Ousted Blue Cross CEO says he's 'ashamed, embarrassed' by DWI arrest

In a press release Wednesday night, officials said Blue Cross' board asked Dr. Patrick Conway to resign. He then submitted his resignation, effective immediately.

Chief Operating Officer Gerald Petkau was named interim CEO.

Conway, 45, was charged with driving while impaired, reckless driving and two counts of misdemeanor child abuse in a June 22 incident on Interstate 85 in Randolph County.

No one was injured in the crash, but Conway's two daughters, ages 9 and 7, were in the SUV at the time, which was the basis for the child abuse charges.

Archdale police described Conway as "absolutely belligerent" during his arrest, noting that he cursed at officer, kicked at a holding cell door and threatened to call Gov. Roy Cooper to have the officers disciplined.

Before he admitted to drinking two beers before driving, Conway told police he had fallen asleep behind the wheel after working third shift the previous night.

UNC Health spokesman Alan Wolf said Thursday that, while Conway works "occasional shifts" at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, he hadn't worked at the hospital since May.

In a statement issued after his resignation, Conway said he was "ashamed, embarrassed and sorry" about the incident. He said he told the company's board members about the arrest and had completed 30 days of inpatient substance use treatment.

"However, I also understand that I must continue to work hard to earn back the trust I’ve lost based on my actions," he said.

Blue Cross initially stood by Conway, saying they had looked into the crash and determined he was too valuable to the company's future to let go.

"However, new details have come to light, particularly notes from the arresting officers and contents from their investigative files of which the board was unaware," the company said in its statement late Wednesday, saying the board wanted to "re-examine the situation."

"As a mission-driven organization, BlueCross NC is committed to doing business with honesty, integrity and fairness. The details that recently emerged related to Dr. Conway’s arrest depict behavior that falls short of our standards," the statement said. "Despite Dr. Conway’s many successes during his tenure at BlueCross NC, we feel that our constituents are best served by naming an interim CEO and beginning a formal search for a permanent replacement."

"We hope that this action begins to rebuild a trusting relationship with our regulators and customers," the company added.

Early Thursday, Conway posted on Twitter that "nothing can diminish" his work toward improving health care.

"I hope that I and anyone could be judged on the totality of their character and thousands of great days instead of one horrible day," he tweeted.

He said he has been sober for 90 days.

"Anyone seeking substance use treatment & recovery should be celebrated. Not judged and punished," he tweeted.

"There is no path forward for this [commissioner's] office to have a trusting, confident and reliable working relationship with the chief executive officer of Blue Cross of North Carolina," Causey said during a news conference.

He also accused the Blue Cross board of covering up the arrest, which has put a planned merger with Portland, Oregon-based Cambia Health Solutions on hold. Cambia owns a company that operates Blue Cross programs in Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Washington.

"Call it what you want, they were not transparent," he said.

On Thursday, Causey issued a statement that said, "I appreciate the recent actions made by the board of BCBSNC, and, because of their integrity, I look forward to a new working relationship that values open, honest communications, accountability and transparency."

Board members didn't respond to requests for comment Thursday.

Scott Maddox, the retired teacher who took the cellphone video of Conway, said Thursday that the resignation was "unfortunate."

"If he’s addressed his problems, he deserves a second chance," Maddox said. "He needs to be held to a higher standard, but I’m sorry he lost his job."

Maddox directed his anger in the case at Blue Cross' board.

"The board should be held accountable. They don’t have any defense because they chose to minimize and cover something up," he said.