Pros
I have worked for MetroHeath in different capacities as a physician for over 10 years. I have held various leadership roles within the organization. Staff are generally friendly and committed to the mission of the organization to care for the underserved. Healthcare benefits and retirement are good, though the governmental pension benefit is not nearly as good as in the past, with reductions for new hires compared with older pension groups receiving a grandfathered higher pension benefit not available to new workers.
Cons
Organization is extremely top-down. Most providers feel like a commodity, with little institutional support for providers in the form of resources, staff, and equipment. The incentive compensation plan only rewards clinical productivity and punishes academic work and non-clinical leadership work. Your departmental Chairperson is tasked with meeting the requests of the CEO/CMO, not responding to the needs of individual providers. In the decade I have been with the organization, I have never heard from nor seen hospital leadership (outside of highly produced videos from the CEO). There is no pathway or channel to escalate personal or departmental concerns above your Chair. MetroHealth seems to be desperately struggling to be known for something, anything, but they aren’t sure what yet, so they are throwing everything at the wall hoping something sticks. Concierge medicine, teleheath, imaging centers, diversity initiatives, community medicine centers, dentistry. You name it, they are throwing dollars at it, hoping at least one thing will work so they can escape the long shadows of the Cleveland Clinic and UH. Unfortunate, they are hemorrhaging money in the process, so actual good patient care and working for the underserved gets lost in the shuffle. You could certainly choose to work here, just be prepared that as a provider, no one will care about you or your problems after day 1. Oh, and they are building a beautiful new hospital but conveniently forgot to include space for faculty offices, meeting room, teaching spaces, etc. Just more evidence that providers and staff are secondary to the vision and aspirations of the CEO.
