THE DAILY PROGRESS REPORTS: UVA MEDICAL SCHOOL FACULTY SAY JIM RYAN IS LYING ABOUT HOSPITAL COMPLAINTS
Dr. Stephen Culp, UVA Health physician and member of UVA Faculty Senate, told his fellow senators Friday that Ryan's assertions are "categorically false."
THE DAILY PROGRESS REPORTS — UVA MEDICAL SCHOOL FACULTY SAY JIM RYAN IS LYING ABOUT HOSPITAL COMPLAINTS: UVa President Jim Ryan has referred to the complaints of criminal and unethical practices as 'generalized and anonymous claims of wrongdoing'
By Emily Hemphill
September 22, 2024
The Daily Progress article above contains illuminating and disconcerting information and we encourage everyone who is concerned about UVA Health to read it in full.
We highlight a few excerpts below intercut with our questions and clarifications in bold in the spirit of continuing the public dialogue started by UVA Leadership…
Dr. Stephen Culp, a UVa Health physician and member of the UVa Faculty Senate, told his fellow senators Friday that Ryan's assertions are "categorically false." Culp then promised to tell fellow senators "the honest truth."
According to Culp, university administrators have been well aware of the allegations in the letter sent to the school's governing Board of Visitors on Sept. 5 for the "better part of the year, if not more" — and not the few months Ryan has claimed. Culp also said administrators were handed the names of multiple complicit employees, not just UVa Health CEO Dr. Craig Kent and School of Medicine Dean Melina Kibbe — both of whom the letter's signatories have called on to resign.
“I can stand here before you honestly and claim these statements to be categorically false,” Culp said of Ryan's statement while addressing the Faculty Senate in a hall at the university's Darden School of Business. “I can say I know firsthand that documentation and names were provided to university leadership for them to investigate as I was involved in providing some of this documentation and names. These were not generalized anonymous claims.”
[Culp] and other faculty members in the School of Medicine, took their concerns along with a draft Faculty Senate resolution to UVa Provost Ian Baucom on Jan. 9. Culp recalled specifically asking the provost whether they should bring the resolution to their fellow senators.
“Do not involve the Senate,” he said they were told by Baucom. “It will be taken care of.”
A couple of months later, on March 5, a working meeting was held with more than 200 faculty members in the School of Medicine, who again claimed the health system had become a toxic work environment under the direction of Kent and Kibbe. While Culp described the conversation as “productive” at the time, he said it was not long after that reports of “retaliatory behavior directed towards School of Medicine faculty members, including multiple School of Medicine faculty senators” began to increase.
Many senators in the room on Friday began to shake their heads in dismay upon hearing this, and they later asked Culp to further explain what such retaliation entailed.
“It's been going on for a couple of years, but after the joint faculty meeting, there were denials of different faculty members going up for promotions they were qualified for,” he said. “There were title strips. There were forced early retirements.”
Culp and other UVa Health employees, who have agreed to speak with The Daily Progress under the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said hospital and medical school leaders have cut the salaries and bonuses of faculty and physicians who spoke out and put "concern cards" and records of "insubordination" in their personnel files.
The anonymity of their accusers has been a top talking point for university administrators, who have asked the 128 individuals behind the letter of no confidence, who did not sign their names, to come forward to discuss their allegations.
- Anonymity! Where have we seen that word before?
- To refresh: referring to the letter as “anonymous” is simply not true. Let’s recap how we got here:
UVA Leadership and UVA’s Communications Team selects “anonymous” as a talking point to distract from the serious allegations in the 9/5/24 No Confidence Letter.
“Anonymous” then appears in communications from UVA Leadership including Jim Ryan’s 9/7/24 letter to the entire UVA School of Medicine Faculty.
Subsequent articles and opinion pieces cite Jim Ryan’s letter and use of “anonymous” as factual.
UVA’s PR spin campaign utilizes the 9/18/24 Daily Progress article to continue to falsely brand the 9/5/24 No Confidence Letter as “anonymous.”
Having been previously coopted by UVA’S PR campaign, this 9/22/24 Daily Progress article keeps the anonymous train rolling.
- For the record, the cover letter of the 9/5/24 UVA Health No Confidence Letter attached below clearly states that the signatories ARE NOT ANONYMOUS and their signatures are available to be viewed by select members of the Board of Visitors…
Administrators have also said that 128 people does not reflect the entirety of the 1,400 School of Medicine faculty members and 30,000 UVa Health employees. A small number of dissatisfied employees is typical of a large organization, UVa has said.
