Governance of Teaching Hospitals: Turmoil at Penn and Hopkins

Images

Architect’s drawing of the original Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, facing Spruce Street from the south. The wards extended from the back. From the author’s collection. Dr. Alfred Gelhorn, dean of the University of Pennsylvania medical school from 1967 to 1973 and, for part of that time, also in charge of Penn’s hospitals. His supervision of both school and hospitals would trouble the university’s leadership, a problem William Kelley would also later face. From the Collections of the University of Pennsylvania Archives. Sheldon Hackney, Penn’s president from 1981 to 1993. His concern that ‘‘no one was in charge of it all’’ led to the creation of the entity that William Kelley would dominate in the 1990s. From the Collections of the University of Pennsylvania Archives. Dr. William Kelley in 1992 when HUP was a ‘‘money machine,’’ and the future seemed bright. Penn’s medical czar and a virtuoso among the leaders of academic medical centers, Kelley enthusiastically adopted the mantra of the first half of the 1990s. When the money ran out, so did his job. Department of Public A√airs, University of Pennsylvania Health System. Judith Rodin, president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 and Kelley’s nemesis. Photo by Chet Snedden. Although di√ering with each other on fundamental issues, Kelley and Rodin appeared a√able and respectful in public. Photo by Tommy Leonardi. Dr. Peter Traber, the gastroenterologist and molecular biologist who succeeded Kelley. An admirer described this former college football player as ‘‘a gentle giant you don’t want to mess with.’’ Traber resigned after five-anda -half months in the job. Photo by Karen Traber. Dr. Arthur Rubenstein, the ‘‘seasoned pro’’ whom Rodin chose to succeed Kelley and Traber as dean and executive vice president. By insisting that the head of the health system report to him, Rubenstein e√ectively eliminated the possibility that the clinical entities would separate from the university. Photo by Tommy Leonardi. Robert Martin, in his o≈ce on the twenty-first floor of the ‘‘Tower of Power,’’ followed Traber as CEO of the health system. When Martin announced he would leave, three people had held the CEO position in less than three years. Photo by Tommy Leonardi. The original Johns Hopkins Hospital, with the Billings Building and its signature dome as the centerpiece. The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Dr. Robert Heyssel, the ‘‘grouchy old bear,’’ who ruled the Johns Hopkins Hospital with great success from 1972 to 1992. Photo by William Coupon. Dr. Richard Ross, dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1975 to 1990. In the university president, Heyssel and Ross had a ‘‘common adversary to concentrate on.’’ Photo by J. K. Lightner, courtesy of the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. ‘‘Thick as thieves’’ were Drs. Michael Johns (left) and James Block in happier times soon after Block arrived at Hopkins. The brilliant and creative Block led the Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System from 1992 to 1996, but his critics maintained that ‘‘Jim just didn’t get it,’’ that he never fully imbibed the Hopkins culture. Johns’s resignation as dean of the medical school in 1995 initiated the actions that led to the most significant change in the governance of the Johns Hopkins hospital and medical school since their founding. The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Dr. Edward Miller, the quiet anesthesiologist ‘‘without baggage, an outsideinside kid,’’ who became the first dean/CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. Photo by Gary Jackson. Ronald Peterson, the calm, deliberate president of the hospital and health system after Block, who was comfortable working as number 2 for the dean/CEO. The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. William Richardson, the university president from 1992 to 1996. The conflict between Block and Johns contributed to his leaving Hopkins. The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Dr. William Brody, the radiologist whom Hopkins elected president after Richardson. Although eschewing the title ‘‘doctor,’’ he significantly influenced developments in East Baltimore. Photo by Doug Barber for the Johns Hopkins University. The trustee committee that constructed Johns Hopkins Medicine. (Left to right, top) Robert Heyssel (consultant), Michael Armstrong, Lenox...