On Aug. 7, Oregon Health & Science University made an abrupt internal announcement: Its chief lawyer, Alice Cuprill Comas, would be retiring that very day. She had been on family leave for weeks, OHSU said, and felt the need to turn her full attention to the health of an ailing parent.
But there was an additional dynamic at play between OHSU and Cuprill Comas that the medical center did not publicize or answer questions about at the time: an exit agreement in which OHSU agreed to say nice things about her—and pay her $1.8 million in severance pay.
The document, dated Aug. 7 and titled “Resignation Agreement and Mutual General Release,” turns out to have been significant. In the agreement, obtained Thursday by WW through a public records request, OHSU agreed to pay Cuprill Comas $1,791,990.36—the equivalent of 24 months’ base pay—plus an additional $20,250, while she agreed not to file legal claims against the institution…