Daywatch: Chaperones may offer one way to prevent sexual abuse during medical exams
Good morning, Chicago.
Preventing patient sexual abuse is an issue that’s gained national attention amid the fallout from scandals such as Dr. Larry Nassar’s abuse of female athletes; the hundreds of allegations leveled at former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall; and Columbia University’s acknowledged failures regarding gynecologist Robert Hadden, also accused of sexually abusing hundreds of patients.
In Illinois, the Tribune recently exposed how several large Illinois health systems allowed health care workers who were accused of sexually abusing patients to continue working, sometimes leading to additional harm.
In one of the most egregious local cases, at least 30 patients have accused gynecologist Fabio Ortega of sexually assaulting them. Several women alleged in lawsuits he assaulted them after NorthShore University HealthSystem – now known as Endeavor Health – already knew he was under police investigation. Ortega pleaded guilty in 2021 to sexually abusing two former patients and was sentenced to three years in prison; his medical license was permanently revoked. Endeavor has settled 21 civil lawsuits related to Ortega.
The Tribune found that Endeavor and other health systems have faced few consequences from state or federal regulators for allowing providers accused of sexually abusing patients to continue working. Sometimes, all regulators required was a plan to do better in the future. The Tribune also found that the state agency that regulates many medical licensees can be slow to take disciplinary action, and providers who worked outside of hospitals sometimes practiced for months while police investigated allegations against them, due to loopholes in state law.
In addition to addressing those issues, some medical experts and survivors of sexual abuse say broader use of chaperones may be one way to prevent patient abuse.
Read part 4 of our investigation.
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