Doctor claims she was pulled from Golisano Children's Hospital NICU after raising safety concerns

A doctor at Golisano Children's Hospital is suing the University of Rochester, claiming she faced retaliation for calling out alleged unsafe practices in the neonatal ICU.

Dr. Olachi Mezu-Ndubuisi's concerns included what she saw as the NICU’s overly aggressive use of fluids, ventilators and oxygen, and restrictive policies on transfusions.

“And sometimes these actions by other providers have resulted in death of infants,” she claimed in the lawsuit detailing specific cases in her 68-page federal lawsuit.

Mezu-Ndubuisi has been at the university since 2022, and is the only Black neonatologist and only Black tenured faculty in her department. She spends most of her time doing research funded by the National Institutes of Health.

She alleged that she faced added and unfair scrutiny from the start. But her suggestions for a more conservative approach to treatment initially were welcomed, according to the lawsuit. Some of the policies, including fluid management, have been changed.

It wasn’t long, though, until the workplace allegedly turned hostile.

The NICU already was known to be rife with gossip and micro-aggressions among staff, she claimed, and quoted emails purporting to show administrators knew this was a longstanding problem. But baseless rumor turned to false reports about her clinical decisions, the lawsuit states. And the hospital pulled her from clinical duties in late December — allegedly raising concerns about her deviating from the very protocols she argued were unsafe.

She stated that no newborn has died under her care. She remains on the university’s research faculty.

“During the time the plaintiff was removed from service, the department continued to experience more preventable deaths of babies, most of which the plaintiff had previously tried to help the hospital address,” the lawsuit states. “Instead of addressing these safety concerns, the institution chose to target the plaintiff.”

In a statement, URMC noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission previously reviewed and dismissed Mezu-Ndubuisi's claims.

“We are not commenting on the specifics, because this is a personnel matter involving a working member of our research faculty,” the statement reads. “However, we can affirm unequivocally that Golisano Children’s Hospital is committed to providing high-quality care to patients and their families, ensuring patient safety, and maintaining a supportive and inclusive work environment for all.”

Earlier this month, the hospital was awarded Advanced Perinatal Certification by the Joint Commission , a national accrediting organization, for significantly exceeding “strict standards of care for maternal, fetal and newborn health,” a hospital spokesperson said.

Mezu-Ndubuisi did not respond to messages seeking comment.

She previously was at the University of Wisconsin, which she sued earlier this year. Both lawsuits raise allegations of discrimination and retaliation by the institutions.

Here, she is seeking renewal of her clinical privileges and reinstatement to the NICU without restrictions. Mezu-Ndubuisi's return was conditioned on her agreeing to added monitoring and coaching, which she refused, arguing it would make her “a target” for further harassment.

She also is seeking damages and asking the court to order implicit bias training for the NICU staff.