| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
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.