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According to a source, an investigation launched in 2001 to look into Southside Regional Medical Center’s certifi cation and to get offi cials to correct several instances of physicians’ inadequacies, reeked of fraud and was “terribly” botched by Center for Quality Health Care and Human Services Director Nancy Hofheimer.

Since January of this year, the hospital has been at the center of controversy in light of a list of serious allegations published in the Times that have included doctors being in collusion with the hospital executive committee, sexual harassment targeted at nurses and Medicaid and Medicare billings for procedures not performed.

However, the latest rounds of allegations focus on a letter published in the April 6 edition that highlighted a letter from two to three years ago addressed to Hofheimer from a federal agency in Philadelphia. It indicated the hospital’s certifi cation was at stake, and additional complaints now point to another side of the investigation which was prompted in 2001.

Details of its findings were rendered two years later and of the 10 complaints listed, Hofheimer’s offi ce determined most of them were unsubstantiated.

The source also noted that Hofheimer’s offi ce ignored policies and procedures by allowing the name of one of the doctors to be named in the reported findings.

Although Hofheimer was not interviewed for the April 6 article, she was contacted late last week and invited to attend a people’s forum slated for 6 p.m., April 13 at Vernon Johns Middle School.

The open meeting, sponsored by the Times will provide an opportunity for the citizenry of Petersburg to address issues that involve their communities. The hospital is among them.

Hofheimer said the role of her offi ce – an arm of the Board of Health Professions – is investigate non-compliance among hospitals.

She told the Times Monday that SRMC had “lost its deemed status (certifi cation) in 2003 because of conditions of participation having not been met.” She said that while she was unable to elaborate at the time, there was also a complaint revolving around infection control at the hospital.

The source said Hofheimer’s office failed to do its job because it never launched a thorough investigation concerning the extent of problems that led to SRMC losing its certifi cation. The source said that as far as looking into other complaints that entailed radiology studies and unexplained patient deaths in the endonoscopy suite, that Hofheimer’s offi ce “never interviewed any of the patients. involoved nor their families. She never interviewed one person from among 30 names given to her to contact.”

Said the source, “The state fundamentally failed (in conducting a comprehensive investigation) to do it’s job. She found the complaints against [Dr. Gopinath ] Jadhav unsubstantiated. Overall, the investigations were botched and to cover them up, money was given in kickbacks and fund raising for politicians.

“The Virginia Times proved beyond a doubt that the allegations are true and that there are documents and witnesses ready for anybody who has been invited to the public forum.”

In its ongoing series, the Times has been publishing articles that detailed various alleged instances of corruption and malfeasance at SRMC. During the whole time, hospital offi cials who have also been invited to the forum, have remained closed-mouthed.

In additional, several attempts for comments from the governor’s offi ce (Gov. Mark R. Warner appointed Jadhav to the state medical board in July 2004), former attorney general, Jerry W. Kilgore, and Dr. William Harp, director of the Virginia Board of Medicine, have been either met with terse responses or none at all.

Attempts to talk with Jadhav have always been fruitless.

Ellen Qualls, who serves as Warner’s press secretary, commented during an earlier phone interview that although her offi ce was aware of a series of allegations involving Jadhav, who was head of the endonoscopy suite at SRMC, the offi ce could not verify allegations that he had been involved in sex scandals at the hospital and that there were questions surrrounding Jadhav’s medical practice and ethics. Qualls said those allegations along with others that were sent by registered mail and also hand-delivered, had been forwarded to the board of medicine for further review.

Harp told the Times several weeks ago that his offi ce had received no complaints against Jadhav, whose alleged misdoings also include Medicaid and Medicare fraud and providing inadequate patient care.

The allegations surrounding SRMC and Jadhav were first brought to the Times’ attention last summer, having emanated from members of the grass roots organization, Concerned Citizens of Petersburg.

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