128 doctors, who asked that their names be withheld from the public, say CEO Craig Kent and med school Dean Melina Kibbe have fostered an environment that compromises patient safety and creates a culture of fear among faculty. One senior doctor told Radio IQ that the two top administrators imposed changes that were not in the best interest of patients and said physicians’ base salaries might be cut if they did not hit certain productivity benchmarks.
The letter accuses Kent and Kibbe of hiring doctors with questionable skills and subjecting residents to harassment. One retired executive said he was surprised it had taken this long for complaints to go public, noting an exodus of top physicians since Drs. Kent and Kibbe took charge.
Craig Kent is the highest-paid individual at the University with a salary of $1.6 million, $500,000 more than he was paid last year. In fact, he out-earns UVA President Ryan, who recently extended Kent’s contract through 2030.
Kibbe ranks third on the list of highly paid administrators with a salary of $829,000, a 23 percent increase from last year.
In their letter, UVA doctors claimed critics had been dismissed or punished while reports of abuse were suppressed or altered. It accuses administrators of excessive spending on executives instead of addressing staff shortages and calls on the Board of Visitors to fire Kent and Kibbe.
Now, UVA’s president is speaking out – pledging to investigate those and other charges but expressing his disappointment with those who sent the letter. He says they have unfairly cast a shadow over the great work of the entire health system. Calling the CEO and Dean by their first names, Ryan objected to the harsh criticism of Melina and Craig and argued they should be given credit for the remarkable work they have done to strengthen the health system.
A more forceful defense of management came from William Crutchfield, who sits on the health system board.
Crutchfield noted Kent and Kibbe had been extraordinarily successful in raising financial support, with the med school attracting a record amount of money. (Most of it came from one donor— pharmaceutical mogul Paul Manning, who is a member of the Board of Visitors.
Crutchfield said UVA was one of only a handful of health systems that was profitable through the pandemic, so the school could continue construction and acquisitions, and he warned that UVA would find it hard to raise cash if a small cabal of people hiding behind anonymity could force outstanding leaders out.
