Mitchell, an experienced nurse and the former compliance officer at Winkler County Memorial Hospital, was charged with “misuse of official information” by the county prosecutor after the doctor she reported for suspected malpractice said he felt “harassed” by her allegations. She had anonymously reported Dr. Rolando Arafiles for several instances of alleged improper care.

Her trial, which became a nationwide controversy watched closely by health professionals at all levels, ended today with her acquittal on all charges.

However, Mitchell is countersuing  the hospital, the county sheriff, prosecutor and Arafiles in federal court for vindictive prosecution and denial of her First Amendment rights. She is joined in that suit by Vickilyn Galle. Galle is a former colleague of Mitchell’s who also reported Arafiles. Charges were also brought against her by the prosecutor, but dropped before the trial began. Mitchell and Galle were both fired from Winkler County Memorial after it was discovered they had sent the report to the Texas Medical Board.

Mitchell’s acquittal should help uphold protections for medical whisteblowers across the country.

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A nurse who reported a doctor’s unorthodox-at-best techniques now finds herself facing criminal charges of misusing official information.

Last June, Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle, two nurses at Winkler County Memorial Hospital in Texas, sent an anonymous letter to the Texas Medical Board detailing their concerns about Dr. Rolando Arafiles’ treatment of patients.

Mitchell and Galle each have more than 20 years of nursing experience and their duties included quality improvement issues. Mitchell also served as the hospital’s compliance officer.

The letter they sent to the board included relevant file numbers, but no patient names. They cited six specific problematic cases, among them: Arafiles had performed an unsuccessful skin graft in the ER without surgical privileges. In another case, Arafiles sutured a rubber tip to a patient’s crushed finger — a technique that the Dept. of State Health Services later deemed inappropriate care. The nurses also claimed that Arafiles had e-mailed patients, encouraging them to purchase an herbal supplement he sold on the side.

The nurses stated in the letter that they weren’t signing it because hospital administrators had already been alerted to the problems, had not acted, and the nurses feared retribution if their actions were discovered.

Harassment or Whistle-blowing?

Their fears appear to have been well-founded.

After Arafiles heard about the report from the medical board, he told the county sheriff — a personal friend who credits the doctor with saving his life after a heart attack — that he felt the report amounted to harassment.

In response, the sheriff got a search warrant, seized computers at the hospital, and eventually discovered that Mitchell and Galle were responsible. They were fired in June 2009.

Shortly afterward, the county prosecutor brought charges against the women for “misusing official information.” Eventually, charges against Galle were dropped, but Mitchell’s trial started this week. A third nurse who had reported Arafiles in her own letter to the medical board after resigning from the hospital was not charged.

Mitchell and Galle have countersued in federal court, alleging vindictive prosecution and a denial of First Amendment rights by the hospital, sheriff, prosecutor and Arafiles.

Public opinion seems to be with the nurses. The Texas Medical Board’s executive director warned prosecutors this trial could scare other clinicians from reporting malpractice. Several nurses’ associations have raised money for Mitchell’s legal fees. And most legal experts believe Mitchell’s actions fall under the state whistle-blower protection laws.

We’ll keep you posted on this case as it develops.

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