Harbor-UCLA orthopedics chief was fired for accepting improper payments, patient misconduct

Harbor-UCLA orthopedics chief Dr. Louis Kwong was fired for ogling the genitalia of anesthetized Black male patients, inappropriate sexual banter with female colleagues, and failing to report more than $738,000 in payments from a company whose products he routinely used during surgery, the Southern California News Group has learned.

Kwong’s alleged dishonesty in concealing a six-year consulting gig with orthopedic device manufacturer Zimmer Biomet, which has a contract to outfit Los Angeles County hospitals, drew a scathing conflict-of-interest rebuke from Harbor-UCLA Chief Medical Officer Griselda Gutierrez, who issued a notice of intent to terminate Kwong on Jan. 31. He subsequently was fired on Feb. 28.

Gutierrez also blasted Kwong’s purported proclivity for undraping sedated patients to peek at their genitalia while making inappropriate comments, such as “genitals of the day” or telling others to “check under the hood.”

“As a high-ranking doctor at Harbor-UCLA, you are held to a high standard and are expected to be professional at work and always exhibit proper decorum,” she said in an 18-page discharge notice. “Your actions, notably, your abuse of power, ethical lapses, instances of impropriety, and inappropriate and unsafe behavior have negatively impacted others at work and tarnished the department’s reputation.”

The Southern California News Group, which has previously chronicled the litany of complaints against Kwong, including lawsuits by physician colleagues, obtained the discharge notice through a public records request. Previously, the county Department of Health Services would only confirm that Kwong was no longer working at the medical center, but would not say if he had left voluntarily or was fired.

Michelle Finkel Ferber, an attorney representing Kwong, denies Gutierrez’s allegations and has requested a Civil Service Commission hearing to contest the firing.

“Dr. Kwong disagrees with the county’s decision to terminate his employment and denies the manufactured allegations against him,” Ferber said in an email. “Dr. Kwong looks forward to defeating these sensationalized claims through the appeal process, not in the press.”

Kwong could not be reached for comment.

‘Zero tolerance for misconduct’

Although Kwong’s critics say officials were slow to take action against him, Harbor-UCLA leadership defended its response to complaints. In a statement, hospital officials said a firm was hired to lead an impartial and thorough investigation of Kwong as soon as allegations against him were officially reported in 2021.

“Harbor-UCLA has zero tolerance for misconduct of any kind by members of our staff, and we have established clear channels for reporting allegations of misconduct so they can be thoroughly investigated,” the statement said.

Kwong was hired by the county in 2007 and appointed chair of the Harbor-UCLA Orthopedic Department and director of the Orthopedic Residency Program in 2015

Harbor-UCLA, a 570-bed public teaching hospital and Level 1 trauma center in the unincorporated West Carson area, is owned by the county and operated by DHS. Its doctors are on the faculty at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and oversee medical residents trained at the facility.

The misconduct claims against Kwong detailed in the discharge notice appear to mirror pending lawsuits from orthopedic surgeons Dr. Haleh Badkoobehi and Dr. Jennifer Hsu, who along with Harbor-UCLA’s former director of emergency medicine, Dr. Madonna Fernandez-Frackelton are suing the county for ignoring their complaints.

The women, seeking more than $50,000 in damages, allege myriad employment violations, including retaliation, hostile work environment, harassment, and gender and pregnancy discrimination.

Fernandez-Frackelton has mixed feelings about the county’s misconduct findings involving Kwong.

“I feel somewhat vindicated in that administration was forced to listen to the years of complaints because it finally went outside Harbor,” Fernandez-Frackelton said. “I am disheartened and frustrated that they (Harbor-UCLA leadership) continue to perpetuate a culture of keeping complaints internal so they can investigate and determine if allegations are substantiated.

“Their goal is not to protect patients or staff, but to protect the image of the hospital. That’s what got them in this situation with Kwong.”

Financial impropriety

The county’s investigation into Kwong’s alleged financial improprieties began with a tip to the Los Angeles County Department of Auditor-Controller on Dec. 23, 2021, alleging he had violated conflict-of-interest policies by failing to disclose employment with Zimmer and had an “inappropriate special working relationship” with the company, according to the discharge notice.

Investigators determined that from 2016 to 2022 Kwong received $738,648 from the company for consulting, royalty and license fees, travel, lodging, food and beverages. He also acknowledged to investigators that he flew twice with residents on a private plane with residents to Zimmer’s headquarters in Warsaw, Indiana.

Additionally, Kwong worked as a researcher for The Lundquist Institute, a nonprofit biomedical research organization based on the Harbor-UCLA campus.

