The internal investigation has since been completed, revealing Kettering Health funds had been used for non-business purposes, according to the hospital network.
“Kettering Health will be seeking repayment of these funds from the individuals involved and sharing information related to our investigation with the appropriate authorities,” the hospital system said in a statement on Tuesday.
The senior executives and board members that were implicated in the investigation are no longer with the organization, Kettering Health said. Kettering Health also did not name the people the investigation found to have conducted the improper spending or how much was spent.
Kettering Health later amended its statement to replace “senior executives and board members” to “individuals” when saying: “Individuals implicated in the investigation are no longer with the organization.”
“In addition, we have made significant changes to policies, procedures, and governance to ensure this type of behavior will not occur in the future,” its statement says. Further details regarding those changes were not disclosed.
Dayton Daily News investigations
Kettering Health’s first announcement regarding the internal investigation released in March came in response to records obtained by the Dayton Daily News and other media outlets containing a pair of anonymous complaints filed with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office alleging “abuse of charitable funds.”
The complaints referenced former Kettering Health CEO Fred Manchur and Dave Weigley, former chairman of the Kettering Health board and current president of Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. Kettering Health is affiliated with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
The anonymous complaints accuse Manchur of expensing trips and using hospital network funds to remodel his home, and involve Weigley’s automobile expenses, among other things.
In June, a Dayton Daily News investigation found documents tying then-Kettering Medical Center, now Kettering Health Main Campus, to Manchur’s home.
Weeks before Manchur bought a $1 million historic Kettering home in May 2008, Kettering Medical Center agreed to buy the house pending board approval, according to a purchase agreement signed by then-Chief Financial Officer Russ Wetherell.
The April 1, 2008, agreement to buy the house located behind the hospital campus for $1 million was not signed by seller Catherine Kiley and it is not known if the board of directors discussed or voted on the purchase because a Kettering Health spokeswoman in May said she could provide no information on the matter.
The purchase agreement, as well as Kettering Medical Center Network repair estimates for the home, are included in documents Kiley filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court as part of her 2009 civil lawsuit against Manchur and his wife, Mary Kaye.
Manchur was president of Kettering Medical Center when he and his wife purchased the house at 3500 Stonebridge Road from Kiley for $1 million on May 16, 2008, according to a property transfer deed filed with the Montgomery County Auditor and a Midwest Title Company settlement statement included in the lawsuit. Kiley also gave the Manchurs $43,361 for repairs, according to a repair agreement with them.
Leadership changes
Manchur’s retirement was announced in November 2022 and effective by the end of December 2022. Weigley left the Kettering Health board in January 2023. Two other top Kettering Health executives left the network in October 2022, including Kettering Health President Wally Sackett and Chief Administrative Officer Terry Burns.
Manchur, Weigley, Sackett, and Burns were not able to be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Michael Mewhirter, previously the chief financial officer for the organization, took over as interim CEO until a national search resulted in the hiring of Michael Gentry, a former health system executive in Virginia. Gentry took over as CEO in July. Mewhirter remains with the company.
In an exclusive interview with the Dayton Daily News earlier this year, former Kettering Health board member Phil Parker called for the health network to be more transparent with the public and for the board of directors to improve oversight in the wake of allegations about spending.
Kettering Health has 15 area medical centers and more than 120 outpatient locations throughout Western Ohio, as well as Kettering Physician Network, which includes more than 700 board-certified providers.
