Womack Army Medical Center retaliated against whistleblowers?

Army criticized for its handling of whistleblower retaliation case at Womack
Military Times
By: Kathleen Curthoys
February 5, 2018

OSC found that a pattern of retaliatory personnel actions against Gilbert aggravated the seriousness of the hospital’s infection control problems and increased the risk to patients. Those actions were likely a deterrent to others who may be whistleblowers, the report said, and the supervisor deserved discipline for actions that violated personnel policy.

A federal agency that protects government whistleblowers criticized the Army on Monday for declining to discipline a staff member at its Fort Bragg, North Carolina, hospital after an investigation found failures in infection control that put service members and families at risk.

Whistleblower Teresa Gilbert was a board-certified infection control technician at Womack Army Medical Center who reported violations of infection control policies in early 2014 that she said presented a health and safety threat to troops and family members at the hospital.

She reported that Womack staff members failed to correct infection control deficiencies that an earlier inspection had found, including dirty and unsterilized medical equipment, according to a redacted 2017 report by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, the independent federal agency tasked with safeguarding whistleblowers from reprisal.

A supervisor retaliated against Gilbert by restricting her access to infection control practices and patient medical records and excluding her from meetings, the OSC report said. The supervisor also cut her work hours to half days, requiring her to take four hours of leave each day and then charging her with being absent without leave for not submitting leave requests for that time, the OSC report said. In addition, Gilbert was threatened that she would be removed from the hospital unit.
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Fort Bragg Whistleblower Office Special Council Servant of the Year

Well folks we have a great update to the story Army settles Womack whistleblower case with former employee 



OSC Awards Its 2016 Public Servant of the Year 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Nick Schwellenbach, (202) 254-3631; nschwellenbach@osc.gov


WASHINGTON, D.C./September 29, 2016 –
This afternoon, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) honors Teresa Gilbert as its 2016 Public Servant of the Year. Ms. Gilbert was a civilian infection control analyst at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. She disclosed violations of infection control policies and regulations that created a significant threat to the health and safety of members of the military and their families treated at Womack. Her disclosures resulted in improved hospital conditions and significant disciplinary action against senior leaders at Womack.

OSC gives its Public Servant of the Year to a federal whistleblower who has demonstrated exceptional courage in bringing to light a serious disclosure of wrongdoing. The award recognizes the whistleblower’s bravery and dedication to public service and furthers public understanding of the important role that whistleblowers play in holding government accountable.

As the hospital’s only board‐certified infection control specialist, Ms. Gilbert observed the use in operating rooms of unsterilized equipment, as well as other deficient infection control practices. She initially made her disclosures to the hospital, which failed to act. She then turned to the Joint Commission, a nonprofit that accredits hospitals. The Joint Commission confirmed that the hospital had 19 systemic deficiencies, including the lack of an infection control plan and a staff inadequately trained to perform their duties.

In response to the Commission’s findings, the Army began an internal investigation into the problems in April 2014. Ms. Gilbert provided information to Army investigators, including the actions taken against her after disclosing problems to the Commission. As a result of the Commission’s findings and the Army investigation, operations at the hospital were shut down for over a week, senior leadership was relieved of command, several managers were disciplined, and Ms. Gilbert’s second line supervisor was issued a reprimand. During the course of the investigation, Ms. Gilbert’s first line supervisor retaliated against her by cutting her work hours in half and engaging in other pretextual personnel actions, which culminated in her proposed removal.

Over much of 2014 and 2015, OSC investigated her case, finding no legitimate basis for Ms. Gilbert’s removal. In September 2015, the two sides reached a settlement on her whistleblower retaliation claim.

“Teresa Gilbert is a true hero whose efforts likely saved the lives of soldiers at the Womack Army Hospital in North Carolina,” said Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner. “When Ms. Gilbert became concerned about the unacceptable risk of infection at Womack, she refused to stand idly by and watch. Her tenacity and bravery should serve as an example for us all.”

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. Our basic authorities come from four federal statutes: The Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). OSC’s primary mission is to safeguard the merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing, and to serve as a safe channel for allegations of wrongdoing. For more information, please visit our website at www.osc.gov.

Whistleblower Got Justice For Soldiers and Herself

Army settles Womack whistleblower case with former employee
FayObserver
By Amanda Dolasinski Staff writer
October 27, 2015

"The Army should have focused on correcting the problems she identified, rather than retaliating against her," Lerner said in a news release. "However, in the end, the Army did the right thing by settling her claim. Ms. Gilbert's case underscores why whistleblower protections are vital."

An infection preventionist for Womack Army Medical Center who claimed the hospital retaliated against her after she went to a higher authority to report serious infection control issues has received a favorable settlement, according to a decision from federal officials.

The Army has settled a claim of reprisal with Teresa Gilbert, a former civilian employee at the hospital, after more than a year of legal wrangling. Gilbert will receive a monetary settlement and all negative information about her employment records will be removed, according to the Office of Special Counsel, which mediated the case.

