UMMS board chairman, who saw the hospital system through COVID and past ‘Healthy Holly,’ steps down

James “Chip” DiPaula Jr. has stepped down as chairman of the University of Maryland Medical System after nearly three years in the position that was punctuated by the coronavirus pandemic. DiPaula, however, may be best remembered as taking the helm of the 13-hospital system’s board in the wake of a major scandal involving lucrative contracts for board members. That included former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling her “Healthy Holly” children’s books in a sole-source deal with UMMS.