Jan Kemp, UGA whistleblower, dies

The whistleblower who exposed the University of Georgia's preferential grading system for athletes has died. Jan Kemp died Friday of complications from Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Kemp was fired from UGA in 1982, and won a court case after she sued saying she was targeted because she protested UGA's allowing athletes to play sports even after they failed remedial classes. The trial eventually led to sweeping reforms at UGA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

(Associated Press)

Hospital to settle lawsuit

One Georgia’s most prestigious hospitals has agreed to pay millions to settle a whistleblower lawsuit. St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta will settle accusations that from 2000 to 2005, it submitted outpatient Medicare claims that should have been billed inpatient. The hospital received much higher payments as a result. The nurse who blew the whistle on the hospital will receive nearly 5-million dollars as part of the settlement.

Legislators question settled Grady lawsuit

Six state lawmakers want a Fulton County judge to open the records in a whistleblower lawsuit against Grady Hospital. The six include Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson and Georgia Senate Majority leader, Tommie Williams, according to the online news site Insider Advantage. The case involved former Grady doctor James J. Murtagh, Jr. In 2000, Murtagh accused Emory University and Grady of giving him a bad review after he accused them of conspiring to misuse federal research funds. The case was settled and the files subsequently sealed. But lawmakers say citizens have the right to know if publicly-funded Grady Hospital paid Murtagh for his silence. In recent months, mounting debt in the tens of milions has threatened to shut the dorrs to the region's only level one trauma center.