Sources: Ex-CEO hindered hospice mission; say workplace was hostile, demoralizing

July 30--MORGANTOWN -- For all the profits generated during her tenure as president and CEO of Capital Caring, sources say Malene Davis created a hostile workplace culture and wasted some of the non-profit's funds on lavish business expenses.

Davis resigned Friday amid allegations she bullied employees, and oversaw potentially troublesome Medicare dealings.

Employees who spoke to The Dominion Post requested anonymity, fearing retaliation from Davis, a WVU graduate who sits on the alumni association board of directors. These sources also provided a dossier that fueled an investigation of Davis by Capital Caring's board.

The sources alleged the CEO's small leadership team, including Dr. Perry Fine, benefited from the wasteful spending and willfully permitted the "hostile work environment."

Fine, a Utah-based anesthesiologist and pain management physician, served under contract as "strategic advisor."

As of Friday, Fine was no longer a consultant for Capital Caring. He is the namesake of the Perry G. Fine, M.D., Endowed Fund in Pain and Palliative Medicine at the WVU School of Medicine. Davis was instrumental in creating the Perry G. Fine M.D. Pain Lecture Series at WVU, ongoing for the past decade.

Perry Fine

Witnesses said Fine received $300,000 per year for his consulting work at Capital Caring. In announcing that he is no longer consulting, the company did not respond to a request for his exact annual income.

Fine is one of numerous defendants in more than 80 state- and federal-level lawsuits, and named as one of several "key opinion leaders" (KOLs) in others, regarding allegations of the opioid industry's efforts to hide the addictive qualities of opioids.

One example is Teamsters Local 493 Health Services and Insurance Plan vs. Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Cardinal Health Inc. and 26 others. Fine is one of four individuals named.

This suit says defendants knew research on opioid efficacy was limited to short-term use, not long-term chronic pain. They know opioids are addictive, particularly when used for chronic pain. But they created a false perception of safety in the minds of doctors and consumers.

"Dr. Fine was instrumental in promoting opioids for sale and distribution nationally and in the state of Connecticut," It says. "Defendants worked with each other and with the Front Groups and KOLs they funded and directed to carry out a common scheme to deceptively market opioids."

The "Front Groups" mentioned are the American Academy of Pain Medicine, of which Fine is a past president, and the now-defunct American Pain Foundation, where Fine was a board member.

The suit claims the foundation received more than $10 million in funding from the opioid industry from 2007 until it closed in 2012. "APF functioned largely as an advocate for the interests of defendants, not patients."

The Academy received more than $2.2 million from the industry since 2009 and allowed industry members to present education programs at its annual meetings. Defendants were able to influence the academy through their funding and their KOLs in the academy, the suit contends.

Fine has regularly denied the allegations. He is quoted in media reports saying, "Whatever claims are being made are absolutely false.

"My efforts as a physician have always been to follow my duty to optimize the health and well-being of people with illness or injury."

Leading up to the most recent WVU lecture, Fine told media that West Virginia doctors are working to use the proper resources to treat pain effectively, without opioids if possible. If opioids are needed, they must be used responsibly.

The Dominion Post asked WVU if it considered -- with the understanding that allegations don't equal guilt -- suspending the series in light of the many suits.

Spokesman John Bolt replied, "Although we're aware of the lawsuits, we have not, at this time, had any discussions regarding suspending the lecture for this year."

Fine leads a music band called the Original Blue Healers, composed of his Utah physician colleagues.

Witnesses said that, per Davis's orders, the band is the required band at the annual gala. She refused other suggestions.

In addition to a performance fee, Capital Caring flies Fine and his band to D.C. first class for the gala, pays for their first-class hotels and rents their instruments (as band members leave their own in Utah).

Management questions

Davis stepped down just days before publication of this story, which resulted from a months-long Dominion Post investigation of allegations regarding her conduct.

All witnesses but one used the term "bully" to describe Davis. Most examples of her behavior can't be overly specific, in order to protect the identities of the sources.

