Law Med Blog

Here Are The Violations Texas State Found At Winkler Cty. Mem. Hosp.

April 23, 2010 lawmed No comments

We reported yesterday that Winkler County Memorial Hospital had been fined nearly $16,000 by the state of Texas for numerous violations including the wrongful termination of two nurses in retaliation for reporting a physician to the state medical board. We have now obtained the Texas Department of State Health Service notice of deficiencies sent to the hospital, Read it HERE. The hospital and its administrator, among others, are the defendants in a civil suit filed by the two nurses. We have extensive coverage of this case HERE.

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Transcript of the Criminal Trial of Innocent Anne Mitchell Online

April 22, 2010 lawmed 1 Comment

Go HERE or scroll down to read the transcript from the criminal trail of one of the Nurses of Winkler County. You will be flabbergasted when you finally learn the real story. You will also understand why the jury took minutes to render a verdict of not guilty.

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… (Continued…)

Winkler County Memorial Hospital Fined For Firing Nurses

April 21, 2010 lawmed 1 Comment

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 … (Continued…)

The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 3

April 21, 2010 lawmed 2 Comments

In Part 2 we left off with Winkler County Sheriff Robert L. Roberts obtaining search warrants four our two heroin’s computers where he found a copy of the anonymous complaint filed with the Texas Medical Board against Dr. Arafiles. The Sheriff continued his pattern of swift and aggressive pursuit of the nurses, scheduling a meeting with them both on May 27, 2009. Roberts was able to learn directly from them that they had indeed composed a letter of complaint against Arafiles and mailed it to the board. Furthermore, Mitchell and Galle detailed their good faith beleive of the specific violations of federal and state laws committed by Winkler County Memorial Hospital in a letter to Sheriff Roberts… (Continued…). The letter further detailed their belief that Roberts, as the County’s chief law enforcement officer, was the appropriate official to report such violations of law to for investigation of health care fraud.

The Winkler County Page

March 06, 2010 lawmed

The Winkler County Nurses

The True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County is so extraordinary, and so outrageous that we here at the Law Med Blog have decided to create a Winkler County page. Here you will find every Law Med Blog entry about the case. Scroll down the page to read our 4 part series on The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County or click HERE for Part 1. You will also find numerous articles on the outcome and the aftermath, which is still ongoing, of the Winkler County corrupted law enforcement establishment. After all, we called shenanigans at the outset back in July of 2009.

Former Winkler Atty Tidwell Sued For ‘Distracted By Hookers’ Malpractice August 16, 2012“Rather than spending any considerable time investigating and advancing Plaintiffs personal injury case, Scott Tidwell was paying prostitutes for sex and giving them money

… (Continued…)

The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 2

March 04, 2010 lawmed 3 Comments

The Quack, His Buddy the Sheriff and the Crooked Arm of the Law.

As I mentioned in Part 1, Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle held important positions in hospital administration at the Winkler County Memorial Hospital. Mitchell was responsible for the credentialing of all physicians, including completion of medicare and medicaid applications, and review of all patients transfers and patient quality issues including billing audits. She received and reviewed annual reports from all hospital departments to ensure compliance with regulatory agencies. Galle made sure patient’s met criteria for admission and followed them during their stay reviewing their charts to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. She was also in charge of monitoring and improving patient safety and quality of care and coordinating medical staff meetings. It was during the responsible and routine completion of their duties that the two became concerned over the practice of Dr. Arafiles.

Dr. Arafiles … (Continued…)

The Unbelievable, But True Story of the Nurses of Winkler County: Part 1

February 28, 2010 lawmed 6 Comments

The Unbelievable Story of the Nurses of Winkler County

In the spirit and tradition of a favorite South Park episode where the boys are taken for a ride by a shady carnival huckster, I called shenanigans on the prosecution of Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle on July 21, 2009, shortly after charges were brought against them. While I followed their saga to it’s favorable conclusion, I confess that I did not pay enough attention or do enough digging to discover and understand entirely the events which led to one of the most absurd and unjust abuses of power by state health and welfare and law enforcement officials imaginable. As a general rule I have no patience for things that are unfair. When things are unfair because someone who was given power and responsibility has chosen to make them unfair, it pisses me off and I lose sleep. The events thrust … (Continued…)

Winkler County Nurses Fight Back, File Lawsuit

February 23, 2010 lawmed 2 Comments

Attorneys for Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle filed a lawsuit on their behalf in August of 2009. Now that the criminal trial is over, the two nurses are at the helm looking for justice. Winkler County Attorney Scott Tidwell, who prosecuted Mitchell’s case, is named in the law suit as well as Dr. Rolando Arafiles, Robert Roberts the county sheriff, Winkler County Memorial Hospital, and three others. The civil suit filed in August in a Pecos Federal Court, alleges a conspiracy between the seven defendants against Galle and Mitchell, stemming from their reports to the Texas Medical Board against Dr. Rolando Arafiles.

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Channel 9 Story:

Two Former Winkler County Nurses Go on the Offensive… (Continued…)

Shenanigans Indeed! Texas Nurses Victims of Sheriff’s Misconduct!

August 26, 2009 lawmed No comments

Back in July I called Shenanigans in the case of Texas nurses Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle, charged by county sheriff Robert Roberts with felonies for reporting Dr. Arafiles to the state medical board. The charges are based on a Texas law criminalizing the use of state property to harass another. Boy, was I right!

At a recent hearing on the matter, Winkler Co. Sheriff Robert Roberts was questioned by the defense and prosecution. During questioning Roberts revealed that he is a patient of Dr. Arafiles and has used the herbal supplements Dr. Arafiles sells to patients. Roberts said his kids also see Dr. Arafiles and that he sold/distributed some of the herbal supplements in the past.

Texas Nurses Association General Counsel, Jim Willmann, called the prosecution of Anne Mitchell and Vicki Galle “appalling”. It appears that Dr. Arafiles, in response to receiving notice that a complaint had been fileed … (Continued…)

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