Tri-City Medical Center fires CEO

The board of Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, Calif., fired CEO Larry Anderson, citing a need to “take corrective action.”

Anderson had been on paid leave since Sept. 5.

“The board has determined that it is in the best interests of the district to sever our relationship with Mr. Anderson,” board Chairman Larry Schallock said during a board meeting Thursday evening, reading from a prepared statement.

A Tri-City spokesman declined to provide the full text of the statement and instead referred to portions quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

According the newspaper's report, Schallock said a whistle-blower made a complaint “accusing Mr. Anderson of improprieties,” and the hospital then hired an outside firm to investigate the allegations. Schallock said the results of the investigation raised questions about some of Anderson's “decisions,” but did not provide any details.

“The results of the investigation are a matter of attorney-client privilege and cannot be released for the protection of the hospital's interests,” Schallock said.

Anderson joined the public hospital in 2009 and soon launched a failed legal attack on competitor Scripps Health, alleging the San Diego-based system was illegally compelling its affiliated physicians to steer patients to bypass Tri-City and travel inordinate distances to seek care at Scripps facilities.

Tri-City appealed after a judge dismissed the complaint in March, but the hospital's board decided to drop the lawsuit a few weeks after placing Anderson on leave. Executive VP and COO Casey Fatch is serving as interim CEO.