Traber named permanent CEO of Health System

Peter Traber immediately ended Penn's relationship with the Hunter Group. After four weeks as interim head of the Penn Health System, Peter Traber received the job on a permanent basis last Friday and immediately announced that he was ending UPHS's engagement with a controversial health care management consulting firm. Traber will continue to act as interim dean of the Medical School during a nationwide search, which is required by University regulations. Officials say Traber is the frontrunner for that position. The Florida-based Hunter Group was brought in last July to recommend ways in which UPHS could slash its expenses. Last month, the firm's consultants were retained once again to help ease the administrative transition after the ouster of longtime CEO and dean William Kelley. In another administrative move Thursday, Robert Martin -- who resigned as chief operating officer of the Health System three weeks ago -- agreed to resume his role as COO. Officials yesterday confirmed that Martin had disagreed with the decision to use Hunter Group executives as consultants and that the release of the Hunter Group was a major factor in Martin's decision to return. In an e-mail announcing the appointment, Rodin called the 44-year-old Traber an able leader with a deep knowledge of the Health System. But he has not been named the permanent Medical School dean because University rules require that a national search be conducted before an academic dean is named. "Our trustees, medical faculty and staff have great confidence in him, as do I," she said. Traber said yesterday that he was pleased to be named permanent CEO of the troubled $1.9 billion Health System. "I'm very excited about it," he said. "It's good for the organization to have permanent leadership to move forward." Traber said he decided to end the engagement with the Hunter Group because he felt the firm was no longer needed. Barchi said yesterday that Hunter Group CEO David Hunter would remain available to Traber if his services are needed. The Hunter Group's engagement was, however, at least partly responsible for Martin's decision to resign. "He wasn't sure that the Hunter Group would have added value to the organization," Traber explained. In an e-mail sent out last Thursday, Traber called Martin "the best person for the job" of returning the Health System to financial stability. The Health System has incurred deficits totalling more than $300 million over the past three years. Neither Martin nor executives from the Hunter Group returned calls for comment yesterday. In his e-mail, Traber said UPHS has made progress in responding to its financial problems, but he said that having a single person as both dean and CEO is essential for the Health System to run smoothly, especially because of the Health System's role as the principal source of funding for the school. He said he is very interested in being considered as a candidate for the position. "The dean is the chief academic officer of the School of Medicine. To me that's the most important position," he said. "Being CEO is an important part? but that's not what I want to be alone." Officials have not given a timetable for when a dean could be named, but they have maintained that University rules require that a search committee be appointed before a dean can be selected. Barchi said yesterday that Traber will be a candidate for the position. "We have indicated that he would be seriously considered," he said. Health care analyst Joshua Nemzoff of New Hope-based Nemzoff and Co. said yesterday that some might interpret the fact that Traber was not named permanent dean as a possible precursor to a separation between UPHS and the Medical School. "You could read into it a little bit as whether the University is still going to spin the hospital off," he said. But Nemzoff added that the University could appoint a different dean and CEO without having intentions of separating from the Health System. He noted that Kelley's role as both CEO and dean is more the exception than the rule. "It's not exactly common for the guy who runs the health system to be dean of the medical school," he explained. Medical School Professor Harvey Friedman said he thought many faculty members would simply prefer that Traber be named dean. "The view of the faculty is that one good person making decisions is better than having two people making decisions because it's coordinated," Friedman said. Other Medical School professors said they hoped the faculty will be consulted in any decision concerning administration. "We certainly hope there will be faculty input," said Howard Herrmann, the chairman of the Medical School Faculty Senate's steering committee. Herrmann said the fact that Traber has remained interim dean does not imply that administrators are considering separation.

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