A former Texas hospital administrator has pleaded guilty to abuse of official capacity and will serve jail time following his decision to fire two nurses who filed an anonymous complaint with the Texas Medical Board against a hospital physician, according to a news release from the Texas Attorney General's Office.
Stan Wiley, former administrator of Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Kermit, Texas, will serve 30 days in jail for firing two Memorial Hospital nurses who filed the anonymous complaint against Dr. Rolando Arafiles for alleged improper prescribing and surgical procedure practices at the hospital, according to the news release and earlier reports.
According to the news release citing information from Attorney General's Office investigators, after the Texas Medical Board informed Dr. Arafiles of the anonymous complaint, he asked the Winkler County sheriff to investigate who filed the complaint. The sheriff, who is a close friend, patient and alleged business partner of Dr. Arafiles, had the Sheriff's Department obtain a copy of the confidential complaint, which allowed for identification of the nurses.
Their identities would have been protected from disclosure if law enforcement officials had not misused their position to obtain confidential information, according to the news release.
Dr. Arafiles, the sheriff and county attorney have all been indicted by a grand jury on charges including misuse of official information and retaliation.
Read the Texas Attorney General's Office news release about the guilty plea of Stan Wiley in the nurse whistleblower case.
Read about other investigations:
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- New York Physician Put on Probation for Violating Infection Control Standards
- Nevada Urologist's License Suspended for Allegedly Reusing Single-Use Medical Device