My Recommendations For Fixing Grady Hospital

Introduction: If you haven't been following the plight of Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, here is a quick run down. Grady is one of the biggest hospitals not only in the Southeast but frankly in the entire country and the world. It has also been the scene to a great deal of corruption throughout the years. It has faced a series of financial crises throughout the years, however none are as critical as its current. Grady Hospital faces being closed down unless it is infused with cash to the tune of an estimated half a billion dollars according to some reports. Since Grady Hospital is the main hospital for the poor of Dekalb, Fulton and other area counties, this has become the subject of great debate and controversy. Because hospitals that cater to poor folks have limited profit potential, Grady is also naturally a public hospital. Thus, in the end, the taxpayers own it.

Enter the Grady Task Force which is a sort of consulting firm created by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce which has recommended a series of steps to save Grady. If you look at the link, you will see that for the most part the report is quite technical, however there is one recommendation which has become quite controversial. That is a plan to make the board quasi private. It should also be noted that Grady has paid four separate consulting firms about eight digits just in the last two to three years already. They have already hired another consulting firm even after the so called recommendations of the Grady Task Force.

I believe this plan, like the force itself, is nothing more than a sham and I wanted to offer my own alternative plan.

I want to point out that almost none of the ideas are actually my own, but rather those of folks that I have spoken with since I began tracking this story nearly two months ago. None of these folks ever saw any power at Grady, and I believe that after you read my plan you will see that there is no doubt that the wrong people are in charge. You will also see what it would actually take to turn Grady around.



The first thing Grady Hospital needs is some serious improvements in its infrastructure. For instance, its HVAC system is totally shot. Doctors have told me that sometimes it gets so bad at Grady that they themselves can't breathe. Now, imagine if you are a patient that has a breathing problem, what would such a state do to you. There is asbestos in the wall. The elevators are old and they breakdown all the time. There are patients that are in critical condition and time is of the essence. If they need to be moved from floor to floor, you simply cannot have the elevators broken. Doctors tell that this can be a regular occurrence. The computer system for tracking their medical records is old, from the seventies people tell me. Many times patients history can't easily be looked up, and thus allergies and other ailments may not be known. The building simply must be brought up to code.

If this is shocking to you, and you think this couldn't happen because the patients would talk, keep in mind the patients are the poorest folks in the area. They simply have no alternative and many times they don't know any better.

One of the tragedies at Grady is that they recently had a giant addition added. That's right, while their infrastructure was falling apart they added a huge addition about five years ago. If you want to know why, you maybe interested in knowing that powerful board member Robert Brown also owns an architecture firm and while the firm is equipped to add on to hospitals they can't fix elevators. (He is also a prominent member of the Grady Task Force and one main reason why the force is in my opinion a total sham)

Grady also needs to be held accountable, so money will be given in tiers. The state legislature will choose a committee to oversee upgrades in infrastructure, and money will only be given if standards are met.

The Grady Board, currently chosen by the Dekalb County CEO (currently Vernon Jones), needs to be elected and it must be split up by districts so that it evenly represents the folks currently treated by Grady Hospital. This board, which would serve four year terms, would be in charge of hiring and firing the Grady CEO.

Instead of paying Emory University and Morehouse (the two schools that supply the bulk of Grady staff) a flat fee for their services, the Grady Board would institute a tiered sort of grading system (based on JCOHA grades, patient feedback and whatever other measurements they chose). Keep in mind that as representatives of the people, the board would be giving Emory and Morehouse the people's money. This means they would be more inclined to grade the two schools harsher than softer. This would give the two schools that much more incentive to perform better.

Also, the two schools would be responsible for their own malpractice insurance. Unbelievably, at least at Emory, Grady pays for the malpractice insurance of Emory professors and medical students. Essentially, this means that Emory, a private institution, has it so the public, through a public hospital, covers its malpractice insurance. Not only is this an obscene misuse of public funds, but obviously can lead to all sorts of abuse. Obviously, if you aren't responsible for your own malpractice insurance, you are more likely to act a lot more recklessly. I believe that is exactly what Emory has done to tragic results. This will remove that motivation.

The state legislature would set up a committee that would be in charge of funding Grady. They would set their own set of benchmarks for receiving funding and would also be in charge of deciding how much Grady Hospital got. Since the legislators are also spending the people's, or their constituents, money, they would also be disinclined to grade easily. This would give the board more motivation to make sure performance is up to par. We saw just how tragic it could be in the case of State Senator Charles Walker when funds are determined by corrupt reasons rather than performance.

Grady would develop a new position called the Office of Conflict Interest. Each transaction, each finance, each so called deal, would be scoured by this office to make sure that say a board member's architecture firm isn't getting the deal because the owner is on the board. I believe there are many such deals like the one I refer to with Robert Brown and the addition his company got, and that can't happen. This hospital didn't just find itself in financial crisis for no reason. It got there because its financial dealings were corrupted. This office would be in charge of making sure every deal was on the level.

Grady would need to update its by laws. First, it would no longer be allowed to have retaliatory behavior against whistleblowers. People must be able to report malfeasance without the threat of losing their job. Joyce Harris lost her job when she blew the whistle on State Senator Charles Walker. I also firmly believe that Kevin Kuritzky was expelled for blowing the whistle on serious corruption as well. These are jus two examples and I believe there are many more. There needs to be a truly anonymous tip line so that malfeasance can be reported without threat of retaliation.

Grady Hospital can no longer be allowed to stall in providing financial records to outside sources. I have been told by more than one person that getting records can be maddeningly time consuming. In fact, I was told that by the time records were received the incident or incidents in question were so far in the past that most didn't care. For instance, it took my sources several years to finally figure out that Brown's company received the lucrative contract. Grady Hospital would now be the subject of stiff fines if records aren't turned over in a timely manner. Furthermore, an outside party, a judge or a lawyer, would act as a mediator, in disputes over records requests. Finally, the by laws would declare that Grady would from now on follow due process.

Grady Hospital would no longer be allowed to settle any lawsuits under seal. I have counted four Emory professors that I believe have been paid off. The case of Dr. Jim Murtaugh is the only one that has been unsealed so far and it provides a glimpse into just how far some will go to keep malfeasance quiet. This can't go on, and it will have to be outlawed.

From now on, meetings held on the finances of Grady Hospital would be open to the public and the media. Currently, those meetings, like many others, are held in secret. Secrecy is a bedrock of corruption. By turning Grady over to a private board, it would make it even easier to maintain secrecy, and it is this diarists contention that secrecy is the end goal of the private board plan. In order to fix Grady, we need the opposite of secrecy. We need everything to be open. Keep in mind that Grady is a public hospital. It uses public funds. The public has every right to know where those funds are going. Open finance meetings are one way to assure that.

With these recommendations Grady would actually have a chance to thrive long term. While I am sure there will be those that will poke holes in it, I would dare anyone to compare my plan, less than two pages, to the plan by the Grady Task Force.

What Does the Administration at Emory Get Paid For? (UPDATED)

Introduction: Yesterday, I published this piece. It is a detailed summary of the continued and growing scandal going on at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. If you are unfamiliar with the details I suggest that you check out link.

Also, I have a stat counter on my site. It allows me to track in detail who, identified by IP address, comes, where from, which of my pieces they read, and all sorts of other details that turns it into Proprietor Nation's version of big brother.

The following piece is in regards to the aftermath of that piece (which received a fair amount of traffic) and one specific IP address that I have been able to identify. So, without further adieu...



