Rehberg testifies on Factoids in documents

• Unsealed documents in Dougherty Superior Court include two depositions of Phoebe Factoids co-author Charles Rehberg.

Valerie Benton

ALBANY — A Phoebe Putney Health System attorney asked "Phoebe Factoids" co-author Charles Rehberg in October 2005 why he did not discuss the factoid information with Phoebe officials before sending out the facsimiles.

"Because my impression is that it would be a 'shoot the messenger,' " Rehberg said in his Oct. 12, 2005, deposition filed in Dougherty County Superior Court. "I felt like I had a right to have an opinion; I had a right to express it; I had a right to circulate it."

In Rehberg's two depositions, which were recently unsealed by the court, he responded to questions about his involvement and motivation in creating the factoids and his involvement in the not-for-profit litigation involving about 70 hospitals across the nation.

Rehberg's deposition is among civil court documents in Dougherty County Superior Court on which Superior Court Judge John R. Harvey, a senior judge from the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, has ordered the seal lifted.

The civil case is a countersuit originally filed in September 2004 in Dougherty Superior Court by Atlanta attorney Robert Mulholland, who represented Rehberg.

The countersuit claims that Phoebe Putney Health System hired private investigators to intimidate Rehberg after he was discovered to be one of the creators of the "Phoebe Factoids," a series of anonymous faxes that were critical of hospital administration and practices.

The countersuit was a response to a civil suit filed in August 2004 against Rehberg by Phoebe Putney Health System. Phoebe dropped the suit in October 2004.

Phoebe Putney Health System is the parent company of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

UNDER OATH

In Rehberg's Oct. 3, 2005, and Oct. 12, 2005, depositions, Phoebe Putney Health System attorney G. Wayne Hillis of Atlanta asked Rehberg about his involvement with Oxford, Miss., attorney Richard Scruggs' not-for-profit litigation. Rehberg, represented by attorney Ralph Scoccimaro, also was questioned about the content and source of information of some of the factoids.

Contacted Friday, Rehberg said his only comment was that he stands behind what he said in his depositions. All other comments attributed to Rehberg in this article were gleaned from those depositions.

Scoccimaro could not be reached Thursday or Friday for comment.

Rehberg, employed as office administrator at Albany Surgical P.C. since 1998, and Albany Surgical PC physician Dr. John Bagnato began in the summer of 2003 to research and compare Phoebe Putney Hospital to 33 other hospitals throughout the state.

They compared hospital 990 tax forms, cost reports from the American Hospital Association and news reports off the Internet, Rehberg said.

Rehberg was unable to produce some of the documents he used to create the factoids, saying that he discarded the 990s and that his computer hard drive had crashed more than once. He said he thought he still had a file of the spreadsheet analysis that was compiled on a CD-ROM.

Rehberg said only a few people knew he was investigating the hospitals. Among them were his employers; Teresa Haire, who assisted him with the analysis; and his wife.

"There were probably other people," Rehberg said. "It wasn't ... It wasn't really a big secret."

'MERE INTEREST ...'

Rehberg said his investigation in summer 2003 started with "mere interest in the various hospitals that make up the (Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals) membership and the perception of how they were doing versus the ... you know, kind of the general press perception of how the hospitals were doing."

Rehberg's interest in the Georgia Alliance stemmed from his time as CFO at Tift General Hospital, which was a member of the Alliance, and from the organization's intervention in Albany Surgical's lawsuit against Georgia Department of Community Health.

Albany Surgical sued the department in the late 1990s after the physicians group was denied state approval to open an ambulatory surgical center in its office on Fourth Avenue across from Phoebe. Albany Surgical did not prevail in the lawsuit.

"I knew (the Alliance) had a lot of power for a long time, because I had been involved in the hospital industry even, you know, for many years," Rehberg said.

He told Hillis that he began scrutinizing the Alliance, "looking at what they do and how they, you know, push bills and the political process and how involved they are."

Rehberg said he "looked at, you know, how much money they had in their, you know, political PAC (Political Action Committee) fund. And I actually got a hold of their 990, and I looked at it. And, you know, this is a well-funded, powerful investigation."

Rehberg said he spent 60 hours over a period of several weeks researching the 34 hospitals that were members of the Alliance.

LITIGATION FILED

Rehberg discussed his findings with Albany Surgical PC physicians; Albany Surgical attorney Victor Moldovan; state House Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton; Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor; and Gov. Sonny Perdue, among others whom he said he could not positively identify under oath.

