Panel to head of Calif. med school: quit

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A former U.S. surgeon general has called for firing the head of a California medical school, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Dr. David Satcher and a panel he chaired that investigated the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, an affiliate of the troubled Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, called for a "positive leadership transition," a euphemism for saying President Charles Francis should be fired.

The panel referred repeatedly to the need for a "culture of accountability" at Drew University, which has lost accreditation in two of its major residency programs and faces the loss of a third -- a meltdown that threatens the existence of the hospital.

In addition, the school should establish an alliance with a larger, more prestigious institution such as UCLA or USC, Satcher's report said.