I am not sure however if today is like other days then they are paid to surf the web. I know this because IP address, 170.140.62.42 (administration's IP address, probably this man) has been on my site for hours today. In fact, this IP address is by far my biggest fan. I know this because they check with me usually at least once a day, however today they have taken an unusually large interest. (I wish they would click to Amazon once in a while and buy one of their fabulous books though) Here is a run down of today's activities...




28th November 2007
09:16:51
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
11:01:22
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
12:52:22
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
12:52:29
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: An Updated Summary on the Fiasco at Emory, Grady, and Beyond
29th November 2007
13:04:31
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
13:04:34
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: A Murder, A Suicide: Connecting More Dots in the Culture of Corruption
29th November 2007
13:04:35
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
13:04:45
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: The Incredible Disappearing Story... (UPDATED WITH A VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT)
29th November 2007
14:55:47
No referring linkProprietor Nation
29th November 2007
14:58:32
proprietornation.blogspot.com/Proprietor Nation: Emory University
29th November 2007
15:00:01
proprietornation.blogspot.com/search/label/Emory%20UniversityProprietor Nation: Who Is The Real Sociopath??
29th November 2007
15:07:39
blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2007/10/09/emorys-skeletons-in-the-closet/Proprietor Nation: The Fox Guarding the Hen House
29th November 2007
15:07:53
blogs.creativeloafing.com/freshloaf/2007/10/09/emorys-skeletons-in-the-closet/Proprietor Nation: Corruption
29th November 2007
15:08:23
proprietornation.blogspot.com/search/label/CorruptionProprietor Nation: A Plea to John Sugg of Creative Loafing



Let me explain what all of these names and numbers mean. This is the full detail of the IP address I spoke of (170.10.62.42). If you click the link it is identified and also identifies its server, Emory University. Everytime anyone visits here the date and time (Central time that is) is recorded. Those are what the dates and times mean. If a link was used to come to my site, that is also identified (for instance the one starting blog.creativeloafing is a site from which this IP linked from). If no link was used, then the words, no reference link appear. (this generally indicates the the address was typed out by the party using the computer. Thus it was likely that http://www.proprietornation.blogspot.com/ was entered into the address field in order to reach my site.) The specific web page is the web page that the party landed at. Sometimes, a party will travel within my site and so if you see two proprietornation pages, that means th party went from one page to another.

As you can see, not only is this IP visiting my site, but they are they are also visiting this story from October. (this is another story that doesn't necessarily paint Emory U in the best light)

The ongoing Grady Memorial Hospital crisis is bringing to the surface many complaints about Emory’s medical school role. In the past, Emory’s response to internal criticism has been to bully and crush the critics, and then try to keep the records sealed.

The latest on the blogosphere is about the persecution of Kevin Kuritzky, who was 41 days from graduation when Emory expelled him from the medical school. Kuritzky claims Emory was retaliating for his blowing the whistle on patient safety — or the lack thereof.

Now, I can assume that as the head of PR, one must know what is being said about their school, however isn't the work of the AJC, the New York Times, where they would want to spend their time predominantly. If I am getting this much traffic from PR, they frankly have very little time left for the AJC et al. Either that or the PR department is now exclusively focusing on surfing the internet for stories related to Emory. Why is my blog, with only several hundred hits daily, getting so much attention in the PR Department at Emory (if it isn't the PR person then frankly they really need to be fired because they are just surfing the internet to waste time then)?



I have already concluded that the powers that be at Emory removed a story from the internet archives at the AJC. I pointed out in a previous diary that this article, and more importantly Emory's response, was damning to Emory in three serious ways. (I won't rehash the story so please go to the links to catch up) I know that the article was removed in the aftermath of me publishing the piece because it is no longer there. I also know that reference to the same article was also removed from a page on Emory's own medical school site. (go to this google link and click on the top link found and see for yourself)



Now, I know that part of PR is damage control but isn't removing archived stories and web pages taking damage control a bit too far. I know that in PR you must know what the media is saying about you, but isn't obsessing about what a small blog says also taking things a bit too far. Unless of course, what that small blog is saying is true, and in that case, you probably would be obsessed. I have recently fallen in love with the phrase Res Ipsa Loquitor (the facts speak for themselves). You can call me crazy, an ego maniac, or suffering from delusions of grandeur, but I believe the fact that Emory's admin IP has become my biggest fan, shows that they know what I am saying is true.



If that is the case. Let's review what that means. Emory is operating as an all powerful sociopathic entity. They are criminally liable in providing medical services to poor folks at Grady Hospital and veterans at the VA hopsital and they have expelled a student, 41 days prior to graduation, for daring to expose their criminality. They have also paid off multiple professors with their silence who also tried to expose the corruption. Furthermore, since Grady Hospital, the subject of much of this corruption, is a public hospital that means that ultimately Emory University has committed all of these crimes and lapses in ethics and morality on the public.



Now, all of this is my supposition only, however, if my supposition is lunacy, why is the admin spending so much time on my blog? Don't take my word for it go and ask the admin yourself. I have provided the link and it has said person's email. See, what they have to say about all of this.

UPDATE:

170.140.62.42 is back. It is nothing short of surreal to update a piece about a party as that party is reading the piece themselves, however that is how it is in the internet age. Here is an updated link to what the stat counter calls the magnified user, a detailed summary of the movements of this particular IP address on my site (including the most recent and probably current visit) The only other thing I will point out is that while I have had much traffic from this IP there has been no contact by email or otherwise. There have previously been some peculiar anonymous messages, however anonymous speaks for itself, and it was also before I became savvy enough to track things down.

UPDATE:

I realize that if someone were to pick up this story somewhere in the middle they would get lost in its many mazes. Thus, if the first story you read regarding Grady Hospital is this one, you are probably confused. So, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

An Updated Summary on the Fiasco at Emory, Grady, and Beyond

I just realized that anyone that picks up this story in the middle would get lost in its many mazes and connections. If anyone reads every single story in the Emory University tag, they would get a full picture, however that maybe beyond reason. First, I must disclose some things. There are things that I can prove. There are things I can assert and there are things that I believe. Finally, there are things that follow the Latin phrase, Res Ipsa Loquitor (the facts speak for themselves). I use different language for each.

So, let's start at the beginning. Emory University's Medical School runs a network of hospitals in the Atlanta area. There are five in all if my facts are right. Three are actually owned by Emory and service predominantly the affluent making them quite profitable. The other two are public hospitals and Emory has sort of contracts to staff them with their professors and students. This is no different than many teaching hospitals and if there are any ER fans, the fake hospital in that show runs in a similar manner.

That said, I want to focus a bit more on the two public hospitals with little profit potential. The first is the VA since veterans get set bills, and the second is Grady. Grady is a hospital for the indigent or very poor. Since poor folks rarely have money or insurance, it is much more difficult to make a profit on them. Grady is also a public hospital meaning that the tax payers ultimately are the ones that finance it. (as most indigent hospitals would be for the reasons that I mentioned. No one is going to want to bankroll a hospital that has no hope of making any real money so it is left to the government) Grady is also massive, one of the biggest hospitals in the country, and so while it provides little profit, it provides a bulk of the training.

Here is where things get interesting. Emory enjoys a lucrative relationship vis a vis Grady (I will explain as I go along how that relationship get consummated so to speak). For instance, they get a fat yearly fee of about 50 million dollars to provide staffing at Grady. Keep in mind that Grady is the training vehicle for most of its medical students. Emory already charges its medical students tuition and uses Grady for a lot of the training that this tuition is supposed to go for. Many people refer to this as double dipping. In other words, Emory University has one of the premiere medical schools in the country and one of the main reasons is their association with Grady Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the country. Thus, Grady provides just as much to Emory is Emory does to Grady. Furthermore, since Grady is a public hospital it is ultimately the tax payers that are stuck with the bill that Emory charges Grady yearly. Also, Grady Hospital pays for Emory's malpractice insurance. It goes without saying that such a relationship invites exploitation.