A spokeswoman for Womack confirmed the settlement was signed last month.

"There has been no finding or admission of wrongdoing by either Womack Army Medical Center or any personnel," according to a statement from Womack. "Army Medicine takes seriously all concerns regarding patient safety, and the issues raised were thoroughly investigated and appropriately acted upon."

Womack said it promotes an environment for employees to report patient safety concerns.
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Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Rudy Hernandez passed away at 82

Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Rudy Hernandez dies
by Drew Brooks
The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
Published: December 23, 2013

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Cpl. Rudy Hernandez cheated death on the battlefields of Korea 62 years ago. But the Medal of Honor recipient and Fayetteville resident couldn't live forever. The 82-year-old Hernandez died early Saturday at Womack Army Medical Center, according to friends.

Cpl. Hernandez was honored last month as grand marshal of Fayetteville's Veterans Day Parade.

He rode the parade route in a Korean War-era jeep, waving alongside Gov. Pat McCrory.

But shortly thereafter, Cpl. Hernandez was diagnosed with cancer and several other ailments, said friend Steve Sosa, a retired Army major who serves as president of the Rudy Hernandez Chapter of the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association.

Mr. Sosa said he last saw Cpl. Hernandez in the intensive care unit of Womack on Friday.
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Fort Bragg Army physician suspected in murder-suicide

Murder-suicide doc linked to N.C. homicide

New York Daily News

New Jersey doctor who killed colleague and then himself may also be connected to girlfriend’s murder in North Carolina Authorities trying to determine if same gun was used to kill both victims
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, April 13, 2012
VOORHEES, N.J.

The girlfriend of a military doctor who killed a former New Jersey colleague, then himself, was found fatally shot in her apartment in North Carolina, authorities said Thursday. Ballistics tests will determine if the same gun was used in both crimes.

Dr. Giocondo Navek, 39, ambushed Dr. Payman Houshmandpour, 32, in his car outside his home in this Philadelphia suburb as he was leaving for work Wednesday morning. Minutes later, Navek killed himself when police stopped his vehicle just a mile away.

Authorities said the body of Shawna Dianne Givens, 35, was found at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in her apartment in Fayetteville, N.C., after she failed to show up for work. Givens was believed to have been killed days earlier.

Navek was an Army physician at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, according to Shannon Lynch, a spokesperson for the medical center. He worked in the acute minor illness clinic, akin to an urgent care center after hours.
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Guardsman from Wading River dies at military hospital

Jonathan Keller died after returning to the states from complications to a injury he received in Afghanistan. (Handout)

Guardsman from Wading River dies at military hospital
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
BY CARL MACGOWAN carl.macgowan@newsday.com
10:22 PM EST, January 26, 2009

An Army National Guardsman from Wading River who was shot nine months ago in a firefight by the Afghanistan-Pakistan border has died at a military hospital in North Carolina.

Spc. Jonathan Keller had been rehabilitating from gunshot wounds to his arm and upper right shoulder when he died Saturday at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg. He was 29.

His death is under investigation, the Department of Defense said Monday night. The Pentagon provided no details of Keller's condition before his death.

Keller was a former member of the legendary "Fighting 69th" National Guard unit, based in Bay Shore.
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The elusiveness of PTSD diagnoses argues for more flexibility, not less.

Service issue: The elusiveness of PTSD diagnoses argues for more flexibility, not less.

If ex-Sgt. Frank Wheeler has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, his less-than-honorable discharge from the Army won’t make him better.

That’s one reason officials at Womack Army Medical Center should take another look at Wheeler’s case, outlined in an Oct. 26 news story by Observer reporter Michael N. Graff.

They might also usefully revisit the idea of ignoring diagnoses by off-post providers. If the hospital had Wheeler pegged right the first time, his troubles will continue or even worsen until the condition and the diagnosis catch up with him and Womack gets a shiner for its handling of a decorated war veteran.

Another reason is an e-mail in which the hospital’s ranking officer overturned the PTSD profile issued by a Womack behavioral health psychologist. That action came five days after Wheeler was arrested for a violent incident involving his wife.

Whether it was intended that way or not, the e-mail came across as boastful. The colonel who wrote it said a miscoded diagnosis enabled her to stop his transfer to the Warrior Transition Battalion, where he would have enjoyed “not working and being heralded as a War Hero.”
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http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=309280

Womack Army Medical Center braces for wounded

Womack prepares for returning boom
By Gregory Phillips
Staff writer
As head of Womack Army Medical Center, Col. Terry Walters is preparing for what she calls the coming storm of soldiers returning to Fort Bragg in the next year.

“There’s going to be huge medical fallout from this war,” said Walters, who has directed Womack since July 2006.

The conflict in the Middle East has led to the Army’s lowest fatality rate in the history of warfare, Walters said, but the Army’s medical system is a victim of that success.

More soldiers than ever are surviving serious injuries and needing medical care when they get home. The injured soldiers have overwhelmed some Army hospitals, including Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where neglect of patients was exposed earlier this year.
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