Accretive Health to exit Minnesota under settlement
By Zeba Siddiqui
Jul 30, 2012
(Reuters)
Medical billing services provider Accretive Health Inc said it would wind down its Minnesota operations to settle a 6-month-old lawsuit by the state that has led to the loss of a contract for the company.
The lawsuit, brought by state Attorney General Lori Swanson in January, followed an investigation into the Chicago-based company's debt collection practices. It alleged that Accretive had violated state and federal health privacy laws through aggressive collection tactics, including having its management "imbedded" into the staff of Minnesota hospitals and managing hospital employees engaged in collections and patient registration.
Accretive must pay $2.5 million and stop all business operations in Minnesota within the next 90 days under the settlement. The money will partly be used to compensate patients, with the rest going to the state treasury.
Accretive said in a statement that it has not yet determined when it will complete the wind down process.
Following the 90-day period, "Accretive will be subject to an outright ban on operating in Minnesota for two years," the office of the Attorney General said in a statement.
The company would not be allowed to reenter the state for six years after that, unless it enters an agreement with the Attorney General Lori Swanson.
"A hospital emergency room is a place of medical trauma and emotional suffering for patients and their families. It should be a solemn place, not a place for a financial shakedown of patients," Minnesota Attorney General Swanson said...
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Leon Page v. Tri-City Healthcare: Should public hospital trustees protect the interests of the public--or should they protect the institutions FROM the public?
See minute order.
Tri-City Hospital tried to get Leon Page's public interest lawsuit thrown out, but failed. Page sued after the board prohibited trustees Randy Horton and Kathleen Sterling from voting.
Like so many powerful institutions these days, the hospital abused a law that is supposed to protect free speech and constitutional rights--the anti-SLAPP law. Sadly, the law has been used to stifle complaints from the public.
Judge Timothy Casserly noted in his decision against Tri-City Healthcare on July 25, 2012:
"On October 27, 2011, Larry Anderson presented to the Board a renunciation of Horton and Director Kathleen Sterling in which he accused them of placing the interests of their constituents above those of Defendant.
"...On April 28, 2011, the Board in closed session voted to prohibit Horton from participating and voting in closed sessions meetings of the Board.
"Since then, the Board has excluded Horton from closed sessions conducted on May 26, 2011, June 16, 2011, June 30, 2011, July 28, 2011, August 15,2011, August 23, 2011, August 25, 2011, September 22, 2011, September 27, 2011, September 29, 2011, October 4, 2011, and December 20, 2011.
"Additionally, Defendant announced it would not provide Horton with legal defense or indemnity if he was sued in his official capacity. Defendant denied Horton the stipends provided to attend meetings. Defendant spends money on security personnel to prevent Horton from participating in closed session meetings of the Board. As a result of Horton's exclusion, Plaintiff and similarly situated individuals have been denied meaningful representation on the Board, and the Board's voting rights have been reallocated, disenfranchising a segment of the voting public."
The judge noted this exception to the anti-SLAPP law:
"The Legislature enacted section 425.17 to control the abuse of the anti-SLAPP statute. The statute creates an exception to section 425.16 that protects public interest lawsuits from anti-SLAPP motions.
The statute states in pertinent part:
(b) Section 425.16 does not apply to any action brought solely in the public interest or on behalf of the general public if all of the following conditions exist:
(1) The plaintiff does not seek any relief greater than or different from the relief sought for the general public or a class of which the plaintiff is a member. A claim for attorney's fees, costs, or penalties does not constitute greater or different relief for purposes of this subdivision.
(2) The action, if successful, would enforce an important right affecting the public interest, and would confer a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, on the general public or a large class of persons.
(3) Private enforcement is necessary and places a disproportionate financial burden on the plaintiff in relation to the plaintiff's stake in the matter.
Tri-City Hospital tried to get Leon Page's public interest lawsuit thrown out, but failed. Page sued after the board prohibited trustees Randy Horton and Kathleen Sterling from voting.
Like so many powerful institutions these days, the hospital abused a law that is supposed to protect free speech and constitutional rights--the anti-SLAPP law. Sadly, the law has been used to stifle complaints from the public.
