Ex-exec says he was fired for informing
Ex-worker claims he shared concerns at Broward Health
A former employee of the Broward Health public hospital system says hewas fired for reporting illegal activities he witnessed on the job.
The hospital system plans to hire a special counsel to investigate his claims.
A former compliance director at Broward Health claims he was fired after only two months on the job for informing superiors of illegal activities taking place at the public hospital system, which is already facing state and federal investigations.
The hospital system plans to hire a special counsel to investigate his claims.
Mike Pelaez, former chief privacy officer of Jackson Health System in Miami, started working at Broward Health Oct. 19 and soonbecameaware of “various illegal activities being conducted by Broward Health through its employees,” according to a Feb. 12 letter from Pelaez’s lawyer, Peter F. Valori, to BrowardHealth.
Some of the claims involved the health system’s alleged failure to comply with a $69.5 million settlement agreement with the federal government over improper contracts with doctors, according to the letter. Under the contract system, Broward Health maintained a secret compensation system that rewarded physicians who referred patients to its imaging, physical therapy and other services and penalized them for accepting charitywork.
The settlement agreement required Broward Health to institute new standards and procedures for ensuring that physicians and other employees comply with the law. The letter gavenodetailsonthe claims
it asserted were taking place but said, “These flagrant and continuous violations pose a substantial danger to public health and are a direct result of the serious mismanagement and malfeasance by Broward Health’s upper management and its employees.”
Pelaez contends he reported suspected illegal activities to several Broward Health officials, including General Counsel Lynn Barrett and chief executive officerDr. Nabil El Sanadi.
El Sanadi “was supportive and commended Mr. Pelaez for his ongoing efforts to investigate and report the illegal activities to him and agreed to protect him from retaliation fromthosewhowere engaging in the above wrongful conduct,” the letter stated. But, it added, Broward Health, “possibly against the wishes of the CEO, and in retaliation for his actions, terminated his employment without notice.”
Pelaez was fired on Dec. 18. The letter invokes the Florida Whistleblower Act and seeks reinstatement and at least $307,830.
DavidDi Pietro, chairman of the board of Broward Health, said he discussed the letter Tuesday with the organization’s acting chief executive officer, Kevin Fusco, general counsel Lynn Barrett and ethics and security chief Carlos A. Perez-Irizarry. They said a special counsel would be appointed to investigate the allegations.
Broward Health issued a statement that said,“We take these matters very seriously and it will be reviewed.”
Pelaez could not be reached for comment. Valori could not be reached, despite calls to his office and cellphone.
The letter comes during a tumultuous time for Broward Health, whichruns hospitalsand clinics that serve the northern 2/3 of Broward County.
The system, governed by a seven-member volunteer board appointed by Gov. Rick Scott, experienced the recent suicide of El Sanadi. It is trying to work through the consequences of its settlement with the federal government and now faces separate state and federal investigations into its activities.
An outside investigator hired last year by El Sanadi, Wayne Black, now says the district has obstructed an FBI investigation into its activities.
The board voted last week to try to discuss the investigations in a private meeting, if they can obtain a legal opinion that such a meeting would be permissible under Florida’s strict open-meetings law. The Sun-Sentinel’s lawyers have filed an objection.
Broward Health issued a statement Monday saying it would request an opinion from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and would comply with the open-meetings law.
“Our interest in exploring this option is not an attempt to conduct business outside of the public eye,” the statement said. “We are committed to maximizing transparency without undermining potential investigations.”
The statement also said: “We are as eager to seek the truth as anyone else.”
The investigations may be discussed in a different forumWednesday, when the Broward Health audit committee meets.
The committee has put on its agenda discussions of the investigation by the Florida inspector general and the allegations by Black.