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| Sondra Everhart |
Sondra
Everhart, who served more than a decade as New Mexico’s long-term care
ombudsman, had alleged she was illegally fired in June 2016 from her
$81,000-a-year position with the Department of Aging and Long-Term
Services.
The lawsuit said
department managers terminated Everhart because of her advocacy on
behalf of boarding home residents, her request that the agency do more
to protect the elderly from financial exploitation, her attempts to
combat Medicaid fraud by the department and her proposal that the
ombudsman office be separated from the Department of Aging and Long-Term
Services.
The
department had denied the claims, saying Everhart was fired for
unlawfully providing a newspaper with records of conditions in boarding
homes in the Las Vegas, N.M., area. The homes serve people who have been
released from the state psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas.
The
settlement between Everhart and the administration brought to a close a
short but very public dispute that proved costly for taxpayers.
Under
the settlement, Everhart was allowed to retroactively resign, and the
Department of Aging and Long-Term Services agreed to give her a neutral
job reference. The two sides also agreed not to disparage each other.
The
department didn’t admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Everhart
can seek new employment with an executive agency after Martinez leaves
office at year’s end.
A
department spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment. The
settlement was signed by Myles Copeland, who has since resigned as head
of the agency.
Everhart couldn’t be reached for comment.
The
state Risk Management Division, which represented the administration in
the litigation, released the settlement Wednesday in response to an
open-records request.
The settlement was reached in June but was sealed for six months under New Mexico law.
Linda
Hemphill, an attorney for Everhart, had said in June that she and
co-counsel Diane Garrity were extremely pleased with the settlement.
Employees
in the office that Everhart previously oversaw make regular visits to
long-term care facilities to investigate complaints, help resolve
resident concerns and ensure quality care. The jobs of long-term care
ombudsmen are federally funded positions, and U.S. law prohibits state
interference in the duties of the advocates.
In
June 2015, Everhart complained to the federal government that the
Department of Aging and Long-Term Services was interfering with her
responsibilities, according to a document filed by Everhart’s attorneys
in the lawsuit.
Shortly after she complained, the document says, the department sought outside legal advice on how to remove Everhart.
An
attorney advised the department in September 2015 that the removal
would likely run afoul of federal law and be retaliatory toward
Everhart, the document says.
The
Department of Aging and Long-Term Services has said the legal advice
was sought because the agency was trying to determine whether it could
make the ombudsman job exempt from the state’s merit-based civil service
system. Everhart was a classified, or civil service, employee.
In
agencies under the control of the governor, such as the Department of
Aging and Long-Term Services, exempt employees serve at the will of the
state’s chief executive.
After
Everhart’s lawsuit was filed, the department said she was doing a great
job until she broke the law by releasing the boarding home records to
the Albuquerque Journal, which had filed an open-records request for the documents.
Everhart’s
lawsuit said she was legally authorized to provide the records and that
the allegation she did so unlawfully was a pretext for the Department
of Aging and Long-Term Services to finally carry out its plan to get rid
of her.
The Journal
later published a series of stories on substandard conditions of
boarding homes in Las Vegas. The homes are largely unregulated.
All
ombudsman records pertaining to clients, patients and residents are
confidential and don’t have to be disclosed under the state Inspection
of Public Records Act. However, state regulations require that the
ombudsman make a reasonable effort to grant a records request when it is
possible to do so without revealing client identifying information.
Everhart redacted names of boarding home residents from the documents provided to the Journal,
but the department has said the redactions were inadequate to protect
all identifying information for complainants and residents.
The
New Mexico Foundation for Open Government — a nonprofit supported by
business, the news media and others — last year honored Everhart for
releasing the boarding home records.
Full Article & Source:
State paid $285K to settle suit by former elder care advocate
See Also:
Advocate for elderly fired
State, former elder care advocate reach settlement
