John Glascock, MD, a bariatric surgeon, is suing Waverly (Iowa) Health Center and its CEO, Jodi Geerts, alleging the hospital has put patients at risk, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Oct. 1.
Dr. Glascock was employed by the hospital from July 2018 to Dec. 22, 2024, when he was fired, according to the report.
Before his role at Waverly, Dr. Glascock was employed at Waterloo’s (Iowa) Covenant Medical Center from October 2002 through June 2018, where he was brought on to establish a surgical weight loss program. The program later became known as the Midwest Institute of Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery. According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Dispatch, the program was “very profitable and generated millions of dollars in revenue for the Covenant.”
In 2017, Waverly began recruiting Dr. Glascock, according to the lawsuit. In July 2018, Waverly hired Dr. Glascock to conduct advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery to be marketed under the brand name “Healthy You.” The lawsuit alleges the program grew steadily and represented a “new and profitable service line” for the health center. Dr. Glascock performed “about 1,000 surgical cases that generated millions of dollars in additional revenue” for Waverly, according to the lawsuit.
Ms. Geerts was named CEO of Waverly Health Center in January 2023. In August 2024, Dr. Glascock’s first assistant for his surgeries, Jason Jampoler, RN, gave the hospital a two-weeks notice of his departure after accepting a position as a traveling nurse. The lawsuit alleges that when Dr. Glascock met with Ms. Geerts to stress the importance of retaining Mr. Jampoler, she responded by stating that the hospital would not try to stop Mr. Jampoler from leaving and that Dr. Glascock would have to work with whatever assistant he was assigned moving forward.
Then, shortly after Mr. Jampoler left, Dr. Glascock was attempting to perform a sleeve gastrectomy with a new nurse as his assistant. The lawsuit claims that the new nurse did not know Dr. Glascock and had never participated in a bariatric surgical case.
“It was clear from the start of the procedure that the nurse [the hospital] selected lacked the skill, ability, and experience to be Dr. Glascock’s first assistant,” the lawsuit claims, adding that Glascock soon stopped the surgery. “In Dr. Glascock’s medical judgment, continuing the surgery without a qualified and competent first assistant put the patient’s safety at risk,” the lawsuit alleges. Dr. Glascock then says he met with Ms. Geerts again to stress the importance of having a competent first assistant for patient safety, and said the issue “had to be resolved before he conducted, or attempted to conduct, another bariatric surgery,” according to the report.
Ms. Geerts allegedly again told Dr. Glascock that he would work with whatever assistant he was assigned. Mr. Glascock allegedly responded by voicing his intention to elevate the issue to the hospital’s board of trustees at the then-upcoming board meeting on Sept. 23, 2024. A few hours before that board meeting began, Ms. Geerts handed Dr. Glascock a “termination notice” indicating he was being fired without cause and was relieved of his duties, effective immediately.
The lawsuit claims that by firing Dr. Glascock for “no reason, Geerts and the board of trustees jeopardized the health, safety, and well-being of WHC’s ‘Healthy You’ patients, a significant number of whom were scheduled for surgical procedures or were involved in complex post-operative management and care.”
The lawsuit alleges that the firing was in violation of public policy and constitutes wrongful termination and breach of contract.
The lawsuit seeks damages due to Ms. Geert’s alleged interference with his contract. Waverly Health Center has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. Becker’s has reached out to Waverly Health Center and will update this article if more information becomes available.
