H&S
U.Va. Health faculty demand removal of health system CEO, School of Medicine dean

Faculty declare no confidence in Craig Kent and Melina Kibbe, alleging ignored and suppressed reports of misconduct


The letter accuses Kent and Kibbe of allowing “egregious acts” to occur at U.Va. Health and the School of Medicine.
Courtesy U.Va. Communications

By Grace Thrush and Ford McCracken
September 5, 2024

This morning, the University’s Board of Visitors received a letter of no confidence for Craig Kent, chief executive officer of U.Va. Health, and Melina Kibbe, dean of the School of Medicine, Medicine professor and chief health affairs officer, demanding both of their removals. The letter, signed by 128 U.Va. Physicians Group-employed faculty, alleges that the two leaders have fostered an environment that compromises patient safety and creates a culture of fear among faculty.

The letter accuses Kent and Kibbe of allowing “egregious acts” to occur at U.Va. Health and the School of Medicine, including hiring doctors with questionable quality of work, subjecting residents to harassment, excessive spending on executives instead of addressing staffing shortages, a lack of transparency on financial matters and violations of the Board of Visitors-approved code of ethics.

“Craig Kent and Melina Kibbe have not only undermined but also directly attacked the values that inspired us to study, teach and work at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and U.Va. Health,” the letter reads.

The letter also states that, though the alleged concerns have been longstanding and routinely documented by faculty, leaders in U.Va. Health have dismissed, punished and silenced those who have followed U.Va. reporting protocols, including threatening promotion denials as retaliation for speaking out against U.Va. Health leaders, as well as altering and suppressing reports of instances in which U.Va. Health leaders committed abuses of power.

“For over a year, these concerns and egregious acts were reported via U.Va.'s official reporting processes … we sign this letter of no confidence as a last resort out of urgent concern for our patients, colleagues, community and the University of Virginia,” the letter reads.

{snip}