Laguna Honda whistle-blowers awarded settlement

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The city of San Francisco has given a $750,000 settlement to whistle-blowers Derek Kerr and Maria Rivero -- former doctors at Laguna Honda Hospital.

The San Francisco Controller's Office released their audit of the Laguna Honda Patient Gift Fund and the message is clear... gift fund money is for patients only, not for hospital staff.

The audit echoes what the ABC7 I-Team found in a series of reports investigating the fund.

The Controller's Office points to $151,739 in donations that were diverted to staff development accounts, but the audit says that money was clearly intended for patients and misusing it violates San Francisco Administrative Code.

They also question the lack of oversight at Laguna Honda. The San Francisco Health Commission has ultimate authority over the hospital but Laguna Honda doesn't tell the commission how they spend Gift Fund money. The Controller's Office says that needs to change.

They recommend that all money donated to the gift fund be spent on patients. They also say the hospital will need to clean up its accounting so it doesn't happen again.

>> Read the audit here

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i-team, dan noyes

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