CLEVELAND — Just weeks after MetroHealth CEO Airica Steed took a leave of absence, the health system's board of trustees voted to fire her on Friday.
“We believe Dr. Steed’s performance is not meeting the needs of MetroHealth. 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," MetroHealth Board of Trustees Chair E. Harry Walker, MD said in a statement.
Steed's firing, first reported by Mark Naymik of 3News media partner Signal Cleveland, marks the second time in less than two years that MetroHealth has removed its CEO.
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.
Here is the full statement from MetroHealth Board of Trustees Chair E. Harry Walker, MD:
“It has become clear that the Board and Dr. Steed fundamentally disagree about the priorities and performance standards needed from our CEO for MetroHealth to fulfill its mission. We believe Dr. Steed’s performance is not meeting the needs of MetroHealth. 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. Therefore, we are exercising our right to terminate her at-will contract.
“We thank Dr. Steed for her service and wish her well in her future endeavors. We had high expectations when she arrived in 2022 and are sorry those expectations have not been met.
“MetroHealth plays an extraordinarily important role in Cleveland and Cuyahoga County. Because the Board is entrusted with guiding this critical community institution, our focus must always be on the future of MetroHealth and making sure it remains what it has been for 187 years: Greater Cleveland’s outstanding super-safety-net hospital system.
“Our mission and the commitment to health equity that it embodies are sacred to this Board and to our more than 9,000 employees. With Dr. Steed’s departure, we are confident we have senior leaders who can step in and guarantee that MetroHealth will continue to be a beacon of excellence for our patients and our community.”
Later Friday evening, 3News Investigates obtained a copy of Walker's termination letter to Steed, which read:
"This afternoon, the Board of Trustees of the MetroHealth System voted to terminate your Employment Agreement and therefore to end your employment with MetroHealth. The Board elected to terminate the Employment Agreement without cause. We thank you for your service to MetroHealth and wish you well in your future endeavors."
What went wrong?
Both SignalCleveland and 3News obtained Steed's performance review from March. It showed that she met or exceeded expectations in "mission strategy, financial management, quality safety and experience, and community and external relations. Steed only partially met expectations for "collaboration and building relationships with physicians," and was below expectations for "effective leadership of the management team" and "relationship with the board and chair."
Steed was reviewed through the eyes of 32 board members, top physicians and other staff, community leaders and Steed herself, according to the report. Respondents gave Steed an overall rating of 7.3 out of 10, with 34.4% selecting the highest possible rating. Steed herself – and community leaders – gave her the top rating.
As Naymik reports, Steed did hit goals tied to the hospital’s performance that triggered a $381,000 bonus on top of her $900,000 base salary.
In addition, Naymik noted that the MetroHealth Board of Trustees analyzed Steed's travel and local business expenses in a report covering 2023 and 2024. The report shows Steed traveled frequently, nearly every month, often multiple times a month. The trips were tied to healthcare and leadership conferences, some that featured her as a speaker or where she received awards.
The cost of Steed's out-of-town trips – including airfare, hotels, car services, and meals – was $77,410 for approximately the last 18 months.
Naymik noted that the board's analysis of Steed’s expenses examined the costs of her memberships in professional organizations, fees for attending local events, and business meals and related expenses. These costs totaled nearly $73,000 for 2023 and 2024.
Leave of absence
On July 23, 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.
Signal Cleveland was the first to report the story and obtained an email sent to employees by Hollings, which read:
"I wanted to let you know that Dr. Airica Steed, Metrohealth's CEO & President, is taking a short leave. In her absence, she has designated me to handle her day-to-day responsibilities.
"Please know that I share Dr. Steed's admiration for the mission critical work you do every day to serve our patients, this organization and the Greater Cleveland community. This temporary situation will not affect our mission or that important work in any way.
"I ask you to join me and the entire leadership team in wishing Dr. Steed all the best as we await her return."
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.
"All of us on the Board and at MetroHealth wish Dr. Steed and her family well,” said Walker in a statement on July 26. “We look forward to her return."
Steed's response
In a follow-up report for Signal Cleveland, Naymik received a statement from Steed's attorney, who claimed the board's decision to terminate her while on medical leave was "unlawful" and suggested she was only fired after voicing worries about "discrimination in the workplace as well as other ethical and legal issues."
3News Investigates later obtained the full statement from F. Allen Boseman Jr. of the Sherman Boseman Legal Group:
"The Sherman Boseman Legal Group represents Dr. Airica Steed (“Dr. Steed”). Dr. Steed first learned through the media, and not from MetroHealth System (“MetroHealth” or the “System”) directly, that she was unlawfully terminated today while on an approved FMLA Leave. Dr. Steed, who is the first female and African American CEO of MetroHealth, is extremely disappointed in the actions of MetroHealth’s Board of Trustees (“Board”) and is stunned that the Board has taken action that directly conflicts with prior representations made publicly as well as to Dr. Steed privately.
