More trouble in River City
Ex-CFO: Sonoma West Medical Center benefactor said ‘cook the books’
The former chief financial officer at Sonoma West Medical Center said a key hospital benefactor asked him to “falsely portray” the hospital’s finances to show positive net profit for the hospital, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed this week.
The lawsuit against Sonoma West Medical Center was filed Monday by Douglas Goldfarb, who served as CFO from Nov. 30, 2015 to June 6, 2016. It is the latest legal complaint against the embattled hospital, one that echoes charges made in a lawsuit filed two months ago by the hospital’s former chief nursing officer, Cheri AnDra.
As Sonoma West Medical Center officials said with AnDra’s lawsuit, they could not comment on the legal challenge because it involved personnel matters. Both Goldfarb and AnDra are represented by the same Bay Area attorney, Daniel Bartley.
The suits allege millionaire west county software entrepreneur Dan Smith, the hospital’s largest donor and most consistent financial supporter, is using the hospital as a testing ground for his “defective” tablet-based electronic medical records system called HarmoniMD.
Smith, who is president of the medical center’s board of directors, wrote in an email he legally was unable to speak about personnel matters cited in a lawsuit. In the past, Smith has dismissed accusations he is seeking to profit from the hospital, citing the millions of dollars he has donated or loaned the hospital over the years, including a $3 million donation earlier this summer.
AnDra and Goldfarb argue the cloud-based electronic medical records system often produced serious errors that “endangered patients lives.” The two executives claim their concerns about the records system led to retaliation and ultimately their forced departures.
But Goldfarb’s complaint went farther. Goldfarb said he was asked to “cook the books” to show the financially strapped hospital was doing better than it was.
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