The board of directors for the GraceMed Health Clinic in Wichita said it’s taking steps to deal with a “vulnerability” in its hiring process after questions were raised about the credentials of the clinic’s former chief executive officer.
Venus Lee was hired as the chief operating officer in 2010 and she moved into the CEO role in 2020. She claimed to have had an MBA from Wichita State University and a doctorate from Emory University, but questions were raised about her educational background and she resigned on March 19th.
The GraceMed board issued a statement Thursday saying that Lee was hired when the organization was under different leadership and had a different human resources team. The board said they believed that she was qualified for the CEO position based on a strong record of performance with the clinic.
The statement went on to say:
Due to the lack of additional information, there are questions that we are unable to answer. However, after conducting a thorough review of this matter, we have identified a potential point of vulnerability in our process and have taken immediate action to eliminate it moving forward. One thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to the community. We continue to work towards our mission of providing compassionate, accessible, high-quality health care for residents and families in the communities we serve.
GraceMed’s chief medical officer, Dr. Julie Elder, is the interim CEO and the board said it is giving its full support to her.
