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* UPDATED x1 * Loretto Hospital accepts resignation of COO

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One of Loretto Hospital’s top executives resigned Wednesday night after Block Club revealed people at three businesses he had close ties with were vaccinated early with doses from the West Side hospital.

Loretto Hospital’s Board of Trustees accepted the resignation of Chief Operating Officer Dr. Anosh Ahmed in a unanimous vote Wednesday, according to a news release. Ahmed’s resignation came just hours after Block Club reported ineligible people who work at a steakhouse frequented by Ahmed were vaccinated early.

The board thanked Ahmed for his work — but said it will “continue to investigate any and all deviations from the rules and regulations” for vaccinations. Ahmed was hired in 2018.

“If our review should uncover anything further that indicates our processes were compromised, there will be additional consequences imposed on those responsible for these actions,” board Chairman Edward Hogan said in a statement.

Thoughts?

*** UPDATE *** SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley…

“On behalf of our 190 members who work at Loretto Hospital, and of our wider membership of frontline healthcare workers across Chicago and across the state of Illinois, I want to express our appreciation for the Loretto board’s seeking and accepting the resignation of Dr. Anosh Ahmed.

“Our members at Loretto were daily witness to vaccination irregularities and were early voices in raising the alarm that vaccine doses were being improperly redirected away from the high-risk Austin community which has already experienced a disproportionate share of the suffering, illness, and loss inflicted by this pandemic.

“With this important step, the board is signaling their willingness to take the concerns of both workers and community members seriously. It is our fervent hope that the board will now take the additional steps needed to ensure that worker and community voices are heard both in redressing the impact of these misappropriated vaccine doses, and in addressing the longstanding issues of racial and income based disparities in healthcare access that have plagued the Austin neighborhood for decades.

“There is an immediate need at present to make sure that Austin residents are able to get timely access to vaccinations. And then, there is a need to address the larger, largely ignored scandal—the redirection, through legal and officially sanctioned means of funding and resources away from the health needs of communities like Austin and into the bank accounts and stock holdings of much larger, wealthier hospitals in the richest zip codes of the city.

“We urge the board to listen to and work with our members and Austin residents to address both the immediate need for vaccine access, and to move quickly to develop a program that ensures vaccinations are truly accessible for all Austin residents who seek them.

“Additionally, we take this opportunity to call for a renewed commitment by those involved in the daily running, resourcing and regulation of the city’s hospitals to accessible and affordable healthcare in all of Chicago’s high-risk and low-income communities, from Austin and Loretto to the South Shore communities recently threatened by the closure of Mercy Hospital and beyond.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 8:36 am

Comments

Thoughts:

a) it’s about time
b) is CEO Miller next?
c) what did the board know and when did they know it?

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 8:39 am
The world needs more Kelly Bauer

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 8:39 am
I hope there is a review by a law enforcement agency. Federal if possible or AG

Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 8:42 am
The guy needed to be gone. There are others there that also need to be gone.
But, is what he did actually illegal, or just “looks bad”?

Comment by Bruce( no not him) Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 8:50 am
Echoing JoanP’s comments. Particularly the last one.

I’m anxious to get the vaccine as well, but I can’t imagine stepping on someone else’s place in line to get mine.

Comment by thunderspirit Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 8:58 am
Inquiring minds want to know if there was a severance package . . .

Comment by Out Here In The Middle Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:00 am
So he provided for vaccines for people where he lives, where he buys his watches and where he buys $180 steak. What’s next, vaccines for employees of an auto import dealership?

Comment by Tommydanger Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:05 am
==What’s next==

Where he goes to church.

So far that’s just officials in Will county, and nobody is running a story on it yet.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:14 am
- TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:14 am:

The CEO of Loretto already did his church.

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:16 am
Hopefully he’s prosecuted for fraud and theft.

Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:20 am
Sad to say but when resources are scarce some people divert them for their own purposes. In this case it doesn’t seem that the guy got paid, just that he was seeking prestige or influence.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:22 am
The CEO who got 200 of his fellow congregants at his suburban church vaccinated is still there, right? Um, ok.

Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:24 am
Whether there is ultimately any illegality here or not should be looked at, but regardless the arrogance and hubris is amazing. I would also suggest at least a look at the books of this struggling community hospital considering how much wealth was being flaunted here, though he was only hired 3 years ago and likely brought some of it with him.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:27 am
It’s easy to ridicule “the look”- and I have. The harder problem is stabilizing Loretto and other hospitals of last resort. These hospitals serve people who aren’t sufficiently profitable for name institutions. To me-that’s the actual scandal.

Comment by West Sider Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 9:42 am
I think this should be a major point in encouraging vaccine-hesitant people in minority groups: The rich and powerful will lie, steal, and cheat to take YOUR vaccine. Isn’t that a strong endorsement?

Comment by Groundhog Day Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 10:00 am
Amen West Sider.
Maybe hire CEO’s/ CFO’s who don’t give the critically-needed hospital a bad name.