Exploitation and corruption is what you have at Grady in my opinion, and I really only need to do a Google search to provide plenty of evidence. For instance, Grady Hospital settled a case for Medicare fraud in the late 1990's for about 5 million dollars. A few years later former State Senator Charles Walker committed so much criminality at Grady and beyond that he was ultimately convicted of 127 felonies. (you can click this link for a full write up of the case including its particulars and most importantly what each hero and villain wound up receiving from Grady and Emory) In 2004, the Dept. of Health and Human Services conducted an investigation of Grady Hospital and here are the conclusions,

there is a serious and immediate threat to the health and safety of the patients

That is frankly the equivalent of a builder building you a house that falls down on top of you when you move in. (Only one person was let go in the aftermath, Dr. Andrew Ogwunobi, who has continued to travel an interesting path. You can find his full dossier here. It is important to note that the Chief Medical Officer of Grady Hospital, William Casarella, was cited most often in the actual report. I point this out because Casarella has since been promoted within Emory University. This is important for several reasons not the least of which because it goes to show that in many ways I believe the two entities cross over whenever it suits the powers that be)

Finally, currently Grady is in such financial turmoil that is about to be shut down unless there is a huge infusion of cash, about a hundred million minimum by my estimation. There were also other investigations that started and stopped like an interesting one conducted by the NIH in 2000. While there was ultimately no damning conclusions to those reports, I have my suspicions about how it was exactly that they ended. (for more information on that report and more importantly the role of Kent Alexander, Chief Legal Counsel for Emory University, please go this link. This is probably my most incendiary piece and illicited a flurry of looks from the Emory admin IP upon publishing)

This body of evidence is in my opinion an example of Res Ipsa Loquitor.

Now, while Grady is staffed by almost entirely Emory faculty, it is still a public hospital. It has a board and a CEO. The board chooses the CEO, and the board is chosen by the CEO of Dekalb County. The current CEO of Dekalb County is Vernon Jones. He is an elected official with a remarkable knack for thriving in what I would think are dicey political situations. (when I say dicey I mean things like rape accusations, shady land deals, and all sorts of malfeasance by those close to him Just like everything else, I have written a full write up of Jones as well. Jones is I believe the link between the corruption at Grady and the corruption that infects much of Georgia. We have a running debate about who the ultimate ringleader is and one theory is the Dixie Mafia, and you can vote in my fun poll after getting the full scoop)

Now, the problem as I see it is summed up by this cliche, the fox guarding the hen house. The board is supposed to oversee the CEO who is supposed to oversee the staff, and the CEO of Dekalb County is supposed to oversee all of them. The problem is that all the entities, in my estimation, are corrupted. From Jones, to the board, to the CEO, to the staff, the foxes are guarding the hen house so to speak. For instance, one very prominent member of the board was until two years ago Robert Brown. Robert Brown also runs an architecture firm. Three guesses which firm gets many of the most lucrative contracts for Grady expansion. If we dig deep enough, I have no doubt that there would be an almost endless amount of transactions with really or perceived conflicts of interest.

Enter, whistleblower Kevin Kuritzky...first, there is full disclosure here. Kevin and I have developed a tight relationship, and I have even done a radio show with. (It is linked at the end of my piece on Kent Alexander. Kevin is the calm one and I am the hyper one) I have never claimed traditional journalistic objectivity, and I am not a traditional journalist. I believe the quality and accuracy of the information I have provided speaks for itself. Every piece of data has been double and triple sourced minimum. I have hard copies for anything I don't link to like the aforementioned HHS report. (I can email or fax to anyone upon request)

Kevin has made some incendiary accusation about the quality of patient care at Grady Hospital. He claims that Emory staff goes to one of their for profit hospitals when they are supposed to be at Grady and many times he claims they leave medical students unsupervised. (In fact, in this piece I give an example that was verbalized to me by Kuritzky that is frankly straight out of a bad nightmare.) It goes without saying that his accusations, if true, amount to not only an obscene violation of several laws but frankly every doctor's oath. Kuritzky was expelled from medical school with forty one days remaining. (That is in a four year program) Kevin believes the charges are trumped up and he is now in the middle of a law suit. The Emory Wheel inaccurately reported that Kuritzky's case has been dismissed. It hasn't Kuritzky's side has lost a motion that is being appealed. (again, I have seen the disposition of this motion and it is NOT a dismissal) This was inaccurately reported in a trade journal for academics. (The fact that this was written in a trade journal for academics obviously raises all sorts of issues and I explored them here)

Finally, I have counted four former Emory professors that have been paid off for silence. I have only seen the settlement agreement for one pay off. That is for Dr. Jim Murtaugh. He was paid off right around the time that the NIH investigation was happening and he was paid off along with another person, Diane Owen (though her agreement I haven't seen) Murtaugh's settlement has been the subject of much media buzz because State Senator David Shafer has lead a group of state senators who have demanded that it be unsealed (and one main reason why I was able to see the agreement. (If you go here I explore the case of his records being unsealed. Interestingly enough, certain links disappeared in the aftermath of me publishing that, and I explored that here) (also, the Shafer link has some interesting information about who did and didn't approve his settlement so I encourage you to link there)

Now, why should you care? If you are a resident of Georgia, then it is your tax dollars that will ultimately go to fund something you should see is totally corrupt. This corruption is in my opinion part of even bigger corruption that I probably don't even have the full story to. If you are an Emory student, then your tuition, and likely your parent's money (who are you kidding), is contributing to this corruption. Furthermore, if Kevin really was only expelled because he dared blow the whistle on this, what is to stop Emory from targeting someone else. What if you become a threat to them for this or for anything? Clearly, if you believe my assertions, Emory eliminates all threats to them. They pay some off and they expel others. If you believe Kevin, then he had his life ruined for daring to the right thing. (he often tells me that his friends still in the medical school tell him that he should have kept his mouth shut and graduated and moved on) Furthermore, if you believe Kevin, then your school exhibits the traits of the common sociopath. Sociopaths with power is the worst combination you can have. If you are a citizen, then you should want that all corruption be dealt with appropriately and people be held responsible.


(UPDATE)

Some of you may be wondering where the media in Atlanta fits into all of this. This piece should drive home how the media's coverage, or rather lack thereof, fits into this whole story. This piece contrasts the Atlanta media with another situation in which the media actually did its job. Finally, here is an example of the sort of reporting you will find at the AJC.

The Incredible Disappearing Story... (UPDATED WITH A VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT)

I want to direct everyone to three different web pages. Two of them are attributed to me. The third is a Google search. The reason that I direct you to a Google search is because the site I wanted has been removed. Don't believe me, click the top link (Emory WHSC Grady in the news statements mislabel role) and see what happens. A site initially pops up, it says this page has been moved, and then it disappears and then the main page pops up. Try it and see. So, why am I being so machiavellian? Well, I believe that a story has been removed from the AJC. I believe that this story and its response can ultimately be used to damage the reputation of Emory University and the worst part, from the perspective of Emory University, is that the initial damage was self inflicted. Thus, I believe they have moved heaven and Earth to remove all of evidence of this little piece of malfeasance. (They of course will have a much harder time hiding their overall malfeasance which can be explored in my tag Emory University)

First, here are excerpts from the two stories,

Rather than await a court order, Emory and Grady ought to open the records for public inspection immediately. Emory, which supplies most of the attending physicians and residents-in-training at Grady, has already indicated it is willing for the full file to be unsealed if Murtagh, who no longer is employed by Emory, agrees.