Judge Timothy Casserly noted in his decision against Tri-City Healthcare on July 25, 2012:
"On October 27, 2011, Larry Anderson presented to the Board a renunciation of Horton and Director Kathleen Sterling in which he accused them of placing the interests of their constituents above those of Defendant.
"...On April 28, 2011, the Board in closed session voted to prohibit Horton from participating and voting in closed sessions meetings of the Board.
"Since then, the Board has excluded Horton from closed sessions conducted on May 26, 2011, June 16, 2011, June 30, 2011, July 28, 2011, August 15,2011, August 23, 2011, August 25, 2011, September 22, 2011, September 27, 2011, September 29, 2011, October 4, 2011, and December 20, 2011.
"Additionally, Defendant announced it would not provide Horton with legal defense or indemnity if he was sued in his official capacity. Defendant denied Horton the stipends provided to attend meetings. Defendant spends money on security personnel to prevent Horton from participating in closed session meetings of the Board. As a result of Horton's exclusion, Plaintiff and similarly situated individuals have been denied meaningful representation on the Board, and the Board's voting rights have been reallocated, disenfranchising a segment of the voting public."
The judge noted this exception to the anti-SLAPP law:
"The Legislature enacted section 425.17 to control the abuse of the anti-SLAPP statute. The statute creates an exception to section 425.16 that protects public interest lawsuits from anti-SLAPP motions.
The statute states in pertinent part:
(b) Section 425.16 does not apply to any action brought solely in the public interest or on behalf of the general public if all of the following conditions exist:
(1) The plaintiff does not seek any relief greater than or different from the relief sought for the general public or a class of which the plaintiff is a member. A claim for attorney's fees, costs, or penalties does not constitute greater or different relief for purposes of this subdivision.
(2) The action, if successful, would enforce an important right affecting the public interest, and would confer a significant benefit, whether pecuniary or nonpecuniary, on the general public or a large class of persons.
(3) Private enforcement is necessary and places a disproportionate financial burden on the plaintiff in relation to the plaintiff's stake in the matter.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
New US Hospital Ratings are out for 2012-2013
U.S. News and World Report does an excellent job, but it's hard to compare hospitals when you can only see one hospital at a time. I've started preparing comparisons of San Diego hospitals.
My first page is the urology comparisons for San Diego. Three local hospitals had better-than-expected survival, and three had worse-than-expected survival.
U.S. News Best Hospitals 2012-13
U.S. News surveyed nearly 10,000 specialists and sifted through data for approximately 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult specialties, from cancer to urology. Death rates, patient safety, and hospital reputation were a few of the factors considered. Only 148 hospitals were nationally ranked in one or more specialties. The Honor Roll features the 17 that scored near the top in at least six specialties.
My first page is the urology comparisons for San Diego. Three local hospitals had better-than-expected survival, and three had worse-than-expected survival.
U.S. News Best Hospitals 2012-13
U.S. News surveyed nearly 10,000 specialists and sifted through data for approximately 5,000 hospitals to rank the best in 16 adult specialties, from cancer to urology. Death rates, patient safety, and hospital reputation were a few of the factors considered. Only 148 hospitals were nationally ranked in one or more specialties. The Honor Roll features the 17 that scored near the top in at least six specialties.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Millions in health care district deals involve firms with ties to officials
Washington Hospital Healthcare System is a member of Beta Healthcare.
Millions in health care district deals involve firms with ties to officials
July 13, 2012
Jennifer Gollan and Katharine Mieszkowski
California Watch
A financial review of more than 20 health care districts in California found millions of dollars in transactions involving companies and nonprofits with ties to top district officials.
...Close ties to nonprofits
Nonprofits with connections to health care district board members also have benefited.
In the Sequoia Healthcare District, which also serves the Peninsula, board member Gerald Shefren voted in April 2011 to approve a $60,000 grant to Pathways Home Health, Hospice and Private Duty, a nonprofit where his wife, Joyce, works part time.
It marked the first time the district had provided a grant to the nonprofit, according to Lee Michelson, the district’s CEO.
Last year, Shefren served on a district committee that recommended Pathways and other groups receive funding from the health care district, documents show. Shefren said he recused himself from that decision. There are no records of the meeting, nor is the district required by the state to keep them, Don Shoecraft, spokesman for the Sequoia district, said in an email.
