Opinion ID: 729751
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: As chief of service?

Text: 69 Q. Yes. 70 A. I was also the director of the residency program, internal medicine residency program. 71 Q. What did that involve you doing? 72 A. To oversee and structure the educational aspect of residency training and medicine, conforming to the guidelines set forth by New York Medical College and the accreditation counsel for graduate medical education, which is the sponsoring agency to accredited all residency programs in the country. 73      74 Q. What other functions did you serve in as chief of service? 75 A. Overseeing the quality assurance, quality improvement plan of the department, implementing all policy set by the hospital and regulatory agencies which was the state and the joint commission accreditation health care facilities -- health care organizations, sorry -- and overseeing the teaching of attending physicians and house staff as well as medical students as dictated by education policies set within the department under the auspices of New York Medical College. My responsibility of overseeing the budget of the department, participating in various discussions and conferences concerning budgetary allocations to the department of medicine and its distribution including salaries, staffing within the department of medicine which consist -- 76 Q. Staffing? 77 A. Staffing within the department of medicine, how many attending physicians, how many subspecialists each division, what their staffing and budgetary needs are. 78      79 Q. Is there anything else you can think of? 80 A. Well, it's also to promote the standing, the community standing and the professional standing of the department among patients and among health professionals, improving your training program, improving your patient care program. Every day we have aspects of that to improve on existing -- that's an ongoing -- eventually people say by the department of medicine Metropolitan Hospital is a reputable place where one would go for treatment and -- 81 Q. Or vice versa? A. Yes, or vice versa. Also to oversee the functioning of the outpatient department, the clinics. 82 When Dr. Billy Jones, Carrillo's successor as President of HHC, and Dennis Gowie learned for the first time of Altman's history of alcoholism, Jones decided that Altman should not be allowed to resume his position as Chief of Internal Medicine, and Gowie agreed. They were confirmed in their decision by subsequently acquired information concerning a number of disreputable incidents in Altman's personal and professional life that need not be recounted here. Jones instructed Adler to inform Altman that if Altman did not resign as Chief of Medicine, he would be discharged from that office. 83 On January 4, 1993, this ultimatum was conveyed to Altman, and he stated that he would resign. When Altman subsequently changed his mind, he was told that HHC already had accepted his resignation. He was told that he could return to Metropolitan as an attending physician. His salary in that position would be $130,000, which was $40,000 less than his salary as Chief of Internal Medicine, but $10,000 more than other staff physicians were being paid. The district court held that this was a reasonable accommodation under the ADA, 903 F. Supp. at 514, and we agree. See Guice-Mills v. Derwinski, 967 F.2d 794, 798 (2d Cir. 1992). Altman refused to accept the offer, electing instead to seek equitable relief in the district court. On February 16, 1993, he brought suit against HHC, Metropolitan, Jones and Gowie in the Southern District of New York in which he sought a preliminary injunction restoring him to the position of Chief of Internal Medicine. Chief Judge Griesa denied the petition in an unreported opinion which states in part: 84 On the present record, it is difficult to find any likelihood of success, or even serious questions on the merits. The problem of plaintiff's alcoholism, and his drunkenness while on duty, presented the hospital with a grave problem. To his credit, plaintiff has striven to rehabilitate himself, and it is hoped that he is successful. However, the hospital is entitled to protect itself against the risk of a return of the problem, and to deal with plaintiff on some sensible trial basis. It would seem that the hospital has indeed extended itself in offering plaintiff the opportunity to return both as a physician and in an executive capacity, although not in the very high position that he had held before the September 1992 incident. 85 No. 93 Civ. 882, 1993 WL 106166 at  3 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 2, 1993). Judge Griesa's order was affirmed without opinion by this Court. 999 F.2d 537 (1993). 86 Altman returned to work as a senior attending physician on June 29, 1993 and is still employed in that capacity. On February 7, 1994, he commenced the instant action.