I-Team: Do Cash and Paid-Time-Off Awards Show Nepotism at Beaumont?

ABC-7 has uncovered documents that show some employees at William Beaumont Army Medical Center are getting bonuses so generous, some wonder whether they are symptoms of nepotism.

It centers around the Department of Family Medicine headed by Dr. Melissa Molina. According to the documents unveiled by the I-Team, in June of 2010, Molina promoted Kimberley Wodarz to her department. Wodarz is married to Lt. Col. Christopher Wodarz, the chief of resource management at the hospital. He is the principal adviser to the commander on strategic and financial matters.

The documents show that just two days after her promotion, Molina awarded Wodarz a week of paid time off. Then, a month after that, on July 8, 2010, Wodarz was awarded a cash award of $500. And about a month after that, on Aug. 13, 2010, she was awarded yet another cash award of $250. Less than three months later, on Nov. 8, 2010, Wodarz was awarded another week of vacation. On the same day, she was awarded another cash award of $500. About three months after that, on Feb. 15, 2011, Wodarz was awarded another cash award of $500. According to the documents, in total, Wodarz was awarded more than $1,750 and two weeks of paid time off during her first year of employment at the army hospital.

“That’s unusual for any employee, but eyebrows need to be raised when it’s the wife of one of the most important people at the hospital,” said Tom Smith, the director of Public Citizen Texas, one of the most active government watchdog groups in the state. Smith has been reviewing government spending for 25 years. He reviewed ABC-7’s findings.

“Ms. Wodarz may be one of the most qualified people to ever work at Beaumont Army Medical Center, but in order to qualify for these kinds of awards as rapidly as she has, there needs to be some demonstrable proof that she merited them,” Smith said.

More than once, ABC-7 asked the hospital for proof of Wodarz’s merits. The command refused an on-camera interview. After ABC-7 persisted, Col. Dennis Doyle revealed that the hospital reviewed the award process based on the I-Team’s questions.

“There was no evidence of wrongdoing or favoritism,” he wrote in a statement. Hospital officials explained why Wodarz was qualified for employment. She competed through a vetting process and was eligible through the military spouse preference program, but they did not answer questions about the frequent cash bonuses.

In a statement to ABC-7, hospital officials initially stated that “the final review of the applicant’s qualifications is the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC) on Fort Bliss, which is a separate/independent agency from William Beaumont Army Medical Center.”

Initially, Fort Bliss officials refused to answer any questions about the CPAC’s role in Beaumont’s issuance of awards. When asked if they could explain the processes of the CPAC, Fort Bliss officials also refused. ABC-7 then asked that Fort Bliss provide an official reason for their refusal to answer questions.

Maj. Myles Caggins, a post spokesman, issued a statement: “Fort Bliss CPAC processes awards but plays no role in recommending or approving them. The review and recommendations are the responsibility of management.” In other words, Beaumont officials said the Fort Bliss CPAC reviews the awards at question, while the Fort Bliss CPAC said it does no such thing.

ABC-7 went to the Wodarzes’ home to give them an opportunity to respond to the highly unusual cash and paid time off awards.

“I have nothing to say,” said Christopher Wodarz, before closing the door to an ABC-7 crew.

In the same department, ABC-7 discovered a paper trail showing Susana Aguilera, the hospital’s chief union steward, also received more than $1,750 in bonuses within two months of being promoted to Molina’s department. The chief union steward is a trained by the employees’ union to be a liaison between employees and hospital management. She can bring issues or concerns from employees to management.

“The documents outline a troubling pattern in practice at the Beaumont hospital of what appears to be favoritism given to relatives and friends of higher-ups over at the hospital,” Smith said.

Wodarz’s awards are not the only practices in question. Molina’s management assistant is Armida Almager. The records show Almager’s son, Andrew Garcia, was directly hired as a nurse consultant in Molina’s department days after his 23rd birthday this year. Garcia was hired as a Grade/Level 11, Step/Rate 05, with an annual pay of $71,600.

“When I saw the amount of pay offered to a now 23-year-old fresh out of college, my eyebrows went up and I was really astounded that he’s earning that kind of money. Usually that kind of pay level is something reserved for upper, mid-level management or beginning senior management in federal service,” Smith said.

That Garcia was hired at a pay mostly reserved for experienced managers may not be the most eye-brow raising fact. The documents show Garcia was directly hired, meaning his position was not advertised. No one else had the opportunity to apply for it. It’s a move reserved for extremely qualified candidates in a hard to fill position.

The documents state that Garcia’s high pay was determined using the Superiour Qualifications and Special Needs Pay-Setting Authority under 5 CFR 531.212. That code of federal regulations states that candidates can obtain that an unusually high pay if the candidate has superior qualifications or fills a special agency need, among other things.

Hospital officials refused to comment on whether Garcia meets those “superior qualifications.”

“You have to ask yourself. ‘Is a 23-year-old fresh out of college eligible for that kind of special treatment, and would they have gotten it were it not for the relationship between the executive assistant to Ms. Molina and her son,” Smith said.

Commanders didn’t authorize Beaumont employees to speak. ABC-7 still gave Molina an opportunity to explain the unusual cash awards and Garcia’s hiring. The day an ABC-7 crew went to her house, Molina went outside, saw the ABC-7 and went back inside.

Four months after our initial inquiry, Beaumont’s commander, Col. Dennis D. Doyle, sent ABC-7 a statement.

“I am taking the additional step of bringing in an investigating officer from outside of this command to conduct a complete review of the civilian hiring and awards processes relating to the Department of Soldier and Family Medicine. As Commander, WBAMC, it is my responsibility to ensure that we are good stewards of taxpayer dollars, and to be transparent with the public as to how that funding is allocated.”

ABC-7 will continue to ask questions and investigate what the outcome of that review is.

“Cash awards or vacation time should be based on merit, based on standards that have been established and vetted through the public, and readily available to anyone who wants to determine whether or not the awards are merited. … This is going back to the bad old days and the bad old ways of hiring and promoting and rewarding friends and families,” Smith said.