"We believe that all of this has been a part of an orchestrated campaign," said Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital CEO Joel Wernick responded Friday. "I think their motives have never been clearly indicated."

Besides contributing to the content of the "Phoebe Factoids," their research led to a lawsuit filed by Scruggs against Phoebe Putney Health System and Phoebe Putney Hospital.

The lawsuit alleges that Phoebe Putney Hospital has been overcharging uninsured patients and that, in an aggressive attempt to collect undiscounted medical debt, the hospital has subjected uninsured patients to abusive, harassing and humiliating collection lawsuits, liens and garnishments.

An opinion rendered by the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed a June 2005 decision by Harvey. Harvey dismissed with prejudice two lawsuits that attempted to pursue class action litigation against not-for-profit hospitals.

The litigation was in both federal and various state courts against more than 50 hospitals, including Phoebe. The suits against the Albany hospital and Health System were dismissed in U.S. District Court as well as in Dougherty Superior Court.

Scoccimaro has appealed Harvey's decision to the Georgia Supreme Court.

'I HAD OPINIONS ...'

Rehberg, a certified public accountant, said he has not been paid a fee by Scruggs as a consultant to the not-for-profit litigation, but has received reimbursement for more than $18,900 in expenses occurred between Oct. 12, 2004-Aug. 15, 2005.

"Everything I've done has been because I believe in the cause," Rehberg said.

Rehberg's attorney's fees, which at the time of the second deposition were $102,272, were being paid by Scruggs or the not-for-profit group, he said. "Yeah, but I never took it to be a gift, you know," Rehberg said under oath. "I presume I'm legally obligated."

Rehberg confirmed for Hillis that the first factoid was sent in September 2003 and the last one in early March 2004.

"You know, the intent was I had opinions and I wanted to express my opinions and I thought people should know some of the ... some of the facts and figures about the community hospital," Rehberg said. "And I thought that, you know, it would be good if there was discussion in the community about how things operate."

Wernick said Friday that the hospital has no record of Rehberg expressing his opinion to hospital officials before expressing it by fax.

"The hospital has a policy of receiving input from people, critical or otherwise," Wernick said. "We get it all the time. It doesn't require people to do it under the cloak of secrecy or darkness."

OFFENSIVE HUMOR

The factoids do not include a disclaimer that they are Rehberg's opinion, except for one that Rehberg labeled "editorial parody." In it, he includes quotes attributed to Wernick that imply that Wernick is homosexual.

"That was intended to be humor," said Rehberg, who faxed the factoids to businesses, news media, churches and organizations throughout Albany. "That was in reference that he's excited about a new men's center that was one of the projects that was used to win the Foster Grant Foundation award," he said under oath.

Wernick said there was nothing humorous about the implication. "That offends me; that offends my wife," Wernick said. "It's the worst kind of troublemaking. What kind of people go around making false accusations, except to stir up trouble?"

The factoid that troubled Wernick and hospital officials most was one in which Rehberg expressed "racial mischaracterization of Phoebe somehow segregating patients and that I was a member of the KKK (Ku Klux Klan)."

Not only did the factoid fly in the face of the hospital's mission of offering patient care to all races, Wernick said, but "I don't think the world we live in thinks there's anything funny about trying to engender racial discrimination and racial hate."

SOME 'SMOKE' SECONDHAND

In much of Rehberg's sworn testimony, he said he either extracted information directly from or drew conclusions from the information in the 34 hospitals' 990s to create the content for the factoids.

He testified that he obtained some information secondhand from people he knew, but he did not say under oath that he confirmed the information. He also told Hillis in his testimony that he derived his information from rumors from unverified and unidentified sources.

"It's strictly innuendo and building on fractional truth to build total truth," Wernick said.

Rehberg also said in a March 8, 2005, affidavit, "I felt an obligation to reveal these facts to the public since the media was not disclosing the same."

Rehberg, who is alleging malice by Phoebe officials when they announced to the public that Rehberg was one of the factoid creators, said, "... In my knowledge of living in Albany all my life, I can't recall any other instance where Phoebe held a press conference and just ... you know, just used the press conference to just absolutely smear somebody.

"I think it was intended to hurt me. It was done in the most ... you know, the most vindictive manner that they could do it."

Rehberg said Phoebe's announcement "emotionally tore me up, you know, to have all that going on and going on at press conferences. I wouldn't leave the house for three days. I think it's hurt me. I think it will follow me and hurt me the rest of my career."

