Former staff say doctors endangered patients at Rockford’s OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Three former employees from OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center trade the operating room for a conference room Tuesday.

In their attorney’s office in Oak Brook, the women take their experiences at the Rockford hospital public.

“It’s been really emotional. It still is,” described Cindamon Proffitt, who served as operating room manager at Saint Anthony from 2018 through 2025. “It’s just hard. You want to do the right thing for the patients.”

Proffitt joins two other former operating room leaders at OSF in a lawsuit against the medical center: Sofia Gudino, previously an operating room manager, as well as Tina Peppers, a former director of surgical services.

“Every step that we took and measure that we took was to ensure that the outcomes of our patients were the best that they could be,” detailed Gudino.

Represented by Jeffrey Law Office, the trio alleges the hospital put profit and efficiency over patients’ health and safety. The 18-page suit lays out claims neurosurgeons reportedly violating hospital policy as well as OSF leadership ignoring complaints from staff.

The lawsuit — brought by the Illinois Whistleblower Act — centers on a pair of neurosurgeons and their actions between 2023 and 2025, when the trio became aware of “repeated and dangerous safety violations within the hospital’s neurosurgery service line,” it reads.

“We had a new group come in for our neuro providers,” said Peppers. “They were struggling a little bit to follow rules.”

One example from the former employees includes patients reportedly left unattended on the operating table while under anesthesia. On February 3, 2025, one surgeon allegedly left a patient for nearly an hour; on April 17, 2025, another doctor departed the OR and an induced patient for a meeting which lasted 37 minutes.

“The patient’s asleep. They can’t advocate for themselves,” said Proffitt. She mentioned the longer a patient stays on anesthesia, the higher the risk for postoperative complications.

The trio also says patients paid for this unattended time on their bills — possibly without knowing a surgeon wasn’t in the room for a period.

“They’re being billed for that time by the minute,” explained Proffitt. “Efficiency is important, but patient safety is number one.”

Another concern for the OR staff appeared October 12, 2023. The trio said a surgeon was found asleep against a surgical microscope just before an operation was to begin.

Peppers allegedly warned a chief medical officer of the danger with proceeding, but the surgery continued.

“This was an elective procedure, not emergent in any way,” mentioned Peppers.

According to the lawsuit, other safety concerns from the trio include:

• Failure to complete surgical counts and breaches of sterile technique
• Hostile and erratic behavior by neurosurgeons that jeopardized staff safety
• Improper use of unapproved medical equipment (synaptive tractography system)
• Intimidation of nursing staff who questioned unsafe practice

The women asserted they reported these incidents and behaviors to hospital leadership through “multiple channels,” such as incident reports, OSF’s Integrity Line and email/verbal reporting.

“Despite repeated reports, no investigations were initiated, no corrective actions taken, and the unsafe behavior continued,” reads the lawsuit. “In fact, instead of corrective measures, Defendant retaliated against Plaintiffs, warning them to stop filing reports and assigned them disproportionate neuro-only duties.”

The women say most of their reporting went disregarded, but Peppers mentioned one response from her boss.

“His response to me exactly was, ‘We can’t afford to lose another surgeon.’”

The women described an alleged lack of responses as deflating for their faith in the hospital and medical care.

“I got very stressed because I felt like I couldn’t protect my frontline staff. I felt like I couldn’t protect my managers. I felt like I didn’t have a voice in keeping my patients safe,” said Peppers.

Prior to these alleged incidents, Gudino saw OSF’s values as “to take care of patients as if those patients are your loved ones that are on the table.”

She says without responses from hospital leadership, she struggles to believe in that practice.

“Anything that seems that it’s off in any sense of the word, we should always follow up on so that you can make it better for the next patient that’s in there,” said Gudino.

By May 2025, the trio left their positions at Saint Anthony. All but one of the women remain in the medical field. Proffitt’s experience trying to find a new career brought her to tears.

“I’ve applied to over 34 positions. I have two Bachelor’s degrees. I have a master’s, and it’s just been really difficult.”

The women mentioned claims of sexual harassment also prompted an environment that “became intolerably hostile,” with the trio allegedly verbally abused and ostracized, and supportive staff warned to stay silent.

“They were forced out as a result of the management there at OSF,” said Antonio Jeffrey, who represents the former employees. When asked what justice looks like in this case, the attorney hoped for change at OSF.

“It’s about ensuring public safety,” he maintained. Jeffrey felt his clients were owed millions of dollars in damages following their experiences.

“I want every patient out there to know that we always fought for them,” added Gudino.

OSF tells WIFR “no comment” regarding the lawsuit.

To the best of the trio’s knowledge, patients who may have been left unattended on anesthesia may not be aware they were ever a part of this alleged ordeal.