Auditors 'Hindered' In University Of Maryland Medical System Report
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ/AP) — An auditor for the state of Maryland says his office has been "hindered" repeatedly in an audit of the University of Maryland Medical System, which has been rocked by scandal and resignations of board members.
Maryland Legislative Auditor Gregory Hook has asked state lawmakers for an extension of a December deadline to report. Legislative leaders granted the extension to March 13.
Hook wrote in a letter late last month that the system has failed to make employees available to provide information on a timely basis.
While the field portion of their work is done, "there is still a significant amount of work that needs to be done prior to issuing a formal report, including finalizing the work papers, developing specific findings, developing the report format, writing the report, meeting with the Corporation to discuss the findings, and subjecting the project to the Office's extensive internal quality assurance process," Hook wrote.
He says auditors identified transactions related either directly or indirectly to various past and presents members of the board.
The scandal involving contracts awarded to board members this year led to the resignations of top board leaders, as well as former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.
In a statement, interim UMMS president and CEO John Ashworth said:
"The scope of the OLA audit was comprehensive and required the commitment of countless labor hours and the production of many thousands of documents on the part of UMMS. OLA Auditors have been onsite for 6 months and we have always endeavored to work collaboratively and transparently with them. We appreciate the agency's commitment of time and resources and look forward to the issuance of their report."
UMMS' incoming CEO Dr. Mohan Suntha, who takes over next month, has promised accountability in the wake of the "Healthy Holly" scandal.
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