Former vice president accuses American Medical Center of fiscal responsibility
Officials at Kyiv`s Amercian Medical Center strongly denied Feb. 12 reports of cash‑flow troubles that circulated after a disgruntled former employee sent out a mass e‑mail claiming the clinic was in dire financial straits.
Gary Wentworth, former vice president and director of the Kyiv clinic, which is popular among foreigners, said he left the clinic because it was poorly managed. Wentworth said he hopes to open his own clinic in Kyiv by spring.
In an e‑mail sent out to about 200 foreigners, Wentworth accused an AMC owner, Dennis Sokol, and Sokol’s son, AMC President Alex Sokol, of poor fiscal management. He also alleged that they hired unqualified personnel, that they paid staff salaries late and that they were involved in a legal dispute with a prominent pharmaceutical firm.
In addition, Wentworth claimed AMC still owed him more than $40,000 in past‑due salary payments.
AMC representatives denied Wentworth’s allegations, and charged that Wentworth’s e‑mail message was part of a “black public relations scheme” designed to discredit the clinic and steal the company’s clientele.
“Obviously, this is very damaging. He is trying to ruin our reputation,” Alex Sokol told the Post.
Wentworth had been with AMC since 1999. His contract with the company ended in January. He said he opted not to renew it because of conflicts with management.
Instead, Wentworth decided to attempt to open his own clinic.
In the same e‑mail message that contained the allegations against his former employer, Wentworth appealed for financial backing.
He told the Post that he and several partners have already raised 75 percent of the nearly $200,000 they feel is necessary in order to establish a clinic.
American Medical Centers, which operates a hospital in Moscow and clinics in St. Petersburg, Prague and Warsaw, is part of Global Care Ltd., a holding company.
Sokol maintains that American Medical Centers is growing steadily, is free of financial troubles and hopes to merge with Global Doctor, a health‑care provider that operates similar clinics in Asia. If shareholders approve the merger, the new group will control 12 clinics, Sokol said.
