Oregon Health & Science University was there for my family when my grandma had a brain aneurysm and gave her a very high standard of care. She fully recovered thanks to all the hard work of the doctors and staff that treated her — and the service personnel that made it a welcoming and healing environment. OHSU as an institution is so much more than the wrong and unethical decisions that have been made and are being made by its leaders.
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone at OHSU that works so hard and strives to do their best to make OHSU an institution that many of us love. I love OHSU, and that is why I think it deserves leadership that represents what all of us love about it, and does not harbor and protect those who do not share our values. It deserves leadership that does not stain its reputation.
No one could have known about the despicable acts that Dr. Jason Campbell did until they were reported. When these acts were reported, the response to them was so wrong and lacking integrity that every OHSU employee deserves a full accounting of how this was allowed to happen and what will be done so this heartbreaking situation never happens again. Sexual harassment and assaults will unfortunately continue to happen since we can’t change human nature, but the response should be radically different when a report is made. There is no excuse for not making a report when you are aware, Title IX requirements or ‘friendship’ notwithstanding. There is no excuse for the continued interaction and promotion of someone when you are aware of such serious allegations.
The words of the plaintiff are detailed in her advocate’s court filings: “I begged for my safety and the safety of other peers in an email,” she was met with “victim shaming,” from the university’s human resources vice president and legal counsel.
With that being said, who bears responsibility for OHSU’s institutional shame?
Where is the OHSU board of directors, who bear the ultimate responsibility for who is in charge? They are the guardians of OHSU’s reputation, and are letting it be stained.
Unacceptable incidents have happened under the watch of President Danny Jacobs. Dr. Sharon Anderson and Connie Seeley must have his support. I felt his March 10th missive shows he does not properly understand the anger many of us are feeling, why we are feeling it, or the right way to address it. People need to be held to account, commitment to change is not enough, especially when this issue was previously raised in 2017. Words were said in 2017, action was not taken — words will not suffice again; people need to leave — you cannot train integrity and good judgment. Legal actions are not always ethical. Dr. Jacobs inherited a toxic leadership team and poor culture from previous OHSU President Dr. Joe Robertson, but has done little to change it aside from making empty platitudes in PR statements. It seems like business as usual will be conducted, yet again.
This is not the first time OHSU President Dr. Danny Jacobs has had to apologize for the poor and unethical decisions made by his leadership team. You may recall when the head of human resources resigned amid a Twitter trolling incident targeting an employee union. (Local 328 represents 7,000 OHSU employees) A statement OHSU issued said, “this behavior does not reflect our core value of transparency.” I would argue that this behavior accurately reflects the OHSU leadership’s core value of skullduggery, shown by their legal filing where they are attempting to suppress the speech of the survivor and her advocates. Things done in the dark will always find a way to shine.
Regarding the current scandal, President Danny Jacobs says: “We further commit to a transparent process to expose any and all frailties and barriers that prevent us from being a trauma-informed, multi-cultural and anti-racist institution, free of discrimination or harassment, which is our ultimate objective.” Does he direct the PR team and lawyers, or do they direct him? Either way, his words do not match OHSU’s institutional actions. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Connie Seeley joined OHSU in 2010 as chief of staff, and in 2017, added chief administrative officer to her list of titles. In this joint role, she oversees various OHSU departments, including campus development, human resources, public affairs and campus safety. She is responsible for the safety of employees, and failed. She is responsible for OHSU hiring and promoting good ethical people, and failed. With issues this serious, you do not get repeated do-overs. She was involved in the Dr. John Ma situation, and is eyeballs deep in the current situation with Dr. Jason Campbell.
Her statement: “We know that clear and timely communication builds trust, and in retrospect, wish we would have communicated sooner. To this end, we believe the survivor/victim was sexually harassed by Dr. Jason Campbell, and we therefore moved to terminate him. He resigned his position before his final hearing. When contacted by the University of Florida for a reference check, we did indeed inform the institution that Dr. Jason Campbell violated OHSU’s sexual harassment policy.” I address this statement here. I have no trust in Connie Seeley, and wishing will not make it so. Words were said in 2017, action was not taken — words will not suffice again; people need to leave.
Dr. Sharon Anderson is responsible for the current culture of fear and retaliation for complaints at the OHSU School of Medicine (she was directly involved in the Dr. John Ma debacle — we all saw how that was handled). She thinks that sitting down and having a cup of coffee is an acceptable way to address sexual misconduct. She is paid $980,000+ (in 2018 alone) for brilliant insights regarding sexual misconduct such as: “If it’s somebody that you know is not a chronic offender, you can sort of sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk and say cut it out.” For $0, I will tell you that is wrong and unethical. For $0 I will also tell you that the first thing you should do when you hear about a claim is investigate. This is the #believeallwomen and #metoo part — women are already embarrassed and afraid to talk about these issues, especially when the predator is well-liked and popular. All too often predators appear charming to others and use that as a shield. When proof is supplied and the allegations appear credible, you discipline the employee. If they attempt to resign in lieu of being fired, you do not allow it. Dr. Jason Campbell destroyed evidence and did not appear credible to OHSU’s investigator. I doubt Dr. Sharon Anderson will resign willingly. Words were said in 2017, action was not taken — words will not suffice again; people need to leave.
