Once again, for those new to this blog site, at present there are 45 posts on the blog and each has its own set of comments. To read the comments you have to hit the word "Comments" at the beginning or end of the post. Somewhat confusing is that when you bring up the comments for a specific post it eliminates the other posts from the screen. To bring the other posts back up simply go back to the top of the page and click on Blog. Feel free to comment should you wish. No email address is required to make a comment so anonymity is strong. Due to some previous abuse of this right to anonymously comment, I have had to include an approval option, but I try to approve within 24 hours. One last point of note, to read the earliest posts you have to click on the word "<<Previous" at the very bottom of the posts available. Finally, for those just looking for a good summary of the Dr. Kearney case, simply scroll down to the previous 12/10/2016 post. For social media developments on the Dr. Kearney situation I would encourage you to visit the excellent "Save Dr. Kearney Facebook Page":
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=save%20dr%20kearney
Below is an update on what I could find out about the status of the Dr. Kearney matters, especially those associated with his legal case. Much of this information was sent to me from an anonymous source, and I feel fairly confident with respect to its accuracy.
1. To begin with, as you might remember, Bernard Boulanger MD, the former CMO at UKHealthcare and one of the prime instigators of the hospital's actions against Dr. Kearney, left UK to become an EVPHA at Cleveland’s Metrohealth. Within a few short months, a faculty member lodged a formal complaint against Dr. Boulanger for a confrontation and physical assault. It would seem that he is up to his old tricks from UK where he was reportedly to have routinely verbally and physically abused residents in training. It appears that he may have now upgraded to faculty.
2. To address Armchair's question in the comment section of the previous post, the legal case filed on behalf of Dr. Kearney by his lawyer is not being heard in a Federal Court. This is a state whistleblower case that will be tried in a Fayette County Circuit Court. The presiding Judge for this case is Judge James Ishmael. It appears that Judge Ishmael has himself been a stumbling block in this case in that he has done everything possible to keep Dr. Kearney from making progress, including placing restrictions on plaintiff discovery depositions in so far as:
a. Judge Ishmael refused to allow depositions of key physicians in Dr. Kearney’s disciplinary action.
b. Judge Ishmael has also refused to allow a discovery deposition on Mr. Brett Short, who is the chief compliance officer for UKHealthcare. Mr. Short has intimate details with regards to the KMSF billing/coding audits and the Hazard Cardiology debacle. Beyond the Dr. Kearney case, this information is also central to the UK vs. Herald Leader lawsuit. The questions could be reasonably asked: what does Mr. Short know that the University does not want Dr. Kearney to find out, and why is Judge Ishmael showing bias towards the University in this matter?
c. Lastly, Judge Ishmael and the UK defense attorneys are trying to block the discovery deposition of General Counsel Bill Thro. A quote from Judge Ishmael: “I don’t like lawyers deposing other lawyers.” Really, lawyers should be exempt from depositions??? What kind of judge would even express such an opinion? Mr. Thro is a key fact witness in the Dr. Kearney whistleblower lawsuit and is perhaps the major reason this lawsuit exists with his: “take the deal or I will destroy your career” approach. Perhaps Judge Ishmael should read Mr. Thro’s April 20, 2016 letter (see Document 10) sent to Dr. Kearney’s lawyer wherein his malice towards Dr. Kearney is abundantly evident. In this eulogy, Mr. Thro attempts to not only define everything Dr. Kearney can and can’t do as a tenured professor and physician at UK, but he also takes it upon himself to define Dr. Kearney’s salary. In essence he basically defines how he was going to make good on his promise to destroy Dr. Kearney's career. One would think that a judge of all people would recognize the complete lack of due process that went on in this Dr. Kearney matter and the importance of deposing the lawyer(s) that subverted that due process.
Here is the good news. Judge Ishmael has announced his retirement as of December 31, 2017. Maybe Dr. Kearney can get a Judge who is not wearing a University of Kentucky Jersey. In the meantime, Judge Ishmael has set January 31, 2018 as the end of the discovery phase. Ah, the wheels of justice turn slowly as they tilt towards UK.
3. With respect to the Hazard affair, the most recent deposition of a former KMSF auditor disclosed that contrary to University President Eli Capilouto’s deposition testimony, he as well as UKHealthcare and KMSF personnel including EVPHA Dr. Michael Karpf, Surgery Chair Dr. Jay Zwischenberger, then CMO Dr. Bernard Boulanger, KMSF president Marcus Randall, KMSF Chief Administrative Officer Darrell Griffith, and Chief of Compliance Officer Brett Short all knew as early as April 2014 about serious billing problems with the Hazard practice. In fact, there were two meetings in the Spring of 2014 to discuss the audit. Mr. Short and Marc Randall were present for both, Dr. Karpf was also present for one of them. Wow! Nothing was done until August of 2014. More importantly the 4 million dollar payback did not occur until January of 2016. Seems like a long time does it not? Finally I should add that although Dr. Kearney's Whistleblower case is a Fayette County Circuit Court matter, there is a rumor going around that there might also be a Federal case associated with this Hazard Cardiology fiasco. Again, only a rumor.
