| For Immediate Release
For Further Information ---------- Tamera "Tami" Gale Subject: Bill 1377 that allows the North Dakota Podiatry Board to borrow UNLIMITED money to litigate my husband. Madam Chair and Committee Members: My name is Tami Gale. My address is 2418 Coolidge Avenue in Bismarck. I am here to testify against House Bill 1377, a law that would allow the North Dakota Podiatry Board the ability to borrow UNLIMITED money to litigate my husband. I am not only here as Dr. Brian Gale's wife, I am here as a tax paying citizen of North Dakota. And as a taxpayer I am very angry at the thought of my hard earned tax money going to such a worthless cause. I feel there are other programs and agencies that this money could better serve.
I'm also concerned about the amendment that was added to this bill when it was brought back to the House Committee. This amendment is very vaguely stated and if interpreted wrongly the Board could accept donations and payoffs from competitors and other people in direct competition with certain doctors in an attempt to destroy his or her practice and career.
I'm also wondering how the Board plans on paying this loan back and if a forgiveness of debt is asked for then once again the burden will be placed on the tax payers.
I am also here as Dr. Gale's wife. I'm here to tell a story and give examples of what can and has happened when a Board is left to supervise itself with no checks and balances to ensure that fairness and justice is carried out properly. I met Brian in 1994 and we have been married for four years and have two beautiful children. I can not begin to tell you what this has been like to live through this. There have been many lies told not only about myself but about Brian in an attempt to sway people's opinion into thinking that he is a bad person, and as Gary Thune has compared him to a criminal. I think the true criminals here are the individuals who have stood before you and misled you into thinking that this bill is for the benefit of all the Podiatrists and not just a certain few. This has had a tremendous effect on not only our life but on the lives of our families and friends. We have acquired a tremendous amount of debt and most of my husbands time is spent trying to defend himself against these ruthless tyrants.
I am not an MD, Podiatrist or a nurse. I have a social work degree and work at Manchester House in Bismarck dealing with children who have emotional disturbances. So what I'm about to say may at first not seem to bare much weight but it does. At the beginning of this nightmare I tried to separate myself from the situation not only because of it being so stressful but thinking it was too complicated for me to understand. But after a Board meeting in Jamestown in 1999 I picked up the complaints and records and came to the conclusion as a person with one biology class to my name that my husband had done nothing wrong. I would like to give you a few examples of how my husband was disciplined and to give you a better idea on how the Board has acquired this outrageous debt.
One of the reasons Brian was disciplined was for not taking x-rays during a surgery he performed. What's amazing to me is not only did he in fact take those x-rays but the x-rays are in the record and there are reports from Brian as well as a radiologist that are also in the record. Brian pointed this out to the Board members several times in writing. When I reviewed the record there was indeed an x-ray so you can ask how five supposedly highly educated men came to the conclusion that it did not exist.
One other complaint that I will use as an example was the Board disciplined Brian on the basis that he didn't do enough conservative care prior to surgery. The ironic and almost funny thing about this case was that Dr. Fanous had referred this patient to Brian after he felt that his services were no longer helping this patient and that surgery that Brian could do was needed. The Board not only did not ask for Dr. Fanous's records that would have clearly shown he had done the conservative care but also chose to ignore a letter sent by Dr. Fanous stating that he had done the conservative care. A few years ago my daughter was being treated by a family practice doctor for chronic ear infections. After many months of treatment this doctor referred her to an ear, nose and throat specialist and a few days later she was in surgery for tubes removal of her adenoids. Should this doctor have had to go back to point A to justify doing surgery on her?
There are a few things I would like to ask you before you cast your vote. I would like you to take a few moments and think about if this was happening to you. Think about if this was your wife or husband better yet your child. Think about your child going through four years of college and getting accepted into medical school and then being accepted into the first four year surgical residency in the United States. Then after all of this hard work to have his or her competition down the street destroy their lives.
I would also ask you to make an educated vote. A vote that would not be cast solely on what has been said here today. But find out why certain individuals have stood before you and disrespected you by telling you things that are not true for their personal gain.
Lastly think about the example you will be setting not only for the other Boards but all citizens in the state. I feel that by supporting this bill you are telling not only the adults of this state but children that it is OK to lie, deceive to use money and power and any possible means you can use to destroy someone's life for personal gain.
Tamera "Tami" Gale brian@briangale.com |