Lawsuit claims poor care at Catholic Charities’ clinics in Md., District

The Washington Post ^ | April 7,2011 | Lena H. Sun

[moonshinner_09]

Two medical clinics run by Catholic Charities provided substandard care to poor immigrants in Maryland and the District, failing to promptly treat emergency cases, properly process and monitor critical lab tests, and reliably document serious errors, according to a lawsuit filed by a former clinic doctor.The suit alleges that in one case a clinic in Silver Spring failed to adequately monitor a 32-year-old woman’s blood-thinning medication three years ago and that the oversight might have contributed to her death from internal bleeding.

The whistleblower lawsuit, filed Thursday in D.C. Superior Court, identifies the plaintiff, Charles Briggs, as the sole staff doctor at the clinic from March 2008 until Oct. 1, 2010, when he was fired.

Briggs, 66, says in the suit that he was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about patient care with supervisors who did little to address them. He was told by Catholic Charities that he “interfered with the smooth running of the Clinic,” the suit says. He wants his job back and $2 million in damages.

A spokesman for Catholic Charities strongly disputed the allegations in the lawsuit.

The clinics are part of the Spanish Catholic Center, which provides medical and social services in Maryland and the District to poor Latinos with no health insurance, many of whom speak little English.

[moonshinner_09]

The Catholic Church sex scandals, now health care scandals. But yet they are very vocal about human rights for all. More and more The Catholic Church/ Charties is being ran more like an criminal enterprise.

[Sooth2222]

Not to draw any conclusions here, but a quick internet search shows the doctor received a one-star review from a total of one patient. There may be more to this story than we’re reading in the Washington Post.

[moonshinner_09]

Hey will you please provide the link. Thanks

[Venturer]

This sounds very easily solved to me. The cathjolic Charities just close down the Clininc for poor Hispanics and let them shuffle off down the road to Muslim facilities for poor Hispanics.

[OldDeckHand]

"The clinics are part of the Spanish Catholic Center, which provides medical and social services in Maryland and the District to poor Latinos with no health insurance, many of whom speak little English."

Sounds like they'd get much better treatment in their birth countries. Maybe they should go back, considering how "cruel" and "unfair" this country is - you know, with our free, charity-based health care and all.

[moonshinner_09]

Still Catholic Charities is busy going around the world bringing more people here.

[grumpygresh]

As providers are squeezed by more work and lower reimbursements, this scenario will become more common in all areas of healthcare. A litigation crunch will further reduce access as providers drop out and become less and less willing to take difficult cases.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Maryland “Freak State” PING!

[the OlLine Rebel]

Wow, pointed insults, much?

“poor immigrants”

$$$ to donuts, ILLEGAL non-immigrants.