But soon after, at a full district board meeting, Shefren voted to advance the $60,000 grant for the nonprofit where his wife works, meeting minutes show. He seconded a motion to vote on a package of grants, then joined the 4-to-1 majority in approving it.
Questioned by The Bay Citizen about his vote, Shefren said: “In talking with our CEO and legal counsel, I think that this is an oversight. This probably should have been pulled out separately, so that I could recuse myself from the Pathways grant and vote on the other ones.”
Nancy Farber, CEO of the Washington Hospital Healthcare System, attends a district board meeting in Fremont in May. The district approved payments of $350,000 to a nonprofit now run by Farber’s husband.
By contrast, Nancy Farber, CEO of the Washington Hospital Healthcare System, maintains that she followed the state’s conflict-of-interest rules. With compensation of more than $912,500 in 2010, Farber was one of the highest-paid executives within a health care district in California. As CEO of the health care system, Farber reports to the Washington Township district’s board, which oversees Washington Hospital and various outpatient clinics that serve residents primarily in southern Alameda County.
Since April 2010, Farber’s husband, Peter Farber-Szekrenyi, has played a leading role at the George Mark Children’s House, a nonprofit organization that provides care for children facing serious illnesses.
That was not his first involvement with the San Leandro nonprofit, either. He began volunteering for the organization in January 2009 before joining the nonprofit’s board of directors in May 2009.
In July 2009, the health district board voted to authorize Farber to provide a $100,000 grant to the George Mark Children’s House, documents show. The district board then voted to give the nonprofit an additional grant of $250,000 on March 10, 2010, documents show. Less than a month later, Farber-Szekrenyi became a consultant, earning $12,800 per month as executive director, while the Children’s House closed for roughly six months to reorganize its finances. In April 2011, he became the Children’s House CEO, earning $208,000 a year.
Farber did not vote on either grant because she does not sit on the district board. But she participated in a discussion about the second transaction, telling board members that the $250,000 grant would be awarded in installments based on “agreed upon milestones,” meeting minutes show.
Under state law, public officials are not permitted to participate in a decision in which they have a financial interest.
Despite repeated requests for an interview left at her office and with the district’s public relations staff, Farber declined to respond directly to questions about her role in awarding the grants. However, a written statement from the district’s spokeswoman said that two weeks after the board awarded the second grant, Farber notified board members that her husband had been asked to become the organization’s executive director.
“The matter of the $250,000 grant recently acted upon by this Board can no longer be allocated at my discretion as originally conceived,” Farber wrote in her letter to the board, dated March 24, 2010.
The district in its statement to The Bay Citizen maintains that Farber “stepped away from dealing with matters relating to George Mark Children’s House” after her husband took the job.
However, as CEO, she continued to run the system, which provides ongoing logistical help to the Children’s House, which reopened in fall 2010. The hospital has donated billing services to the small facility, which typically cares for three to four patients at a time, who stay an average of two weeks.
The Washington Hospital Healthcare Foundation provided more than $55,000 between 2009 and January of this year to support the nonprofit’s operating costs, events and fundraisers, documents show. As CEO, Farber approved at least a portion of those payments, according to the district.
Both Farber and her husband also serve on the health care foundation’s board of trustees.
In a promotional video about George Mark Children’s House posted on YouTube, Farber-Szekrenyi said his wife suggested he help the facility because it might close.
“See if you can get on the board and help them,” he said she told him.
Farber-Szekrenyi says his organization did not receive any special treatment.
“Washington Hospital’s and Nancy Farber’s initial assistance predated my role as CEO of George Mark Children’s House,” he wrote in an email to The Bay Citizen, adding that after he became CEO, “Nancy Farber declared her conflict and refrained from further participation in the grant process.”...
July 13, 2012
Jennifer Gollan and Katharine Mieszkowski
California Watch
A financial review of more than 20 health care districts in California found millions of dollars in transactions involving companies and nonprofits with ties to top district officials.
...Close ties to nonprofits
Nonprofits with connections to health care district board members also have benefited.
In the Sequoia Healthcare District, which also serves the Peninsula, board member Gerald Shefren voted in April 2011 to approve a $60,000 grant to Pathways Home Health, Hospice and Private Duty, a nonprofit where his wife, Joyce, works part time.
It marked the first time the district had provided a grant to the nonprofit, according to Lee Michelson, the district’s CEO.
