Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/961245
87 87 CEO/STRATEGY Former South Dakota hospital CEO pleads guilty to lying about accepting money from physician By Alyssa Rege T he former CEO of Pine Ridge (S.D.) Hospital planned to plead guilty in March to making a false statement about accepting money from a former staff physician accused of sexually abusing children during a 13-year period, according to the Rapid City Journal. Here are six things to know about the case. 1. Wehnona Stabler, 60, the former chief executive of the 45-bed hospital, was indicted in July 2017 on charges of making a false statement on a 2014 disclosure report. Federal prosecutors claim Ms. Stabler did not report re- ceiving $5,000 from Stanley Weber, MD, a former physi- cian at the hospital. 2. Ms. Stabler reportedly admitted to the allegations in a statement of facts dated Feb. 2, the same day she en- tered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Of- fice, the report states. 3. As chief executive of Pine Ridge Hospital, which is owned and operated by the federal Indian Health Ser- vices, Ms. Stabler is required under law to complete a confidential financial disclosure report and is required to document monetary gifts equating to $350 or more. 4. If found guilty, Ms. Stabler may face up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and/or a $250,000 fine. However, as part of her plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to recommend proba- tion for as long as the court deems appropriate, accord- ing to the report. 5. Ms. Stabler's plea-change hearing was scheduled for March 9. 6. Former physician Dr. Weber, 69, was charged in Feb- ruary 2017 with multiple counts of child sex crimes between 1998 and 2011, including aggravated sexual abuse, according to the report. He reportedly resigned from Pine Ridge Hospital in 2016. Court documents do not disclose Dr. Weber's reason for paying Ms. Stabler $5,000, the report states. n BUFFALO FILTER Do No Harm to your staff or bottom line The OR should be a place of healing. But in the presence of surgical smoke, it can be a harmful environment to the staff who are exposed to the equivalent of 27 to 30 cigarettes a day. 1 And that exposes you to nancial risk and possible litigation. endsurgicalsmoke.org 1 Hill, D.S. et. Al., Surgical Smoke – A health hazard in the operating theatre. A study to quantify exposure and a survey of smoke extractor systems in UK plastic surgery units. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery 2012. doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2012.02.012 BF-15405-3 Print Ad Production 3.625 x 10 | CMYK | M BF-15405-3 Print Ad_CEO_3.625 x 10 M.indd 1 3/9/18 3:10 PM