealth's commitment to Alexander-Rager through next year will allow her to complete Steed's term.
“Dr. Alexander-Rager cares deeply about this institution, our employees and our community,” said E. Harry Walker, MD, Chair, Board of Trustees, in a release. “In her 27 years at MetroHealth as a primary care physician, she has always put our patients’ well-being at the center of every decision, every initiative and every moment of care. Her vision for MetroHealth and her deep commitment to our mission make her the ideal leader to guide us forward.”.
Alexander-Rager has worked at MetroHealth for nearly three decades, with her most recent role being the interim executive vice president, chief physician executive and clinical officer. Prior to that role, she served as chair of family medicine for 14 years.
“There is no group of caregivers more devoted, more caring and more committed to patients and to our community than MetroHealth’s 9,000 caregivers,” Alexander-Rager added. “It is an honor to be leading them and to be guiding our health system into the future.”
BACKGROUND ON METROHEALTH CEOs
Alexander-Rager will be the third CEO for MetroHealth in the last two years.
MetroHealth's Board of Trustees hired Steed as the system's next CEO in September of 2022, with the plan being for her to replace the retiring Dr. Akram Boutros that succeeding January. That timeline was abruptly moved up in November when Boutros was fired for allegedly giving himself nearly $2 million worth of undisclosed and improper bonuses.
On July 23, 2024, a memo was sent out to MetroHealth staff members indicating Steed was taking a leave of absence from her duties. The memo stated that Derrick Hollings, Metro's executive vice president and chief financial officer, would be taking over her responsibilities on an acting basis.
Three days later, the MetroHealth Board of Trustees announced that Dr. Christine Alexander-Rager would serve as the system's acting president and CEO while Steed was on medical leave.
Just weeks after Steed took a leave of absence, the health system's board of trustees voted to fire her.
"We believe Dr. Steed's performance is not meeting the needs of MetroHealth," Board Chair Dr. E. Harry Walker said in a statement on Aug. 9. "As a result, we have lost confidence in her ability to lead the organization going forward and believe it would not be in the best interest of the System for her to continue in her position."
3News' Tyler Carey and Anna Meyer contributed to this report