Rehberg said that Albany Surgical PC partner Dr. Chris Smith, Bagnato and he were the only people who knew before Aug. 9 that he and Bagnato were involved in preparing and sending the factoids.

NOTHING ELSE TO SAY

He said several people he knew were talking about the faxes and trying to guess the authors. Some who knew how Rehberg felt about the healthcare system asked him if he were the author.

When asked about his feelings that led others to think he was the author, Rehberg said, "I think there are a lot of abuses in (the healthcare system) in terms of, you know, compensation, spending, management or mismanagement, and ... ." (His response was interrupted by Hillis.)

When people joked to him about the factoids, he said he responded, " 'I don't think we'll ever know who the author of the factoids is.' I'd just blow off the question."

Hillis asked Rehberg why he stopped sending the factoids.

"Well, primarily, I felt like it had really worn out its usefulness," Rehberg said. "I thought the most important information was already out, the community kind of had at least, you know, the catalyst for discussion out there. Didn't really have anything else to say about it. That was pretty much it."

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Wrestling fans snatch up tickets

• Many Southwest Georgians say they would like to see more rock and country concerts and children's shows at the Albany Civic Center.

Heather Darenberg

ALBANY — Wrestling fans lined up early Saturday morning to buy the best seats for the World Wrestling Entertainment Raw Live show coming to the Albany Civic Center Sept. 3.

Paul Burns of Newton said he got in line just after 8 a.m. because he did not want to be in the back of a long line.

Burns, who is retired from the military, said he watches wrestling on television and that he's a big fan of wrestlers Edge and John Cena.

"I just knew I had to come" to the show, said Burns, who plans to bring his 8-year-old nephew.

Jim Paulk of Lee County said he was buying tickets because his 9-year-old son, Dalton, is a big fan.

"We're going to try to get front-row seats," Paulk said.

Seth Warwick of Americus said he and his friends were going to the show to celebrate his 25th birthday.

Warwick's friend, Jeannie Mathews of Americus, said she wished more wrestling shows would come to Albany.

"I don't think we ever come here for anything else," Mathews said.

Civic Center Director John Mazzola said the advance sales for the wrestling show were going really well and may be the best the Civic Center has seen this year. Tickets are being sold at the Civic Center and through Ticketmaster for $22, $32 and $42.

While low advance ticket sales have caused some promoters to cancel events in Albany, Mazzola said his staff is "always working on other shows."

"There's a dust of disappointment over our building," Mazzola said. "We're trying to clear that dust off, but it's (going to take) baby steps."

Mazzola said he is in talks with some promoters to bring shows to Albany, but it's too early to say what types of shows may come.

Although nearly 100 people purchased WWE tickets at the Civic Center Saturday morning, many Southwest Georgians say they would like to see more rock and country concerts and children's shows.

Kimberly Maxwell of Leesburg, who was buying tickets for the wrestling show, said she'd like to see some '80s flashback concerts in Albany.

Jerry Poole of Fitzgerald, who was shopping at the Albany Mall Saturday, said he'd like to see bands, such as Styx or 38 Special, in Albany.

"If they got decent concerts, we'd come to them," Poole said.

Joan White of Tifton said "it would have to be something special" in order to bring her to Albany to see a show.

White and her daughter, Joneen, said they like country music.

Marcus Price of Albany said he'd like to see "more things for kids" at the Civic Center.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus and Disney on Ice shows have come to the Civic Center, but Price said his 2-year-old daughter, Zykyria, is a fan of Dora the Explorer and Blue's Clues.

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Schools offer healthier food

• School lunch menus, once consisting of chicken nuggets and sugary drinks, are being replaced with salads and low-fat milk.

Aaron Bensonhaver

ALBANY — With federal regulations becoming more strict about how and what schools feed their students, children in Southwest Georgia schools are starting to see more whole wheat and less sugar in their meals.

Nutrition directors in Dougherty and Lee counties said sugary snacks, such as candy bars and sodas, are a thing of the past, replaced with whole wheat dough — even in cookies — and flavored waters.

"They get upset if we run out of the fruit salad and yogurt" in the high schools, said Marion Tharpe, co-coordinator of child nutrition services for the Dougherty County School System.

Tharpe and Sue Cates, the other co-coordinator, said changes to whole wheat and away from fried and sugary foods have been well-received by parents and students.

Tharpe said students at the high school level have options, including tuna or chicken salads and the fruit salads, aside from the scheduled menu fare.

Pizza and chicken strips are out. Chicken nuggets and French fries are baked or oven-fried to cut down on grease and fat content.

