Part 3: The Whistleblower and the Healthcare Corporation
by Andrew Hanson
Adventist Health System (AHS) made a big mistake when they hired Patricia Moleski. They should have hired someone less intelligent, less dedicated, less scrupulous, less Christian.
When I was finally able to contact Ms. Moleski, she said she had been so badly treated by AHS and their attorneys that she said she would be delighted to take a lie detector test in defense of everything she alleges in the video, and answer any additional questions put to her regarding her experiences at AHS during that test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F91hN9nR1KA
Steve Seltzer, President of California Workmen’s Comp Coalition, has confirmed that Patricia's story highlights the problems virtually all healthcare institutions run into when they adopt new computer-based information systems. In her case, Ms Moleski ran afoul of a corrupt hospital administration and CERNER, the international supplier of hospital information systems. Bugs in CERNER software, reported by Patricia, lead to patient endangerment and, in the two cases she reports, patient death.
Presently, Patricia, acting as her own attorney, has offered extensive evidence that the County Courts and acting AHS counsel are trying to make her liable for criminal prosecution by false accusations and discrediting her whistleblower status, thereby violating her rights to Fifth Amendment protection.
In response, to the Court’s OMNIBUS ORDER ON ALL PENDING MOTIONS,* Ms. Moleski has filed a Motion for Civil Contempt against Adventist Health System** in which she alleges:
• Violations of State and Federal Whistleblower laws
• Harassment of a Federal & State Witness
• Violations of the US Constitution – 5th Amendment
• Corruption
• Fraudulent & Vexatious Litigation against a State/Federal Witness
• Coercion/extortion
• False Claims Act Violations
• Workers compensation violations
• Sexual harassment
• Concealing/contaminating evidence
• Attorney/client privilege violations
Ms. Moleski argues that:
The courts allowed a continuance of this litigation despite her status as a Federal/State Witness and Whistleblower, and after her eight document submissions to this court’s docket from AHCA, OSHA, the EEOC, Governor Crist’s OIG, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Diesler, U.S. Attorney General’s office, Medical Fraud Unit – Orlando Office and the U.S. Office of Civil Rights.
In addition, she has:
–Submitted exhibits to show that she has participated in investigations within her Counterclaim and additional exhibits showing her relationship with law enforcement [FBI] four months prior to Adventist filing this lawsuit against her.
–Informed the court that she cannot reveal the details of the Maitland , Florida, FBI investigation against AHS executives and will continue to invoke her Fifth Amendment Rights. The Orange County Courts continue to coerce Ms. Moleski and tell her that she cannot invoke her Fifth Amendment Rights and that she will have to set up a hearing to get permission to do so.
AHS alleges that Patricia has in her possession confidential information taken from them illegally. They want back, and are involved in legal proceedings to get it. (No evidence has been produced that establishes this fact, and it’s something that Patricia denies.) However, she refuses to reveal or discuss any information regarding herten-month participation in the FBI investigation. The agents she worked with informed her that their investigation would be compromised if she divulged that information. (On several occasions she “wore a wire” to work.)
Ms. Moleski has informed the court that she is currently unable to be physically present at court because she lacks funds to travel to Florida and has caregiver responsibilities. She has documented these facts by unemployment compensation stubs and an official document allowing the court to access her 2009-2011 IRS tax returns. In spite of this evidence, the courts will not implement whistleblower laws and AHS attorneys are attempting to use her failure to appear in court to destroy her whistleblower protections. (AHS attorneys have made no effort to obtain a deposition.)
Patricia now lives in Ohio and is desperate to find a job. She is living in poverty and believes she has been blacklisted. She has also informed the judge that she is fearful of what might happen to her should she return to Florida. When her whistleblower status was discovered, a bullet was fired into her residence, her car was firebombed, and repeated attempts were made to break into her home. (Her home alarm system was triggered twice.)
It is instructive to realize that whistleblowers, although protected by a variety of laws, can be victimized over an extended period of time by other laws and court proceedings. In Patricia’s case, her life has been made miserable for the past five years by Adventist Health Systems because she in good faith alerted AHS of bugs in the CERNER electronic record system that, unless corrected, could place Adventist Health Systems in serious trouble with HIPAA.*** Because Ms. Moleski refused, under duress, to commit these illegal and irresponsible actions, and subsequently reported these illegal violations to appropriate state and federal agencies, the AHS filed an injunction against her in an attempt to avoid the revocation of the institution’s nonprofit status and civil and criminal prosecution. In the mean time, Patricia was placed on administrative leave and then fired.
As far as can be determined, the investigation of AHS is ongoing. (Two months ago, when Ms. Moleski discussed the FBI investigation with the Maitland Office, she was told to “hang in there,” you have given us a very difficult case.”)
