Mitchell wrote an anonymous letter complaining about Dr. Arafiles practices and “mishaps” – including a failed skin graft performed without surgical privileges, suturing a rubber tip to a patient’s crushed finger for protection and a large affinity to herbal supplements which he sold as a side business – to the medical board.

This “anonymous” letter was brought to the attention of Dr. Arafiles who immediately filed a complaint to his friend the sheriff who then issued a search warrant to seize the nurse’s computer and found the letter.

Mitchell had worked for the hospital system for over 20 years. She is a much respected member of the nursing community. She loved her job and only wanted the best for patients. She was doing what every nurse should do – report wrongdoing and highly questionable (on numerous occasions) practices performed by Dr. Arafiles.

Putting whistle blowers in prison would seem to be a deterrent to those in the future that witness wrongdoing. While there are certainly those that “blow their whistle” in hopes to receiving a grand payday, there are also concerned individuals that do the right thing and report the wrongdoings and injustices they witness.

The whole point of protecting whistle blowers is to give people an incentive to report. Without an incentive we can expect fraud, theft etc. to only increase in the already failing healthcare system.

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