OSF Saint Anthony Hospital in Rockford, Illinois (Google Maps).
A trio of women has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against an Illinois hospital, claiming their former employer practiced unsafe surgical procedures, including leaving patients under anesthesia alone on the operating table.
Sofia Gudino, Tina Peppers and Cindamon Proffitt are suing OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford. They filed the suit earlier this month in Winnebago County Circuit Court, local CBS affiliate WIFR reported.
Gudino and Proffitt served as operating room managers while Peppers was the director for surgical services, according to the lawsuit. They were all responsible for maintaining safety and regulatory compliance in the operating room.
The lawsuit alleges the hospital had “repeated and dangerous safety violations” in its neurosurgery department. The plaintiffs claim that two doctors left their patient on the OR table for an hour on Feb. 3, 2025. More than two months later, a surgeon “left her patient on the OR table under anesthesia for approximately 37 minutes to attend a meeting.”
“These aforementioned instances led to prolonged anesthesia time, putting the patients at risk for post-surgery complications, and inappropriate billing for the patients,” the suit states. “The patients were fraudulently and unethically overcharged for OR time, as patients are charged by the minute during OR procedures.”
Plaintiffs also allege that in 2023, a surgeon fell asleep while looking through a microscope because she was so tired from working late the previous night. They reported the incidents to various channels but were allegedly ignored, and even warned to stop filing reports.
Their superiors “retaliated” against them by stripping them of authority and forcing them to work on weekends and without pay, plaintiffs’ lawyers write.
Gudino, Proffitt and Peppers resigned in the spring of 2025, citing an “intolerable environment” and claiming the resignations were “coerced” and amounted to “constructive discharge,” which is a violation of the Illinois Whistleblower Act.
“Defendant retaliated through harassment, exclusion, and adverse employment actions,” the suit says.
The three former employees sat down for an interview with WIFR.
“It’s been really emotional. It still is,” Proffitt said. “It’s just hard. You want to do the right thing for the patients.”
Peppers said the hospital had an ethical duty to respond to their complaints.
“I got very stressed because I felt like I couldn’t protect my frontline staff,” she said. “I felt like I couldn’t protect my managers. I felt like I didn’t have a voice in keeping my patients safe.”
Antonio L. Jeffrey represents the women. He said his clients were “forced out” because of the management at the hospital, and OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center has to answer for the allegations laid out in the lawsuit.
“It’s about ensuring public safety,” he said.
The hospital declined to comment.
