Executives Gone Wild: Paying the Price for Personal Conduct

Ordinarily, the names of hospital CEOs grace the society pages of their local newspapers—not the police blotter. Seldom are these community titans the subject of investigations by state attorneys general into questionable workplace conduct.

So, it was off-putting if not curious to see this past week a spate of unusual behaviors from a handful of hospital executives and former executives, all of whom allegedly appeared to have exercised poor judgment—or worse.

To wit:

• "North Memorial CEO arrested in prostitution bust"
  

• "Former Danbury Hospital CFO indicted on fraud charges"
  

• "Former LA-based hospital CEO sentenced to prison for Medicare fraud"
  

• "Ex-Roger Williams Hospital CEO Urciuoli reports to prison"
  

• "AG Raps BIDMC Execs, Board for Levy's Lapses"

Obviously, the seriousness of these incidents varies greatly. Using skid row transients to rip off the government is a far more egregious lapse than is a questionable personal relationship with a subordinate. And, we have to presume the innocence for those executives who've been charged but not convicted. However, at face value, these incidents reflect bad judgments by people who should have known better.