Dr. Robert Dannenhoffer, who was fired as CEO of Architrave Health in February, is now the interim CEO of the Umpqua Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center that provides medical, dental and behavioral health services to more than 10,000 low-income and uninsured residents in Roseburg, Myrtle Creek, Sutherland and Glide. He expects to remain in this position for several months, but has no plans to become the permanent CEO.
“It’s a great job and I’m working with great people,” said Dannenhoffer who’s also kept his pediatric practice going in Roseburg.
When asked why he was dismissed from Architrave, the coordinated care organization he helped create in 2013, Dannenhoffer was unwilling to share any details or comment about a potential lawsuit or other legal action.
“My attorney says I can’t talk about it; I’m a good client and listen to my attorney,” said Dannenhoffer.
Earlier, Kelly Morgan, CEO of Mercy Medical Center, a partner in Architrave along with the Douglas County IPA, told The Lund Report that Dannenhoffer lost his job after filing a Stark self-disclosure report with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and said the report dealt with one of Architrave’s subsidiaries, but refused to disclose any details.
When contacted again yesterday, Morgan’s office said he had nothing further to say about Dannenhoffer’s dismissal. The Stark Amendment prevents physicians from doing self-referrals and receiving kickbacks and rebates from medical facilities and is punishable by civil penalties up to $100,000.
“Under attorney-client privilege I’m not at liberty to share the details of that self-disclosure report,” he said earlier. “But it had absolutely nothing to do with Bob’s dismissal.”
Morgan flatly denied such a potential violation had anything to do with Dannehoffer’s firing by the board, which unanimously decided to release him, saying he was dismissed because of a personnel matter.
Earlier, The Lund Report heard that Mercy Medical Center was being investigated for an anti-trust violation, but Morgan denied that was the case, contending it was just a rumor.
Gary McCormack, a former hospital executive, has stepped in as interim CEO, while a national search is underway to select Dannenhoffer’s replacement.
Following his dismissal, Dannenhoffer sounded upbeat, saying he was doing great despite being surprised by the board's decision to fire him, and wished Architrave well. "Actually I'm profoundly concerned about the murder of two babies in Douglas County this week and the treatment of children," he told The Lund Report.
Dannenhoffer spent 14 years at Mercy Medical Center as an emergency room physician, and was most recently appointed to the selection committee that chose Lynne Saxton as the new administrator of the Oregon Health Authority.
Diane can be reached at [email protected].
Good to know Bob's morale is high, and he's making future plans. The story makes clear he is the same man I knew years ago--one of the best.
Don Thieman