Grady, which turned down Shafer's request for the records several weeks ago, should follow suit. If Grady is concerned that patient records might become public as a result, it can ask that those specific records be exempted or redacted.

Murtagh apparently sued Emory and Grady several times in 2000, alleging, among other things, that Emory broke a deal to name him chief of the pulmonary department. He also alleged that Emory and Grady conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in how the two government health insurance programs compensated Grady and the medical school doctors for patient care at thehospital. Murtagh said he was cooperating with federal investigators, but no apparent federal action was taken against Grady or the medical school.

In response, Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson, both legal counsels for Grady and Emory, wrote this

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

(Unfortunately, since the link is the first part of the article I can't copy that. Go to my initial link and try and link to the link and watch yourself go to a blank page. I know try saying that five times, and you are very confused and you don't see the point. The point is that there is a link that goes to nothing and just accept that for now)

The second article is more clear...

Friday, October 19, 2007

Emory
University: Unraveling Sealed Records
On
October 5th, the AJC wrote this editorial,

Rather than await a court order, Emory and Grady ought to open the records
for public inspection immediately. Emory, which supplies most of the attending
physicians and residents-in-training at Grady, has already indicated it is
willing for the full file to be unsealed if Murtagh, who no longer is employed
by Emory, agrees.

Grady, which turned down Shafer's request for the records several weeks ago, should follow suit. If Grady is concerned that patient records might become public as a result, it can ask that those specific records be exempted or redacted.

Murtagh apparently sued Emory and Grady several times in 2000, alleging, among other things, that Emory broke a deal to name him chief of the pulmonary department. He also alleged that Emory and Grady conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in how the two government health insurance programs compensated Grady and the medical school doctors for patient care at the hospital. Murtagh said he was cooperating with federal investigators, but no apparent federal action was taken against Grady or the medical school.

In response, Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson, both legal counsels for Grady and Emory, wrote this

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh.

For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.

Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

These articles are of course identical and what we bloggers call cross posting. The important part is that every link I provided leads to nowhere (except those that lead to Amazon.com products which I very much encourage you to link to and buy no explanation needed there). Now, and most of my friends will agree with this, I may just have been a total idiot and provided the wrong link. Or, the link I provided was removed after these pieces were published.

Now, the article that I firmly believe once existed in the AJC website was actually an editorial that urged that Grady and Emory unseal the records of the settlement between them and Dr. Jim Murtaugh. Now, this Emory can't hide. I have seen the settlement. Murtaugh was paid 1.6 million dollars and then both parties were told to shut up entirely including the media. In fact, in the settlement, if either party even gets subpoenad, they must first appear before the judge so that the other party has a chance to quash the subpoena. Now, where I come from, when you are paid a lot of money and told to be quiet, that is called hush money.

The reason this is important is because the response, which no longer exists, claimed that it was Murtaugh, not Emory and Grady, that insisted that the records remain sealed. Now, I will again make the same point that I made in the piece that I have linked. It is patently ridiculous to say that the one being hushed is the one that insists on keeping everything quiet. Second, since Emory knows that Murtaugh must remain silent, since they paid to silence him, he is an easy target. Finally, this non lawyer, believes that by simply speaking out Emory and Grady (represented by their dual counselors Tim Jefferson and Kent Alexander) have each violated the very agreement they helped craft.

As you can see, this is, if true, is quite damaging to the two entitities. Thus, they have every reason to get rid of the evidence.

I know what many are thinking now. Michael, you have delusions of grandeur. Emory doesn't care what some nothing blogger says about them. Au contraire. According to my stat counter, the Emory University faculty IP, 170.140.62.42 (one I now know will never be used again to check my site) is my biggest fan. I know this because someone on that IP address visits my site at least once a day and then it gets up to ten hits in a day whenever a story related to them gets published. (Yes, I know big brother, but it is great when you are the big brother.)

Now, I will also say that I firmly believe that the powers that be will very possibly reverse coure again, and suddenly, the story will be back up on the site and the page will be back up. That is why I hope people check this out now and see for themselves before courses are reversed. In fact, I predicted part of the current course in a previous piece.

So, what does all of this mean? It may mean nothing, but why doesn't the audience indulge my own delusions of grandeur and allow me to state what I believe happened. I believe that Grady and Emory tried to do damage control to an ever growing situation with what can only be described as an absurd response to an editorial in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The powers that be at Emory read my nothing blog and realized that if my nothing blog every became something, their unbelievable fraud, arrogance, and corruption would be available for everyone. Thus, the powers that be needed to remove all evidence that linked my assertion to them. It was easy since the AJC has a plethora of Emory alum and thus plenty of influence. The article was removed however in their own carelessness they forgot that they themselves linked to the same article from their own site. When I published the second piece, I just linked, they realized their second error and removed that as well. Thus, they have made it look as though I am an incompetent computer novice that can't link straight and thus can't be taken serious.

In other words, if I am right, then in the words of Daniel Caffee (that's A Few Good Men for all you movie novices)

you mean they can make an entire flight disappear

Yes, that's right, and they will to hide their own malfeasance, unless you stop them. Please link to the powers that be and ask him yourself why these pages are missing. Finally, if I am right, then we have incontrovertable evidence that the AJC isn't just tacitly involved in the corruption but frankly an active participant. If you believe me, please go here and ask the AJC where this article went.

UPDATE:

I would like to welcome the administrators at Emory University. According, the my stat counter the aforementioned IP address just visited at 9:16:51 (Central Time, give or take a tenth of a second) I also fully expect that at least their own site, Emory Woodruff Health Sciences Center, they will fix the slight error. Currently, as I said, the site that has been removed pops up for a split second and then disappears. Please follow this google search. Pick the top search, Emory WHSC Statements mislabel role, and you will see what I mean. For now at least. Please leave comments letting me know if your search yielded the same results. If they did, please ask the powers that be why the web page was removed.

UPDATE: Well, the page has been permanently removed or somehow Emory got Google to remove the link. Either way, the page has now disappeared. If you are reading this story too late, you will just have to take my word for it. If you don't believe me, so be it, it is probably the intention of the powers at Emory. Just keep in mind that while they can remove a page from a web site, they cannot remove the entire fiasco. Please read below for the summary of the entire fiasco.

UPDATE:

I realize that if the first exposure to this story comes somewhere in the middle, you may get very confused. Thus, if you this is the first story related to Grady that you are reading, you should be confused. As such, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

Who Is The Real Sociopath?? (UPDATE)

Introduction: For anyone who hasn't been following my work, let me give you a quick recap. A few weeks back I passed along a story about purported corruption at Grady Hospital with the potential of Emory University staff, who account for all of Grady's staff, being in the middle of it. After that story was published, I was contacted Kevin Kuritzky. He maintains that he blew the whistle on much of the corruption at Grady Hospital and beyond. He was expelled from Emory Medical School with forty one days left. He claims it was in retaliation and Emory claims it was due to tardiness and other offenses. He has a civil suit against Emory University currently in the appeals court. I should point out that Kevin has been at least a source for several stories and I have also done a radio show together with Kevin Kuritzky.

While I in no way hide whatever biases I have, I believe that in the case of what follows the latin phrase, Res Ipso Loquitor (the facts speak for themselves), applies.

