SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Dow Jones/AP) Tenet Healthcare Corp. on
Friday said General Counsel Christi R. Sulzbach, a self-described
``focal point'' for some of the hospital chain's critics, plans to
step down Nov. 1.
Tenet, which is facing a raft of legal challenges, said Sulzbach
will assist through March 31 as it searches for a replacement from
outside the company.
``While we have made progress in recovering from our many
challenges, I believe that I have become a focal point for some
Tenet critics,'' Sulzbach said in the statement.
Sulzbach joined Tenet in 1983 as an associate counsel. She was
named general counsel in 1999 and assumed the additional position
of chief corporate officer in 2002.
In the meantime, Gary W. Robinson and Rod Stone, both deputy
general counsels, will oversee Tenet's legal affairs. Tenet said it
plans to eliminate the post of chief corporate officer.
The news comes two days after Mina Nazaryan, associate
administrator of Tenet subsidiary Alvarado Hospital Medical Center,
surrendered under an arrest warrant apparently resulting from the
federal government's investigation of physician-relocation
agreements at the hospital.
Tenet, the nation's biggest hospital chain after HCA Inc., has
been struggling to recover its financial health after a series of
disclosures about its pricing policies and allegations that two
doctors conducted unnecessary heart procedures at one of its
hospitals.
In late May, Jeffrey C. Barbakow stepped down as chief executive
after the company's board decided that it was time for a leadership
change. He was replaced by Trevor Fetter, who also serves as the
company's president.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)