(Updated 10-24-18--an earlier edition of the hospital lawsuit item indicated that the plaintiff worked at a Waukesha hospital. A spokeswoman for the hospital tells us Mamalakis has no association with the facility.)
Racine---A four-year-old federal court case that alleges fraud on the part of a national contractor that provides anesthesiology services at Ascension All Saints Hospital is slowly making its way through the system. The plaintiff is John Mamalakis, an anesthesiologist who once worked in Racine. Mamalakis claims he was fired for blowing the whistle on fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid billing practices allegedly committed by TeamHealth. In a statement to the Journal Times, TeamHealth said it couldn’t comment directly on the suit, but said it has in place a long-standing compliance and ethics program. Based on a review of online court records, there’s no indication that the dispute will be settled anytime soon.
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Bernie Sanders will be in Wisconsin Monday to rally support for Democratic candidates who are on next month’s ballot. In Milwaukee, the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate will appear with Tammy Baldwin, Tony Evers and Randy Bryce. He’ll travel to Kenosha later in the day for a rally specifically in support of Bryce, the Democrat who’s running against Bryan Steil in the 1st congressional district. That event will be held at UAW Local 72 headquarters.
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Town of Norway---Racine County Sheriff’s deputies used their first aid training this weekend to save the life of a suicidal man who had cut his wrist. Deputies responded to a home in the Town of Norway just after two Sunday morning. According to a news release, the deputies found the victim, a 19- year old man who’d been drinking, with a severe wound that was bleeding badly. The deputies then applied a tourniquet that all deputies are required to carry with them. Rescue arrived and took the man to the hospital.
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Kenosha---There continues to be strong support for preserving the historic Southport Beach House on Kenosha’s lakefront. About 75 people attended an event Sunday afternoon that marked the beginning of a $1.3 million exterior renovation project. A citizen’s group hopes to raise another $500,000 to tackle interior improvements. The project has been in the planning stage for some seven years.
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Sturtevant---A groundbreaking ceremony will be held Monday for the long-planned $6.5 million dollar remodeling and expansion of the SC Johnson iMET center in Sturtevant. The center is expected to become a focal point for training students to work in highly-automated plants like the one Foxconn has planned for Mt. Pleasant. WGTD plans to carry the 2 p.m. event live on Facebook. An archived version of the ceremony will also be available.
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