Multiple well-known Illinois health systems have allowed workers accused of sexually abusing patients to keep providing care, a yearlong Tribune investigation has found.
And while some medical systems in other states have reckoned publicly with their failures, Illinois health care providers have quietly settled lawsuits, entered into confidentiality agreements with patients and often refused to acknowledge wrongdoing.
“You would hope that a hospital organization or health care provider organization would be more invested in rooting out bad apples,” said one state legislator. “As we’ve seen in the priesthood and school systems and police departments, it’s easier to just hide bad behavior and hope it goes away.”
The Tribune also found efforts by state government to hold providers accountable have fallen short, largely leaving hospital systems to decide on their own how to balance patient safety with their reputations and financial interests.
Patients reported sexual abuse by medical providers. Health care systems let them keep working.
Failures by health systems to respond adequately to abuse allegations had devastating consequences for victims, who felt betrayed by institutions they had trusted with their health and safety.
The daughter of one woman who was victimized at age 76 by nurse David Giurgiu said her mother was devastated when she learned Giurgiu had allegedly abused another patient at Glenbrook Hospital. It wasn’t until the second allegation that the hospital fired him.
“That made everything worse,” the daughter said. “She was like, ‘If they just would have believed me, this wouldn’t have happened to another woman.’” Read part one of our investigation.
Failure to protect: Flawed state oversight lets doctors accused of abuse continue to see patients
Doctors and other health care providers accused by patients of sexual misconduct kept practicing – sometimes for years – because of gaps in Illinois laws and a licensing agency that can be slow to take disciplinary action, part two of a Tribune investigation found.
The providers went on to harm additional patients, in some cases, as their licenses remained in good standing with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Illinois law requires hospital officials who learn of abuse allegations to take action to protect patients, but the Tribune found that some medical providers who work outside those settings were left to operate largely unchecked until they were charged with a crime. Read part two of our investigation.
Former patients of Fabio Ortega say Endeavor Health failed to protect them from an abusive doctor
At least 30 women have filed lawsuits alleging that Dr. Fabio Ortega sexually assaulted them during appointments over a span of three decades at various Endeavor Health locations and, before that, at Swedish Hospital in Chicago. Most of the lawsuits allege that Endeavor and Swedish either knew or should have known that Ortega was a danger to patients and failed to protect them.
Now a Tribune investigation has pieced together the fullest picture yet of Ortega’s troubled history with patients and Endeavor’s pivotal role in keeping the doctor in place, with access to vulnerable female patients, despite multiple complaints.
Endeavor, formerly NorthShore University HealthSystem, has never publicly admitted any wrongdoing or error in its handling of Ortega and the allegations against him. Read part three of our investigation.
Chaperones may offer one solution to sexual abuse of patients by medical providers
Some medical experts and survivors of sexual abuse say broader use of chaperones may be one way to prevent misconduct.
In the past, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that chaperones be used when patients or doctors requested them. But in late 2019, the college changed its position, recommending that chaperones be present for all breast, genital and rectal exams with a few exceptions, such as during medical emergencies. Often, nurses or medical assistants serve as chaperones in addition to their other duties.
“Given the profoundly negative effect of sexual misconduct on patients and the medical profession and the association between misconduct and the absence of a chaperone, ACOG now believes that the routine use of chaperones is needed for the protection of patients and obstetrician-gynecologists,” the college wrote in 2019. Read part four of our investigation.
Help the Chicago Tribune report on medical misconduct
The Tribune hopes to continue reporting on how hospitals and other medical institutions respond when patients report instances of sexual misconduct by health care providers. If you have information to share, please fill out this form. Responses will not be published without your permission.
