Airica Steed, who became CEO of MetroHealth in December 2022 and was fired Friday afternoon, said through an attorney that she was “stunned” by her termination. The attorney also said Steed is considering suing MetroHealth’s board of trustees for “unlawfully” getting rid of her while on medical leave.
“Dr. Steed, who is the first female and African American CEO of MetroHealth, is extremely disappointed in the actions of MetroHealth’s Board of Trustees and is stunned that the Board has taken action that directly conflicts with prior representations made publicly as well as to Dr. Steed privately,” said attorney F. Allen Boseman, Jr. “Consistent with her communications with MetroHealth, Dr. Steed planned to return to MetroHealth on Friday, August 16, 2024. The Board voiced no objection or resistance to this plan. Since she has been on FMLA Leave, no one at MetroHealth has communicated any performance concerns or other issues to her that would support a termination decision.”
Boseman also said the board’s statement today about Steed’s performance contradicts her performance review.
Steed, who has a doctorate of education in leadership, received a largely positive 2023 performance review. She hit goals tied to the hospital’s performance that triggered a $381,000 bonus on top of her $900,000 base salary.
Her review states that Steed met or exceeded expectations in categories of “mission strategy, quality safety and experience, financial management and community and external relations.”
But the review also said Steed performed below expectations when it came to “effective leadership of the management team” and “relationship with the board and chair.” (You can read more about that review here.)
Boseman also suggested that the board’s actions were retaliation for Steed voicing concerts about “discrimination in the workplace as well as other ethical and legal issues.”
“Dr. Steed, however, will not be silenced and she will be exploring all of her options, including legal action, to right a wrong that should concern every citizen of this community and medical professionals across the county,” Boseman said.
MetroHealth’s board chair, Dr. E. Harry Walker, said in a statement that the board will not engage in a “tit-for-tat” with Steed.
“This was purely an issue of the CEO’s failure to perform and entirely based on her direct interactions with the Board of Trustees,” he said. “The performance issues that caused us to act are long-standing and were made clear to her on numerous occasions. She failed for months to address them. Because of that, we lost confidence in her ability to lead the System and felt we had no choice but to end her at-will employment agreement.”