Cates said students at Radium Springs Elementary School also have choices, which once a week include a very popular chef salad.

"If you make them, they move," Cates said.

Other elementary schools are being prepped to start offering choices, Cates said.

"You have to get them ready for it," Cates said. She added that it "takes time" for the children to get used to picking one item each from several categories of foods, such as meats, breads or vegetables, and to eating whole wheat breads instead of white.

Shadrick Mellows, who was a student in the Dougherty County School System last year but now attends a private school, said the food was always fairly tasty.

"It wasn't great, but school food isn't supposed to be great," Mellows said. "But yeah, I saw some changes starting last year, with less fats and sugars and stuff. I think it's a good move."

Two eighth-grade students at Dougherty International Education Middle School said Friday the food was much better than it has been in the past.

Kameron Turner, 13, said he always finds something new to eat, although the schools are still offering a lot of the same foods.

"You can't leave without your vegetable and your milk," he said.

Kameron said his favorite vegetables are green beans and corn, and he had a side of green beans with a hot dog for lunch Friday.

Kiawanna James, 13, said the cafeteria also offers salad and fruit salad. A few students chose the prepackaged salads over a hot dog for lunch Friday.

The school also gives students breakfast in the classrooms each morning, Kiawanna said.

"They want you to have nutrition," she said.

The middle school's cafeteria has three vending machines, where Kameron said students could find alternative foods for breakfast and lunch. Two machines were stocked with water, juices, tea and lemonade. Another machine was filled with bags of chips, popcorn, chocolate-covered sugar wafers, Rice Krispies Treats and honey buns.

Cates and Tharpe said cookies, rolls and other fresh-cooked bread items are either made with whole wheat flour or with a 50/50 mix of wheat and white to wean the children off refined, almost nutrition-free white flour.

In Lee County, Regina Dunn, school food services director, all breads are now whole wheat, including pizza dough, and that fried foods are being phased out.

But changing to healthier menus isn't something done overnight or easily, the directors said.

"It's difficult. They've got to like the taste of it," Dunn said.

Tharpe said every year, school food vendors participate in trade shows for child nutrition workers and directors to discuss federal laws and regulations over nutrition and to let those who make the decisions taste the food so they know whether the children will eat it.

Both school systems have scrapped the selling of food from area restaurants to help ensure students eat something nutritious. Vending machines now dispense fruit juices, flavored and unflavored waters and diet sodas.

"I don't think I've seen any students with a soda," Tharpe said, adding most students who she sees have a can or bottle of juice in their hands.

Dunn said the teachers have brought her ideas on how to make lunches healthier for the children, and parents have been very supportive.

"This is for their children. This is received very well," she said.

Tharpe said the same happens in Dougherty County.

Tharpe said Dougherty County has also partnered with Ready, Set, Go program from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital to help educate students about the importance of physical activity, and to send home information for parents about healthy activities and meals.

"We're trying to educate the children, but we need parents and community support," Tharpe said. "It needs to continue out of school. Just eating alone is not going to do it."

Federal laws have mandated that sugary drinks like soda be removed from school vending machines by 2009, Tharpe and Dunn said.

Staff writer Heather Darenberg contributed to this report.

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Coach likely to be fired

• Coach Donnie Davis has compiled a 4-18 record with the South Georgia Wildcats.

David Hale

ALBANY — South Georgia Wildcats managing partner John Hunt said he has been impressed with head coach Donnie Davis' enthusiasm and passion about the team, but in the end, it wasn't enough for Davis to keep his job.

Hunt said he had a "final conversation" with Davis on Saturday, and expected the Wildcats ownership to make an official decision to fire the second-year head coach during a conference call today.

"(We'll) likely make our decision and likely move in the direction of at least letting (Davis) go," Hunt said. "We'll make that decision when we get on the telephone, but I would be surprised if it didn't go that way."

During their phone conversation Saturday, Davis, who has compiled a 4-18 record with South Georgia, made his case to retain the job, illustrating the Wildcats' statistical improvements as the season progressed.

Hunt said he would reiterate Davis' case to the team's other owners during the conference call, but said that his recommendation would be to make a change, which will likely be formally announced Monday.

"The bottom line is, we had a great conversation about the whole thing, but it's just not going to add up to being enough," Hunt said. "We realize that Donnie certainly does not bare the sole responsibility for the team's failures, but we feel it's important to show the fans and the city of Albany that we're moving in a new direction and are committed to playing winning football in 2007."

