Former Maine state medical board administrator Brenda Gowesky, MD, alleges in a lawsuit that a whistleblower complaint she made against her former employer caused her to be fired from the agency, Medscape reported June 26.
Dr. Gowesky made a whistleblower report because she was concerned about unsafe emergency department layouts at Bangor-based Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, including poorly monitored exam rooms that led to an "avoidable" suicide, according to the report. She claims in the lawsuit that her complaints were not addressed.
According to court records, she had received previously positive feedback from her employer that turned negative after the employer said it did not want to be involved with the board's investigations because she had filed a whistleblower suit.
She had served as the chief, lead physician and medical director at the hospital until she was fired in May 2017. She alleges she experienced harassment and hostility before being terminated.
She also alleges the medical board director became highly critical of her work and gave a negative performance evaluation that contributed to her firing a month later. The board, meanwhile, alleges she was fired for "not being a team player," the report said.
In addition to the medical board, the state and the medical board's executive director are named as defendants in the lawsuit.