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PAMF, Sutter Health face suit over allegedly racist workplace

Original post made on Jul 20, 2021

An eye surgeon who was once the highest-ranking Black physician in a leadership role at Palo Alto Medical Foundation has filed a lawsuit alleging PAMF and Sutter Health maintained a racially toxic workplace.

Read the full story here Web Link posted Tuesday, July 20, 2021, 11:33 AM

Comments (5)

Posted by TR
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Jul 20, 2021 at 12:24 pm

TR is a registered user.

This is an extremely disturbing set of accusations with a compelling narrative. We shall see how this plays out.

I do think it is worth noting that The Almanac chose to suggest a grammatical error in quoting the doctor "Because I do not think there is any (sic) other viable means for effecting change". Would you have made the same '(sic)' notation of a white British doctor? The singular is normal grammar in many parts of the world.


Posted by Disheartened
a resident of another community
on Jul 20, 2021 at 1:02 pm

Disheartened is a registered user.

As a patient of Dr. Nyong'o's, and a lifelong patient of PAMF, I am so disheartened by this. Dr. Nyong'o is an excellent eye surgeon -- the best I've ever seen. I have always considered myself lucky to be a PAMF patient and to have found Dr. Nyong'o. Terrible to hear that there is bigotry within. I hope his bravery brings about positive change and that he is protected from any negative repercussions for speaking out.


Posted by Sue Dremann
a resident of another community
on Jul 21, 2021 at 11:52 am

Sue Dremann is a registered user.

TR -- Thanks for your comment. As the writer of this story, I chose to add the (sic) per what I believed to be this publication's usual practice regarding grammatical errors. There was no racism, real or implied, in that decision. If the person being quoted was white, yes, I would do the same. That said, your point is taken regarding the possible grammatical acceptance of either the singular or plural in this example and the editor has removed the (sic).


Posted by PAMF MD
a resident of Menlo Park: Downtown
on Jul 23, 2021 at 10:30 am

PAMF MD is a registered user.

As a former PAMF physician of color, I am encouraged to hear that someone has finally spoken out about the racism at PAMF. Those of us who raise patient care and quality issues are quickly marginalized and labelled as trouble makers. Even though I had the best quality metrics in my section, the PAMF leadership threatened to report me to the Medical Board of CA for quality issues. They had previously done this to another physician and it took him hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to resolve his issue and restore his license and practice. He advised me to just move on, which is what I did. The organization is run like a mafia without financial transparency, and there is so much corruption among the leadership. One of its current leaders actually had a $2 million slush fund with no accountability on its use.


Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Jul 26, 2021 at 7:01 am

pogo is a registered user.

I don't work at PAMF so I can only note my own observations from interactions with staff.

PAMF management and staff are among the most educated (primarily Stanford and UC grads) and clearly politically progressive people in our community.

I'm not doubting the claims, but it's certainly inconsistent with my own experience.


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