Davis could not be reached for comment Saturday, but Hunt said he thought Davis was prepared for the team's decision and did not expect the coach to harbor any ill will.

"I think he was really appreciative of having as much dialogue about it as he and I have had," Hunt said. "The bad blood part of it, I think has been minimized at least by having all these conversations."

Davis replaced Chris Siegfried with six games remaining in the 2005 season, the team's first in Albany. Davis finished the season with a 1-5 record, with a roster filled with few players recruited by his staff.

As the 2006 season approached, Davis promised better results with a team of his own players, but the Wildcats lost their first five games of the season with a roster consisting almost entirely of arenafootball2 rookies. They finished with a 3-13 record for the second consecutive year.

Hunt said the team has identified a candidate to replace Davis as head coach, but declined to release his name while negotiations were ongoing. Hunt said he hoped, however, that the decision to part ways with Davis would clear the way to hiring a new head coach within the next week.

"By virtue of having made this decision (to fire Davis), we're really ready to ramp up conversations with the leading candidate," Hunt said.

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Book heaven

• For a Camilla native, the only logical place to open up her dream store was right at home.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

CAMILLA — Like her family's feed store, Leigh Twitty's Mitchell County book shop has that familiar been-here-forever feel.
Twitty calls most people by name. If she's at home and a visitor comes by, she'll come right down (no worries — she has a 3,000-square-foot loft above the shop).

The fragrance of lavender and rosemary blend with the smell of books to warm the 3,000-square-foot store.

"I wanted it very comfortable, very relaxing. Somewhere where you could come and sit and not have to buy a book," said Twitty, who stocked her store with plush sofas, chairs and ottomans — some new, some old — to maximize seating throughout the shop, as well as in the storefront's sunroom-like setting.

It could be said that the brick-and-mortar store is another of Twitty's fancies — the free spirit is known for pursuing an array of interests, from massage therapy to teaching to management.

She said she loves the smell of old books and has always wanted a bookstore, but Twitty really had to examine her latest itch. Eventually, she approached Camilla's Downtown Development Authority and from them bought, at a bargain, a historic building, one which needed extensive work — rewiring, replumbing, replastering — to meet code standards.

On Dec. 7, the 33-year-old opened up The Bookstore — the no-fuss name she gave her shop.

"I needed to do it when I was young enough to pay off the bills," said a smiling Twitty, who quipped she will be in debt "until I'm in my 50s."

Twitty's neighbors, Joe and Patty Saponaro of Camilla Java, also purchased their building from the downtown authority.

"The development authority came to the conclusion ... that we are in the business of promoting the downtown, revitalizing the downtown and having good healthy businesses (move in) the downtown," said Camilla Mayor Jay Powell, a member of the authority. The authority had purchased the dilapidated buildings years back, said Powell, and was glad to finally get them back on the tax roll.

Twitty carries 6,300 titles —from national bestsellers to tutorials to hobbies. She's getting the hang of ordering books, but at first, she said, it was rather frightening (she unknowingly ordered books on pornography and growing marijuana).

In late June, she purchased more books after sorting through about 10,000 new titles. "(I'm) just sort of flying by the seat of my pants," she said.

The Bookstore is the only one of its kind in Mitchell County, but the Camilla native said her town is a "very literary community. And (before) the people that were serious about it would go to Albany."

Twitty said she's sure there is some competition from Wal-Mart and Albany bookstores, but "it's a lot more convenient to be here (in Camilla), and the fact that I order is helpful as well."

She's not on the Web yet, but it's coming, she said.

Aside from commercial books, Twitty has a deal to carry the texts for the Baconton Charter School and the private Westwood School.

And like the Camilla Java coffee shop next door, The Bookstore is working with the Flint River Arts Council to "bring art to the community," she said. Twitty also is trying to connect readers to writers, and has invited Albany's Michael Aye, author of "The Reaper," to her book club.

Though Twitty has traveled the country, the only place she's ever felt at home is, well, at home.

"I couldn't have afforded to do this (The Bookstore) anywhere else, and it never crossed my mind," Twitty said of doing business in Camilla. "This is home. I've tried to get away several times before, but I always come back."

It's something for which "you have to grow up to understand," she said.

"I've gotten out ... and this is the most comfortable I've been," said Twitty, her feet plopped up on an ottoman covered with books.

She doesn't know what the future holds, but for now Twitty has all she wants —"I'm having a big ol' time," she said, letting out a hearty laugh.

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