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Over the course of a yearlong investigation, the Tribune found that prominent Illinois health systems allowed employees accused of mistreating patients to continue providing care.
Failure to adequately respond to allegations of abuse has had devastating consequences for victims who feel betrayed by the medical systems they trusted for their health and safety.
While some medical systems in other states have publicly reckoned with their failures, Illinois health care providers have quietly settled lawsuits, entered into confidentiality agreements with patients and often refused to admit wrongdoing.
Patients reported being sexually abused by medical providers. Health systems allow them to continue working.
Tribune reporters identified allegations of sexual abuse of patients in Illinois by obtaining and reviewing thousands of pages of medical board disciplinary findings, arrest records, police reports, Illinois Department of Public Health investigations, civil and criminal court documents, and analyzing state data. The Tribune filed 50 Freedom of Information Act requests and conducted more than three dozen interviews.
In total, the Tribune identified 52 healthcare professionals accused of sexually abusing patients in Illinois over the past decade. The Tribune found that at least 27 of those workers have faced allegations from multiple patients in recent years. The actual numbers are almost certainly higher, as most allegations are not reported to law enforcement or the government. Read part one of our research.
![Dr. Lisa Eller was accused of sexual abuse and sexual assault after she and other patients went to the police for his behavior. It stands near Haohua Yang's former Yorkville office. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)](https://bestamericancomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/1708865543_975_Read-the-investigation-into-sexual-misconduct-by-service-providers.jpg)
Failure to protect: Flawed state oversight allows doctors accused of abuse to continue seeing patients
A Tribune investigation found that doctors and other health care providers accused of sexual harassment by patients sometimes continued to work for years because of loopholes in Illinois law and the licensing agency’s slowness in taking disciplinary action.
Providers continued to harm other patients, in some cases because their licenses remained in good standing with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Read the second part of our research.
Help the Chicago Tribune report medical abuse
The Tribune hopes to continue reporting on how hospitals and other medical institutions respond when patients report incidents of sexual harassment by their healthcare providers. If you have information to share, please fill out this form. Your answers will not be published without your permission.