Ex-worker sues Watonga hospital

By Johnny Johnson

Published: March 21, 2008

WATONGA — A former director of health information at Watonga Municipal Hospital says she was fired in September after reporting that the hospital was allowing a noncredentialed doctor to work there.

Dana Ratcliffe has sued the hospital and its chief executive and financial officers, claiming wrongful termination.

According to the federal lawsuit, Ratcliffe said she was terminated after she pointed out that a resident physician had been allowed to assist in a baby's delivery without proper credentials or documentation.

Ratcliffe said it was her job to coordinate credentials and determine whether a doctor's license was current and valid, but when she pointed out the apparent violation, Ratcliffe alleges in the lawsuit, hospital administrators became angry and told her "not to raise the issue again.”

The lawsuit alleges her problems with hospital administrators started about a year ago, after a physician's assistant refused to order a blood transfusion for a prisoner because the assistant said it was against her religious beliefs.

Acting in her capacity as risk management officer, the lawsuit states, Ratcliffe reported the incident and was accused of "keeping everything in an uproar.”

Soon after the blood transfusion incident, Ratcliffe reported other violations and safety hazards including improper storage of hypodermic needles and bloodstained records from the emergency room, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, claims Ratcliffe was fired in retaliation for making reports of unlawful activities and exposing wrongdoings by the hospital.

Her lawyers are asking the court to award actual and compensatory damages, lost wages and other damages.

Neither Watonga Municipal Hospital administrators nor Ratcliffe's attorney returned calls Wednesday or Thursday to comment for this story.

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