Dr. John Hunter has joined with Dr. Esther Choo in public events. Dr. Choo has his support as he has engaged with her publicly and it will most likely be personally embarrassing for him if the allegations are proven.
Dr. Esther Choo has made multiple bigoted statements in a public forum. She uses the reputation of OHSU for her own self promotion. She has shown herself not worthy to be a professor or in a position of responsibility at such a prestigious institution. You can see Dr. Choo’s role and OHSU’s institutional complicity regarding the latest scandal here.
I am tired (and I am sure you are too) of performative activists who talk the talk but do not walk the walk. They muddy the waters on these critical and important issues and give other activists a bad name with their hypocrisy. Time’s up, Dr. Choo.
Dr. Emily Baird most likely helped Dr. Jason Campbell get a job at the University of Florida, despite being aware of the allegations against him.
The legal filing that unleashed this furor details how Dr. Jason Campbell bragged that multiple sexual complaints against him by women in OHSU’s intensive care unit had been buried because he was protected by Dr. Emily Baird, Program Director of OHSU’s anesthesiology residence program. I do not believe the story that OHSU is telling us regarding Dr. Jason Campbell’s placement as a resident at UF, because it is what they are not telling us that shines a light on the leadership’s conduct. Do I think Dr. Baird is a bad person? No. Do I think she displayed extremely poor judgement and should not be entrusted with responsibility? Yes.
Since I am unaware when Dr. Baird became aware of Dr. Jason Campbell’s sexual harassment and assault(s), I do not think it is fair to criticize her for the close relationship alone. I do think we are all wondering how Dr. Jason Campbell was accepted as a resident at the University of Florida, since it seems like an impossibility that they did not talk to his old program director. Dr. Emily Baird took an oath to do no harm.
Dr. Dawn Dillman publicly supported Dr. Jason Campbell on Twitter as late as November 2020. (See below image)
Here is the article Dr. Dawn Dillman is praising. It was accepted October 29th, 2020 — Dr. Jason Campbell is the lead author. OHSU leadership claims Dr. Jason Campbell resigned in lieu of a dismissal hearing on October 23rd. If that is a true statement, how was he able to get an article published with his OHSU credentials at the end of October?
If you look at the publication history, the article was received in revised form October 23rd, 2020. We request that OHSU leadership clarify exactly what time Dr. Jason Campbell resigned, and what form that took.
OHSU found that Dr. Jason Campbell violated the code of conduct in August. How did the department of anesthesiology move Dr. Jason Campbell on to PGY-3, with an expired license and sexual misconduct filing? This happened despite the OHSU investigator not finding Dr. Jason Campbell to be credible, and despite his destruction of evidence. This issue is so much deeper and serious than OHSU’s leadership team would have you believe. If President Danny Jacobs still has unanswered questions, we have answers for him.
Dr. Mike Aziz appeared in a video on campus with Dr. Jason Campbell when he was supposedly excluded from campus (refer to my response here), and allegedly knew and intimidated the survivor by coming into her workspace to hover and stare at her when Dr. Jason Campbell told him of the investigation. My understanding is that OHSU leadership is saying this conduct does not matter because the survivor didn’t have a direct connection to OHSU at the time, so nothing Dr. Aziz did was illegal, as he could not be retaliating for her report per Title IX. OHSU leadership is saying that it does not matter that he walked across the skybridge to personally intimidate a reporter of sexual assault. While Dr. Aziz may not have committed a crime, he used his presence to make a woman feel uncomfortable. The power dynamic of a physician walking into a social worker’s space is unacceptable. Connie Seeley, Executive Vice President of OHSU, says: “personal attacks only serve to divide us and hurt our efforts to have a respectful civil dialogue about the important issues our community must address.” I have no respect for OHSU leadership as I am familiar with their actions. Respect is earned, not given — and OHSU leadership has not only broken our trust by lying to us, they are attempting to sweep this issue under the rug. Just as they tried to quietly send Dr. Jason Campbell to Florida to continue to harass and assault women. Dr. Mike Aziz and Dr. Jason Campbell both took oaths to do no harm. This issue would not have been revealed except for the publicity from the massive lawsuit. What other issues and lack of integrity are lurking in OHSU leadership that have not been revealed to us? Words were said in 2017, action was not taken — words will not suffice again; people need to leave.
