GREEN RIVER - An anesthesiologist who was fired from Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County over alleged record-keeping discrepancies with the painkiller fentanyl has filed a second lawsuit against the facility, according to court records.

Dr. Edmund Boese of Rock Springs filed the action against the hospital's board of trustees and BRIM Healthcare Inc. and BRIM CEO Kevin Hawk, the management team that operates the facility.

Also named in the lawsuit were Dr. Alan Richardson, president of the hospital's medical executive committee, Cardinal Health Inc., a Delaware-based pharmaceutical company, and Toni Van Valkenburg, the hospital's director of pharmacy.

Boese's attorneys - Ford Bussart, Robert Reese, James Phillips and Tony Vehar - said in the complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court that the lawsuit arises out of a "wrongful permanent suspension" of Boese's hospital privileges.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount in damages and the immediate reinstatement of Boese to practice anesthesiology at the hospital.

Boese was relieved of his hospital privileges in December 2006 after the drug Fentanyl was allegedly reported missing by the pharmacy and could not be accounted for. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration and several state agencies were brought in to investigate the allegations.

After his suspension, Boese filed a lawsuit against the hospital alleging the hospital did not follow its own rules when it suspended him. The lawsuit was later dismissed after the parties agreed to a joint stipulation.

In April 2007, Boese was granted a due process hearing before a special hearing officer. Following the hearing - in which the officer recommended the board reinstate Boese's hospital privileges - trustees voted unanimously in executive session to make the doctor's suspension permanent.

Located on College Hill in Rock Springs, the hospital employs 322 people and is the only full-service hospital within a 100-mile radius.

The 30-year-old hospital - currently undergoing a $43 million renovation and remodeling project - has been a source of contention within the community in recent years, sparked in part after a 2005 reorganization brought in a new health care management team, BRIM Inc., from Tennessee and a new chief executive officer in Hawk.

Contacted Friday, hospital spokesman Gary Collins said officials were reviewing the lawsuit, but had no comment at this time.

Missing drugs?

Boese, of Rock Springs, began practicing anesthesiology at the hospital in 1992.

The lawsuit said the doctor had a "cordial and cooperative working relationship" with the hospital's administration, but that relationship "deteriorated" following the appointment of Hawk as the CEO in June 2005.

The complaint alleges the board of trustees and Hawk mounted a "publicity campaign" against Boese after his spouse, Debby Dellai-Boese, was elected to the Sweetwater County Commission in November 2006.

During her campaign, Dellai-Boese promised to look into the hospital board and hospital administration's alleged mismanagement of the facility.

The lawsuit said administrators suspended Boese in late November 2006 after officials alleged the hospital's automated medication machine records revealed a 1,460-microgram discrepancy of fentanyl that was attributed to Boese.

Administrators "wrongfully implied" that Boese may have been suffering from drug dependency issues at the time, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit said administrators also signed a full-page advertisement in the local newspaper identifying Boese as the subject of an "ongoing narcotics investigation" and that he was guilty of diverting narcotics from the hospital.

In reality, the lawsuit says, "no fentanyl was ever actually missing from the premises … or improperly diverted, or misused by any person" and that the discrepancies in accounting were attributable to other people.

The complaint also said Boese and his wife were "thoroughly tested and searched for drugs, all of which proved negative" during that time.

The lawsuit seeks relief for violation of Boese's constitutional rights, the discriminatory action taken against him without a legitimate government purpose, and damage to his reputation.

A second claim seeks relief for the alleged "tortuous interference with contract" and unlawful interference with "prospective economic advantage" by defendants Richardson, Hawk and Van Valkenburg.

Other claims listed in the lawsuit include exemplary damages resulting from "willful and wanton misconduct," and negligent supervision by Brim Healthcare Inc. and Cardinal Health Inc.

Southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.