The former chief of surgery for Adena Regional Medical Center is suing the hospital for defamation and wrongful termination, , adding to the slew of misconduct accusations against leadership and employees at the Chillicothe, Ohio, health system.
James Manazer, MD, was fired from his position as chief of surgery on May 18, which hospital leadership claimed was a result of him providing allegedly false and defamatory comments about the institution in social media posts and to a local news station, according to the court filing provided to 鶹ý by his lawyers.
Those allegations against Manazer stemmed from a previously reported investigation by local news channel NBC4 that detailed alleged misconduct by a cardiac surgeon at the hospital accused of performing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures without proper credentialing, according to the court filing and local news reports.
According to those , Manazer anonymously told NBC4 that cardiologist Jarrod Betz, MD, performed the percutaneous procedure on as many as three patients beginning in March 2022 before receiving the proper credentialing. Manazer came forward publicly after he was fired to reassert that allegation, according to .
The hospital denied that any procedures were improperly performed, according to a statement it provided to 鶹ý: "It is the policy of Adena Health to refrain from commenting on pending litigation; however, we stand by our previous assertion that both physicians who performed the March 2022 TAVR procedure were fully credentialed and privileged to do so."
As a result, the hospital blamed Manazer for sharing false information that was critical of the hospital with NBC4, according to the court filing. In turn, Manazer accused his former employer of defamation, centered on an email sent by hospital president and CEO Jeff Graham that accused him of lying about the TAVR credential allegations.
"Effective this afternoon, Dr. James Manazer is no longer with the organization," that email stated according to the court filing. "Dr. Manazer admitted to providing an interview to NBC4 that relayed false and defamatory information about Adena and its physicians. Further, evidence shows he contributed heavily to publishing false and defamatory information on Blimp Arms [a Facebook page] and that was relayed on the Scioto Valley Guardian. We are deeply disappointed by his actions, but as everyone is well aware, we must continue to put Adena and our physicians, caregivers, and patients first."
Manazer denies the allegations in the email, according to the court filing. He claimed he never admitted to providing an interview relaying false and defamatory information to NBC4 or to the Guardian and that he "never contributed heavily to publishing false or defamatory information on Blimp Arms."
was the name of a Facebook profile that shared information that was critical of the hospital and the larger Adena Health System. The owner of the account anonymously shared with NBC4 details of a subpoena that were allegedly filed by Adena's lawyers with the intention of uncovering the identity of the account owner.
Notably, both Manazer and Adena have said that Betz is now credentialed to perform TAVR. Manazer was one of at least three employees who were fired from Adena Regional Medical Center in May.
Recent Outburst of Allegations
Manazer's claims about the uncredentialed TAVR procedures and his termination are just the latest events in a tumult of accusations and investigations surrounding Adena Health this year.
According to the lawsuit, Manazer also claimed he had received a phone call in April from an investigator with the State Medical Board of Ohio who was looking into multiple allegations against Adena Health and its employees, including accusation of sexual misconduct by hospital employees.
The lawsuit alleges that the medical board was also investigating two deaths during cardiac procedures at Adena. The state medical board has not confirmed any active investigations into Adena at this time, according to local news reports.
Still, in February that several patients and former employees had accused providers at Adena Health of sexual misconduct and that hospital administrators allegedly allowed the misconduct to continue.
According to the report, one former employee of Adena Health claimed that one doctor repeatedly touched her inappropriately. The first incidents occurred in 2021 when the first accused doctor allegedly repeatedly touched and grabbed the former employee's butt, according to the report.
Another former employee claimed that a different doctor at Adena Health sent her increasingly sexual and suggestive text messages. The doctor allegedly cornered her and said, "I would do dirty things to you," according to the report.
Both former employees claimed that they had reported the issues to their supervisors and to human resources, but neither individual believed the issues were adequately resolved, according to the report. Both former employees also independently reported the doctor to the local sheriff's office, according to the report.
In addition to the former employees, one patient anonymously shared an experience with a nurse practitioner at Adena Health where the provider allegedly pressured him into consenting to a prostate exam. The NBC4 report emphasized that the patient had no risk factors and was younger than the American Cancer Society's recommended age of 50 for the exam.
The patient said he originally declined the exam multiple times, but the nurse practitioner pressed him to agree while using sexual innuendo-type comments, including, "Well, I'll turn down the lights, we'll put on some music, you take off your pants, I'll take off my pants," according to the report.
NBC4 reported that one of the accused doctors was based in a different state and traveled to Adena Health to practice, but the state medical board showed that he was no longer licensed to practice in the state. The other doctor was still practicing medicine at Adena Health, according to the report.
NBC4 said it has not released the names of the accused providers because they were not charged with a crime.
Correction: The article has been updated to state that Betz is a cardiologist, not a cardiac surgeon.
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