Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1337263
41 CLINICAL LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT Memorial Sloan Kettering paid $1.5M severance to CMO forced out over disclosure failures By Molly Gamble M emorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has paid more than $1.5 million in severance to its for- mer CMO, who resigned in 2018 after he did not disclose financial ties to healthcare companies in research papers he authored, according to The New York Times. IRS filings show the New York hospital paid the severance to José Baselga, MD, PhD, in 2018 and 2019. A spokesper- son for the hospital told the Times that payments reflect its "contractual obligation" to Dr. Baselga under his employ- ment agreement. The hospital would not say whether it paid additional severance to Dr. Baselga in 2020. Dr. Baselga resigned in September 2018, shortly after an analysis by the Times and ProPublica revealed how he failed to disclose significant financial relationships in the industry in more than 100 papers he authored in the previous five years. The omissions reportedly included payments totaling mil- lions of dollars. At the time, he said the lapses in disclosure were unintentional and that his industry work was known among the public. The incident prompted Memorial Sloan Kettering to change its conflict-of-interest policy, barring executives from serving on corporate boards of drug and healthcare companies. Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca hired Dr. Baselga in 2019 to head its oncology research and development unit. n CMO to leave Georgia hospital after 3 decades By Kelly Gooch S teven Kitchen, MD, retired as CMO of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Ga., hospital officials said. Dr. Kitchen had served South Georgia residents for 31 years and delivered more than 2,500 babies at Phoebe Putney Memorial before becoming CMO six years ago, officials said. During his tenure, he is credited with helping to establish and oversee quality improvement teams and leading Phoebe Putney Memorial's transition to a high intensity model for critical care. Dr. Kitchen retired at the end of 2020, and Kathy Hudson, MD, chief of medical staff, took on the CMO role, hospital leaders said. Dr. Hudson had served as regional medical director of Phoebe's Hospitalist Group and president of the Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Medical Executive Committee. Chirag Jani, MD, an oncologist and Phoebe medical director of hematology and oncology, replaced Dr. Hudson as medical executive committee president. n Rhode Island hospital to be led by nurse promoted from within for first time By Kelly Gooch T he Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I., has pro- moted chief nursing executive Maria Ducharme, DNP, RN, to president. Dr. Ducharme previously served as senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer. She is the first nurse to be promoted from inside the organi- zation to the top leadership role since the hospital was founded in 1925, the hospital said. She is the hospital's third female president. "Dr. Ducharme has dedicated her career to the Miriam Hospital's mission of providing advanced medical care at the highest quality level in a community setting," Timothy Babineau, MD, president and CEO of Miriam's parent company, Providence-based Lifespan, said in a news release. "I am so pleased that the Lifespan commu- nity will continue to benefit from Dr. Ducharme's deep knowledge, experience and expertise as she leads the Miriam Hospital as its next president." Dr. Ducharme's career at the hospital spans more than 30 years. She was named senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer in 2010. n