Hospital leaders resign in wake of scandal

ST. PETERSBURG — Facing backlash over a series of newspaper reports that revealed a sharp uptick in deaths of heart surgery patients, multiple members of the executive leadership team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, including President Jonathan Ellen, have resigned.

According to a statement, the hospital board also accepted the resignations of Vice President Jackie Crain; Jeffrey Jacobs, chief of the cardiovascular surgery division; and Paul Colombani, chairman of the surgery department. The resignations are effective immediately.