University of Miami’s first Latina top surgeon sues, alleges whistle-blower retaliation

On her first day back from medical leave, Dr. Omaida Velazquez was called into a meeting and told she would no longer be the surgery department chair at the University of Miami Miller School Medicine, a top position she had held for years.

The renowned doctor and tenured professor says in a lawsuit she is convinced her removal is retaliation for whistle-blowing on gender discrimination and health and safety violations. She is suing the University of Miami Health System (UHealth) and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, which are part of the University of Miami.

Velazquez, a Cuban who broke a glass ceiling in 2015 when she took on the job of surgeon chair and surgeon-in-chief, is accusing the university of underpaying her compared with UM’s male department chairs. The doctor is also accusing UM leaders of targeting her, including “threatening her medical credentials,” as part of a lengthy campaign to “torpedo” her career for whistle-blowing.

“To many on the outside, UM appears to be a leading academic and medical facility. But for Dr. Velazquez, the University has been a vipers’ nest of race, gender, and national origin discrimination. When she complained and sought redress, UM leaders launched a vengeful, retaliatory campaign against her because of her protected class status and her willingness to report discrimination and safety violations,” states the lawsuit, which was filed this week in the U.S. Southern District of Florida.

The suit names the University of Miami, the Miller School of Medicine and the University of Miami Health System, also known as UHealth.

According to the lawsuit, Velazquez learned that, from the time of her appointment as chair in 2015, she was underpaid compared to UM’s male department chairs. It also states that “beginning in or about 2020, UM’s new leaders also targeted her for other forms of discrimination and sought to marginalize her and undermine her authority. When Dr. Velazquez complained about this conduct — along with other infractions that raised significant health and safety concerns — UM swiftly and ruthlessly retaliated against her.”

“Until August 2022, UM expressed no issues with Dr. Velazquez’s performance and widely heralded her as a model leader. But shortly after she made protected complaints, UM suddenly put her on a baseless PIP [Performance Improvement Plan], which it has used as pretext to take further actions against her, including removing her as Department Chair and Surgeon-in-Chief,” in January, the suit says.

‘Baseless’ allegations, UM says

UM has denounced the allegations as “baseless.”

In a highly unusual move, six UM officials held a meeting with two Miami Herald reporters to discuss the lawsuit. Typically, the school would send a written statement or decline to comment due to pending litigation.

In the Zoom call were Dr. Henri Ford, dean and chief academic officer of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Dr. Dipen J. Parekh, chief operating officer of the medical school; and Alison Mincey, UM’s chief human resources officer. All three are mentioned in the lawsuit.

Also in the meeting were Rudy Fernandez, UM’s chief of staff and executive vice president for external affairs and strategic initiatives; Aileen Ugalde, senior vice president and general counsel; and Jacqueline Menendez, vice president of communications.

Mincey answered the questions during the meeting. She said Velazquez didn’t raise concerns about discrimination or retaliation until after she was put under a performance improvement plan in August 2022, which is in contrast to what the lawsuit says.

When asked what areas Velazquez needed to improve on, Mincey said that “there were opportunities for streamlined communication with the organization, following chain of command, university policies and procedures.”

“It was our high hope that as part of that performance improvement process with her, that she would participate and continue to lead in her administrative role as the department chair. However, Dr. Velazquez chose not to participate in that process after many months of attempts to engage with her in it,” Mincey said during the meeting.

“Undoubtedly, Dr. Velazquez is an accomplished tenured faculty member. This is about her performance in the administrative role as department chair. It wasn’t until after we put her in the pathway of this process at the end of August last year that she raised concerns,” Mincey added. “It was after that interaction with her at the end of August that she raised concerns of discrimination and retaliation.”

As a result, UM officials told the Miami Herald, Velazquez does not have a legal basis for bringing a “retaliatory” claim against the university and its medical school because she brought up her concerns with the medical school dean and the school’s chief operating officer after she was placed on a performance review.

Velazquez came to the U.S. at age 13 during the Mariel boatlift in 1980, and went on to become the University of Pennsylvania’s first female vascular surgeon, and in 2007, UM recruited her as Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, making her the first woman to lead a major surgical division at the Miller School of Medicine, according to the lawsuit. In 2015, she became UM’s surgeon chair and surgeon-in-chief, making history as the first Latina to lead a major academic department of surgery in the United States, and also served as UM’s Executive Dean for Research, Education, and Innovative Medicine from 2012 to 2015, according to the lawsuit.

