Ventura-Based Community Memorial Hospital Requests Dismissal of Lawsuit Filed by Staff Members
Ventura-based Community Memorial Hospital on Wednesday asked Superior County Judge Henry Walsh to dismiss a lawsuit filed by staff members who seek an order to block a new hospital policy that they argue "jeopardizes their right to self-governance and their position to advocate quality patient care," the Los Angeles Daily News reports (Los Angeles Daily News, 7/31). Physicians at the hospital filed the lawsuit on April 24 over allegations that hospital administrators tried to influence a staff election in November, adopted an 18-page code of conduct intended to silence opposition, implemented a conflict of interest policy to disqualify certain physicians from leadership positions and illegally allowed physicians to practice at the hospital without a review by the staff. Their case has received support from the California Medical Association and the American Medical Association, which have donated more than $100,000 to underwrite the lawsuit (California Healthline, 8/1). Peter Goldenring, who represents Community Memorial, said that staff members have "no right to sue because they are part of the hospital," the Daily News reports. Walsh has taken the request to dismiss the lawsuit under advisement (Los Angeles Daily News, 7/31).
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