Tuomey Board Sues Former Lawyers
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
INSIDE: Congress grills AG Loretta Lynch about Clintons A5 PANORAMA Camp Create First Baptist Church again offering 4-day workshops in C1 SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 fine and performing arts WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016 75 CENTS Tuomey board sues former lawyers lawsuit against the firm which provid- Tuomey Board on a contingency vice at Tuomey instead of at other fa- Plaintiffs seek $117M; ed the board with legal advice and basis. cilities. wrote contracts which led to a massive Damages recovered in the lawsuit, In October 2005, Dr. Michael Drake- damages, if any, would federal judgment for violating the if any, will benefit the Tuomey Foun- ford filed a whistleblower action in Stark Act and the False Claims Act dation, Tuomey Healthcare System U.S. District Court for District of benefit foundation against the hospital in 2015. Board President Cindy Reese told The South Carolina challenging the legal- The complaint, which seeks to re- Sumter Item in a teleconference Tues- ity of the contracts. In 2007, the U.S. BY JIM HILLEY cover more than $117.4 million in day afternoon. government intervened, alleging Tu- [email protected] damages from Nexsen Pruet LLC, The lawsuit represents the latest omey violated the Stark and False was filed Tuesday in the South Caro- act in a legal drama that began in Claims acts. The board of directors of Tuomey lina Third Judicial Circuit Court of 2003 when the hospital hired Nexsen After a jury ruled in 2010 Tuomey Healthcare System Inc., the former Common Pleas by attorney Jim Grif- Pruet to design and implement con- violated the Stark Act but not the owners of Palmetto Health Tuomey fin of Griffin Davis LLC, Columbia. tracts which would give incentives to hospital, have filed a legal malpractice Griffin said he is representing the physicians to perform outpatient ser- SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A6 Dress Like A Cow Day KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM Patty Welsbay, Melanie Dees, Kari Cruse and Megan Ray, employees of United Way of Sumter, Clarendon and Lee Counties, got dressed up to receive a free entree at Chick-fil-A on Tuesday as part of the chain’s “Dress Like A Cow Day.” County approves 1st reading of $2.5M Obama pays tribute to Dallas bond to buy vehicles, fund renovations officers shot in racial attack DALLAS (AP) — At a me- killed Thursday while stand- BY ADRIENNE SARVIS ing lot and restructuring the county deten- morial for slain police officers, ing guard as hundreds of peo- [email protected] tion center to include more individual cells. President Obama declared ple protested the police kill- Also, council approved final reading of an Tuesday that a week of deeply ings of black men in Louisi- During its meeting on Tuesday, Sumter ordinance to amend portions of the county's troubling violence has seemed ana and Minnesota earlier in County Council approved first reading of zoning and development standards ordi- to expose "the deepest fault the week. an ordinance authorizing the issuance and nance to expand the definition of approved lines of our democracy." But "It's hard not to think some- sale of general obligation bonds not to ex- family relationships for lifetime family he insisted the nation is not as times that the center might ceed $2.5 million to purchase several county transfers of property. divided as it seems and called not hold, that things might get vehicles and fund renovations for county Before the amendment was approved, life- on Americans to find common worse," Obama said. "We must buildings. time transfers were permitted between par- ground in support of racial reject such despair." The general obligation bonds will pay for ents and children and grandparents and equity and justice. He joined politicians, police the purchase of 15 vehicles for Sumter grandchildren. Individuals of other familial Obama acknowledged that officers and families of the County Sheriff's Office, two ambulances for relationships who wished to transfer prop- Americans are unsettled by fallen in the wake of the Sumter County Emergency Medical Servic- erty between one another would have to another mass shooting and shocking slayings by a black es, eight vehicles for Sumter County Public take their requests to Sumter City and are seeking answers to the vi- man who said he wanted re- Works, equipment for Sumter Fire Depart- County Planning Commission. olence that has sparked pro- venge for the killings of ment and repairs to Sumter County Deten- The amendment will now allow lifetime tests in cities and highlighted blacks by police. tion Center. family transfers between siblings, cousins, the nation's persistent racial "The soul of