A White Wall

 

 

Welcome to the homepage for A White Wall and Asheboro Pediatrics.   This website tells the story of a North Carolina Pediatrician's experience as a National Health Service Corps and NC Rural Health provider at RMA and Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, North Carolina.  Both organizations are "non-profits". 

 

In this era of headlines demonstrating that corruption abounds in "the people's business" (from the near-billion dollar plundering of Medicaid’s disproportionate share” program, to NC prosecutors & police chiefs who withhold information and evidence), Dr. Mary Johnson believes it is important to share her eight-year ordeal as a physician wronged with the public.  Fired after hospital administrators threatened her for voicing legitimate concerns about Pediatric quality of care issues at Randolph Hospital . . . and after she ignored those threats in order to help a critically-ill neonate (reporting what happened to medical peer review), Dr. Johnson fell through every crack in every mechanism of local, state & federal oversight.  Her hard-won legal "victory" was ultimately a sham - because senior hospital administrators, (CEO) Robert Morrison and (VP) Steven Eblin lied under Oath about the confidentiality of their non-profit books and salaries – defrauding Dr. Johnson of a fair and equitable settlement that would have allowed her to return to Asheboro and pick up the pieces of her life. 

 

The prominent doctors and local businessmen comprising the Randolph Hospital Board of Directors (chaired by Robert Shaffner) both passively and actively condoned their actions – following the advice of lawyers who blatantly ignored or simply did not trouble themselves to know the law.  Randolph Hospital’s Board of Directors & Medical Executive Committee have done NOTHING to address the unethical and illegal actions of their administrators (in fact, these gentlemen enjoyed very “generous” raises in the same time period they were literally driving a physician from her home).  There is NOTHING remotely “honorable” about it.

 

First informed of the perjury and contempt in 2003, Randolph County District Attorney Garland Yates has thus far refused to enforce the law and prosecute the case. 

 

 

This is a complicated case.  But at its core it is about liars who cheated a public servant out of an opportunity she MORE than earned:  the opportunity to transition the practice she spent three years building (with the assistance of federal money), and stay & practice in her hometown.  It’s also about the government that let them do it.

 

For just the ugly facts of the case, you may begin with the criminal complaint filed with Asheboro law enforcement in December 2005 (a re-draft of the original filed in 2003).  The complaint has so far not been investigated, and Randolph County District Attorney, Garland Yates has not returned a single correspondence in over three years.  In the complaint, the specific criminal allegations of perjury and contempt are, by necessity, spelled out in legalize.  They are detailed first, followed by the core of Dr. Johnson’s case.  Supporting documentation is not currently posted, but has been submitted to Asheboro and Randolph County law enforcement and the District Attorney:

 

*Re-drafted 2005 Perjury Complaint submitted to Randolph County Sheriff Litchard Hurley and Asheboro City Police Chief Gary Mason

 

Anybody who needs the “condensed” version of this story can check out Dr. Johnson’s profile on her nascent blog:   www.drjshousecalls.blogspot.com 

 

 

The pursuit of justice denied continues:

 

Recent letters to (1) Randolph County Assistant District Attorney Andy Gregson, (2) Asheboro Police Chief Gary Mason, (3) City Manager, John Ogburn, the Asheboro City Council & the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, (4) Randolph Hospital Chief of Staff, Dr. Craig Gaccione, (5) NC Congressman Howard Coble, (6) NC Legislators Harold Brubaker, Arlie Culp & Jerry Tillman, and (7) NC Attorney General Roy Cooper are linked as supplemental information pertinent to the current status of the case.

 

*Letter to Assistant District Attorney Andy Gregson   . . .  IN (DA) GARLAND YATE’S WORLD, SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

*Letter to Asheboro Police Chief Gary Mason  . . .  LAW ENFORCEMENT DOES NOT TREAT ALL CRIMES/VICTIMS SERIOUSLY

*Letter to City Manager, John Ogburn and the Asheboro City Council . . . THE FARCE OF ASHEBORO 20/20”.  AND AN UNAPOLOGETIC LIAR SHALL LEAD US.

*Letter to Randolph Hospital Chief of Staff, Dr. Craig Gaccione . . . SO MUCH FOR INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS OR CARE YOU CAN TRUST”

*Letter to NC Congressman (R-6th) Howard Coble . . . DITTO FOR “ETHICS” IN GOVERNMENT.   DOES PERJURY MATTER TO THIS HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE MEMBER?

*Letter to NC Legislators Harold Brubaker, Arlie Culp, and Jerry Tillman . . . LOCAL REPS TURNING A DEAF EAR BECAUSE, “I HAVE TO LIVE IN THIS TOWN”

*Letter to NC Attorney General Roy Cooper . . . THE MYTH OF FISCAL “ACCOUNTABILITY” UNDER MIKE EASELY AND ROY COOPER.

 

 

 

CHECK OUT WHAT EVERYONE IN ASHEBORO IS TALKING ABOUT - THE "NOT-FOR-PROFIT" SALARIES RANDOLPH HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATORS PAID THEMSELVES EVEN AS BOB MORRISON AND STEVEN EBLIN RAN GOOD DOCTORS OUT OF TOWN:

 

http://www.awhitewall.com/Salaries.htm

 

 

 

NO due process, NO checks, NO balances.  Furthermore, Dr. Johnson and her partner received NO HELP OR PROTECTION from the state & federal governments they served in protecting and defending their practices – or the taxpayer’s nearly $200,000 investment.  These young physicians - who really cared about their patients - and who wanted to simply make a living rather than live off of the community - did everything we're all told we're supposed to do in our high school civics classes to right a wrong.  But the administrators and regulators and politicians did not read the textbook they want the rest of us to play by.  The sad fact is that, in this day and age, lawyers hunt physicians and "legal ethics" is a contradiction in terms . . . ill-conceived laws actually shield malpractice rather than stop it . . . hospital governing boards are often ripe with conflicted interests - offering a rubberstamp to anything an administrator wants to do . . . medical boards require duties they do not protect or defend . . . politicians cater to the biggest lobby (according to USA Today - frequently corporate interests poorly disguised as "not-for-profits") . . . and the press is often in the pocket of the highest advertising budget (which in small towns, is often the local hospital).

 

 

Dr. Johnson is not alone.  The reader's attention is directed to the four-part award-winning investigative news series by Steve Twedt of the Philadelphia Post Gazette:  "The COST OF COURAGE". 

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03299/234499.stm

 

 

 

 

In 2005, Dr. Johnson was quoted in a Medical Economics article on Medical Peer Review:

 

http://www.memag.com/memag/content/contentDetail.jsp?id=147405

 

 

 

In 2006, Dr. Johnson was interviewed by Edward Martin of Business North Carolina for an article on why the current arguments for “tort reform” do not stand up.  Dr. Johnson believes her case demonstrates major flaws in both medical and legal oversight . . . and in order for effective malpractice “tort reform” to ultimately fly, the public is going to have to be convinced that doctors and lawyers can police their own – both in terms of “quality” and “ethics”.  Ethics reform is going to have to get more than lip service.  Here’s the link to the story:

 

http://www.businessnc.com/archives/2006/01/athwart_torts.html

 

 

 

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Website Dedication