Michigan

Dangers of Speaking Up

Speaking up about patient safety issues at Beaumont can be hazardous and humiliating. Brian Berman, Beaumont’s former head of pediatrics, was fired and escorted from Beaumont’s Royal Oak building by hospital president Nancy Susick after he objected to cutbacks that he said would harm patient care.

According to Robert Safian, a Harvard-trained cardiologist who sent a blistering letter about Fox and his deputies to Beaumont’s directors and trustees, another physician was fired for protesting Berman’s firing. Safian also disclosed that a Beaumont emergency room doctor was fired for protesting cutbacks.