Loretto Hospital Board Accepts Resignation of COO, CFO Ahmed

CHICAGO — Dr. Anosh Ahmed, the chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Loretto Hospital has resigned Wednesday night, amid controversy surrounding doses of the coronavirus vaccines being provided to people with whom he had personal connections.

The hospital’s Board of Trustees accepted the resignation in a unanimous vote, according to a news release from the hospital.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank Dr. Ahmed for his contributions to the Loretto Hospital community and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Edward Hogan, chairman of the Loretto Hospital Board of Trustees, said in the statement.

Ahmed’s resignation comes after the hospital had come under fire in recent weeks after a series of stories reported by Block Club Chicago divulged that a number of people connected to the hospital’s top doctor had received doses of the vaccine. Those people included residents at Trump Tower as well as a high-end watch and jewelry shop in the Gold Coast.

Earlier on Wednesday, Block Club Chicago reported that employees at Maple & Ash, a high-end Chicago steakhouse frequented by Ahmed, had also received doses of the vaccines. The site reported Wednesday that like at Trump Tower and the jewelry store, people who worked for the restaurant and who would not have otherwise been eligible for the vaccines received shots.

City officials recently announced that Loretto Hospital would not be provided with any more doses of the vaccines until an investigation into the controversy involving Ahmed had been completed.

Last week, the hospital’s board reprimanded Ahmed and Loretto CEO George Miller for their “roles in mistakes” of judgement. The board did not announce how the two executives were reprimanded.

On Wednesday night, Hogan said that the hospital board will continue to investigate "any and all deviations" from the rules and regulations guiding their vaccination policy.

“If our review should uncover anything further that indicates our processes were compromised, there will be additional consequences imposed on those responsible for these actions,” Hogan said in a statement.

During the pandemic, Loretto Hospital has conducted more than 23,000 COVID-19 tests, while serving at the forefront of closing the vaccination equity gap for Black and Brown communities administering more than 16,000 shots in arms on-site at the hospital, according to the statement issued by the hospital.

Loretto Hospital was chosen by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to administer the first COVID-19 vaccines to first responders.

Ahmed's resignation came a day after State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford stepped down from the Loretto Hospital Board over the way the board handled the reprimands of Ahmed and Miller. The Board of Directors said it had taken "appropriate actions of reprimand" against the two hospital executives.

In addition to the vaccinations involving Trump Tower residents and the jewelry shop employees, Block Club Chicago also reported last week that more than 200 members of Valley Kingdom Ministries received doses of the vaccines. Miller is a founding member of that church and, according to the report, confirmed in a church newsletter that church members had received the vaccines.

Meanwhile, WBEZ reported earlier this week that ineligible Cook County judges and their spouses were offered doses at Loretto Hospital.

"Our city will not tolerate providers who blatantly disregard the Chicago Department of Public Health's distribution guidelines for the COVID-19 vaccine," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said last week after the Trump Tower controversy came to light. "Unfortunately, in recent days, stories have surfaced alleging providers who had an obligation to follow CDPH guidelines, ignored those restrictions and instead allowed well-connected individuals to jump the line to receive the vaccine instead of using it to service people who were more in need."