May 18th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Evidence is surfacing that a major cover-up is in progress at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC). Allegations surfaced months ago that San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors Second District Supervisor Paul Biane and Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales received extensive free medical care at ARMC. A complaint has been filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) alleging Form 700 violations due to the fact that these supervisors, along with former County Administrative Officer Mark Uffer, received free medical care, which constitutes a gift of public funds, and did not report said gifts as required by law on their Form 700s.
Today, iePolitics learned that ARMC Chief Executive Officer Patrick Petre at the behest of ARMC Medical Director Dr. Dev Gnanadev, has ordered privacy statements be signed and backdated by ARMC employees in regard to anything they witnessed in reference to members of the Board of Supervisors or other elected and appointed officials who may have been given free medical care at the facility. It appears that this process has been put into place to interfere with a criminal and/or Grand Jury investigation into practices at ARMC.
iePolitics has been contacted by employees who have been threatened with HIPAA violations if they discuss the wrongdoing at ARMC. It appears every effort is being made to sweep the current scandal under the rug.
Additionally, iePolitics has learned that ARMC staff has been directed to enter previously off-the-chart doctor visits and medical procedures provided to elected officials into the hospital’s Medi-Tech system in what also appears to be an attempt to cover-up past unethical practices. Past practice has been for elected officials to make arrangements with Dr. Gnanadev for personal treatment that often is not charted so that there is no computerized record of their procedures and no billing.
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Why would they even need “free medical care?” Don’t they have medical insurance through the county?
Mr. Petre, Please note Politics 101: Lesson 1
Thoroughly check all facts before appearing and making statements to your supervisors in public meetings.
Last Tuesday you appeared before the Board of Supervisors who in their role as the Board of Trustees of ARMC are your immediate supervisors.
At that time you stated that the current contracting method and role of Medical Director at ARMC/San Bernardino County Medical Center has been the same for 30 years.
Since I was the Medical director for 18 of those years I can state that you are absolutely incorrect.
1.Myth.
The Medical Dirctor was always an owner or part of a Medical Corporation providing sevices at ARMC/SBCMC.
False.
In 1978 I was recruited to serve as full time Medical Director of San Bernardino County Medical Center as a result of a National Search effective April 1,1979. I accepted this position with the understanding that I could contract with the current Anesthesia Dept. to practice anesthesia 1 or 2 days a week in order to maintain my clinical skills.
As a result of this agreement, the responsibility for the administrative oversight of the Anesthesia contract was assigned to Dr. Cral Jansen the Senior Associate Medical Director, as well as, the CEO of SBCMC.
In 1983 Dr. Jansen and Mr. Jervis, the CEO at that time, decided not to renew the Anesthesia Contract.
Thus,the Medical Executive Committee was asked to select a search committee to perform a national search for a new Chair of Anesthesiology. As a result, I was approached by members of the Medical Executive and Search Committees along with Mr. Jervis and asked if I would agree to accept the position of Chair of Anesthesiology. After careful consideration I accepted with the express agreement that Dr. Jansen and Mr. Jervis would retain the administratve oversight of the contract for Anesthesia Services.
In 1994, after obtaining approval for the building of ARMC, I resigned as Chair of Anesthesiology so that I could devote my full attention to my duties as Medical Director.
When I retired in 1997 I strongly recommended to Mr. Jervis and my Associate Medical Directors (including Dr. Gnanadev) that the Medical Director’s position remain full time. To my knowlege it remained this way until 2001 when Mr. Uffer appointed Dr. Gnanadev Medical Director after forcing Dr. Jansen to resign.
2. Physician Contracting:
During my term as Medical Director all Deptartment Chairs and Division Directors were recruited as the result of a national search by a committee of the Medical Staff selected by the the Medical Executive Committee.
This committee had the responsibility of finding the most qualified candidate and recommending his/her approval to the Medical Executive Committee. After approval by the Medical Executive Committee I, as Medical Director, negotiated an Independent Corporate Contract for Professional Services with the approved candidate. I then submitted the agreed terms to the CEO for final approval. PLEASE NOTE: This is not the proceedure that has been followed for the past 9 years.
Wow . . . some difference !
Politics 101 Lesson 2.
Mr. Petre,
During your speach to the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday, you mentioned that it was the hospital’s perogative to renew or not renew physician contracts. This may be true if the contracts are betweeen the physician group and ARMC.
However, the contracts are actually between the County and the professional Corporation to provide Clinical Services at ARMC as INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS ( a status that your Medical Director continuously violates by interfering with and directing how these contractors perform their duties. Thus, making them in fact, Contracted County Employees.
This change in status may subject the County to potential back payment tax liabilities for Federal & State Employees witholding, FICA and Medicare and Retirement contributions).
While the County by vote of the Board of Supervisors, acting in their role as Trustees of ARMC, have the right to renew or not renew these contracts the hospital only has the perogative to REQUEST that the Board renew or not renew the contracts.
Once the Board, acting as the Governing Body of ARMC, decides not to renew the contract, the Medical Executive Committee should establish a search committee to find a qualified candidate to serve as Chair. Once this has been achieved a contract to provide services may be negotiated.
Otherwise the County must advertise for submission of RFPs to perform these services. The Medical Director calling and agreeing to a contract with one group and then calling another group to submit a bid does not meet this standard.
By the way Dr. G isn’t that the same group that you denied the current Anesthsia group permission to accept their Anesthesia Residents for training, stating that they were not well trained and everybody at their current Institution was complaing about the quality of care that their faculty was providing?
Furthermore, there are no provisions in any contract prohibiting corporate pesonnel from questioning the governance of ARMC or disagreeing with the actions of the Medical Director or other members of the ARMC administration as long as they carry out their contracted duties.
Thank you Dr Steinman, Dr Comunale and others.
Your leadership and courage to do what is best for the public is most admirable.
My aunt was admitted to the ARMC ICU after suffering a severe head injury. A short period of time after her admission to the ICU her doctors (An Intensivist and a neurosurgeon) exerted a large amount of pressure on my family to withdraw care. They stated that she was in a comma and would not get better. We felt like we were under constant pressure to just pull the plug. We asked to have an independent evaluation by a neurologist and this was denied. While we were fighting with the incompetent neurosurgery and ICU residents and were repeatedly told by the rarely present ICU physician that she would not recover, SHE RECOVERED!! Turns out her coma was caused by a massive overdose of medications in the ARMC-ER given by a clearly incompetent neurosurgery resident. We never received an apology and when we tried to get details of the overdose we were unable to find any reference to it in her medical records. A complete cover-up!
Family members have a right to the records and should make contact with a reputable law firm to make inquiry of ARMC documents, coroner’s reports, etc.
Dr Gnandev and ARMC have their own full-time medical malpractice lawyers to handle the “mistakes” made by ARMC’s incompetent physicians. Sorry Dr Gnanadev.
The neurosurgical residents are under the purview of the primary neurosurgeon. Dishonest behavior should be brought to the attention of the california Medical board; and to the attention of the American College of graduate medical education (ACGME).
fuck you cumanale, you fucking thief , your nephew is the one who owns the anesthesia group. / you blood sucking bastard, you will go straight to hell for cheating the people. hey your fucking trips to vegas on sex tours are on tape , will be seen soon.