Airica Steed, fired Friday from her position as MetroHealth CEO, said through an attorney that it was "denigrating" for the board of trustees to say poor performance was the cause of her termination.
The attorney's letter stated that Steed is exploring legal action.
"Dr. Steed, who is the first female and African American CEO of MetroHealth, is extremely disappointed in the actions of MetroHealth’s Board of Trustees and is stunned that the Board has taken action that directly conflicts with prior representations made publicly, as well as to Dr. Steed privately," read the letter by Sherman Boseman Legal Group, which is representing Steed.
On Friday, the board voted to terminate her employment effective immediately.
At the meeting, MetroHealth Board Chair Dr. E. Harry Walker said the board "[had] been working to address our concerns about Dr. Steed's performance since her initial evaluation."
A summary of Steed's performance evaluation from March 1, 2024, provided by MetroHealth, said Steed met or exceeded expectations for mission strategy, quality, safety and experience, financial management and community and external relations, but it said she was below expectations in effective leadership of the management team and her relationship with the board and board chair.
The review by the board of trustees recommended she work with a consultant and an executive coach.
In their letter, Steed's attorneys said the review acknowledged Steed “met or exceeded expectations” for financial management and had “done [a] commendable job in [her] first year leading [MetroHealth] during a challenging time.”
The letter noted that Steed was shocked by the board's decision, which was rendered a week before she planned to return from a medical leave.
Steed's attorneys alleged issues she raised about operations at MetroHealth were the true reasons for Steed's firing.
"Dr. Steed has internally voiced concerns about discrimination in the workplace, as well as other ethical and legal issues, and now the Board has conveniently raised alleged performance deficiencies and disparaged her good name," her attorney wrote.
Sherman Boseman Legal Group did not identify the specific concerns Steed raised, and representatives said they would not be taking further questions at this time.
In response to the allegations from Steed's legal team, the board released a statement saying it would not "engage in a tit-for-tat with Dr. Steed."
"[Steed's firing] was purely an issue of the CEO’s failure to perform and entirely based on her direct interactions with the Board of Trustees. The performance issues that caused us to act are long-standing and were made clear to her on numerous occasions. Because of that, we lost confidence in her ability to lead the System and felt we had no choice but to end her at-will employment agreement," the statement from the board of trustees read.