A couple of weeks ago I received this UNSOLICITED email.

Mike, Just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't get taken in by Kevin Kuritzky. The guy is a pathological liar and I have personally been taken in by his stories only to realize that he was flat out lying. I also know numerous other people who have experienced the same. It is quite sad because he is a very charming, intelligent person. He just uses these skills to manipulate people. Don't get taken in by him.

Mike--

Michael Ward MD,

MBA

Resident Physician

Department of Emergency Medicine

University of Cincinnati

So, who is Michael Ward MD etc, etc...and what is he talking about? According to the chic professional networking site, Linked In, Michael Ward MD etc., etc... is in fact a member of the staff at the University of Cincinnati. It appears that his path crossed with that Kevin Kuritzky a few years back at medical school at Emory University. If what Dr. Ward says is true, it makes the basis of a lot of my reporting suspect to say the least. In fact, my first comprehensive piece on this subject was based largely on the testimony of Kevin Kuritzky. I say this so that my natural biases are clearly laid out as I continue with my analysis.

The reason that I reveal this email now about three weeks after I got it originally is because through the grapevine I am told that I am told the P.R. arm of Emory University has been making similar claims to Mike King of the AJC. (in that case I believe the word sociopath was used in describing Kuritzky) It is also consistent with the comments of the mysterious pseudonym John in response to this story.

I was in Kevin’s class at Emory (well at one point as it took him several years to complete one academic year), and the allegations by Emory concerning his behavior, ethics and morals are accurate. He should not be taking care of patients plain and simple.

Ironically enough, the term sociopath is one which most of my friends have told me I have a disturbing and obscene fascination with. (Given that two of my favorite shows, 24 and The Sopranos, each delved into the topic at roughly the same time, "I had no choice" (or I just couldn't help myself, potato...) but to get interested in it) Anyone who has read my work knows that I have had personal contact with my fair share of sociopaths and and I see several of the world leaders and our enemies as sociopaths as well. While this by no means makes me an expert, I will use my experience with the phenomenon to try and separate fact from perception in this situation.

One thing is clear. There is no doubt that one of these two side is certainly sociopathic, which in simplest terms is an individual devoid of empathy (in other words they are so selfish that nothing but their own self interest becomes relevant to them). Either Kevin Kuritzky has decided to lie pathological for his own self interest or his opponents want to paint him as such for theirs. Since, in this story, there is no middle ground we are absolutely dealing with sociopathology on one person's part.

If Kevin Kuritzky is himself a sociopath, then his compulsive lying would be a standard trait. There could be several reasons of self interest for his lying. He may have decided to get revenge at Emory for real or perceived wrongs. He may have thought that given the incendiary nature of his lies that they would bring him fame, or money, or both. There are in fact any number of self interest reasons for Kuritzky lying in this case.

On the other hand, if Emory University and their cohorts are sociopathic, they would look to smear Kevin because they know he is a threat. If in fact what he says is true, then their own sociopathic nature would have every reason to eliminate him. Remember, if Kevin is telling the truth, he is a hero. He is then trying to expose some of the worst corruption, leading to fraud, horrible patient care, and outrageous waste of tax payer money. Emory University along with several other people and group are the targets of his accusations. If he is telling the truth, then a sociopath would have every motivation to use every single means available to eliminate, marginalize and demean him.

Obviously, knowing the truth beyond all doubt is impossible, however in this case, it is my opinion that the truth beyond all reasonable doubt is pretty easy to decipher.

First, we know that Grady Hospital is now in such financial turmoil that it will likely need hundreds of millions to survive. We know that State Senator Charles Walker used Grady Hospital and other entities to commit an obscen amount of corruption. (He was charged with 137 felonies, convicted of 127, flipped on no one, and yet only got ten years in jail. Oh, and no one else, besides his daughter and the companies they ran were even charged) We know that in the mid and late 1990's Grady Hospital was the subject of an investigation and ultimately prosecution and settlement for Medicare fraud.

We know that in the mid and late 1990's Grady Hospital was the subject of an investigation and ultimately prosecution and settlement for Medicare fraud. We know that in the beginning of this millenia Grady was subject to an NIH investigation. While the investigation ultimately didn't lead to any arrests, fines or convictions, we do know that four Emory professors were ultimately paid off for their silence. We also know that 2004-2005 HHS conducted its own investigation. Here is the conclusion of that investigation.

there is an exteme and immediate threat to the health and safety of the patients

There is even evidence that in the case of one paid off professor, Dr. Jim Murtaugh, Emory and Grady paid him off without receiving permission from the board of trustees. Finally, even in the current civil case between Emory University and Kevin Kuritzy there is some questionable behavior on the part of Emory University. Court records show that Emory University couldn't produce hundreds if not thousands of documents in the case. In many instances, Emory even admitted to destroying certain documents.

The problem for Emory University, in my mind, is these are all clear characteristics of sociopathic behavior. Sociopaths remove every threat in the way of their goal. Between paying people off, expelling others, destroying documents, I believe they have exhibited that behavior in their goal of running a corrupt hospital. Given all of this evidence it makes Kuritzky's claims well within the pattern of evidence that anyone can discover by simply mastering the art of google.com. The only evidence that Kuritzky is a sociopath come in the accusations of Emory and their cohorts.

Even in the case of the email of Michael Ward, MD, etc, etc, there are no specific accusations. In our exchange by email upon receiving it, I invited Ward to give me specifics and I even emailed him my cell phone number. He never responded with any examples. In the case of the mysterious John it is also vague and unspecific allegations. Emory many times points to Kuritzky being expelled as evidence. Keep in mind it was Emory that expelled him. If they are the sociopaths, his expulsion would fit the behavior pattern of a sociopath to a tee.

In order for Kuritzky to be a sociopath, the pattern of behavior that Grady and Emory exhibited (keep in mind while the two entities are separate Grady is almost entirely staffed by Emory personnel and in many cases Grady higher ups move onto positions with Emory a la William Casarella) was either an anomaly or either a condition that was fixed in a few short years between the events I described and the time period of Kuritzky's accusations. Even that would be hard to believe because the HHS report coincided with the time period of Kuritzky's investigations. If you were to believe that, you would then have a very hard time explaining the current financial crisis at Grady Hospital.

Thus, in conclusion, those that I am accusing can say I have a bias, however I believe I have laid out a solid case for who is the sociopath here. While I must admit that I enjoy an obscene and disturbing amount of fun in delving into the condition of sociopathology, this question is central to what is going on. If Kuritky is the sociopath, then we need not worry about infusing Grady with more money because their administration is fit to receive it. If, on the other hand, it is Emory, Grady and beyond, that are the real sociopaths, then it is time for full fair and open hearings before even one cent is dolled out to what would be the very people that caused the mess.

If my supposition is right, then the likes of Kent Alexander, William Casarella, Ed Renford, Robert Brown, Vernon Jones, (and maybe even State Senator Charles Walker if that can be arranged) as well as those that would be the heroes in this mess: Kevin Kuritzky, Ron Marshall, Dale Cardwell, Joyce Harris and even all those that were paid off, need to be put under oath, on television, to answer truthfully their involvement in this crisis.

Finally, I invite the powers that be at Emory, Mike King, Dr. Ward, and even the mysterious John to respond at their leisure if they feel I have been inaccurate.

