Whistleblower Wants Tenet to Come Clean

Contacted this week by TheStreet.com, the JCAHO confirmed that it received Rosen's complaint, requested and accepted an explanation from the hospital and then closed the case.

The hospital later pointed to its high accreditation score as evidence of quality health care. But Tenet critics take little comfort in such endorsements and outright ridicule the company's own "Circle of Excellence" awards for hospital administrators. They claim that Tenet has showered the prizes on hospital executives who've placed profits ahead of patient care. And they point to allegations looming over two recent recipients of "Circle of Excellence" prizes -- one hospital is suspected of performing unnecessary surgeries and another has been accused of paying illegal doctor kickbacks -- as evidence of their theory.

One former hospital executive, who collected a string of the awards himself, insisted that his own facility committed no wrongdoing under his leadership. But he also admitted that he has watched Tenet's recent collapse with more dismay than shock.

"I know how Tenet operates," he said simply. "Some people are really too aggressive."

By alerting authorities, Rosen feels he did his best to protect future Tenet patients. He also raised concerns with fellow Garden Grove doctors, including a popular physician who led the medical staff and served on the hospital's governing board. But that doctor -- a man named David Litke who reminded some people of a young Marcus Welby -- has since passed away. He died suddenly at the age of 43 just days after Tenet's world blew up with the federal raid of Redding.

"He was found dead at his desk last October," said Rosen, who considered Litke a close friend. "That's about all I know."

By now, Rosen has lost all faith in Tenet. And he can't imagine any cure for the company's current woes.

"In my naive view, I thought telling the feds would take care of it," he said. "They did nothing. ... I just walked away flabbergasted."

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