St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif., faces lawsuits filed by former executives alleging the hospital forced them out after they raised patient safety concerns, the Long Beach Business Journal reported Oct. 23.
Nancy Valla, BSN, RN, who served as chief nursing officer at St. Mary, part of Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, and Michael Verbitski, who served as the hospital's senior director of business development and strategy, filed their lawsuits in August 2020 and October 2023, respectively, according to the report.
In her lawsuit, Ms. Valla alleges that hospital leadership dismissed her requests to install a barrier or fencing at a tall structure on the hospital campus. Her requests followed two suicide deaths occurred at the facility.
According to court documents cited by the Long Beach Business Journal, Ms. Valla also alleges St. Mary had issues sterilizing some equipment, which resulted in patient care delays.
In a statement shared with Becker's on Sept. 4, Christina Zicklin, a spokesperson for St. Mary, said the hospital self-reported the suicide deaths, one of which did not involve a patient, to California's health department. After inspections, the department "found no deficiencies with the parking structures" and that the hospital was "in compliance with all applicable rules, ordinances and code."
Ms. Valla was named chief nursing officer at St. Mary in 2018 and served in the role until 2019. Her lawsuit says she went on medical leave and was informed four months later that her position at the hospital had been filled, according to the Journal.
Ms. Zicklin said Ms. Valla was not fired and that she did not return after her medical leave.
Mr. Verbitski became senior director of business development and strategy at St. Mary in 2018, according to his LinkedIn page.
According to the Journal, his complaint alleges that he was pushed out of the role in 2021 after raising concerns to leadership about what he said were related to understaffing, billing and non-clinical staff making contract decisions.
More specifically, Mr. Verbitski alleges he alerted superiors about the need for more staff and flagged what he said were persistent billing and collection issues, but that his concerns were never addressed by leadership, including the CEO and COO, according to the publication.
The hospital declined to comment to the publication on the specifics of Mr. Verbitski's case. CommonSpirit told Becker's Oct. 23 that it is unable to comment on pending lawsuits.
Mr. Verbitski and Ms. Valla both seek damages against the hospital, alleging retaliation and discrimination, according to the Journal.