Last year, Shefren served on a district committee that recommended Pathways and other groups receive funding from the health care district, documents show. Shefren said he recused himself from that decision. There are no records of the meeting, nor is the district required by the state to keep them, Don Shoecraft, spokesman for the Sequoia district, said in an email.
But soon after, at a full district board meeting, Shefren voted to advance the $60,000 grant for the nonprofit where his wife works, meeting minutes show. He seconded a motion to vote on a package of grants, then joined the 4-to-1 majority in approving it.
Questioned by The Bay Citizen about his vote, Shefren said: “In talking with our CEO and legal counsel, I think that this is an oversight. This probably should have been pulled out separately, so that I could recuse myself from the Pathways grant and vote on the other ones.”
Nancy Farber, CEO of the Washington Hospital Healthcare System, attends a district board meeting in Fremont in May. The district approved payments of $350,000 to a nonprofit now run by Farber’s husband.
By contrast, Nancy Farber, CEO of the Washington Hospital Healthcare System, maintains that she followed the state’s conflict-of-interest rules. With compensation of more than $912,500 in 2010, Farber was one of the highest-paid executives within a health care district in California. As CEO of the health care system, Farber reports to the Washington Township district’s board, which oversees Washington Hospital and various outpatient clinics that serve residents primarily in southern Alameda County.
Since April 2010, Farber’s husband, Peter Farber-Szekrenyi, has played a leading role at the George Mark Children’s House, a nonprofit organization that provides care for children facing serious illnesses.
That was not his first involvement with the San Leandro nonprofit, either. He began volunteering for the organization in January 2009 before joining the nonprofit’s board of directors in May 2009.
In July 2009, the health district board voted to authorize Farber to provide a $100,000 grant to the George Mark Children’s House, documents show. The district board then voted to give the nonprofit an additional grant of $250,000 on March 10, 2010, documents show. Less than a month later, Farber-Szekrenyi became a consultant, earning $12,800 per month as executive director, while the Children’s House closed for roughly six months to reorganize its finances. In April 2011, he became the Children’s House CEO, earning $208,000 a year.
Farber did not vote on either grant because she does not sit on the district board. But she participated in a discussion about the second transaction, telling board members that the $250,000 grant would be awarded in installments based on “agreed upon milestones,” meeting minutes show.
Under state law, public officials are not permitted to participate in a decision in which they have a financial interest.
Despite repeated requests for an interview left at her office and with the district’s public relations staff, Farber declined to respond directly to questions about her role in awarding the grants. However, a written statement from the district’s spokeswoman said that two weeks after the board awarded the second grant, Farber notified board members that her husband had been asked to become the organization’s executive director.
“The matter of the $250,000 grant recently acted upon by this Board can no longer be allocated at my discretion as originally conceived,” Farber wrote in her letter to the board, dated March 24, 2010.
The district in its statement to The Bay Citizen maintains that Farber “stepped away from dealing with matters relating to George Mark Children’s House” after her husband took the job.
However, as CEO, she continued to run the system, which provides ongoing logistical help to the Children’s House, which reopened in fall 2010. The hospital has donated billing services to the small facility, which typically cares for three to four patients at a time, who stay an average of two weeks.
The Washington Hospital Healthcare Foundation provided more than $55,000 between 2009 and January of this year to support the nonprofit’s operating costs, events and fundraisers, documents show. As CEO, Farber approved at least a portion of those payments, according to the district.
Both Farber and her husband also serve on the health care foundation’s board of trustees.
In a promotional video about George Mark Children’s House posted on YouTube, Farber-Szekrenyi said his wife suggested he help the facility because it might close.
“See if you can get on the board and help them,” he said she told him.
Farber-Szekrenyi says his organization did not receive any special treatment.
“Washington Hospital’s and Nancy Farber’s initial assistance predated my role as CEO of George Mark Children’s House,” he wrote in an email to The Bay Citizen, adding that after he became CEO, “Nancy Farber declared her conflict and refrained from further participation in the grant process.”...
Democrats Mock GOP For Protecting Own Health Care In Repeal Vote
This story has a great video that features our own Duncan Hunter, Jr. and other Republicans acting as if they hadn't just voted to give themselves healthcare for life.