But before the examples, here are quotes from interviews with witnesses:

-- "The turnover is unbelievable."

-- "I wish I knew early on that I was not the only person feeling this way or being treated this way. I literally thought it was just me."

-- "I was honestly just trying to get through the day without being demoralized."

-- "Just the culture alone, it was so horrible."

-- "I needed a month to recover. I just needed to shake off the vibe."

-- "She was definitely the bully. People were frozen when she would show up."

-- "I loved working for Capital Caring. She was like crushing everyone."

-- "It's a hostile work environment for sure. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't live in fear of Malene."

-- "She needs to have totally devoted people next to her. She doesn't like people who ask questions."

-- "If you don't follow her blind, you have no chance in there."

-- "The emperor has no clothes, but no one is willing to say Malene has no clothes."

People who disagreed with Davis faced being fired or transferred to lesser jobs with lower pay where they had no choice but to resign, witnesses claimed.

In one instance, three people lost their jobs over one disagreement.

Davis practiced what witnesses called "siloing." She forbade employees from talking directly with board members. All contacts went through her. She also prohibited employees involved in projects from communicating with others in other departments involved in the same project, requiring those to also go through her.

Davis handled all board finance committee meeting minutes herself. Secretaries don't see them.

Davis used employees as personal assistants, sending them to her house to water plants, set up sprinklers, fetch dry cleaning and pick up prescriptions. Employees would run her personal errands off the clock and be required to make up the time.

Davis learned of one witness speaking to The Dominion Post -- from their home on their own time -- and sought to have that person fired. When that wasn't possible, Davis put out a memo forbidding people in that position to speak with the press.

An employee who raised donations for Capital Caring learned of a family that was in a car accident. The 6-year-old daughter died, and the mother's car was totaled. She worked with her contacts to arrange a car donation.

A TV station got involved through the employee's appeal and helped arrange and air the donation -- held at the Capital Caring headquarters -- during one of its shows.

The employee cleared it all through her supervisor.

The segment remains viewable online. It's heartwarming and tear-jerking, and the employee explains the company's mission of caring. The TV station learned the employee was dealing with health issues and gives the employee a gift.

What viewers don't see is what happened off camera. Witnesses said Davis learned about the presentation, showed up and berated the employee in front of the crew for not informing her directly so she could appear on camera herself. After the presentation, Davis wrote up the employee for failing to notify her.

One witness said of the incident: "You can't take the light away from her. You can't take the light away from Perry. If you do, you're doomed."

Another witness testified to undergoing therapy for traumatic stress caused by Capital Caring employment. Others declined to speak for fear Davis would find out.

Medicare questions

Witnesses questioned a practice Capital Caring sometimes employs to sign up patients for care.

Medicare, they explain, requires two signatures to start the money flowing to the company. One comes from the patient's own referring physician, and the other comes from an attending physician -- a Capital Caring doctor who certifies that hospice care is appropriate.

This process delays Medicare payments by 48 hours. Sources allege that leadership arranged to have Capital Caring doctors sign both forms.

Witnesses said they believe the FBI is looking into this as possible Medicare fraud. A spokesperson for the FBI's health care fraud unit at the D.C. field office said she could not comment on active investigations.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor is a job search website that features employee reviews of the companies they work for. The site has 47 reviews of Capital Caring dating from 2012 through May of this year.

Witnesses said that after the dossier was sent out in March, Davis began urging employees to write positive reviews of the company.

Glassdoor reviews contain overall assessments of the company, and employees can check a box to indicate approval or disapproval of the CEO. Of the 14 "approval" reviews, eight were posted shortly after the dossier surfaced.

Thirteen employees submitted reviews marked "disapproval." Only one of those was posted after the dossier was circulated. The rest were posted from 2012-2017.

Eighteen reviews indicated they were either neutral about the CEO or didn't check the box. Of those, four were critical of upper management in general in the text of their review.

A source said Davis's resignation could help Capital Caring refocus on its mission:

It's time to move forward and for this wonderful organization to begin a new day in serving those who need compassionate care the most."

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