"On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, when MetroHealth insisted on making Dr. Steed’s request for FMLA Leave public, William Dube (“Mr. Dube”), MetroHealth’s Vice President of Communications, confirmed that the leave was a 'temporary situation' that 'would not affect [MetroHealth’s] mission or that important work in any way.' Mr. Dube also wished 'Dr. Steed the best as [MetroHealth] awaits her return.' The following day, the Board issued another public statement acknowledging that Dr. Steed was expected to return to her role in mid-August.
"Consistent with her communications with MetroHealth, Dr. Steed planned to return to MetroHealth on Friday, August 16, 2024. The Board voiced no objection or resistance to this plan. Since she has been on FMLA Leave, no one at MetroHealth has communicated any performance concerns or other issues to her that would support a termination decision. Instead, the Board has chosen to issue a public statement claiming that 'Dr. Steed’s performance is not meeting the needs of MetroHealth' and that they have 'lost confidence in her ability to lead the organization[.]' However, even the Board knows that these denigrating statements are not based on actual performance issues inasmuch as the termination letter sent to her by MetroHealth provides that “[t]he Board elected to terminate [Dr. Steed’s] Employment Agreement without cause” with absolutely no mention of any performance issues. A copy of that letter is included with this press release.
"Based on what we know, we have good reason to believe that the Board’s decision today is a direct response to Dr. Steed engaging in protected activity. The obvious difference between the official letter sent to Dr. Steed and the public statement issued to the media demonstrates overt animus and an intent to irreparably harm Dr. Steed’s superb reputation and standing in the medical community. Dr. Steed is determined to protect her interests and the interests of other MetroHealth employees who have voiced serious concerns about discrimination and the wrongful treatment of Dr. Steed and others.
"Dr. Steed became the CEO of MetroHealth at a very tumultuous time when the System fired its former CEO, Dr. Akram Boutros, and hospital systems all over the country were experiencing financial hardship causing mass layoffs and the elimination of countless positions. Despite this, in Dr. Steed’s first year as CEO, MetroHealth met its financial goals and every other goal for 2023, and she was confident that the 2024 goals would be met by the end of the year. In her March 1, 2024 Performance Review, the Board acknowledged this fact by stating that Dr. Steed 'met or exceeded expectations' for 'Financial Management' and had 'done [a] commendable job in [her] first year leading [MetroHealth] during a challenging time.'
"Since that time, Dr. Steed has internally voiced concerns about discrimination in the workplace as well as other ethical and legal issues, and now the Board has conveniently raised alleged performance deficiencies and disparaged her good name. Dr. Steed, however, will not be silenced and she will be exploring all of her options, including legal action, to right a wrong that should concern every citizen of this community and medical professionals across the county. The purported statement by Dorsena Koonce, a spokesperson for the System, that the Board and Dr. Steed are currently negotiating the final terms of a separation agreement is completely false. Dr. Steed was blindsided by MetroHealth’s actions today, and no such negotiations are taking place.
"At this time, Dr. Steed will not be participating in any interviews or issuing any further statements, but please direct any media inquiries to our law firm."
Walker then issued his own second statement to Signal Cleveland, accusing Steed and her team of trying to drag them into a "tit-for-tat" situation.
"This was purely an issue of the CEO's failure to perform and entirely based on her direct interactions with the Board of Trustees," Walker said of Steed's allegations. "The performance issues that caused us to act are long-standing and were made clear to her on numerous occasions. She failed for months to address them. Because of that, we lost confidence in her ability to lead the System and felt we had no choice but to end her at-will employment agreement."
Former CEOs clash
Without saying Boutros' name, Steed accused her predecessor of "intimidation" and "character assassination" in her performance review comments. She also added that she "endured some pretty challenging circumstances." Per Naymik, here was the quote in the review:
“I also want to put on the record that while I have had to endure some pretty challenging circumstances, including social media harassment/bullying/intimidation/character assassination by my predecessor, in no uncertain terms have I ever disparaged or represented the Board of Trustees in a negative light and I have zero control over baseless and unsubstantiated gossip. I have been on record of praising the Board of Trustees and will continue to do so in the manner in which I represent MetroHealth. My hope is that negative falsehoods are not taken at face value and that I be given the benefit of the doubt.”
After the SignalCleveland story with Steed's review comments were published, 3News received this statement from Boutros' attorney:
"Dr. Steed’s statements about Dr. Boutros in her performance review are false. Dr. Boutros left MetroHealth in a stellar financial condition. Dr. Steed had every opportunity to succeed, and she is solely responsible for what happened on her watch."
Ironically, both Boutros and Steed have now accused the board of wrongdoing and retaliatory tactics in regard to their respective firings.