As we emerge from a year that has brought much upheaval in my professional life, I would like to say Thank You So Very Much for the outpouring of prayers, love, support and encouragement which I have experienced over the past several months. I would also like to provide some clarity and closure for those who have expressed their struggle to wrap their minds around what they have heard and read regarding my departure from Baltimore City Government.
At 5:07pm on Tuesday October 31st, 2023, a Senior Recruiter with the City of Baltimore sent me a message on LinkedIn asking if I would speak to her about the Commissioner of Health position. She called me several times the following morning and I was subsequently scheduled to meet with the Deputy Mayor, Dr. Letitia Dzirasa. I was advised that Mayor Scott wanted to move quickly with this. Three weeks later I met with the Mayor and The City’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Faith Leach, at City Hall.
A day after my meeting with the Mayor and CAO, the Deputy Mayor called me with a verbal job offer – a formal offer and draft contract were sent two days later. After reviewing the contract, I sent an email to the Chief of HR recruitment on Wednesday November 22nd letting her know of my observation that the draft contract discouraged any activities outside of the job responsibilities. In my email I explained that it was necessary for me to continue to see patients occasionally during my tenure as commissioner to maintain my clinical skills. She shared my request with the Deputy Mayor who then met with me on Monday November 27th to better understand the nature of my request. Again, I explained that I would need to continue to see patients once or twice a month at the not-for-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Chase Brexton to maintain my clinical skills.
I had been seeing patients at this same clinic since January 2023, a half day per week, for the same reason.
I started work on Monday January 22nd, 2024 and my Executive Assistant placed a schedule-blocker on my calendar titled ‘CLINICAL WORK’ to ensure that the four-hour slot which I needed to see patients was protected from scheduling conflicts. My calendar, as commissioner, was open to all senior leadership including City Hall administrators. From January 22nd until my termination on July 29th I saw patients for an average of half-a-day per month and was paid a total of $3,492.14 for the entire seven months.
My clinical work was no secret, in fact it was something of which I was immensely proud. Anyone who has either served in the role of Commissioner of Health or worked closely with a commissioner knows firsthand that maintaining one’s clinical skills while in this job is a herculean task. I saw patients at great personal inconvenience while working 24/7 for The City of Baltimore.
In May of 2024, while reviewing grant paperwork, my chief of staff and I noted a possible conflict with signing a grant from which Chase Brexton would benefit. We decided to seek advice from the legal department on the necessary steps to resolve this. That inquiry was escalated to the Board of Ethics who then embarked on an ‘investigation’ into my ‘secondary employment’. I find it ironic that I flagged a potential ethical conflict while seeking advice, and that inquiry became the basis of a criminal investigation.
On Monday, July 29th at 6pm I was invited to a “check-in” meeting with the CAO, Faith Leach. She cited my “secondary employment” without the written permission of The Mayor and proceeded to terminate me with immediate effect. My badge, cell phone and laptop were confiscated, and I was escorted out of the building. I was informed that my personal effects would be retrieved from my office and sent to me. A press release was sent out announcing my termination. The public was informed that I was under criminal investigation.
This was 23 days after my relocation to Baltimore City, in compliance with the requirements of my position.
The Health Commissioner serves at the pleasure of The Mayor – a simple resignation could have been requested at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all. More importantly, the administration had at their disposal the time, the opportunity, and the resources to verify that I had indeed notified The Mayor’s office (through the Deputy Mayor) of my intention to maintain my clinical skills while serving as commissioner.
Being a physician has always been one of the greatest privileges of my life. Over my almost 3 decades-long career, across multiple countries and continents, I have served in various roles outside of clinical medicine: in public health, consulting and academia. My ability to remain a clinician has, however, remained a priority through every aspect of my career. That my commitment to clinical medicine became the basis for a criminal investigation is still unfathomable to me.
For the disruption, the pain, the reputational damage that my family and I have experienced over the past several months, one could surmise that an apology would be in order. Over the course of my life, however, I have found that we must learn to forgive whether we receive an apology or not.
Despite the recent events, I still consider it a privilege to have served the people of Baltimore City, even for a short time. I gained insight into the workings of public health in local government as never before and I witnessed firsthand the heroism and selfless commitment of health department staff who often invested their personal time and resources to ensure that the job was done.
To the entire team at the Health Department: thank you for making my time worth it. The great work which you do may seem thankless and unrecognized, but I assure you that your labor of love is not in vain.
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