ORS 426.020: Superintendent; chief medical officer.

(1) The superintendent of a hospital referred to in ORS 426.010 must be a person the Oregon Health Authority considers qualified to administer the hospital. (2) The Director of the Oregon Health Authority or the designee of the director shall designate a physician licensed by the Oregon Medical Board to serve as chief medical officer of a hospital referred to in ORS 426.010. The designated chief medical officer may be an appointed state employee in the unclassified service, a self-employed contractor or an employee of a public or private entity that contracts with the authority to provide chief medical officer services. Unless the designated chief medical officer is specifically appointed as a state employee in the unclassified service, the designated chief medical officer shall not be deemed a state employee for purposes of any state statute, rule or policy. (3)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the designated chief medical officer may supervise physicians and naturopathic physicians who are employed by the hospital or who provide services at the hospital pursuant to a contract. (b) The designated chief medical officer may delegate all or part of the authority to supervise other physicians and naturopathic physicians at the hospital to a physician who is employed by the state, a self-employed contractor or an employee of a public or private entity that contracts with the authority to provide physician services. [Amended by 1955 c.651 §4; 1969 c.391 §1; 1973 c.807 §2; 1987 c.158 §76; 2003 c.14 §234; 2007 c.71 §116; 2009 c.59 §1; 2009 c.828 §14; 2017 c.356 §48; 2025 c.175 §6]