August 19, 2019 | Modern Healthcare 7
A4 physicians at multiple locations are
upset that we withdrew offers because
they had hoped to be employed by Trin-
ity,” Casalou wrote. “Leadership at our
hospitals have heard that many of the
A4 physicians are very unhappy with A4,
and that if A4 remains in charge, they
will look elsewhere for employment.”
Casalou said if anesthesiologists
leave A4, it would interfere with surgery
and anesthesia services at Trinity hos-
pitals and “put A4 in breach of its staff-
ing requirements, particularly in light
of the shortage of anesthesiologists na-
tionally.”
On July 23, Trinity Health sued A
after the group terminated its con-
tract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Michigan and Priority Health over
contract disputes. A4 said it has signed
new contracts with Blue Cross, Priority,
Health Alliance Plan, Aetna and United-
Healthcare. However, A4 remains dis-
satisfied with the reimbursement deals.
WEST
California Kaiser workers
vote to strikeKaiser Permanente workers in Cal-
ifornia are planning to strike in early
October over the integrated not-for-
profit health system’s alleged unfair
labor practices. About 98% of nearly
38,000 votes cast by Kaiser employees
represented by the Coalition of Kai-
ser Permanente Unions supported a
strike. The workers are calling for Kai-
ser to mend the worker-management
partnership; ensure safe staffing and
appropriate use of technology; and
provide wages and benefits that can
support families. The coalition is also
calling for more financial transparen-
cy.
Strike authorization votes by other
groups of California Kaiser workers as
well as employees in Colorado, Mary-
land, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and
the District of Columbia are slated to
run through mid-September. The Cali-
fornia faction was the first to vote out of
groups representing more than 80,
Kaiser workers.
Kaiser said in a statement that
union leadership has decided to use
the threat of a strike as a bargaining
tactic, designed to divide employees
and mischaracterize Kaiser Perma-
nente’s position, even though most of
the contracts don’t expire until Octo-
ber. The union also posed misleading
ballot questions, the company said.
A strike vote does not mean that a
strike is imminent, although it does
place Kaiser Permanente in the position
of having to spend millions of dollars
preparing for the threat of a strike event,
Kaiser added.Sexual misconduct
complaints against
Calif. doctors up sharplyThe number of complaints against
California physicians for sexual mis-
conduct has risen 62% since 2017—a
jump that coincides with the beginning
of the #MeToo movement. A Los Ange-
les Times analysis of California Medical
Board data found complaints of sexual
misconduct, though small in number,
are among the fastest-growing type of
allegation.
During the fiscal year that ended in
June, the board received 11,406 com-
plaints overall against physicians and
surgeons, the most it has ever received.
In fiscal 2017-18, 280 complaints were
filed against physicians for sexual mis-
conduct, compared with 173 the pre-
vious year. In fiscal 2018-19, there were- During that same time, medical
boards across the country also noticed a
surge in sexual misconduct complaints.
Larry Nassar, a former USA Gym-
nastics doctor, was sentenced in 2018
to 40 to 175 years in prison for mo-
lesting young athletes. The same year,
hundreds of women accused former
longtime University of Southern Cali-
fornia gynecologist George Tyndall of
inappropriate behavior. In June, former
University of California at Los Angeles
gynecologist James Heaps was charged
with sexual battery and exploitation
during his treatment of two patients.
The California Medical Board, which
licenses more than 140,000 physicians,
has the power to revoke a doctor’s li-
cense if it decides that person has act-
ed inappropriately and violated the
terms of their license. Since mid-2017,
23 physicians in the state have lost their
medical licenses because of sexual mis-
conduct.
SOUTH
University of Louisville
trustees approve plan
to purchase Jewish Hospital
University of Louisville trustees ap-
proved a deal last week to purchase
struggling Jewish Hospital. The state
pledged a $50 million loan—half of
which would be forgivable if the univer-
sity meets conditions for job retention
and medical service to underserved ar-
eas of the community and state. Under
the agreement, the University of Louis-
ville will pay $10 million to acquire the
Louisville-area assets of KentuckyOne
Health from its parent company, Com-
monSpirit Health. Those assets include
other hospitals and physician groups
affiliated with KentuckyOne.
As part of the agreement, Com-
monSpirit will forgive $19.7 million in
outstanding promissory notes. The Uni-
versity of Louisville will receive more
than $76 million in working capital to
meet future operating expenses. Two
local foundations will contribute tens of
millions of dollars, paid over four years,
toward the venture. The sale is expected
to close Nov. 1, officials said.NORTHEAST
NYC medical data breach
affects about 10,000 patients
The personal information of about
10,000 New York ambulance patients
was involved in a data breach linked to
the city’s emergency medical services.
The Fire Department of New York
said the data was contained in an EMS
employee’s personal hard drive, report-
ed missing in March.
The information was from patients
who needed an FDNY ambulance be-
tween 2011 and 2018. The department
blames one employee who failed to fol-
low security policies and now faces dis-
ciplinary action.
The FDNY said it has gone through a
process of notifying every patient whose
confidential information was involved,
from names, addresses and telephone
numbers to insurance names, health
details and, in some cases, Social Secu-
rity numbers. Officials said they have no
indication the information was used by
unauthorized individuals.