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Winkler County Memorial Hospital Fined For Firing Nurses
The chickens are coming home to roost in Winkler County Texas and residents there should be furious for it is tax payers that will foot the bill for fines of nearly $16,000. The stranger than fiction shenanigans rampant in Winkler County have garnered their own dedicated page on this blog and are chronicled in a our special series:
The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County
In a case that gained national attention among health care workers, 2 Winkler County Memorial Hospital long time nurses were arrested and charged with felonies for reporting their concerns over a physicians substandard medical care. The county sheriff, a friend and business partner of the doctor in question, retaliated against the nurses by filing ridiculous felony charges against the nurses. The county attorney indicted them before a grand jury hearing with the sheriff as the sole witness called and hospital administrators fired the pair for reporting the physician, Dr. Rolando Arafiles. The nurses have since filed a civil lawsuit naming them all as defendants.
Now,the Texas State Department of Health Services has determined the hospital is guilty of violating multiple regulations, including firing the two nurses for making a complaint to the Texas Medical Board. The subject of the complaint, Dr. Arafiles, generated further fines to the hospital when he sutured a piece of rubber to a patient claiming the act to be part of a medical procedure (and no, it was not, and yes, it was as outrageously stupid as you imagine). When all the fines are totaled they reach $15,850. If the hospital and county think that is a lot, they may be in for a shocker when the civil suit against them concludes.
One hospital board member John Walton, appears to have had enough of the arrogant mismanagement of county resources dedicated to caring for the health of it’s residents. Having sought the termination of Dr. Arafiles when problems with his quality of care were common knowledge, he is blowing a whistle of his own on the corrupt and abusive atmosphere in the county government. “The administrator, the president of the board, the county attorney, Sheriff, they’re all very defensive, they’re all friends. You can’t get around that. It’s a good old boy town”, says Walton.
Meanwhile the civil suit is going forward and a scheduling conference is slated for May 17th.
Related Posts
- If Nothing Changes, Nothing Changes: And So It Goes At Winkler Memorial Hospital
- The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 3
- The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 2
- The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 1
- Winkler County Nurses Fight Back, File Lawsuit
[...] reported yesterday that Winkler County Memorial Hospital had been fined nearly $16,000 by the state of Texas for [...]