Democrats Mock GOP For Protecting Own Health Care In Repeal Vote
HuffPost
07/16/2012
Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are the target of a push by Democrats to show that in voting to repeal the health care law, GOP members also voted to keep their enhanced medical care.
WASHINGTON -- Democrats are mocking Republicans in the House of Representatives for voting to repeal the health care reform law and keep their own enhanced medical care.
When Congress passed the health care law, it required members of Congress to get their insurance on exchanges with the rest of the public. But in voting to repeal that law, Republicans and a handful of Democrats were also voting to go back to the old system where the lawmakers get a sweeter deal than most of the rest of the country.
They also voted against a Democratic motion that said members of Congress who support repealing the health care law must also repeal the good stuff they get, such as lifetime care and insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions...
Democrats Mock GOP For Protecting Own Health Care In Repeal Vote
HuffPost
07/16/2012
Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) are the target of a push by Democrats to show that in voting to repeal the health care law, GOP members also voted to keep their enhanced medical care.
WASHINGTON -- Democrats are mocking Republicans in the House of Representatives for voting to repeal the health care reform law and keep their own enhanced medical care.
When Congress passed the health care law, it required members of Congress to get their insurance on exchanges with the rest of the public. But in voting to repeal that law, Republicans and a handful of Democrats were also voting to go back to the old system where the lawmakers get a sweeter deal than most of the rest of the country.
They also voted against a Democratic motion that said members of Congress who support repealing the health care law must also repeal the good stuff they get, such as lifetime care and insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions...
Friday, July 13, 2012
Poorly trained dentists are killing U.S. kids: report
Poorly trained dentists are killing U.S. kids: report
In the last 15 years, 31 children have died during or following dental treatment, according to a recent report by a joint investigation by FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity.
BY MICHAEL WALSH
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
JULY 13, 2012
Some dentists have pushed dangerous procedures for which they haven’t been properly trained on young children.
Poorly trained dentists have been killing American children by administering unnecessary, yet lucrative, sedation. In the last 15 years, 31 children have died during or following dental treatment, according to a recent report by a joint investigation by FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity.
Raven Maria Blanco was 8-years-old when she died in the dentist's chair during a routine procedure. She received three times the average range of sedatives for a child of her weight and health. She had a lethal blood concentration of 24 mg/l of chloral hydrate, as revealed by an autopsy, according to the Daily Mail.
The dentist responsible, Dr. Michael Hechtkopf, only had his license restricted for three months and needed to retrain in risk management and record keeping for a mere seven hours. Dr. Hechtkopf's lawyer said that his client "regretted" what happened.
Raven's parents established the Raven Maria Blanco Foundation to warn others about ill-equipped dentists unnecessarily performing such dangerous procedures. They started a campaign to establish a registry of dental treatment deaths, in hopes to save other families from the same heartbreak.
But other families have endured such tragedy. Five-year-old Diamond Brownridge died from nitrous oxide and an intravenous sedation. 13-year-old Marissa Kingery died from four different types of oral sedatives.
When Dr. Patrick Bamgboye administered the sedatives that killed 3-year-old Juan Quiej earlier this year, he was still on probation for doing the same to 6-year-old Kyneicha Pagan. Kyneicha's mother said, "Two innocent kids die. It can't be a coincidence."
Some of these dentists have merely two days of safe sedation training, but it can increase treatment costs by tens of thousands of dollars, according to ABC. Dr. Indru Punwani, a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, said that such weekend courses are inadequate preparation for potential emergencies.
In the last 15 years, 31 children have died during or following dental treatment, according to a recent report by a joint investigation by FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity.
BY MICHAEL WALSH
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
JULY 13, 2012
Some dentists have pushed dangerous procedures for which they haven’t been properly trained on young children.
Poorly trained dentists have been killing American children by administering unnecessary, yet lucrative, sedation. In the last 15 years, 31 children have died during or following dental treatment, according to a recent report by a joint investigation by FRONTLINE and the Center for Public Integrity.
Raven Maria Blanco was 8-years-old when she died in the dentist's chair during a routine procedure. She received three times the average range of sedatives for a child of her weight and health. She had a lethal blood concentration of 24 mg/l of chloral hydrate, as revealed by an autopsy, according to the Daily Mail.
