CLEVELAND — In the ongoing fallout from former MetroHealth President and CEO Dr. Akram Boutros' shocking firing, the health system has announced that an independent audit firm has been retained to review "the unauthorized bonuses" that were paid to him.
Meanwhile, 3News has also confirmed that a member of the MetroHealth Board of Trustees has resigned. Terry Monnolly has stepped down, citing health reasons. The 74-year-old businessman had been on the board for 17 years and his term was scheduled to run until 2028.
In a statement to 3News, MetroHealth wrote the following about Monnolly's departure. "We are sorry that Terry has decided to resign from the Board. All of us appreciate his lengthy and valuable service to the Board and to MetroHealth. We wish him nothing but the best."
The resignation of Monnolly and the announcement of the audit is just the latest chapter in the saga of Boutros' dismissal just over a month before his planned retirement. Boutros is claimed to have authorized more than $1.9 million in bonus payments to himself over a four-year period beginning in 2018, without disclosing those payments to MetroHealth's Board of Trustees.
The hiring of the audit firm was authorized in a resolution passed by The MetroHealth Board of Trustees on Dec. 2. The auditors will release their report to new MetroHealth President and CEO Dr. Airica Steed and the Tucker Ellis Law firm, who conducted the investigation on Boutros commissioned by MetroHealth.
“Here are the main marching orders: Investigate how this happened and why it wasn’t discovered earlier,” Steed said in a statement. “We are determined to learn from this and put appropriate controls in place to help prevent anything similar from happening again.
Steed added that the findings of the audit will be made public.
Also in the statement, Vanessa Whiting, Chair of the MetroHealth Board of Trustees, noted that two major steps have already been taken to improve the CEO compensation system prior to the findings of the audit:
- The MetroHealth CEO’s annual bonus or incentive payment must now be the subject of a separate Board resolution and will be audited to assure compliance with all MetroHealth compensation policies and requirements.
- Compensation consultants, who have been hired by MetroHealth in the past to advise on rates of pay at peer health systems and compensation trends, must now verify details of the CEO’s pay and benefits with MetroHealth Human Resources, rather than relying on data provided by the CEO alone.
The investigation from attorney John McCaffrey of Tucker Ellis LLP claims Boutros' bonus payments came from self-assessments based on metrics he himself designed. Furthermore, the report further states the board did not delegate its own authority to authorize compensation and that Boutros did not disclose his metrics to the board, nor did he acknowledge the payments themselves "at other points in time in which such a disclosure would be relevant."
"This evidence, at a minimum, establishes the Board’s right to terminate Boutros's employment for Cause, as defined in the employment agreement," McCaffrey wrote. "And at worse, this evidence suggests that Boutros may face potential criminal liability for Ohio ethics violations, theft in office, and other related statutes."
Though he did self-report his actions to the Ohio Ethics Commission, Boutros has countered by alleging his firing was a case of "pure retaliation," telling 3News' Monica Robins he had acted as a "whistleblower" against the board when he accused them of illegally discussing candidates for his potential replacement outside of public meetings. The ex-CEO added he believed the bonus payments fell in line with company policy, and has since filed a lawsuit against Metro's board accusing members of "wildly reckless, illegal, and damaging actions."
Earlier this week, Cuyahoga County Council unanimously passed an amendment to its 2023 budget that places additional safeguards on taxpayer subsidies going to MetroHealth. The hospital system traditionally receives roughly $32 million a year from the county in 12 automatic monthly payments, but under the new parameters, only the first three will be automatic this year while Council must approve the final nine months on a quarterly basis.
"County Council has consistently supported dedicating a substantial amount of Health and Human Services levy dollars to support MetroHealth in providing critically needed care to indigent patients in Cuyahoga County," Council President Pernel Jones Jr. said in remarks before the final vote. "Given the recent allegations about misuse of funds at MetroHealth, however, this council has a duty to fulfill its oversight responsibility."