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Dr. Sejal Hathi, director of the Oregon Health Authority, has taken a part-time, unpaid job at Stanford University Hospital.
Stanford announced the appointment this week on a widely viewed LinkedIn post.
The post caused some confusion in Oregon medical and political circles and in Hathi’s network.
OHA spokesman Larry Bingham says Hathi took the part-time appointment in November with the permission of Gov. Tina Kotek (which Kotek’s office confirms) and after consulting the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.
Bingham adds that Hathi’s position at Stanford, first reported by The Lund Report, is unpaid. “Clinical positions like Dr. Hathi’s are typically paid by hours worked but Dr. Hathi prefers to volunteer and as such has not been paid,” Bingham says in an email.
“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,” he adds. “This is very common among doctors in public service. She is grateful to Stanford (her alma mater) and Gov. Kotek to occasionally allow her to see patients in her free time.”
Although Kotek is fine with the Hathi’s outside work, House minority leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby), is less enthused.
“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,” Drazan said.
This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering rural Oregon. OJP seeks to inform, engage, and empower readers with investigative and watchdog reporting that makes an impact. Our stories appear in partner newspapers across the state.