UPDATE:

If you are picking up the story of the Grady Hospital crisis anywhere in the middle, you are likely to get quite confused. This maybe happening if this particular story is your first exposure to the crisis. Thus, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

Kent Alexander: Power Broker (UPDATED)

There is a name that lurks behind the scenes in much of the scandal and corruption associated with Emory University and Grady Hospital and that person's name is Kent Alexander. It should be noted that there is little or no evidence ties Alexander to any wrongdoing on his own part. What is peculiar is how often he finds himself in the middle of scandal at Grady, Emory and beyond.

Kent Alexander first burst on the scene as the son of legendary Atlanta area attorney Miles Alexander. His first brush with fame came in the mysterious case of money laundering by BNL Savings, an Italian government run bank, to the government of Iraq on the eve of the first gulf war. The case is detailed in depth in the book, The Shell Game by Peter Mantius. At the time, Alexander was assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. He was the lead attorney for the U.S. on the case. At the time, King and Spaulding, arguably the most powerful and prestigious law firm in Atlanta, represented BNL. According to The Shell Game, Alexander met with an MI6 agent who told him of obscene amounts of corruption. The agent implicated the entire structure of the bank, and they claimed that for political reasons the intelligence apparatus of Italy, the U.S. and Britain looked the other way. The book claimed that the agent provided documentation of all the assertions.

For whatever reason, according to the book, Alexander left the meeting and decided to pin the entire scandal on the bank manager Christopher Drogoul who was in his twenties at the time. Drogoul was prosecuted and eventually convicted and upon his conviction the entire case was closed. This of course made the clients of King and Spaulding happy as well as the rest of the bank was spared prosecution. This was of course curious because of the sheer size and frequency of the crimes. This case also has some troubling parallels to another case I have referenced, State Senator Charles Walker. More than a decade later, while Alexander was now Emory General Counsel, State Senator Charles Walker was convicted of 127 felonies. He was the only one convicted and that case was also wrapped up after his conviction. Of course, it should be noted again that despite not flipping on anyone Walker received the outrageously light sentence of ten years for 127 felonies.

On the strength of the Drogoul along with other good deeds, Alexander was eventually promoted to U.S. Attorney a couple years later. (for reference this is the equivalent of posts once held by both Rudy Giuliani and Elliot Spitzer in their own districts) In the summer of 1996 Atlanta held the Olympics. The sad and ultimately tragic case of Richard Jewell is well documented and it doesn't need to be repeated. While the media has portrayed his role in the affair in a variety of ways, (he meaning Alexander himself) the facts stand out to me at least. He was the lead prosecutor. Jewell was under suspicion for almost ninety days and everyone agrees that ultimately there was absolutely no solid evidence against him.

About a year later, Alexander resigned from the U.S. Attorney's office. He landed on his feet with a cushy position with King and Spaulding. That would be the same King and Spaulding that was the fortuitous recepient of Alexander's narrow investigation of BNL. King and Spaulding is also the firm on retainer for one Emory University.

Alexander moved over to lead general counsel at Emory University in 2000. The two met each other at a fortuitous time because Grady, the hospital Emory helped run, was under investigation by the National Institute of Health. That investigation ultimately lead nowhere however four people that I have found were silenced with regards to the investigation: Dr. Sam Newcom, Dr. Jim Murtaugh, Dr. Diane Owens, and Dr. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Dr. Jim Murtaugh's case has recently had some new developments. Here is what State Senator David Shafer was able to recently discover.

Former Grady trustee Bill Loughrey tells me that the settlement with Dr. Murtagh was never approved or even accurately described to Grady’s board of trustees. He says that he was stunned to learn that tax dollars were paid to Dr. Murtagh, conditioned on his silence. He thinks the agreement is invalid and that the judicial process has been misused.

Let me explain for everyone. Dr. Jim Murtaugh settled with Emory University and Grady Hospital right around the time that this investigation was going on. He settled for roughly 1.6 million dollars and each side was under total communication lockdown. In fact, the lockdown was so extreme that even if either side was subpoened the court would need to be notified and there was time available for the subpoena to be quashed. This is of course important because it is very likely that Murtaugh had information relevant to the NIH investigation and this agreement allowed Grady and Emory stop Murtaugh from testifying. Furthermore, as lead counsel Alexander would be in control of the negotiations for his employer. He was in so much control that it is his signature next to Murtaugh's in the ultimate agreement.

Now, what Shafer is saying is that the board of trustees at Grady were never notified of the settlement. This is important because Grady is a public hospital and thus their portion of the settlement would then be tax payer money. As lead counsel, Alexander would be responsible for every bit of the agreement.

By 2004, Grady was again in the middle of another scandal. This one involved State Senator Charles Walker. Again, despite being convicted of 127 separate felonies, Walker was the only one charged and convicted in the case. Not only is it logical to think that it is impossible to commit this much crime on your own, one only needed to be in the courtroom hear of other's involvement. The lead prosecution witness, Joyce Harris, accused much of the higher ups at Grady of all sorts of wrong doing: from witness tampering, intimidation, and kickbacks. Despite it not only making no sense that one person could commit so much crime on their own, and having the star witness accuse others, somehow the powers that be wrapped up their investigation by only convicting Walker himself, and he got only ten years for all those counts.

Now, you might be saying well that's Grady and Alexander was employed by Emory. That is true however the entire Grady staff was Emory faculty and most of the Grady upper level management was also employed by Emory. Thus, while they may seem to be two separate entities to some they are in reality quite interlocked.

Alexander then resurfaces in the case of whistleblower, Kevin Kuritzky. Kuritzky was expelled several months after another investigation of Grady was completed. This one was done by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the Department Health and Human Services. The conclusion of that report was scathing.

an immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of the patients

is what HHS concluded. Emory maintained that Kuritzky was expelled for missing required clerkship training involving patient care, lying to his professors, and engaging in other unprofessional, dishonest and unethical conduct, while Kuritzky maintains that it was retaliation for blowing the whistle on many of the same type of practices mentioned in the report. While Emory outwardly maintains even today that his expulsion had nothing to do with any incendiary charges on his part, I have found an email from Alexander to the then assistant U.S. Attorney that indicates otherwise.

Amy (Amy Kamenshien then Assitant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia) as you know we have had several discussions in the past regarding Dr. Murtaugh and his allegations regarding Emory/Grady. Recently he has had contact with former medical student Kevin Kuritzky. You may in the near future be hearing from Kuritzky or his attorneys and I would advise not pursuing it further. Hope all are keeping well,

Kent.

Clearly, Alexander expected that Kuritzky was going to say something and he moved to pre empt the investigation. Kuritzky ultimately ended up pursuing his case civilly and that is still pending.

Alexander had one more run in with Kuritzy of note. According to Kuritzky just as the legal process for his civil case was starting, (Before any formal paperwork was even filed) Alexander arranged a meeting between Kuritzky, his attorneys and Emory attorneys, headed up by Alexander of course, and finally a mediator. According to Kuritzky, at this meeting Alexander addressed Kuritzky in this manner,

if you pursue this further, we will smear you so badly that even North Korea won't touch you

According to Kuritzky this was said in front of his attorneys and the mediator who went to the third grade step of calling a timeout in its aftermath. The parties were separated into two different rooms so that everyone could cool down, however Alexander wasn't formally reprimanded for this statement.

The last notable moment in Alexander's tenure came last month when he responded to an Atlanta Journal Constitution editorial regarding unsealing the records of the Dr. Jim Murtaugh case. ( those records have been unsealed and of course I even referenced them earlier)

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities —- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University —- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings —- the complete, entire record —- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval. Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

This statement is absurd on its face (and I should note never countered by the AJC). Murtaugh was paid a huge sum of money (1.6 million dollars) and then told to shut up. That is hush money. It is unlikely that he would be the one that would try and keep those records sealed. It was after all Emory and Grady that paid him not the other way around. They paid him and he was silenced. You do the math. Second, since he was silenced, making this bold face lie is easy since they know he is under order to remain quiet no matter what. Finally, while he was paid the money both parties agreed to a total media blackout. Again, I may not be an attorney however it appears to me that Alexander just violated the terms of the very agreement he helped broker.

