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Summa Akron City Hospital

(Summa Akron City Hospital)

AKRON, Ohio - Dr. Thomas Malone, president and CEO of Summa Health System, has resigned.

Malone has come under fire since December, after the hospital decided to terminate the contract of its emergency physicians on New Year's Eve.

Earlier this month about 250 Summa physicians gave Malone, a vote of "no confidence" at an unscheduled medical staff meeting, according to doctors who attended. More than 200 staffers later signed a letter to the health system's board of directors seeking Malone's resignation.

"The board of directors today notified Summa staff in a memo, thanking Malone "for the tremendous growth and success that Summa Health has achieved during his tenure."

Malone, who was appointed president in 2015, will continue to serve as CEO for up to 60 days, the board wrote.

"We deeply appreciate that Tom made this difficult decision because he believes it is the right step forward for Summa Health, our employees, our physicians and the patients we serve. In our recent conversations with Tom it became apparent that his continued presence in his role at CEO was distracting the forward progress of the organization."

See the letter below or click here if on a mobile device.

Malone issued the following statement:

"Earlier today I submitted my letter of resignation to the Summa Health Board of Directors. I care deeply about the future of Summa Health and am incredibly proud of all that we have accomplished together over the last two years. However, as I thought about what would be best for our organization moving forward, it became clear to me that my presence may be a distraction from our goals. And that is unacceptable to me. I appreciate each member of the Summa Health family that has been with me on this journey over the last two years. Together, we have made great strides in moving the organization forward. I thank every one of them and will root for Summa Health's continued success."