Columbia/HCA Fills New Ethics-Chief Post

Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. appointed an ethics czar to head a new ethics office. Facing a wide-ranging federal Medicaid and Medicare fraud investigation, Nashville-based Columbia hired Alan Yuspeh as senior vice president of ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility. A former partner in a Washington law firm who has taught at Georgetown University School of Business, Yuspeh has helped a number of companies with government contract compliance. Since 1987, the former general counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services has designed ethics programs for the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct, a group of 48 defense contractors. Yuspeh’s salary at Columbia, which operates 342 hospitals in 38 states, was not disclosed. Columbia shares fell 19 cents to close at $28.50 on the NYSE.