The case of Kent Alexander is much like everything about Emory and Grady. There are more questions than answers. Did Alexander receive his cushy position from King and Spaulding as a result of his favorable prosecution in the BNL case? Did he use his influence to squash the NIH and Walker investigations? Did he knowingly violate the policy of the Grady Trustees when he entered into an agreement with Dr. Jim Murtaugh? Did he try to intimidate Kevin Kuritzky?

Only the powers that be know the answers to these questions, however I do know that Grady Hospital may collapse. I know that there needs to be a huge infusion of cash in order for it to survive, and it appears to me that the same people that put it into this position continue to call the shots. I know that if I were a tax payer that was ultimately flipping the bill I would want all of the questions I raised answered, under oath, by Alexander himself, before even one more dime went into Grady Hospital.

For further information on Kent Alexander and this scandal in its entirety, please follow this link to listen to my buddy Snooper discuss this matter further.

UPDATE:

For the most part, if you find your way to one of the stories regarding the Grady mess, you will likely get lost in its many mazes. I actually don't believe that this is one of them. I believe that this story speaks for itself, and no matter your incoming knowledge you should be able to follow. If not let me know. That said, you should also know how Alexander fits into the overall scheme of things. Thus, I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance. Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.

Emory University: Unraveling Sealed Records (Updated)

On October 5th, the AJC wrote this editorial,

Rather than await a court order, Emory and Grady ought to open the records for public inspection immediately. Emory, which supplies most of the attending physicians and residents-in-training at Grady, has already indicated it is willing for the full file to be unsealed if Murtagh, who no longer is employed by Emory, agrees.

Grady, which turned down Shafer's request for the records several weeks ago, should follow suit. If Grady is concerned that patient records might become public as a result, it can ask that those specific records be exempted or redacted.

Murtagh apparently sued Emory and Grady several times in 2000, alleging, among other things, that Emory broke a deal to name him chief of the pulmonary department. He also alleged that Emory and Grady conspired to defraud Medicare and Medicaid in how the two government health insurance programs compensated Grady and the medical school doctors for patient care at the hospital. Murtagh said he was cooperating with federal investigators, but no apparent federal action was taken against Grady or the medical school.

In response, Kent Alexander and Tim Jefferson, both legal counsels for Grady and Emory, wrote this

The AJC's Oct. 5 editorial "Come clean on lawsuit" resurrects (and misstates) old charges of conspiring to misuse government funds, charges the government reviewed seven years ago and declined to pursue. This has the devastating effect of casting public suspicion on two entities -- Grady Memorial Hospital and Emory University -- that are working together in an increasingly challenging environment to meet the health needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

The editorial surprisingly calls on Emory and Grady to open the sealed settlement and court records in a case involving Dr. James Murtagh. For the record, Emory and Grady did not move to seal the record; Murtagh did. Emory had already supported unsealing the proceedings -- the complete, entire record -- as had Grady. We simply awaited the doctor and court's approval.Judge Wendy Shoob has since unsealed the record, which is now of course fully open to the public. The real victim in all of this is Grady, the largest public health hospital in the Southeast. Grady is struggling to survive while misinformation circulates that, unintentionally or intentionally, diverts attention from the real issues.

Now, what they are talking about is a settlement between Dr. James Murtagh, former professor of pulmonology (anything related to the lungs) at Emory, and on staff at Grady for several years and at the V.A. hospital for another year. Now, I have already discussed in some detail the kind of corruption at both hospitals that lead to patients being taken care of by medical students with no supervision. What Dr. Murtagh alleged actually happened several years prior in the late 1990's.

Now, a couple months ago State Senator David Shafer was alerted to the settlement between Murtagh and Emory and he lead a group of six senators to unseal the records. Besides the incendiary nature of Murtagh's charges, Grady was one of the defendants in the case. If they settled and paid Murtagh then since Grady is a public hospital tax payer money was used. Here is how he saw it.

I have not yet seen any of the newly unsealed documents but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Grady and Emory agreed to pay Dr. Murtagh the whopping sum of $1.6 million to settle his original whistleblower retaliation claims in 2001.

If Dr. Murtagh’s allegations were completely unfounded, why was he paid a single penny, let alone $1.6 million?

There are a couple errors in the AJC story. The documents unsealed today were from a case filed in late 2004 and pending until very recently, not the original whistleblower case settled in 2001. The more recent case was litigated under seal not at Dr. Murtagh’s request but because the 2001 settlement agreement required it.

Well, in fact Murtagh was paid $1.6 million,

defraud the U.S. government of millions of dollars through an improper use of federal funds in compensating Emory and Grady employees. Grady is a teaching
hospital where most Emory medical students are trained.

During the hearing on unsealing the case Friday, Emory and Grady attorneys denied that the facilities had done anything wrong.

While the entire case file was not available Friday, comments during the hearing and some Emory court papers shed some light on the case.

The two facilities entered into a settlement in 2001 that paid Murtagh and his attorneys about $1.6 million over 10 years. He has received about $550,000 so far. Emory paid the lion's share of the settlement with Grady contributing about $100,000.

While the sheer number of the settlement should raise all eyebrows especially when it is coupled with what I have reported about whistleblower and former medical student Kevin Kuritzky and and what I found from Dr. Samuel Newcom (who is also now under gag order though he wrote this beforehand), what is really interesting and not being reported is the details of the agreement.

I have been able to also see the settlement agreement and, besides paying Murtagh $1.6 million, which incidentally was to be spread over about ten years, the two parties agreed to a total blackout. Neither side was to speak to anyone. In fact, even if Dr. Murtagh was supboenad before testifying he had to get the judge's permission to testify and allow time for his testimony to be squashed. In other words, Murtagh was paid a big sum of money and he has been incommunicado ever since. Now, where I come from that is called hush money.

Thus, first when Alexander and Jefferson wrote that reply to the AJC editorial, it appears to this non lawyer that they were themselves violating the terms of the deal. Second, when they claimed that it was Murtagh that wanted the records sealed, they picked an easy target since they knew that he couldn't speak or risk jail. Third, and most importantly their assertion that it was Murtagh that fought to keep the records sealed defies all logic. Murtagh alleged all sorts of dastardly deeds by his employer. He was retaliated against, and then he sued. The suit was settled which included him getting a seven figure payout and a total blackout on both sides.

Now, in order to believe that Murtagh is the one that wants this kept quiet, one would need to believe that not only did Emory and Grady agree to pay him $1.6 million but he also got them to agree to keep quiet about the case. I know how hush money works, and one person is paid and that same person is told to be quiet. Thus, when Jefferson and Alexander claim that their side wanted the records unsealed all along, not only are they most likely violating the very agreement they signed, but they are being totally disingenuous.

Of course, Emory is more that welcome to respond and I do believe they know about my blog.

Incidentally, if you want to hear Kuritzky in his own words follow the link and play the audio

UPDATE:

If some of you have tried some of the links, mainly those to the original AJC article and Emory's response, you may have found that they no longer exist. To get the full scoop follow this link and see just how far some will go to hide their malfeasance.

