Accreditation agency finds the major LA County hospital in substantial noncompliance amid widespread complaints, lawsuits against its former orthopedics chief.
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, which removed its orthopedics chief from his post after widespread complaints of employee harassment and sexual misconduct with unconscious patients, has been placed on probation for “substantial” noncompliance by the accrediting agency for all U.S. physician residency and internship programs.
Dr. Darrell W. Harrington, who is in charge of training programs at Harbor-UCLA, acknowledged in a July letter to physicians and staff that the probationary status is “considered a serious disciplinary decision by ACGME,” but noted that DHS and hospital leadership “are confident full accreditation will be restored.”
The hospital is among six sponsoring institutions in the U.S. placed on probation by the ACGME for the 2023-24 academic year. Sponsoring institutions are those that oversee, support and administer one or more accredited residency/fellowship programs. Fernandez-Frackelton, who has worked at Harbor-UCLA for 27 years but was recently demoted, said she filed her lawsuit after Los Angeles County and UCLA officials failed to address her complaints.
Badkoobehi and Hsu allege Kwong committed sexual misconduct on unconscious patients in the Harbor-UCLA operating room in the presence of multiple witnesses. He engaged in “finger-banging” of surgical hip wounds in front of Badkoobehi while making sexual sounds and saying he was finding the “G-spot,” the lawsuit states.
“The question is not whether Kwong harmed patients, medical students, staff, residents, and attendings,” Badkoobehi said in an email to SCNG. “There are too many documented examples and witnesses for over a decade to have this even be a question.” Hsu said when she joined Harbor-UCLA’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery as its first female faculty member, she didn’t expect gender and pregnancy discrimination or less pay than a male surgeon with identical experience and training.
He also allegedly organized department-sanctioned roasts that included crude mockery of residents, including of their race and genitalia, despite the fact that family members and children were in attendance. A Harbor-UCLA physician was so worried that he considered getting bulletproof glass installed on his car and wearing a bulletproof vest to work. “His anger, weapons, and intolerance of any criticism made staff worry about their safety,” says the lawsuit filed by Badkoobehi and Hsu.
However, even then, reserve deputy physicians at Harbor-UCLA must follow strict safety protocols, including proper storage of their handguns in a locked safe box while at the hospital. They are not allowed to carry a firearm during surgery. “I would attempt to stay after our Graduate Medical Education meetings to discuss program-related issues with Dr. Harrington, but he was always sitting with Dr. Kwong,” Fernandez-Frackelton said in the complaint. “I now realize that this was intentional — that it was done to prevent me from raising concerns, again undermining my ability to function as a program director.”
“The leadership in our department has attempted to work closely with both Orthopedic Surgery Department leadership and hospital leadership to improve the culture and the educational value of this rotation,” the seven-page complaint states. “However, despite the numerous meetings that have occurred across numerous calendar years, no meaningful improvement has occurred.”
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