May 3, 2010 | 8:54 PM |

Beth Israel’s Levy Fined $50K For Judgement Lapse In Relationship

FILED UNDER: Commonhealth Archives

Paul Levy, the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the chatty blogger who chronicles the ups and downs of hospital life, has been fined $50,OOO by the Hospital Board for showing “poor judgement” in engaging in a personal relationship with a former hospital employee that gave “an improper appearance and created a distraction in the hospital,” according to a statement on Levy’s blog today.

In a post entitled, “I was Wrong. I am Sorry,” Levy admits to serious lapses in judgement, and says he agrees with the Board’s findings. He adds:

Today I met with the Board, apologized to them again, and accepted their actions in resolving this matter. I regret that my behavior had such wide repercussions for the entire BIDMC community, and I will always feel sorry for any discredit I brought upon BIDMC. With the Board’s vote, I look forward to putting this chapter behind us and working together in carrying out our public service mission.

But for an administrator who has been such an aggressive advocate of transparency in medicine, Levy’s apology today is anything but. Now that he’s said sorry, and the matter appears to be resolved, will we soon read a post about what, actually, happened? I suspect Mr. Levy’s loyal readers would like to know.

About the author

Blogger, CommonHealth Rachel Zimmerman worked as a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal for 10 years, most recently covering health and medicine out of the paper’s Boston bureau. Rachel has also written for The New York Times, the (now-defunct) Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the alternative newspaper Willamette Week, in Portland, Ore., among other publications. Rachel co-wrote a book about birth, published by Bantam/Random House, and spent 2008 as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. Rachel lives in Cambridge with her husband and two daughters. View all posts by Rachel Zimmerman →

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  • Edward Coyle

    All politics are personal! Betraying one’s wife reflects on personal integrity. Using BI’s funds to pay to play is criminal. This not simply not an issues of no fool like and old fool. The real issue is how money was used to foster this relationship not simply betraying one’s wife.

  • Jemimah

    I agree completely with retiredpath. Paul is doing a wonderful job of returning the BIDMC to its former glory. Wanting details of this infraction in his personal life is just salacious and has nothing to do with how he does his job. He and his wife have been embarrassed enough. Time to drop it and get on with business.

  • Edward Coyle

    What about collateral damage to Mr. Levy’s family?
    No doubt that they have been hurt by his bad behavior.

  • retiredpath

    As one of Mr.Levy’s “loyal readers”, no I do not need to know. How insatiable are you people? The board’s statement made it clear that no hospital policy was violated; that’s good enough for me. Let the man do his work – it may save your life someday.