Domenico Calcaterra began working at Bethesda Hospital East in January 2020 as the new chief of cardiac surgery tasked with revamping the hospital's heart surgery program.
In a whistleblower complaint in Miami court, he claims that it was only months into his job at the Boynton Beach hospital when he discovered fraudulent billing to the tune of millions of dollars, severe understaffing in the intensive care unit, and violations of clinical standards that he says caused patient harm.
Calcaterra voiced his concerns repeatedly to the hospital administration and top executives, but his grievances were largely ignored, according to the lawsuit. He says he was fired a year after his hiring in retaliation for bringing the hospital's dysfunction to light.
"Defendants retaliated against Calcaterra by harassing, isolating, and terminating him from all positions solely on account of his protected activity," the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade County Court against Bethesda Health Physician Group and Baptist Health South Florida, a nonprofit hospital company. It lists counts for employment retaliation under the Florida Private Whistleblower Act and the False Claims Act, a federal law that protects whistleblowers and provides compensation if they uncover fraud against a government entity or program.
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