Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC): how corporate in-justice works in small town USA (Portsmouth Ohio, Scioto Co). Leaders of the local hospital sells poor medicine using improper ads, control information by funding the local newspaper, manipulate justice by using the compliant local district Court and Judges. === Ironic disclaimer: Mr. Robert E Dever, SOMC Corporate attorney and chairman of the Kings of the Hill, threatened to file libel, defamation and so on against me. How Mr Dever is allowed to file knowingly false statements in the local Court, while I should not be able to disclose substantial truth?

My professional service was appreciated while I was practicing surgery at SOMC in Portsmouth, Ohio. In 2001, SOMC offered me a formal written salary contract, and then changed it to an unfair guarantee while I was relocating. Later, SOMC leaders Dr K Stewart and Mr R Arnett exploited the guarantee terms to abuse my position. They added a 9% levy on my collections without rendering any service. They forced unpaid general surgery calls, even though the agreement was for thoracic surgery. When I disagreed, they compelled a leave and a sham peer review (I never had any clinical problems, malpractice or patient’s complaint) under the chairmanship of a physician (JM) with a criminal record of fraud. Few months later, I left for a disabling medical leave, proven by symptoms and consistent MRI, formally correct to allow release from the contract. SOMC leaders removed my clinical privileges the day I requested the medical leave. Nonetheless, after partial functional recovery, I presented a written offer to resume practice in Portsmouth. The offer was never answered, so I accepted a position elsewhere. One year later, SOMC attorney and chairman R.E.Dever filed a complaint based on knowingly false allegations. Mr. Dever, legal counsel for SOMC, alleged that I committed an ‘anticipatory breach of contract’ when I was actually compelled to leave by the administration after the sham peer review. I never wanted nor requested that leave. Mr. Dever also claimed that I ‘refused to sign a promissory note’, but a promissory note was never presented to me when his daughter, Mrs. Mary Beth Dever (SOMC Foundation Director) illegally interrupted my payment period before the term.

Over one year, as an experienced physician without malpractice and double certified in Surgery and Thoracic Surgery, my income was well below the salary initially offered by SOMC. On the other hand, SOMC gained money from hospital billing on my patients, from the unfair 9% levy, and from unpaid general surgery calls. Clearly there was no unfair gain on my part, nor economical damage on SOMC part. In other words, Dever and SOMC committed perjury to repossess not a bonus or a perk that I did not deserve, but a reasonable professional income honestly earned over one year. Their aggressive legal attack is dictated not only by greed, but also by evil and unlawful intention to inflict emotional and economical distress to me, for not complying with the abuses perpetrated by SOMC executives.

Manipulation of contracts is only one of SOMC dishonest actions that I endured while I was in Portsmouth. This type of fraud seems recurrent within SOMC administration. I found “Trinidad vs SOMC” filed at the Supreme Court of Ohio. I knew Dr Trinidad. He is a good orthopedic surgeon and a decent human being. He would not have fought SOMC unless he had true reasons to suspect fraud. I wonder how many frauds and attempts to cheat SOMC leaders carried out, if only few are now common knowledge. The “persecute, settle and gag” is a technique widely used by SOMC and other corporations. The behavior of SOMC leaders seems arrogant when the victim is in a weak position (doctors in need to start a practice, with an educational debt, on probation, or foreigners and strangers to the area). The stalwart leadership envisioned by Dr Kendal Stewart is strong when the victim is vulnerable, and when the aggressor can rely on local connections to legalize abuse.

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Is SOMC leaders’ dishonesty a chronic state of mind?
We may have asked Dr.Trinidad, who realized later on that Dever/Arnett/Stewart cunningly changed to their favor the contract that Dr.Trinidad previously had reviewed with his counsel;
We may have asked Dr.Marotta, who was brought to Portsmouth as a thoracic surgeon, but was dismissed shortly after because there was not enough thoracic surgery to do;
We may have asked Dr. Abul-Khoudoud, currently ICU director at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital;
We may have asked Dr.Reese, appreciated orthopedic surgeon, now at King’s Daughter Hospital;
We may have asked Dr.Georgi, and Dr.Variath’s husband, and probably many other physicians, what kind of honest treatment they received from SOMC administrators.

Regrettably, only cases brought to the Supreme Court leave a record, as Dr.Trinidad did (see file enclosed). Almost all cases fall under the protocol “Persecute, Settle and Gag”.

Story repeats itself. The politically connected corporate attorney (R.E.Dever) files the case in the acquiescent local county court (Judge W T Marshall for example). The unwavering physician, in disagreement with the leadership, has no time and energy for a long fight on hostile (and occasionally far away) ground. Many of the court workers –including judges- have ties with SOMC. No matter what is the merit of the complaint, the separating physician have to settle and to accept the invariable ‘gag clause’.
On the other side, some physicians with behavioral and criminal record thrive very well under SOMC leadership. Because these physicians have been forgiven and recycled, are easily controlled by the various Stewart/Arnett/Dever’s.

Public knowledge is the drug abusing ob-gyn physician (Crawford) who went back to practice at SOMC after a short rehab. Another surgeon –reportedly- demonstrated criminal behavior, threatening a colleague with a gun: this surgeon is still doing well at SOMC (recently nominated “professor” for the D.O.s).

Please, check by yourself the court record of the committee head (James Mullins) that punished me –surgeon with a spotless record- after a sham peer review. Dr.JM was obviously in debt with the leadership, so he did what the medical director asked him to do. Dr.JM does not only have a long list of civil trials, but also state and federal criminal records for fraud. Arnett, Dever and Stewart –the SOMC mafia leaders- know which corrupted physician is ready to return them a favor, when requested.

Because SOMC is the only and unchallenged hospital –and largest employer- in Scioto County, SOMC leaders have become “untouchable”. This is a dangerous bundling of corporate, political and legal power. Bundling in my language is translated: FASCISMO.

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See also: http://rivervices.blogspot.com/ MALPRACTICE [independently written by professor Robert Forrey]

Particular attention to recruiting, positions, physician’s opportunities, medical jobs, and prospective employees: read the above, if you plan to come to work for SOMC.