Fired MetroHealth President and CEO Akram Boutros, MD, acted beyond his authority by awarding himself $1.98 million in bonuses, the Cleveland-based system said in a court filing, cleveland.com reported Jan. 30.
The health system stated in the filing that its board sets the goals for the CEO and Dr. Boutros "did not make any effort to inform the board that he had crafted his own supplemental bonus program. To the contrary, he concealed it," according to the report.
The filing was in response to a lawsuit Dr. Boutros filed Nov. 28 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, which has since been amended. Dr. Boutros filed the lawsuit after he was fired as president and CEO of MetroHealth on Nov. 21. The lawsuit alleges violations of Ohio's Open Meetings Act and the board bylaws. Dr. Boutros also alleges board retaliation and accuses the MetroHealth board of violating the law in its hiring of the health system's current president and CEO, Airica Steed, EdD, RN.
In MetroHealth's recent court filing, the health system pushed back on Dr. Boutros' allegations that its CEO search violated Ohio's Opening Meetings Act and that he was fired in retaliation for whistleblowing, according to the report. The system argued the search was "transparent and thorough" and refuted that hiring consulting was in violation of the law.
The system alleged that it was only after his firing that Dr. Boutros attempted to "deflect from his own conduct by creating false stories of retaliation," according to the cleveland.com report.
Dr. Boutros' lawyer, Jason Bristol, told the news outlet that MetroHealth is taking a "very cavalier approach" to the state's open meetings law and is deflecting from the board's own "negligent and malicious conduct."
Since his firing, Dr. Boutros has filed multiple lawsuits against MetroHealth.
Dr. Steed became president and CEO of MetroHealth on Dec. 5.