Her list of awards and honors include: In 2009, she was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation; in 2021, she was honored as the Latina Pioneer of the Year at the 20th annual Hispanic Women of Distinction Charity Awards for her contributions in the vascular field; and in 2022, she was elected into the National Academy of Medicine, a recognition that is, according to an online UM post, “one of the highest in the medical field.”

Under her leadership, UM’s surgery department rapidly rose from 27th to 11th place nationally, the lawsuit states. She secured federal funding yearly and brought in millions of dollars in philanthropic gifts from her patients and their families, the lawsuit states.

Doctor targeted for reporting discrimination, violations, suit says

But things took a turn when she began to report on “significant health and safety” incidents involving certain high-ranking UM individuals who, the lawsuit alleges, violated medical codes, internal university rules and a Corporate Integrity Agreement UM signed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of its $22 million settlement with the Justice Department in 2021 regarding Medicare overbilling and patient overbilling.

These reports included “in January 2021 and again in July 2022, reporting safety concerns involving Dr. [Nipun] Merchant’s medical errors; in April 2022, reporting safety concerns when Dr. Parekh attempted to force a doctor to open a clinic that was closed and not properly staffed in order to seek special treatment for Dr. Parekh’s wife in late July 2022, reporting the false allegations made by Dr. Parekh in the recredentialing process of a surgeon and Dr. Parekh actions in ultimately forcing that surgeon to resign; and in February and August 2022, reporting her discriminatory pay,” the suit says.

Parekh was one of Velazquez’s supervisors. Merchant was promoted in 2022 to the job of “Chief Surgical Officer,” a position the suit claims was created to take away some of Velazquez’s authority. The surgeon who resigned, identified in the suit as Dr. Gustavo Leon, has filed an EEOC claim for age and disability discrimination and constructive discharge.

“It has become clear to Dr. Velazquez that the highest echelons at UM operate as an old boys’ club, where certain hand-picked candidates, no matter how unqualified or egregious their records, are promoted at the expense of other more-deserving employees,” the suit states.

Eric Isicoff, an outside attorney hired by UM, said in a phone interview that the “university addressed any and all complaints in an appropriate manner” and that Velazquez was put under the improvement plan based on months of her performance in the administrative position, not because of any complaints she made. The university also remains steadfast that she began reporting about discrimination and retaliation after she was put under review.

“We are engaged in a process of continuous improvement to ensure the highest levels of patient safety and quality, as we serve our community. Numerous attempts were made to engage Dr. Velazquez in the improvement measures required to successfully fulfill her administrative role in line with our mission as a preeminent academic medical center and as a leading health care provider in South Florida,” said Menendez, UM’s vice president for communications, in an emailed statement to the Miami Herald.

“Unfortunately, Dr. Velasquez’s refusal to even acknowledge a need or to participate in a process of continuous improvement led to a necessary change in that critical position. All attempted corrective action was done respectfully and in private to maintain the dignity of Dr. Velazquez as a tenured professor with the full expectation that she would engage in improvement measures,” Menendez said. “Any claims of discrimination and retaliation are baseless and a far departure from the inclusive, highly competent, and respectful department she had been invited to lead.”

When Velazquez left on medical leave in November 2022 due to her deteriorating health, which led to multiple emergency room hospitalizations for serious stress-related conditions, UM placed a moratorium on her communication with staff and leadership and appointed an interim chair a few days before she returned, the suit says. She was removed as chair and surgeon-in-chief on her first day back in January.

A Jan. 12 email announcing her removal as chair of the Dewitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery stated that Dr. Laurence R. Sands, professor and chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, would remain as interim surgery chair until a national search is completed. Velazquez remains as a tenured professor of surgery within the department’s Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery though she is on personal leave, upon her request.

“I am so appreciative of the faith, trust and overwhelming support that I have received from so many, including in the Miami and UM community,” Velazquez said in a statement. “I believe this lawsuit not only protects my rights, but will serve as an example for others at UM and in the Miami community who may be facing the same or similar issues and shine a light on what has been taking place at UM and what clearly needs to change for the better.

“I look forward to the opportunity to discuss in more detail what has happened to me, and I look forward to serving the Miami and South Florida community for years to come.”

Velazquez wants her job as chair back, the suit says. She also wants back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, related physical harm, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees and costs.

Miami Herald staff writer Jay Weaver contributed to this story.