Cedar Park Regional Medical Center chief executive officer Abe Martinez resigned, marking the second time in less than a year the hospital has lost its leader.
Hospital Associate Chief Executive Officer Carol Schmoyer confirmed Martinez had stepped down Jan. 20 and a search for an interim CEO was underway.
“He resigned so he could focus on personal and legal matters,” she said. “We will announce within the next several days the appointment of an interim CEO.”
Schmoyer said during the search for a new CEO, the hospital “will continue to focus on providing quality care for patients and focus on the long-term success and growth of the hospital.”
Martinez is a defendant in a lawsuit filed in October 2009 with multiple civil charges leveled against him including extortion and racketeering alleged to have occurred during his time as CEO of Laredo Medical Center. The lawsuit, originally filed in state district court in Laredo, was moved to federal court in November 2009.
Martinez joined CPRMC in March 2009 as interim CEO – a replacement for founding CEO David Klein, M.D. In July, the hospital and its owner Community Health Systems named Martinez as CEO of CPRMC.
In October, two Laredo doctors, Jose Berlioz, M.D. and Eliel Ntakirutimana, M.D., filed the lawsuit against Martinez and his former employer, Laredo Medical Center, with a 17-count filing including extortion charges of up to $300,000.
Previously, Martinez said the allegations were “not true” and called the accusations “egregious and false,” saying he intended to “vigorously defend myself.”
Community Health Systems, which owns 80 percent of the Cedar Park hospital, was aware of the charges, which had surfaced more than a year earlier and had been investigated internally by Laredo Medical Center, before appointing Martinez as CPRMC’s CEO.
LMC spokeswoman Priscilla Salinas said the hospital had conducted an internal review and was “unable to substantiate any of the claims of illegal or improper conduct by the hospital or CEO.” At the time, they did not have the ability to subpoena documents or witnesses, she said.
Martinez said he “cooperated fully with that investigation.”
In a statement, LMC said “although the allegations were not substantiated, the hospital acted appropriately by promptly reporting the matter and requesting a full investigation by both state and federal authorities.”
Locally, the Seton Family of Hospitals owns 20 percent of CPRMC and has an equal number of representatives on the hospital’s board of directors as CHS.
Tom Gallagher is the chairman of the board and president and chief executive officer of the South Market of the Seton Family of Hospitals. He said the changes in leadership with CPRMC have not been a problem, to date.
“When Klein stepped down, we saw positive changes with Martinez – increased patient volumes, greater expressed confidence with the medical staff,” he said. “The most recent change is obviously so new, we haven’t seen the impact yet. Anytime you make a change, the possibility is that you make a small step backwards.
“I don’t expect to see negative changes,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher said the board of directors had not been aware of the allegations against Martinez until the lawsuit was filed.
“CHS is charged with managing the hospital on a day-to-day basis. They continue to tell us that there wasn’t anything substantive of the lawsuit,” he said.
When CHS announces the next candidate for hospital CEO, Gallagher said the board will most likely ask a few different questions during the review process.
“We’ll be more aware of that background that occurred with Martinez. We’ll ask the questions – describe any situation of any allegations of previous employers or legal matters.”
Gallagher said they will continue to look for leadership talent, someone who can be a visible force in the community.
Overall, he said the hospital has met expectations and did “very well” in its second year, including achieving its budget performance in 2009.