The inspector general of New York-based New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., Norman Dion, filed for retirement following the hospital board of directors' approval of a resolution to transfer oversight of the unit to the Department of Investigation, according to the New York Post.
The public hospital system is disbanding the office of its inspector general in the wake of a series of reports exposing long-term mismanagement, including a backlog of more than 800 open cases at one point, according to the report.
According to the report, Mr. Dion was asked to resign amid a torrent of unflattering headlines, though hospital officials insisted his departure stems from his pending retirement. He served as inspector general for 11 years, reporting to HHC president Ramanathan Raju, MD.
The New York Post has repeatedly reported on Mr. Dion's alleged mismanagement of the inspector general's office. For instance, the Post reported it took him seven years to conclude a case alleging an administrator at Coney Island Hospital improperly accepted a flat-screen TV from a nursing home. In 2012, Mr. Dion had a backlog of 800 cases dating back to 2003. More recently, Mr. Dion's office investigated allegations of mismanagement and overbilling on a $1.5 billion overhaul of the hospitals' EMR system, but it wasn't until the New York Post began digging into the probe this summer did HHC terminate more than a half-dozen consultants and technology officials responsible for the troubled overhaul.
Mr. Dion did not respond to the New York Post's request for an interview.