2002-10-24-pinstaff-confidential
We’ll start here. This IR (link to PDF above) was written at the request of Arizona State Prison Complex–Florence (ASPC-F) Facilities Health Care Manager Gary Pinkstaff. Early on the morning of 24 Oct 2002, I met with FHCM Pinkstaff and my immediate supervising Psychologist III Susan Arnold in the Medical Administration inside “The Walls” at Central Unit. After Dr. Arnold left Mr. Pinkstaff’s office, I complained to our supervisor FHCM Pinkstaff that Dr. Arnold was signing off knowingly on excessive hours fraudulently claimed by our locum tenums contract psychiatrist David Rupley, Jr, MD(H). Malfeasance.
Dr. Rupley had been working with us for several months. While he was working only 3.5 hours on average each day, he billed the State of Arizona for 10 hours each & every day he showed up. Everyone knew about his fraud. Everyone in mental health and pharmacy complained bitterly and openly about his “greed,” especially my Psychiatric Nurse II Vicky Brumfield, RN. Everyone talked about turning Rupley in. So, I may not have been the only one to complain to Dr. Arnold. However, I went first to Dr. Arnold and then up my chain of command.
Susan Arnold, Ph.D., Acting Psychologist III for ASPC–Florence, responded ‘she didn’t have anyone else to write meds (sic) and didn’t know what else to do.’ She refused to correct the situation. Therefore, I was obligated to go over her head. Gary Pinkstaff insisted I give him my report in writing.
Approximately 3:00 PM that afternoon, I delivered this (above PDF) hand written confidential Information Report to Pinkstaff. He told me to drop my IR on the pile of papers on the table inside the door. He acted like he did not remember his order from 10:00 AM. He refused to look me in the eyes; he refused to acknowledge me. It felt very awkward. I took the hint and left.
I never heard another word about this matter. That is, until Mr. Pinstaff’s supervisor Mr. Taylor showed up several months later in the Spring of 2003 and interviewed me. Even then I heard nothing until the fall of 2004. Central Unit’s Medical Records Librarian told me a certain gentleman from ADOC’s Central office called her and told her ‘it would be a good time if that IR from Kent showed up right now.’ However, after all the abuse and battering I had suffered, and, more importantly, because that man did not call me directly and ask me for a copy, I did not trust the method of communication and did not contact him.
Much time has passed since then and I do not recall the name of that gentleman nor does my former Medical Records Librarian who shall remain unnamed because she is a private person who did nothing wrong. But, all staff almost universally cautioned about any contact with anyone from ADC’s Central Office because nothing ever went well. And nothing I ever saw ever did with one exception. That was with Kim O’Connor but was extremely short lived.
Something else my Psychiatric Nurse II Vicky Brumfield complained about was Dr. Rupley’s failure to order the lab work necessary for the psychiatric medications he was prescribing. It took us more than a year working in conjunction with Acting Psychologist III Susan Arnold to get Rupley to being writing labs for his meds. But, it was apparently too little too late–we had inmates (plural) die from psychiatric “medication errors” according to FHCM II Andi Cordova in the fall of 2003. Agranularcytosis is a horrible death–but that is another story.
Rupley was allowed to continue practising psychiatry on inmates for at least another full year. Late in the summer of 2004, Mental Health Manager Pamela C. McCauley, Ph.D. ‘decided not to renew Dr. Rulety’s contract,’ according to Dr. Arnold’s account on 17 Aug 2004. However, there was no mistaking Dr. Arnold’s anger because she had had to “escort” Dr. Rupley off the complex. Escorting only occurs when someone is being let go, much like Dr. Arnold was later escorted–but that is another story.