Comment by walker Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 10:03 am
One down one to go. and a full investigation to ensure more were not complicit. including judges. saying that judges were sent there because there was extra vaccine is just absurd.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 10:21 am
… in another story the Board approves a severance package, including a watch from Geneva Seale, an all expense paid trip to the Cayman islands, suite at the Ritz, and a a retirement condo at any Trump property of his choosing….

Comment by 44 Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 10:26 am
It would be great if we could get the list of the judges who pulled off this chicanery. Republished the list before they are up for retention election.

Comment by Drake Mallard Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 10:50 am
When it comes to a good steak by golly, the servers are front line workers.

Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 10:59 am
Dr. Anosh Ahmed………what is his total annual compensation?

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 11:08 am
The whole matter really needs to be investigated by the FBI.

Comment by Frumpy White Guy Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 11:37 am
Sen. Lightford has been awfully quiet through all of this from her position on the Loretto Hospital Board of Trustees, hasn’t she? Oh, I hope Kelly Bauer keeps excavating on this, back to when and how Loretto was selected as the location to administer the first shot in the city.

Comment by Roadrager Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 11:39 am
Westsider,

Interesting how it relates to another group of people who are unprofitable. Rural electricity users. Their homes were too remote and too distant from each other and there was no economy of scale to make providing electricity profitable The US solved that problem by creating non-profit consumer owned entities called Electric Cooperatives. Maybe each county needs a health care cooperative that all the citizens are taxed to support and, crucially, elect an oversight board.

Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 12:09 pm
There were lots of people from the suburbs getting shots at Lorretto. Almost all ineligible but able to schedule an appt. They claim they were told that they were using vaccines that would otherwise be thrown away. No money or influence seems to have mattered so what happened and why? Seems important

Comment by not to be found Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 12:42 pm
=== Whether there is ultimately any illegality here or not should be looked at ===

If the Illinois State Board of Education gave you 5000 gift cards to distribute to low-income kids in your community so they could buy books, and instead you gave those gift cards to your neighbors in your building, the owners of your favorite restaurant, or used them as a benefit for the customers of your favorite high-end jewelry store….

I mean, the question is not “whether” a crime was committed but rather whether IDPH, Cook County SA (criminal) and iL Attorney General (Civil) are going to push forward a case.

Also, where is the Inspector General for the City of Chicago? This seems ripe for investigation, Loretto was acting as a city contractor.

Comment by Thomas Paine Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 1:02 pm
Judging by Mayor Lightfoot’s performance in her press conference today, this is going to be a story with a long tail.

There are probably a lot more worms under this rock.

Comment by Served Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 1:23 pm
Thomas Paine is right, there are quite a few entities that can and should proceed with an investigation.

I find the resignation distasteful. Dr. Ahmed, P.o.S. should have been fired for cause which would have hindered his future job opportunities.

His situation is absolutely nothing like the physician in Texas that got fired after trying to find 8 people to avoid throwing away 8 doses, and wound up vaccinating several people that he did not know, had never met before, and had no connection to and finally his wife who was qualified for the vaccine at the last minute after the person who he was able to line up for the dose was not able to make it rather than throw the vaccine away.

Ahmed has demonstrated a lapse in judgement that is so severe that it brings into question whether or not he should be trusted with the practice of medicine again.

Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 1:55 pm
There is a real difference in trying to come to terms with the necessity of shots in arms and finding arms within reasonable and honorable ways…

… and literally picking and choosing grift-like acquaintances that see the vaccine as another connection to others where a transactional relationship exists.

It’s not even close the way *these* vaccines were used.

It’s almost a seeking of vile uses of these precious vials.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 2:36 pm
=Maybe each county needs a health care cooperative that all the citizens are taxed to support and, crucially, elect an oversight board.=

Yeah. Healthcare is a public good.
There are some things that the private sector just can’t do well and healthcare is one of them.
I’m sick of hospital consolidation - they’re gobbling up and dominating physician practices. All for the worse. Hospitals remain in “profitable areas and the rest are healthcare deserts.
And no one running a public hospital should be making millions.

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 3:02 pm
Anyone hear anything from Rep. Camille Lilly? Her bio on the General Assembly Website touts her position as a board member of the Loretto Hospital “Foundation”. But I though I heard somewhere that she also holds some type of position as an actual employee of Loretto Hospital itself.

Comment by Agamemnon Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 3:05 pm
How long has anosh been coo, they going to find more dirt

Comment by Romeo Thursday, Mar 25, 21 @ 5:42 pm
Per Sun Times article Anosh was hired in 2018 as a COO/CFO –What i don’t get is how someone with zero Experience running hospitals be hired at C-level to run a hospital straight from graduating residency — Who put him there?

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/3/25/22351001/loretto-hospital-vaccine-anosh-ahmed-sameer-suhail-trump-tower-dialysis

Comment by westside hero Friday, Mar 26, 21 @ 11:21 am