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Woman Who Was Sexually Assaulted by Oregon Doctor Starts Petition to Fire Hospital CEO and Vice President

Erin Vance was awarded a payout after a jury found the hospital guilty in 2013, but wants those responsible to be held accountable
August 25, 2016

THE DALLES AND PORTLAND, OREGON  — Erin Vance was one of 12 women who were sexually assaulted by Dr. Frederick Field, a former anesthesiologist at Mid-Columbia Medical Center (MCMC) in The Dalles. Now, Vance has started a Care2 petition urging the hospital’s Board of Trustees and the board of its affiliated Portland hospital to fire MCMC’s CEO, Duane Francis, and its Vice President, Diane Storby. Her petition has gathered over 33,000 signatures.

VIEW THE CARE2 PETITION HERE: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/831/664/058/

“When I went under anesthesia at Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles, Oregon, I thought I would be safe in the hands of the doctors there. But I wasn't,” writes Vance on her Care2 petition. “While I was lying incapacitated, I was sexually assaulted by anesthesiologist Dr. Frederick Field.”

In 2013, a jury awarded Vance and two of Field’s other victims $2.4 million after finding the hospital was responsible. The hospital settled for an undisclosed amount of money with several other victims.

But during the suit, Francis and Storby were found not personally responsible. Vance says if an institution is found guilty, individuals within it must be held accountable.

“A hospital is an entity, a corporation,” Vance writes on her Care2 petition. “If any other corporation were found guilty of negligence and battery in court and forced to pay millions of dollars in damages to victims, someone would be held accountable. But not at this hospital. There have been zero public ramifications for Francis and Storby's actions.”

Francis is retiring in October, but Vance says she wants to make it clear to MCMC’s Board of Trustees that he should be gone now and that “replacing him with another person groomed from the inside isn't acceptable.”

Her petition also targets Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) hospital’s Board of Directors, because the Portland-based hospital shares a close affiliation with MCMC.

“If people from Portland could see what's going on here behind the closed doors of [MCMC’s] Board of Trustees, it might spur some action. Perhaps [OHSU] might be interested in coming in and cleaning house,” Vance told Care2. “I know there are a lot of people in this town who go out of town for medical care because they don't trust [MCMC]. So whatever I can do to make a difference, I will do.”

In September 2012, Field pleaded guilty to molesting Vance, Sharon Hobbs, and Willie Gmeinder while they were sedated, plus nine others. He also pleaded guilty to raping a nurse. Field was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

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Care2 (www.Care2.com) is a community of 36 million standing together for good. People are making world-changing impact with Care2, starting petitions and supporting each other’s campaigns to help individuals, animals and the environment. A pioneer of online advocacy since 1998, Care2 is a B Corporation, or social enterprise, using the power of business as a force for good.

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