A new court filing today in the Saucedo malpractice lawsuit against the El Paso Children’s Hospital provides new details to the ongoing saga at the local children’s hospital. An email blast sent out by David Saucedo today to the news media included the latest court filings. The court filings suggest that “kick backs and backroom deals” are happening at the children’s hospital, according to the Saucedo’s response to Canales’ et al. The defendants want to silence Dr. Thomas Mayes’ affidavit stating that Canales is a danger to El Paso’s children needing medical care. [1]
The Money Factor
As El Paso Politics reported previously, the El Paso Children’s Hospital’s financial viability depended on three things: 1. Taxpayer funds, 2. Medicaid and Medicare funding preferences, and 3. Siphoning pediatric patients away from other El Paso medical providers.
The lawsuit documents argue that the children’s hospital “enticed Dr. Canales to bring his lucrative patient roster” to the children’s hospital. In return, Canales was given a “lucrative deal” by El Paso Children’s Hospital that include no peer review of Canales’ work, preventing other doctors from treating Canales’ patients even to intervene in an emergency and allowing the doctor to practice medicine in areas he is not qualified to treat patients. [1]
According to the plaintiff’s lawyers, Roberto Canales was brought to El Paso Children’s Hospital so that the hospital would benefit financially from Canales’ patient load. As readers will note, the feasibility study that the children’s hospital is founded on requires that the patient load be increased even at the expense of taking pediatric patients away from other clinics and hospitals.
The Mayes Affidavit
In their original lawsuit, the Saucedo’s attached “a damning affidavit” that alleges not only the danger that Roberto Canales poses to his patients, but alludes to special deals made by the children’s hospital to get access to Canales’ patients. [1]
In their response to the lawsuit, the defendants argued that the Mayes affidavit should be deleted. The defendants argue that Dr. Mayes divulged “confidential communications.” The Saucedo’s attorneys list several reasons why the Mayes affidavit should remain.
It should be noted that Canales, the children’s hospital and Fierro-Stevens are arguing the removal of the affidavit on technical legal grounds without arguing that any part of it is false.
Specifically, the Mayes affidavit is not privileged because it details “unlawful attempts” by El Paso Children’s Hospital officials “to threaten and attempts to coerce” Dr. Mayes to sign a waiver for Canales. [1]
Mayes Details Coercion To Help Canales
In a declaration, attached to the recent lawsuit documents, Dr. Thomas Mayes states that an assistant to the children’s hospital CEO, Cindy Stout, tried to have Mayes sign documents authorizing Canales to provide medical services for areas in which he was not qualified to do so.
The new Mayes declaration alleges that the assistant was “upset” after Mayes refused to sign the Canales waiver. Mayes alleges again that after refusing to sign the waiver, Stout “attempted to ‘brow beat’” Mayes into signing it. [2]
According to Mayes, the reason that Stout demanded the waiver be signed was because Stout stated to Mayes “that the hospital needed Dr. Canales to work as intensive care specialist because of his ability to generate massive patient volume and revenues for the hospital.” [2]
Mayes closes his declaration by pointing out that the “one thing that continues to puzzles [sic] me about this whole process is why no member of the EPCH Board of Directors, who are ultimately responsible for the appointment and credentialing of medical staff ever contacted me directly to ask about my concerns related to Dr. Canales’ appointment.” [2]
The next hearing on the case is scheduled for Thursday, January 21. El Paso Politics will continue to monitor the case and report as new information becomes available.
Footnotes:
- David Edward Saucedo, II and Mariana Terrazas Saucedo, Individually and on Behalf of I.S., a Minor Child v. El Paso Children’s Hospital Corporation, Dr. Roberto Canales, M.D., and Dr. Rodolfo Fierro-Stevens, M.D., Cause No: 2020DCV2549, Plaintiffs David and Mariana Saucedo’s Consolidated Response to Defendants’ Motions To Strike Affidavits, Opinions, And Testimony (243rd District Court, El Paso, Texas. 2021).
- Unsworn Declaration In Lieu of Affidavit by Thomas Mays Aff. Cause No: 2020DCV2549, Saucedo v. El Paso Children’s Hospital Corporation, et al.
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The only thing about this that puzzles me about this is how Cindy Stout continues to be the CEO of EPCH. Apparently the Board of Directors are out for a 10 martini lunch somewhere. Maybe she’s paying. SMH.