4. Finally, Dr. Kearney has several more key depositions to take and, more importantly, a few affidavits up his sleeve.
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=save%20dr%20kearney
Below is an update on what I could find out about the status of the Dr. Kearney matters, especially those associated with his legal case. Much of this information was sent to me from an anonymous source, and I feel fairly confident with respect to its accuracy.
1. To begin with, as you might remember, Bernard Boulanger MD, the former CMO at UKHealthcare and one of the prime instigators of the hospital's actions against Dr. Kearney, left UK to become an EVPHA at Cleveland’s Metrohealth. Within a few short months, a faculty member lodged a formal complaint against Dr. Boulanger for a confrontation and physical assault. It would seem that he is up to his old tricks from UK where he was reportedly to have routinely verbally and physically abused residents in training. It appears that he may have now upgraded to faculty.
2. To address Armchair's question in the comment section of the previous post, the legal case filed on behalf of Dr. Kearney by his lawyer is not being heard in a Federal Court. This is a state whistleblower case that will be tried in a Fayette County Circuit Court. The presiding Judge for this case is Judge James Ishmael. It appears that Judge Ishmael has himself been a stumbling block in this case in that he has done everything possible to keep Dr. Kearney from making progress, including placing restrictions on plaintiff discovery depositions in so far as:
a. Judge Ishmael refused to allow depositions of key physicians in Dr. Kearney’s disciplinary action.
b. Judge Ishmael has also refused to allow a discovery deposition on Mr. Brett Short, who is the chief compliance officer for UKHealthcare. Mr. Short has intimate details with regards to the KMSF billing/coding audits and the Hazard Cardiology debacle. Beyond the Dr. Kearney case, this information is also central to the UK vs. Herald Leader lawsuit. The questions could be reasonably asked: what does Mr. Short know that the University does not want Dr. Kearney to find out, and why is Judge Ishmael showing bias towards the University in this matter?
c. Lastly, Judge Ishmael and the UK defense attorneys are trying to block the discovery deposition of General Counsel Bill Thro. A quote from Judge Ishmael: “I don’t like lawyers deposing other lawyers.” Really, lawyers should be exempt from depositions??? What kind of judge would even express such an opinion? Mr. Thro is a key fact witness in the Dr. Kearney whistleblower lawsuit and is perhaps the major reason this lawsuit exists with his: “take the deal or I will destroy your career” approach. Perhaps Judge Ishmael should read Mr. Thro’s April 20, 2016 letter (see Document 10) sent to Dr. Kearney’s lawyer wherein his malice towards Dr. Kearney is abundantly evident. In this eulogy, Mr. Thro attempts to not only define everything Dr. Kearney can and can’t do as a tenured professor and physician at UK, but he also takes it upon himself to define Dr. Kearney’s salary. In essence he basically defines how he was going to make good on his promise to destroy Dr. Kearney's career. One would think that a judge of all people would recognize the complete lack of due process that went on in this Dr. Kearney matter and the importance of deposing the lawyer(s) that subverted that due process.
Here is the good news. Judge Ishmael has announced his retirement as of December 31, 2017. Maybe Dr. Kearney can get a Judge who is not wearing a University of Kentucky Jersey. In the meantime, Judge Ishmael has set January 31, 2018 as the end of the discovery phase. Ah, the wheels of justice turn slowly as they tilt towards UK.
3. With respect to the Hazard affair, the most recent deposition of a former KMSF auditor disclosed that contrary to University President Eli Capilouto’s deposition testimony, he as well as UKHealthcare and KMSF personnel including EVPHA Dr. Michael Karpf, Surgery Chair Dr. Jay Zwischenberger, then CMO Dr. Bernard Boulanger, KMSF president Marcus Randall, KMSF Chief Administrative Officer Darrell Griffith, and Chief of Compliance Officer Brett Short all knew as early as April 2014 about serious billing problems with the Hazard practice. In fact, there were two meetings in the Spring of 2014 to discuss the audit. Mr. Short and Marc Randall were present for both, Dr. Karpf was also present for one of them. Wow! Nothing was done until August of 2014. More importantly the 4 million dollar payback did not occur until January of 2016. Seems like a long time does it not? Finally I should add that although Dr. Kearney's Whistleblower case is a Fayette County Circuit Court matter, there is a rumor going around that there might also be a Federal case associated with this Hazard Cardiology fiasco. Again, only a rumor.
4. Finally, Dr. Kearney has several more key depositions to take and, more importantly, a few affidavits up his sleeve.