Corruption!!!!:Academia, Health Care, and Hush Jobs

It appears that Grady Hospital of Atlanta is about to go under. The investigation that has followed has uncovered an all to cozy and most likely corrupt relationship between the hospital and my brother's institution. Erick, at Red State, picks it up.

Down in Georgia, the fine folks in the Atlanta area are waking up to the
fact that Grady Hospital, both a trauma center (one of the few in Georgia) and
the hospital for treatment of mostly indigent patients, is about to go under
through reckless mismanagement and bad deals. As legislators and the media have
dug deeper, they've discovered a parasitic relationship between Emory University
and Grady Hospital. Emory, which prides itself on being an elite liberal ivy
league of its own in the south, has been feed off Grady to train Emory's
doctors. While Emory's doctors have been getting their training, Emory has been
billing Grady a/k/a the taxpayers, for those same doctors services. In essence,
Emory is getting money from the medical students for training and also from the
taxpayers to train the same students by letting them practice on indigent
patients at Grady.

In other words, if Erick is right, not only was Grady performing illegal abortions (which he talks about later), they were billed for these abortions by Emory, even though med students were getting their training at the hospital.

That is only the beginning of the story though. This story was picked up by muckraker in training and Emory student, Steve Stein, when he wrote this

It’s not exactly a smoking gun, but the latest revelation in the Grady
hospital saga — that Emory may be taking advantage of its influence with the
struggling trauma center — raises questions the University must answer
soon.

State Senator David Shafer (R-Duluth) went on the attack in a recent blog
post (www.davidshafer.org), implying that Emory doctors improperly bill Grady
for their services. Similar allegations have already been made, but Shafer
outlines the most compelling critique of Emory yet.

Shafer, who based his blog post on a two and a half year old audit of
Emory’s record keeping he acquired through an open records request, writes:
“[I]n a practice that is denounced by the auditors, its faculty physicians
record their time at Grady a mere four weeks each year (one week per quarter)
and then make a guess at how much time they spend at Grady for the remaining 48
weeks of the year, using the four weeks of recorded time as a guide. Emory then
bills Grady for the full 52 weeks of work. Doing the math, that means there is
no documentation for 92 percent of Emory’s bills for supervisory and
administrative services.”

That appears pretty damning to me. Everyone must have been shocked when only a few days later Stein wrote this

A town hall meeting about Grady Memorial Hospital last week served as a
perfect metaphor for the troubled trauma center’s saga: snide attacks
superseded solutions, chaos trumped compromise and Emory became the focus of
unjustified attacks — again.

One thing is certain: The crusade against Emory by people like local
activist Ron Marshall and state Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) has officially
turned into a witch hunt.

Last week, I wrote that Shafer had raised important questions in his blog
about the Emory-Grady relationship that the University had to answer. Most
importantly, I wanted to know whether allegations that Emory doctors
improperly billed Grady for their services were accurate.

Emory has answered these questions and has done so convincingly —
the answer is a definite “no.” In a recent press release, School of Medicine
Dean Thomas Lawley and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Michael
Johns provided evidence to show that the University’s time-recording
practices compare favorably to those at other hospitals. Lawley and Johns
made a more than adequate defense of their position. The attacks, however,
have not abated.

How could this future muckraker do a 180 so quickly? Erick may know why.

First, we learn aboutan Emory student newspaper student editor who
called into question Emory's conduct in the Grady Hospital affair. He was, to be
sure, quite critical of Emory. But then Emory University granted him, very soon
after the article appeared, an internship with Emory Healthcare. All of a sudden
the considered his prior views to be those of folks having a “witch hunt.”

You'll do great in this world young man. Selling your soul to the highest bidder is a great way to get ahead. We will see though. The right blogosphere will expose you for what you are.

There is more. I will let Erick pick it up again.

Now comes the case of James J. Murtagh Jr. v. the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital
Authority. Mr Murtagh, a former Emory professor who worked as a doctor at Grady,
filed, well, let's let the Georgia political paper Insider Advantage tell
us:

Murtagh was a former Grady doctor and Emory University faculty member who
filed a federal lawsuit accusing Emory and Grady of conspiring to defraud the
federal government of millions of dollars.

Murtagh also accused Grady and Emory of subjecting him to a bad-faith peer
review as retaliation against his whistleblowing. The peer review alleged that
Murtagh violated the hospital's do-not-resuscitate policies. The case apparently
was settled under seal after Grady and Emory lost a motion for summary judgment.

A former Grady trustee, William Loughrey, has called sealing of the
settlement “outrageous” and charged that Emory and Grady were using tax dollars
to silence whistleblowers.

David Shafer picks it up.

The silencing of whistleblowers through cash payments and confidential
settlements and the conduct of whistleblower litigation under seal undermines
public confidence in Grady, interferes with the ability of the Georgia General
Assembly to properly investigate the crisis involving Grady, deters the State of
Georgia from financially assisting Grady, and potentially jeopardizes the
survival of Grady.

Last but not least, what of these abortions? As Erick explained, the med students were performing abortions. Is there anything wrong with this? Let's leave the issue of abortions alone for a minute. It is against the law to use public funds for abortions in cases besides incest and rape. According to Erick, this became nothing more than an abortion mill. Money and resources that could have gone to providing health care for poor people instead went to finance abortions. Here is how Congressman Everson put it.

I was disturbed to learn that Emory University has been performing
thousands of abortions at Grady Memorial Hospital and using this taxpayer owned
and funded hospital to train abortionists. Federal and state law prohibits the
use of taxpayer funds for abortion other than in cases of rape, incest and life
threatening conditions. I applaud your decision to shut down this abortion mill
and training facility. If Emory University desires to perform abortions or train
abortionists, it should do so at its own facilities and not at a public hospital
owned by the taxpayers.

I was also quite disturbed to learn that at least one woman ... was killed
by a botched abortion at Grady and that the hospital was forced to pay a $3
million jury verdict to her young son.
As a member of the House Special
Committee on Grady, I would like to know:

1. Whether Emory University has paid rent to the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital
Authority for the operation of its abortion mill and training
facility.

2. Whether the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority paid Emory University for
the faculty members and residents who staffed and taught at this abortion mill
and training facility.

3. What other hospital resources, if any, were used to support this
abortion mill and training facility.

4. What steps the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority has taken to make sure
that Medicaid was not unlawfully billed by Emory University or the Emory Medical
Care Foundation for elective or birth control abortions.

5. To what extent, if any, unlawful billings for abortions were involved in
the $4.5 million refund paid by the Emory Medical Care Foundation to settle the
1998 Medicaid fraud investigation by Attorney General Thurbert Baker.

6. Who paid the $3 million jury verdict in the case of the botched abortion
...

7. Whether any other claims of malpractice have been brought against the
abortion mill or Grady Health System for botched abortions.

8. How much the Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority has paid defending or
settling malpractice actions for abortion and whether any of this expense has
been borne by Emory University or its abortionists.

9. Whether any of the aborted fetuses from Grady Memorial Hospital have
been used by Emory University in its highly publicized biomedical research
programs.

Paying off journalists with jobs, performing illegal abortions, illegal billing, intimidating whistle blowers, tuition money is going to such great causes. This will not stand and it cannot stand. If you are as outraged as I am, please go here and make your voice be heard.


UPDATE:

Since I picked up this story, I have come to the conclusion that if anyone picks it up in the middle they may get lost in its twists and turns. I have put together a summary of the entire fiasco that tries to put all of its moving parts together in one piece. Please read it for guidance.
Also, please check out the recommendations that I and my colleagues have put together for fixing Grady Hospital.