JURY FINDS HOSPITAL ACTED WITH MALICIOUS INTENT AGAINST NURSE PRACTITIONER

Prominent Physician Preys on Team of Caretakers Forcing Them to Disclose Personal Traumas

For years, Main Line Health has preached that all of its 15,000+ employees should feel empowered to speak up for safety; however, the outcome of a recent federal court case brought serious concerns as to whether this empowerment is only desired when it is convenient for the organization.  If those reporting misconduct and predatory behaviors are speaking up against routine offenders or prominent individuals that drive business towards Main Line Health's bottom line, how often are those reporting silenced by the very hand that empowered them in the first place?  In a world plagued by medical errors and increased scrutiny of care, where does one draw the line between patient, personal and/or coworker safety and protecting the organization's party line that everyone in healthcare has the best intentions?

In March 2019, Ms. April Nitkin bravely spoke up and informed a key organizational physician, and at his direction Main Line Health Care's Director of Human Resources, about misconduct by her supervisor, Dr. X.  At the time, Ms. Nitkin served on the palliative care team who works with seriously ill patients, recommending ways to alleviate pain and manage symptoms to reduce the overall physical and emotional suffering from chronic and often fatal illnesses.  It takes special, sensitive individuals to care for and support these patients and their families day after day.  For these reasons and more, in April 2019, Ms. Nitkin was the recipient of the prestigious Daisy Award for her extraordinary nursing care.  Within months of Ms. Nitkin’s initial report to Human Resources and winning the Daisy Award, Ms. Nitkin was retaliated against by the organization for sharing her experience as a warning to her colleagues.

Ms. Nitkin’s male physician supervisor preyed on this special team of caretakers, grooming them based on their good nature and genuine vulnerabilities.  He forced routine weekly staff meetings into unwanted group therapy sessions where individuals were pressured into sharing their deepest and most personal traumas ranging from childhood molestations to rape for fear of ostracization from the team.  Team members were repeatedly left in tears after these sessions. Additionally, he would share his own battles with addiction to opioids, including using while operating as a cardiothoracic surgeon for Main Line Health and transference of that addiction towards pornography.

In April 2019, the Human Resources Director confronted Dr. X regarding the reported conduct and he admitted to several of the accusations. While it could easily be assumed that it would be in the best interest of an organization that is committed to ensuring a safe, equitable, and respectful environment for all to separate itself from this predator, instead the court found they, including the highest ranking female leader, a nurse herself, Barbara Wadsworth, stood behind him requiring only that he step down from his role as Medical Director of Palliative Care. This allowed him to continue as part of the palliative care team as a collaborating physician leader and interact with some of Main Line Health's most vulnerable patients all while in perceived good standing with those inside and outside of his department.  Ultimately, Ms. Nitkin was wrongly exited in July 2019 by Main Line Health’s leadership as a solution to the discomfort caused within the department by their failure to sufficiently address the reported concerning behaviors by Dr. X.

Fortunately, there are still women with integrity in the world.  These women have found power in their stories and are committed to holding organizations, such as this one, responsible for making the necessary changes to provide safe reporting pathways and holding predators accountable for their offenses.  Ms. Nitkin, a CRNP for 10+ years, a DNP student at University of Pennsylvania, is one of those women.

In November 2021 after a three-day trial where Ms. Nitkin’s voice was finally able to be heard, Main Line Health was found by a jury to have acted “with malicious intent against April.”  Not only was Ms. Nitkin victorious in her retaliation claim, but Main Line Health must pay punitive damages for their actions.  Meanwhile, Ms. Nitkin continues to appeal the claim for a hostile work environment.

It is time for nurses to see that their voices cannot only grab attention, but also drive changes to improve healthcare for patients and the staff who care for them.  There is power in words, strength in numbers and ultimately the truth will drive the accountability that Main Line Health and other similar health systems have failed to drive on their own.  The truth cannot be silenced.