After Dr. Jason Campbell was excluded from campus for five months for what all department leadership had to have known was a sexual misconduct investigation, Dr. Mike Aziz chose to support and promote him anyway, just like Dr. Esther Choo.
Despite all being seemingly aware of Dr. Jason Campbell’s misconduct, Dr. Mike Aziz, Dr. Dawn Dillman, and Dr. Emily Baird continued to support and promote Dr. Jason Campbell. There is no longer any doubt in my mind they must have aided him in going to the University of Florida. It seems a little publicity revealed their true characters and lack of integrity.
Here is what the response of someone with integrity looks like -
Could Dr. Emily Baird single-handedly allow Dr. Jason Campbell to dance in scrubs months after April 2020 when he was “removed from clinical duties and excluded from campus?” The answer is no, it would require the approval of Dr. Chris Swide, signatory to resident contracts.
I think it is important to note that some of these videos could have been pre-recorded. The question remains why Dr. Jason Campbell continued to enjoy a high level of support from OHSU leadership until the scandal broke with the lawsuit that was filed, and why some of them continued to publicly support him long after they were made aware of the sexual misconduct.
In OHSU’s statement on the sexual assault lawsuit filed Feb. 26, 2021 they claim: “He (Dr. Jason Campbell) resigned in lieu of a dismissal hearing on October 23, 2020. OHSU subsequently reported our findings that Dr. Campbell violated our harassment policy and code of conduct to the University of Florida.” OK OHSU, what is the story involving section 7 (seen below) of Dr. Jason Campbell’s confidentiality agreement? In the below letter, we also see how the law is wielded in an attempt to suppress speech and protect misconduct.
Emily Shults, legal counsel at OHSU, is centrally involved in OHSU’s practice of signing NDA’s with departing employees who file charges against OHSU.
Her legal oversight is a part of situations like the current Dr. Jason Campbell scandal. She is also on OHSU’s internal policy committee and advises on resident termination proceedings. It is not hard to see that she would be directly involved with how Dr. Jason Campbell was quietly sent on his way to continue his track record of assaulting and harassing women. Is she involved in the direction of OHSU’s current legal response? Is the response to the Dr. Jason Campbell scandal indictive of how OHSU treats these issues? Is this the response of leadership that has any shred of integrity?
OHSU leadership had a chance in 2017 when these big issues with sexual misconduct came to light to put in systems to address them. Now that something horrible has happened again, we cannot put our trust in them to fix this issue. It is on every one of us to do what is right and take up the burden that they are unable or unwilling to carry themselves.
To that end, we want:
- A full public accounting of what happened and who made decisions that allowed for the perpetrator of sexual misconduct to not be held to account. What is going on in the department of anesthesiology?
- A committed solution. Here is one idea.
- Actions that are consistent with our shared values, not words — by reading the legal briefs, OHSU’s leadership true intent is shown. They want to protect themselves and avoid accountability. If there are ethical people in leadership at OHSU, we implore you to do what is right and see through the lies you are being fed.
Without accountability, there can be no reckoning. If there is no reckoning, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. OHSU’s leadership is highly motivated to avoid accountability — we cannot allow it.
Employee turnover is high at the bottom level of OHSU — they attract employees with their promises of change, innovation, and progressive ideals. Once employees become a part of the institution, the situation is not as advertised — lower level employees do not feel heard, seen, or supported. This is a direct failure of leadership, which only has turnover when involved in scandal. Dr. Jacobs says: “our employees are truly our best asset” — and in this he is right. We are OHSU, and we are appalled by the action being taken at the highest levels. Rank and file staff do not have a voice unless they have credentials behind their name or are in management. The current culture created by leadership at OHSU drives good and ethical people to leave. The culture of retaliation drives otherwise good doctors to keep their heads down and focus on the patients, to the detriment of everyone at OHSU.
OHSU claims excellency in healthcare and leadership, yet does not set aside a budget for CAP (Confidential Advocacy Program). OHSU leadership instead relies on the public for donations to address the problems created by their own leadership failings.
If you want to speak truth to power, expect them to try to censor you:
Censorship is the last refuge of the desperate. Hiring consultants will not solve OHSU’s leadership problems. I am so sorry to every OHSU employee that is not involved in this disgusting mess. You do not deserve to be brought into it. I am also deeply sorry for every survivor of gendered violence that has to deal with the reality that OHSU leadership has objectively failed you, and is continuing to fail you. I know this has been going on for a long time (I have heard stories going back 20+ years), and I understand your anger and frustration. I also understand your hopelessness — I am beside you and I believe we can effect change together.
As we move forward and embark on the larger journey to heal, please join me in centering our efforts to bring accountability to the failed leadership of OHSU. Words were said in 2017, action was not taken — words will not suffice again; people need to leave.
