Investigation finds OHSU not adequately addressing allegations of misconduct – Blogtown

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Michael McDermott / OHSU

Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) has failed to champion the values ​​of diversity, equity and inclusion, and community members believe the university responds inconsistently to reports of misconduct , revealed an investigation into the institutional culture of the university.

The external investigation, commissioned by OHSU, was released Thursday by Covington & Burling LLP, a Washington, DC-based law firm. OHSU retained the group of lawyers to complete the report after a series of internal concerns related to gender and racial discrimination were brought to the attention of leaders, along with a recent lawsuit against OHSU for how he dealt with allegations of misconduct among staff.

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The survey lasted eight months and included input from 300 interviews with current and former staff, as well as online focus groups comprising nearly 700 anonymous participants from the OHSU community.

The report identified five key issues with OHSU’s internal culture. According to the report:

– OHSU actions and communications vis-à-vis DCI [diversity, equity, and inclusion], misconduct and human resources (“HR”) issues are sometimes misaligned with its stated values. – OHSU has not established clear DCI priorities, an institution-wide strategy to drive change, or policies that effectively address DCI. – OHSU’s policies and procedures regarding malpractice and reporting are inconsistent and lacking in clarity and precision. has historically devalued and marginalized the HR function by its inability to provide it with sufficient resources, experienced leadership or adequate authority.

These five issues were gleaned from in-depth interviews with staff and students, anonymous reporting via the investigation hotline, and reviews of misconduct cases.

According to the Covington Report, while 60% of focus group participants believe the OHSU treats its patients with dignity and respect, only 30% think the university treats its employees the same. Additionally, less than half of participants agreed that OHSU treats staff members fairly regardless of race, color, religion, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy or other “protected characteristics”. To underscore this point, two-thirds of focus groups reported witnessing or being treated differently based on protected characteristics and 41% reported experiencing or witnessing sexual misconduct at OHSU in the past three years. last years. The focus group reports were reinforced by the hundreds of reports of sexual and gender-based harassment, bullying and racial discrimination reported to the investigation hotline.

A common theme the investigation uncovered was that OHSU staff and students were unhappy with the way their malpractice complaints were handled when they were reported to the university. It was unclear how complaints were handled, internal investigations took longer than expected, and reports of misconduct generally raised suspicion and doubt. In one case, a manager reported sexual harassment to the university’s Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunities (AAEO) department and was then asked what she was wearing at the time of the harassment, such as for wondering if she had committed the harassment on herself.

“I have made reports in the past that weren’t taken seriously and was forced into a meeting where I was told I imagined the problem,” one focus group participant said. .

Covington’s report attributes some of the mismanagement of complaints to the structure of OHSU’s human resources department and the organization’s vague reporting policy.

In 2009, the OHSU decided that each university department should fund its own human resources position – the report implies that this restructuring was in part in response to the 2008 recession. Human resources employees were then supervised and reported to their department. department administrator instead of the central human resources department. According to the survey, this decentralization led to inconsistent training and poor adherence to human resources actions. The OHSU began to reinstate the department’s human resources positions in the central department in 2017, but, as of October 2021, 13 of the university’s 18 human resources employees were still unincorporated.

In addition, each human resources employee is responsible for 1,100 to 1,400 employees, a workload they describe as “untenable”. The average number of employees assigned to a workplace human resources representative nationwide, according to the report, is 207.

Investigators also found that OHSU’s reporting guidelines were unclear, particularly when it comes to who is actually considered a “mandatory reporter” when allegations arise and the chain of communication when a report is made.

“I have made reports in the past that weren’t taken seriously and was forced into a meeting where I was told I imagined the problem.”

In one case, 11 OHSU employees, five of whom were in supervisory positions, were aware of allegations of sexual misconduct made against Jason Campbell, a former anesthesiology resident, by several employees, but did not. reported to human resources. Under OHSU’s current reporting policy, only one of these employees, Campbell’s direct supervisor, violated the university’s reporting policy by no longer reporting the misconduct. According to HR employees, the whistleblowing policy is meant to require all OHSU supervisors to report misconduct, but the lack of clarity and awareness of the policy leads to oversights in reporting. According to supervisors who failed to report the harassment allegations, they believed the victims would report the allegations themselves and “we were talking to them as a ‘friend'”, not as an employee of the company. OHSU, from “‘off campus’ conduct.”

The inconsistency among HR has contributed to employee mistrust of the university’s handling of conduct complaints. According to the report, OHSU staff and students believe that there are many more risks in reporting misconduct than benefits, with only 28% of focus group participants reporting that they experienced misconduct in reporting it to the OHSU. Those who choose not to report misconduct have raised concerns about backlash and retaliation. Participants who reported misconduct shared experiences of being given unwanted projects and being shunned from important meetings. A 2018 study found that black and disabled OHSU members were even less likely to report discrimination and harassment, with 38% and 33% respectively indicating that they would report misconduct compared to 50% of the entire OHSU community.

“The process tends to make matters worse for the reporter,” said a participant quoted in the Covington report. “It would be career damaging and wouldn’t prevent something similar from happening again or others.”

Interviews with OHSU members also revealed a distrust of the sincerity of OHSU’s stated values ​​of diversity, equity and inclusion. Although the organization has declared its commitment to anti-racism, it has also failed to resolve four incidents in the past five years in which nozzles were exposed in employee break rooms, research buildings. and online spaces. In August 2020, the OHSU’s Black Employee Resource Group (BERG) wrote to university leaders, denouncing the university’s lack of action against the perpetrators of these racist incidents.

OHSU responded to media inquiries regarding BERG’s letter before responding directly to the group.

Team members at the university’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion call OHSU’s anti-racism plan a ‘hodgepodge’, saying employees “should know … what our goals are. over five years, but we don’t know ”.

The report makes 12 recommendations and 40 sub-recommendations for OHSU to begin addressing its misconduct reporting and culture issues. The recommendations fall into three categories: addressing workplace culture from top to bottom through policy, increasing resources and personnel for HR, and establishing clearer policies and procedures for dealing with misconduct. Some of the recommendations include conducting regular employee engagement surveys to inform equity and community goals, centralizing the human resource structure, and revising the OHSU malpractice reporting process. The report also recommends that OHSU create an oversight committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations.

“While many of the cultural challenges identified in this report are of concern, they can serve as a catalyst for a meaningful transformation of the institutional culture of OHSU,” the report says. “Guided by the findings and recommendations of this report, OHSU has the opportunity to create a culture where all members of the community can thrive. “

Eric Holder, former United States attorney general and lead investigator for the report, praised the OHSU for its “courage” in seeking investigation and cooperation throughout the process.

OHSU shared the final survey with the public immediately after receiving it. OHSU officials were briefed on the report before receiving the written document.

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“It is clear from our briefing that we have a lot of work to do (in addition to the efforts currently underway) to overcome the past and change the future so that OHSU can become a place where everyone can thrive,” said Danny Jacobs, president of OHSU. said in a statement. “The Covington findings show how difficult the work environment has been for some OHSU members and let’s be clear: only one person is the victim of unfair treatment, discrimination, harassment, intimidation, bullying or retaliation is one too many. We cannot realize our full potential as an institution or our duties and responsibilities until we have an environment where each member feels valued and can thrive.

According to Local 328 of AFSCME, the union that represents nearly 7,000 OHSU employees, community members have been trying to draw attention to the issues addressed in the report for years.

“This report is damning and it validates what our members, activists, union representatives and staff have been saying for years: there are serious problems at OHSU,” read the union’s Facebook page on Thursday. midday.

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