The dentist responsible, Dr. Michael Hechtkopf, only had his license restricted for three months and needed to retrain in risk management and record keeping for a mere seven hours. Dr. Hechtkopf's lawyer said that his client "regretted" what happened.
Raven's parents established the Raven Maria Blanco Foundation to warn others about ill-equipped dentists unnecessarily performing such dangerous procedures. They started a campaign to establish a registry of dental treatment deaths, in hopes to save other families from the same heartbreak.
But other families have endured such tragedy. Five-year-old Diamond Brownridge died from nitrous oxide and an intravenous sedation. 13-year-old Marissa Kingery died from four different types of oral sedatives.
When Dr. Patrick Bamgboye administered the sedatives that killed 3-year-old Juan Quiej earlier this year, he was still on probation for doing the same to 6-year-old Kyneicha Pagan. Kyneicha's mother said, "Two innocent kids die. It can't be a coincidence."
Some of these dentists have merely two days of safe sedation training, but it can increase treatment costs by tens of thousands of dollars, according to ABC. Dr. Indru Punwani, a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, said that such weekend courses are inadequate preparation for potential emergencies.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Fired Worker Says Kaiser Backed Drug User
See UPDATE to this story.
"...Keefer, Burnett and two union representatives told her to sign a "last chance" agreement which included "false and inaccurate information" about those allegations. She says that when she refused to sign the agreement she was fired, on July 7, 2011. Grotz says Taylor was fired the same day."
Fired Worker Says Kaiser Backed Drug User
By MATT REYNOLDS
Courthouse News (CN)
Kaiser Hospital fired a longtime employee after she complained about her drug-using boss, whom the fired worker says she saw with a rolled-up bill in her nose, "snorting a white powdery substance" at work, the worker claims in a federal lawsuit.
Kristinna Grotz sued Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the Permanente Medical Group, and SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which allegedly failed to stick up for her.
Grotz claims she worked in Kaiser's admitting department from 2002 until she was fired in the summer of 2011.
She says that from early 2008 department manager (nonparty) D. T. used drugs - "in all likelihood methamphetamine" - at work, and that D. T. retaliated against her for reporting it.
Grotz claims that in early 2010 she joined six other employees and wrote a letter complaining to Kaiser about D. T.'s alleged drug use and acts of retaliation and favoritism.
Kaiser then allegedly launched an investigation headed by Taylor's superior and friend Diane Keefer and human resources manager Alan Burnett, neither of whom are parties to the lawsuit.
Grotz say that though Kaiser told her and the other employees that they would be "immune" from retaliation, that "proved to be untrue."
"Thereafter, plaintiff and others were called in one at a time and were interviewed by Ms. Keefer and Mr. Burnett. During her interview, plaintiff informed Ms. Keefer and Mr. Burnett about Ms. Taylor's ongoing substance abuse problem in detail. She informed them that she had personally observed Ms. Taylor and another employee, Terry Caballero, an employee from another Kaiser department, in Ms. Taylor's office, with rolled up bills in their noses snorting a white powdery substance. Plaintiff also said she was aware that Ms. Taylor's apparent drug use had been observed by at least two other individuals who signed the October 15, 2010 letter... Plaintiff stated that she believed that Ms. Taylor received most of her drugs from other employees within the facility," the 14-page complaint states.
Kaiser's "investigation" was bogus, Grotz says, because Keefer helped Taylor cover up her drug use and dismissed the allegations for lack of evidence, despite "contrary eyewitness testimony of Ms. Taylor's drug use from plaintiff and other staff."
Grotz claims Kaiser then turned the matter over to an employee assistance counselor. She claims that during a meeting with that counselor, "Debbie Taylor looked plaintiff right in the eye while mouthing the words, 'You f---ing bitch.' The EAP counselor quickly closed the meeting. Only one meeting took place after this aborted meeting and only the admitting staff was in attendance, but not Ms. Taylor.
In fact, none was ever scheduled again with Debbie Taylor present. To plaintiffs' knowledge, employer did nothing further to remedy the hostile working environment or address the illegal use of drugs by Taylor and others in the workplace. Instead, plaintiff and the other employees remained in constant fear of retaliation by Ms. Taylor and Ms. Keefer, which did not take long to materialize."
Beginning in late 2010, Grotz was falsely accused of timecard fraud, threatening Taylor and acting unprofessionally, the complaint says.