Zimmer has severed ties with Kwong, said Heather Zoumas-Lubeski, a spokesperson for the company.

“That said, all consulting fees or royalties have been disclosed and reported in accordance with the Sunshine Act,” Zoumas-Lubeski said. “While we cannot comment on an ongoing investigation or legal matter, we continue to remain committed to the highest standards of patient safety, quality and integrity — for all of our team members, customers and partners.”

The Sunshine Act is a federal law to increase transparency of financial relationships between health care providers and pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers. Kwong routinely used Zimmer’s joint replacement implants during his orthopedic surgeries, the county said.

Kwong signed a form from the county in 2021 and 2022 stating he did not engage in or plan to engage in outside employment. He later told investigators he wasn’t aware he had to disclose his role with Zimmer.

“For starters, your blatant failure to disclose outside employment with Zimmer Biomet and Lundquist, despite knowing the department’s associated policy, are clear and intentional violations,” Gutierrez said in the discharge notice. “Zimmer Biomet and Lundquist not only compensated you for your work but provided you with financial incentives for business referrals, which created a clear conflict of interest since the department had contracts with them.”

Ferber countered in the Civil Service Commission hearing petition that Kwong’s consulting work for Zimmer and unpaid research with Lundquist never compromised his impartiality, objectivity or ability to “honestly and ethically” perform duties at Harbor-UCLA.

Although Kwong prefers to use Zimmer implants based on their clinical record and performance outcomes, Ferber said decisions regarding product choices are governed by what is best for each patient’s reconstruction needs.

A Harbor-UCLA Orthopedics Department employee, who asked not to be identified because they fear retaliation, said Kwong served as a voting member of a work group that determines which implants are used at county hospitals. In one instance, a physician applied to the committee for approval of an implant manufactured by a Zimmer competitor.

“Dr. Kwong shot down the application for trivial reasons,” the employee said in a complaint to investigators. “It is a conflict of interest for him to be in leadership in this group given how much he gets paid from Zimmer.”

Exclusive club

Investigators also determined that Kwong set up a Bank of America account more than a decade ago to finance what Gutierrez described as an “exclusive club” named the Harbor Orthopedic Research and Education Fund (OREF), which operated as a nonprofit organization and solicited donations ranging from $500 to $1,000.

“You created an exclusive club at work and used your position to solicit donations from residents under your charge,” Gutierrez said. “You then opened a non-county bank account for the club you created. Your actions demonstrated a misuse of authority, created a negative and elitist work environment, undermined morale and teamwork, and violated county and department policies.”

Voluntary contributions to the Harbor Orthopedic Research and Education Fund came from faculty, alumni and supporters, not physician residents, and were used to fund educational initiatives, an end-of-the-year scientific program and alumni events,  Ferber said.

However, a Harbor-UCLA Orthopedics Department employee who requested anonymity said Kwong aggressively pushed staff through emails to contribute to OREF.

“Kwong pressured attending physicians to give money to OREF and was not transparent with how the funds were used,” said the employee. “We have been told that he used the funds for his own social events.”

Other policy violations

The discharge notice from Gutierrez also details 16 incidents in which Kwong violated county policies by exhibiting inappropriate conduct toward others based on sex, race, gender and sexual orientation and failed to report potential equity issues involving employees under his supervision.

Specifically, the notice claims Kwong:

• Made comments that Asian men have small penises.
• Commented on female patients’ bodies, including genitalia grooming.
• Told a physician resident that he was into autoerotic asphyxiation.
• Discussed his sexual encounters with women.
• Identified the race of two residency candidates in comparing their qualifications.
• Failed to report a Facebook post from a physician indicating she had visited a strip club with interns.
• Did not report a doctor who was romantically involved with a patient or another physician who used a racial slur in a text message.
• Kept a knife in his boot during one or more faculty meetings and brought the knife into the operating room at least once.

“Overall, your inappropriate actions reflect negatively on the department’s values, ethics and professionalism,” Gutierrez told Kwong in the discharge notice. “Not only are you a leader, but you are also a mentor and a teacher. However, your behavior and actions are contrary to the true intentions of these roles.”

The discharge notice did not address a complaint from orthopedic faculty and others who said that Kwong, who was a reserve Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, wore a gun at various times at Harbor-UCLA, including in the operating room, clinic, office and conference rooms, and at times when scrubbed in for surgery.

Ferber, however, insisted that the vast majority of individuals interviewed by investigators have corroborated Kwong’s denial of the allegations. He said the physician is “in danger of becoming a scapegoat for the county.”