Ousted surgery chair's hearing set for Tuesday

Dr. Rainer Gruessner will argue against his termination before a three-member panel of physicians from outside of Arizona.

The hearing is open to the public and scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Patagonia Conference Room at 575 E. River Road. The building says, “The University Physicians” on it.

The hearing officers on the independent panel that will consider the case are Dr. John Fung of the Cleveland Clinic; Dr. Stuart Knechtle of Emory University; and Dr. Sandy Florman of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Gruessner says he was denied due process when University Physicians Healthcare (UPH) terminated him last year. UPH staffs the UA Medical Center with doctors from the UA, and its board of directors will have final say in the case.

Members of the UPH board are Dr. Carlos Borras, Dr. Mindy Fain, Jean Fedigan, Dr. Michael Lemole, Steve Lynn, Karen Mlawsky, Barbara Peck, Dr. David Sheinbein and Dr. Michael Waldrum.

Gruessner came to the UA in 2007 from the University of Minnesota and rebuilt the UA’s then-struggling surgery department. UPH placed Gruessner on administrative leave with pay in September following a dispute over amended entries that were made in a hospital transplant database.

Gruessner, a transplant surgeon who was also surgical director of the hospital’s transplant program, subsequently filed legal action against both UPH and the university in November, saying he was not given any due process against an accusation that has damaged his professional reputation.

UPH sent Gruessner a notice of termination in December and Gruessner amended his complaint as a wrongful termination.

Gruessner says senior leaders retaliated against him because he questioned their competence, and he wants to clear his name and prove that the actions taken against him were misguided and malicious.

He has also asked for his job back, though a new UA department of surgery head was hired in the midst of Gruessner’s legal fight.