Dr. Craig Kent, CEO of the University of Virginia Health System, resigned Tuesday after a closed meeting of the school’s Board of Visitors.
The board received a report and presentation on issues raised by 128 UVA Health staff in a September 2024 letter of no confidence. The letter named Kent and Dr. Melina Kibbe, dean of UVA’s School of Medicine, and argued the pair had contributed to a “negative environment” that was driving talent away from the school.
That led to an investigation by an outside law firm, which presented its results to the Board of Visitors on Tuesday.
Among other points, the letter alleged that under Kent and Kibbe, employees were pressured to “abstain from using the Be Safe process to report patient safety concerns.”
The Be Safe program sets a framework to rapidly address patient concerns or safety issues, followed by interviews of all involved in the incident. The process is intended to lead to a plan to resolve the issue or concern at its root.
The letter also alleged a “culture of fear and retaliation,” including “implicit threats … against those who have raised concerns about patient safety, capacity constraints, and moral distress.” It also listed financial concerns, such as expansion of C-suite positions with expenses “not allocated to patient care.”
A Tuesday statement from UVA President Jim Ryan and BOV rector Robert Hardie was brief: “Following the meeting, Dr. Craig Kent offered, and President Ryan accepted, his resignation. The Board and the President thank Dr. Kent for his years of service to the University.”
It went on to say Dr. Mitchell Rosner, currently chair of the school’s Department of Medicine, was selected to serve as acting executive vice president for health affairs.
The school did not respond to VPM News questions about Kibbe, the report or potential changes at the health system by deadline Wednesday.