Finally, Grotz claims, Keefer, Burnett and two union representatives told her to sign a "last chance" agreement which included "false and inaccurate information" about to those allegations. She says that when she refused to sign the agreement she was fired, on July 7, 2011.
Grotz says Taylor was fired the same day.
Grotz seeks a jury trial and damages for unlawful discharge and breach of the union's duty of fair representation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
She is represented by George Camerlengo with Camerlengo & Johnson of Redwood City.
Neither Kaiser nor SEIU-United Healthcare workers immediately responded to requests for comment.
"...Keefer, Burnett and two union representatives told her to sign a "last chance" agreement which included "false and inaccurate information" about those allegations. She says that when she refused to sign the agreement she was fired, on July 7, 2011. Grotz says Taylor was fired the same day."
Fired Worker Says Kaiser Backed Drug User
By MATT REYNOLDS
Courthouse News (CN)
Kaiser Hospital fired a longtime employee after she complained about her drug-using boss, whom the fired worker says she saw with a rolled-up bill in her nose, "snorting a white powdery substance" at work, the worker claims in a federal lawsuit.
Kristinna Grotz sued Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the Permanente Medical Group, and SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which allegedly failed to stick up for her.
Grotz claims she worked in Kaiser's admitting department from 2002 until she was fired in the summer of 2011.
She says that from early 2008 department manager (nonparty) D. T. used drugs - "in all likelihood methamphetamine" - at work, and that D. T. retaliated against her for reporting it.
Grotz claims that in early 2010 she joined six other employees and wrote a letter complaining to Kaiser about D. T.'s alleged drug use and acts of retaliation and favoritism.
Kaiser then allegedly launched an investigation headed by Taylor's superior and friend Diane Keefer and human resources manager Alan Burnett, neither of whom are parties to the lawsuit.
Grotz say that though Kaiser told her and the other employees that they would be "immune" from retaliation, that "proved to be untrue."
"Thereafter, plaintiff and others were called in one at a time and were interviewed by Ms. Keefer and Mr. Burnett. During her interview, plaintiff informed Ms. Keefer and Mr. Burnett about Ms. Taylor's ongoing substance abuse problem in detail. She informed them that she had personally observed Ms. Taylor and another employee, Terry Caballero, an employee from another Kaiser department, in Ms. Taylor's office, with rolled up bills in their noses snorting a white powdery substance. Plaintiff also said she was aware that Ms. Taylor's apparent drug use had been observed by at least two other individuals who signed the October 15, 2010 letter... Plaintiff stated that she believed that Ms. Taylor received most of her drugs from other employees within the facility," the 14-page complaint states.
Kaiser's "investigation" was bogus, Grotz says, because Keefer helped Taylor cover up her drug use and dismissed the allegations for lack of evidence, despite "contrary eyewitness testimony of Ms. Taylor's drug use from plaintiff and other staff."
Grotz claims Kaiser then turned the matter over to an employee assistance counselor. She claims that during a meeting with that counselor, "Debbie Taylor looked plaintiff right in the eye while mouthing the words, 'You f---ing bitch.' The EAP counselor quickly closed the meeting. Only one meeting took place after this aborted meeting and only the admitting staff was in attendance, but not Ms. Taylor.
In fact, none was ever scheduled again with Debbie Taylor present. To plaintiffs' knowledge, employer did nothing further to remedy the hostile working environment or address the illegal use of drugs by Taylor and others in the workplace. Instead, plaintiff and the other employees remained in constant fear of retaliation by Ms. Taylor and Ms. Keefer, which did not take long to materialize."
Beginning in late 2010, Grotz was falsely accused of timecard fraud, threatening Taylor and acting unprofessionally, the complaint says.
Finally, Grotz claims, Keefer, Burnett and two union representatives told her to sign a "last chance" agreement which included "false and inaccurate information" about to those allegations. She says that when she refused to sign the agreement she was fired, on July 7, 2011.
Grotz says Taylor was fired the same day.
Grotz seeks a jury trial and damages for unlawful discharge and breach of the union's duty of fair representation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
She is represented by George Camerlengo with Camerlengo & Johnson of Redwood City.
Neither Kaiser nor SEIU-United Healthcare workers immediately responded to requests for comment.
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