The head of Oregon Health Authority has taken on a side job at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Dr. Sejal Hathi, who was appointed by Gov. Tina Kotek to lead one of the largest agencies in the state in 2023, shared the news about her part-time faculty position in California on LinkedIn.
Stanford announced Hathi’s appointment six days ago, as The Lund Report first noted. The LinkedIn announcement prompted some questions from those in Hathi’s circle.
For example, Multnomah’s Department of County Human Services Director Mohammad Bader, responded with: “But I’m confused. Did you leave Oregon!?” In response, Hathi wrote that she hasn’t left Oregon and that “one can both be a public servant and continue to see patients, which I am grateful Stanford has enabled me to do.”
Hathi’s LinkedIn profile shows that she had held a position as a clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford since last year. Larry Bingham, a spokesperson for the Oregon Health Authority, said in an email that Hathi was appointed to the role in November.
Bingham said that when Hathi accepted the position to lead the Oregon Health Authority back in 2023, she told Kotek she wanted to see patients in her free time. He said Kotek agreed to this condition as part of hiring Hathi.
But news of her role at Stanford prompted an immediate critique from one of the state’s top Republicans.
“The work of running the state’s largest agency demands—and deserves—the full attention of its leader, not someone who is auditioning for their next job on weekends in California,” said House Minority leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby).
Hathi will travel to see patients at Stanford about once a month. Bingham said Hathi would have preferred to practice medicine in Oregon but decided to pursue a job out of state “to avoid perceived conflicts of interest.” He said Hathi had consulted the Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon Government Ethics Commission about possible legal conflicts before accepting the role.
“Dr. Hathi intends to practice on holidays and the occasional weekend,” Bingham wrote in an email. “There is no change in her time or responsibilities at OHA.”
Bingham said the position Hathi accepted is typically paid by the hour. But as The Lund Report pointed out, a public official taking a paid position would prompt ethical questions and an approval process. Instead, Hathi will work for free, Bingham said.
“Dr. Hathi prefers to volunteer and as such has not been paid,” he said. “The only thing left to be worked out is whether the equivalent amount can instead be donated to charity.”
Hathi will pay for her travel and other costs related to the Stanford job, according to Bingham.
As the head of the Oregon Health Authority, Hathi oversees 5,700 employees and is paid about $265,500 a year. The agency regulates Oregon hospitals, runs the state Medicaid program, and leads the state’s public health programs.
Hathi is a board-certified internal medicine physician. Before coming to Oregon, she served in the Biden administration on the White House’s Domestic Policy Council and was the deputy commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Health. She has also held roles as an assistant professor and joint faculty member at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health.
“Dr. Hathi loves seeing patients and believes that staying clinically active allows her to give back and keeps her grounded in the challenges that patients face in our complicated medical system,” Bingham said.
— Kristine de Leon covers consumer health, retail, small business and data enterprise stories. Reach her at kdeleon@oregonian.com.
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