our city was The bonds will also fund the resurfacing divide. of the South Sumter Resource Center park- SEE COUNTY, PAGE A6 Five Dallas officers were SEE OBAMA, PAGE A6 VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B4 WEATHER, A8 INSIDE Donnie O’Neil Fulton A. Caroline Holliday HOT, HUMID AND STORMY 3 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES the .com Thomas J. Washington Daniel Elmore Good chance of stray VOL. 121, NO. 226 Helen R. Goodman Richard L. Holland afternoon thunderstorms Classifieds B5 Opinion A7 Mickel D. Cribb Robert S. Bateman today; tonight, mostly clear Comics C6 Television C7 Brian K. Parker and humid. Food C8 HIGH 98, LOW 76 A2 | WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] LOCAL BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County firefighters Sumter man arrested for strong-arm robbery battle 2 house blazes in 2 days Thomas E. Carraway III, 22, of 6 Burkett Drive, was arrested Monday and charged with BY ADRIENNE SARVIS Battalion Chief Joey Duggan bulance to Palmetto Health the apartment by the time strong-arm robbery. [email protected] said the fire was already Tuomey. The firefighter was firefighters arrived, and the The warrant states that on coming through the roof released from the hospital residents were later assisted July 3 in the 5700 block of Edge- Firefighters responded to when firefighters arrived at later that evening but was by American Red Cross. hill Road, the suspect and a co- two house fires at a vacant 7:58 p.m. not released back to work, he According to the report, defendant took $412 in cash house in Wedgefield and du- Shortly after arriving, fire- said. The firefighter will most the mother of the family stat- from a victim’s pants pocket plex apartment in Sumter on fighters had the blaze under likely need a check up before ed her son started the fire with intent to deprive by means Monday and Tuesday, respec- control, according to the re- returning to work, he said. when he was playing with of force or intimidation, accord- tively. port. The call for the duplex matches. The age of the child ing to a news release from Sum- The Monday evening fire Duggan said the depart- apartment fire on Tuesday was not recorded in the re- ter County Sheriff’s Office. was at a vacant single-family ment has called in a fire in- came in at 12:17 a.m., and port. home on Glade Drive in vestigator to determine the firefighters arrived about Approximately $25,000 Sumter Cardiology to Wedgefield. According to the circumstances of the house 12:30 a.m. When units arrived worth of damage was caused close doors on July 29 incident report, the call for fire because there was no in the 300 block of Bowman to the structure and about the first fire came in at 7:44 power at the vacant structure Drive, fire was showing from $5,000 worth of contents was Sumter Cardiology has an- p.m., and 10 firefighters from when the fire started. parts of the structure, ac- destroyed during the blaze. nounced to patients it will shut Wedgefield, Cherryvale, Pine- Also, Duggan said one fire- cording to the incident re- An estimated $50,000 of the its doors effective July 29 and wood and Stadium Road sta- fighter injured his knee while port. structure was saved, and reopen at Lexington Cardiology tions responded. working to put out the flames The 11 occupants of the about $10,000 worth of con- effective Aug. 1. Sumter Fire Department and was transported by am- building had already exited tents was saved. Dr. Mitchell Jacocks sent the letter this week and advised pa- tients that not only will he be leaving Sumter, but Dr. West Ja- cocks will also be leaving within a few months and will no longer Black River Co-op sponsors students’ visit to D.C. practice with Lexington Medi- cal Center. BY JIM HILLEY Lexington Cardiology has an [email protected] office in Columbia. The letter states patients Three local high school students par- scheduled with doctors through ticipated in the 2016 Washington Youth July 29 will not need to change Tour June 11-16, sponsored by electric appointments. For appoint- cooperatives throughout the county. ments scheduled after July 29, Patrick Muldrow of Wilson Hall, Cam- Lexington Cardiology will con- eron Tomlin of Sumter High School and tact patients to confirm the time Alyssa Weimer of St. Francis Xavier and location of the appoint- were chosen by the Black River Electric ment. Medical records will Co-op to go on the week-long tour, which transfer with patients to Lex- included a visit to Capitol Hill to meet ington Cardiology. with members of the South Carolina Patients of Dr. West Jacocks congressional delegation members Rep. will be contacted about how to Mick Mulvaney and Sens. Lindsey Gra- transfer their care to another ham and Tim Scott. In addition to the provider, the letter states.