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Teton coroner sues for right to practice medicine in county - The Sheridan Press

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JACKSON — Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue is suing St. John’s Health for the right to practice medicine in Teton County.

Blue sold his private clinic to the hospital, and that purchase agreement contained a non-compete clause, barring Blue from practicing within county lines for three years after the termination of the agreement. He is seeking to have the non-compete clause declared void in district court.

Blue sold Emerg-A-Care, the clinic he started 39 years ago, to St. John’s Health in September 2020. He remained there as an independently contracted physician but resigned in October with a 120-day notice, claiming a hostile work environment. His last day was Feb. 10.

“Dr. Blue approached St. John’s Health about purchasing his clinic, and St. John’s understood that he was doing so because he was retiring,” the hospital wrote in a December email to the News&Guide.

James Berrett, the director of physician practices during Blue’s employment, is also listed as a defendant. Blue claims his pledge not to compete with St. John’s is not enforceable, that the defendants interfered with his contract with St. John’s, that he was discharged as the result of a hostile work environment, and finally, St. John’s and Berrett breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied in his contract.

“If this Non-Compete is enforced, Dr. Blue will have to move out of Teton County and likely to another state in order to set up a practice at great loss to the Teton County public and eviscerates many patients’ choice of physician as well as access to critical and specialized care,” Blue’s court filing said.

The hospital has petitioned the court to dismiss Blue’s claims, saying that he “has failed to state any claim upon which relief can be granted.”

In court documents, the hospital takes issue with Blue’s claim of contractual interference, stating a valid claim for such interference requires a third party be the one interfering, one who is not already involved in the contract.

“Dr. Blue received everything to which he was entitled under the parties’ Personal Services Agreement,” the court filing said.

Blue’s account (first published on Facebook, then in the Jackson Hole Daily, then on NBC) is that on Oct. 8, 2021, his supervisor, Berrett, told Blue he couldn’t use his personal computer, which he needs as Teton County coroner, when working at the hospital. According to Blue’s complaint, St. John’s and Berrett “waited until Dr. Blue was away overseas and then confiscated his personal computer from his temporary office.”

In addition to having the non-compete declared void, Blue claims that in having his personal computer removed the hospital created an “unworkable medical situation and a hostile work environment,” and such “interference with the services contract” resulted in Blue having to resign.

St. John’s said Blue was not barred from using his computer.

“He was not issued this directive,” the hospital wrote in an email to the News&Guide.

Blue gave his resignation on Oct. 13, 2021, but the terms of the contract he signed with the hospital mandated 120 days’ notice, making Blue’s last day effective Feb. 10.

The December email also said Blue “was not forced by St. John’s to resign. His tender of his resignation was a surprise to St. John’s Health.”

Blue’s non-compete in Teton County may complicate abortion access, as he is one of only two doctors in Wyoming who makes publicly available pregnancy termination, according to court documents.

Under a previous agreement, St. John’s could still allow Blue to offer surgical abortions at its facilities, the doctor said. The hospital’s response also stated that while Blue is barred from practicing in Teton County, Wyoming, for three years, he can legally practice in Teton County, Idaho, just 20 to 25 miles away. That is an option Blue said he intends to undertake.

“I have an apartment with my aircraft hangar over there that I could easily see patients out of,” Blue told the News&Guide in a Wednesday interview. “I’m not abandoning my patients [though] that’s what it seems like the hospital wants me to do.”

Blue added that practicing in Idaho may burden his elderly patients. Blue assisted one last surgery on Thursday, the final date of his contract with St. John’s. Now several of his patients are in limbo, he said, wondering if their doctor will be able to see them.

“We will try to let people know as soon as we hear from the court,” Blue said.

He is hoping for an immediate hearing.

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