- Déjà vu! Contrasting 128 with 1,400 and 30,000!
- Where else have we seen this tactic of attempting to diminish the severity of the doctors’ allegations by suggestion the serious concerns of 128 of our medical professionals is statistically irrelevant when contrasted with the tens of thousands of total UVA Health employees?
The 9/6/24 unsigned email “Our Commitment to Continued Excellence” sent from UVA Health Leadership to all of UVA Health?
Jim Ryan’s 9/7/12 email “A Message from President Ryan to Medical School Faculty” sent to the entire Medical School Faculty?
Melina Kibbe’s 9/7/24 email “Message from Dean Melina Kibbe, MD” to the entire UVA School of Medicine Alumni that forwarded Jim Ryan’s 9/7/12 email he sent to the entire Medical School Faculty?
Craig Kent and Melina Kibbe’s 9/9/24 email “RE: A Message from President Ryan to Medical School Faculty” to all of UVA Health that forwarded Jim Ryan’s 9/7/12 email to the entire Medical School Faculty?
UVA Health System Board Public Member Bill Crutchfield’s letters in Virginia Business on 9/9/12 and The Daily Progress on 9/10/12?
The 9/18/22 Daily Progress article “UVa hires international law firm to investigate hospital complaints” that cites Brian Coy, UVA Chief Communications Officer as a source.
And having been previously coopted by UVA’S PR campaign, this 9/22/24 Daily Progress article keeps the 128 vs thousands train rolling.
Culp’s remarks struck a chord Friday with his fellow senators, who called it a “watershed” moment for UVa. Unsatisfied with the manner in which their administration is handling the “crisis” at the School of Medicine, the Faculty Senate unanimously passed a motion to show support for their colleagues in the School of Medicine.
Proposed by associate professor Brian Pusser, the body pledged to “as soon as possible create a resolution regarding the issues in the School of Medicine currently the subject of review by the university administration and Board of Visitors.”
“If the crises in higher education over the past 30 years have taught me anything, this is precisely the wrong way to conduct an investigation without extensive information and collaborative discussion,” Pusser told the Faculty Senate on Friday. “We may get through this situation, but we will be poorly positioned to empower a broad group of the university community to ensure that such crises will not be repeated.”
- Much respect to Professor Brian Pusser.
- And much respect to Dr. Stephen Culp.
- And much respect to the unanimous UVA Faculty Senators.
UVa spokesman Brian Coy told The Daily Progress that the decision to conceal the law firm's findings was based on the possibility of any sensitive information being revealed to the public in a report.
"Given the nature of the allegations made in the anonymous letter, this review will cover sensitive personnel and legal matters and will be conducted under privilege," he said in an email.
- There’s that anonymous word again. Every time UVA’s Leadership misrepresents our doctors in an attempt to diminish them, we’ll stand up for them. Per above — Not. Anonymous.
- And once again, there’s UVA Leadership trying to downgrade this crisis to a review. We’re going to go with the language used by Williams & Connolly… it’s an investigation.
- Reading “UVA spokesman” + “conceal” + “law firm’s findings” in the same sentence feels like a good summation of the leadership crisis our doctors are fighting to fix.
What is going on at UVA Health?
We are Concerned Citizens of Charlottesville and Patients of UVA Health who are troubled by what we have heard from many UVA Health professionals over the past year.
These professionals are not only our doctors and nurses but also our friends, family and neighbors. We believe our community should value and protect its health care workers who have dedicated their lives to helping UVA patients.
A Parrhesiastes is someone who speaks the truth in a clear and honest way…
It's about the courage to speak one’s mind even when it's difficult or unpopular…to prioritize truth over social niceties or personal gain...
But speaking the truth can be dangerous. A Parrhesiastes understands this risk and is willing to face the consequences, from social disapproval to vindictive employers or even violence...
Because ultimately Parrhesiastes act out of a sense of duty.
They believe speaking the truth is necessary for the greater good and to protect the people and institution they love.
See the AAUP chapter Statement of 9/12 that supports the 128 and addresses other issues. We have concerns that the proposed process by the BOV and President Ryan is riddled with conflicting interest problems. Perhaps the SOM senators should propose a process that they feel is worthy of their trust.