[net-gold] MEDICAL: NURSES AND NURSING : UNITED STATES: STATES: TEXAS : WHISTLE BLOWING AND WHISTLE BLOWERS : LAW: CASES: Who Are the Real Victims of the Winkler County Case?

From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, "Net-Gold @ Nabble" <ml-node+3172864-337556105@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K-12ADMINLIFE <K12ADMIN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, MediaMentor <mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Digital Divide Diversity MLS <mls-digitaldivide@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 7 Feb 2010 18:50:46 -0500 (EST)



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MEDICAL: NURSES AND NURSING :
UNITED STATES: STATES: TEXAS :
WHISTLE BLOWING AND WHISTLE BLOWERS :
LAW: CASES:
Who Are the Real Victims of the Winkler County Case?



Who Are the Real Victims of the Winkler County Case?
October 1, 2009 11:00 AM
by Amy McGuire
Healthcare POV

Advances for Nurses<http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/nurses3/archive/2009/10/01/

who-are-the-real-victims-of-the-winkler-county-case.aspx>



A shorter URL for the above link:



<http://tinyurl.com/yd6624w>

Anne Mitchell, RN, and Vicki Galle, RN, have been caring for theirpatients for more than 20 years. But this summer, after both nurses triedto report what they considered to be subpar care by a physician, theyended losing their jobs and getting arrested. Today, they facethird-degree felony charges and could wind up serving 10 years in prison.

You can read more about their case here, but in the time since I wrotethat article, I learned more about this case and the key players who areat the center of it. And despite all the research I've done, I seem tohave more questions than answers.



<http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Article/Whistling-a-Different-Tune-4.aspx>


Seeing the Sheriff

At the heart of the story are two nurses who filed an anonymous complaintto the Texas Medical Board (TMB) on April 7 to report what they consideredunprofessional services by Rolando Arafiles Jr., MD, one of only threephysicians at the 15-bed county hospital in Kermit, TX, and reportedly theonly physician who lives in the small town.

The nurses complained that Arafiles improperly encouraged patients at thehospital ED and the Winkler County Rural Health Clinic to buy herbalmedicines and said that the hospital's chief of staff once stopped thephysician from taking medical supplies to perform a procedure at apatient's home.

As it turns out, Arafiles operates under a restricted license and cannotsupervise or sign off on prescriptions written by a PA, nurse or surgicalassistant. Apparently, his license was up for review in April 2007 by theTMB which stated that Arafiles "failed to make an independent medicalprofessional decision about the appropriateness of the protocol" at theweight loss clinic where he authorized prescriptions for the diet drugphentermine for patients who were not classified as obese.

And yet, when the TMB notified the physician he was under investigationagain, Arafiles called the sheriff.

This is where the story gets strange. Why didn't Arafiles go to asupervisor or the hospital board instead of contacting local authorities?As it turns out, Arafiles and Sheriff Robert Roberts are reportedlyfriends, and the sheriff is also a customer of Arafiles' herbal supplementbusiness.



<snip>



Additional Topics Covered in This Article:


Criminals?

Fighting Back

The nurses' attorneys were seeking dismissal of the charges, but adistrict judge denied the motions and ordered the case to trial. Althougha trial date has not yet been scheduled, the only date open for the 2009docket for a Winkler County trial is Nov. 3, according to the WinklerCounty District Clerk's office. However, due to the publicity surroundingthe case, the possibility of changing the venue of the trial is also inconsideration.

According to the TNA, no current Texas law, or laws in any other state,prohibits a local prosecutor from pursuing criminal action as the WinklerCounty district attorney has done in this case. It may be an abuse ofprosecutorial discretion, and the nurses may ultimately have an action(lawsuit) for malicious prosecution, but no one anticipated the need totry to limit the discretion of local prosecutors. No one ever imaginedthat a nurse would be criminally prosecuted for reporting a patient careconcern to a licensing agency.

And yet, two nurses in Texas must defend themselves against the criminalcharge. If these two nurses are found guilty, the person who will sufferin the end is the patient.

The TNA established a legal defense fund with the hope of raising at least$10,000 to help pay the legal expenses of the two nurses. To date, thefund has generated over $35,000. To make a donation, visit the TNA Website at



<http://www.texasnurses.org/>





The complete article may be read at the URL above.



Prior Net-Gold Coverage of this case may be
found by using this URL:


<http://www.google.com/search?q=
winkler+and+hospital+and+
(nurse+OR+nurses)+and+%22net-gold%
22+and+%22temple.edu%22&hl=en&filter=0>


A shorter URL for the above link:


<http://tinyurl.com/y89nmjn>




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[net-gold] MEDICAL: NURSES AND NURSING : UNITED STATES: STATES: TEXAS : WHISTLE BLOWING AND WHISTLE BLOWERS : LAW: CASES: Who Are the Real Victims of the Winkler County Case?

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