Former Sonoma West CFO Says He Was Told To ‘Falsely Portray’ Hospital’s Finances
Ex-CFO Douglas Goldfarb's lawsuit alleges millionaire entrepreneur Dan Smith, Sonoma West Medical Center’s largest donor, is using the hospital as a testing ground for his “defective” tablet-based electronic medical records system called HarmoniMD.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
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 chief financial officer 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. (Espinoza, 8/4)
In other hospital news —
The Desert Sun:
ER Visits Push Palm Springs Area Hospitals To Capacity
More people are seeking help in Coachella Valley emergency rooms every year, prompting the area’s two largest hospitals to plan for upcoming expansions to add more emergency beds for patients suffering from the full range of ailments emergency medical staff are charged with treating. Last year, the three valley emergency departments treated nearly 189,000 people, an increase of almost 30,000 from four years earlier. Hospital officials say some of the rise is expected as the valley’s population rises. But they also point to the Affordable Care Act as bringing more people into emergency rooms, the exact opposite of the 2010 federal law’s intended outcome. (Newkirk, 8/4)