Vanessa Sivadge, a nurse who exposed the practice of performing gender reassignment surgeries on minors at Texas Children’s Hospital, said she was terminated from her position.
Sivadge, alongside other informants, disclosed cases where the hospital in Houston was engaged in gender reassignment procedures on children, some as young as 11, and purportedly involved in fraudulent activities linked to Medicaid and such procedures for minors.
In a communication shared with Christopher Rufo of City Journal, who initially reported the whistleblower allegations, Sivadge revealed she was dismissed from her job “effective immediately” on a Friday. Rufo then publicized this update on social media the following Monday.
Previously, in May, Sivadge sought a religious exemption to move from the endocrinology department, where she was involved in administering hormone treatments to minors, to the cardiology department. Her request aimed to avoid participation in treatments she believed caused irreversible damage to children questioning their gender.
However, following her whistleblower accusations becoming public, she was placed on leave. According to Sivadge, Texas Children’s cited her whistleblower claims and her request for religious accommodation as reasons. Sivadge argued her dismissal was illegal, citing it as retaliation for exposing the hospital’s “deceptive practices and Medicaid fraud” and for ignoring her transfer request based on her religious beliefs.
Facing the challenge of contesting her termination, Sivadge mentioned she is depending on financial contributions from the public to cover her legal expenses.
Sivadge had earlier accused Texas Children’s of committing Medicaid fraud deliberately, especially in cases involving cross-sex hormones for children. During an interview on the podcast “Relatable” with Allie Beth Stuckey, she recounted instances where providers wrongly diagnosed transgender patients to prescribe unnecessary hormones – like diagnosing a healthy 16-year-old male with estrogen deficiency to justify prescribing estrogen.
According to Sivadge, the hospital did not attempt to conceal these practices. Further accusations against Texas Children’s, identified as the nation’s largest children’s hospital, include the insertion of puberty-blocking implants in several minors, with patients as young as 11 years being subjected to this procedure.
Sivadge and other whistleblowers also highlighted a worrying “culture of fear” within the hospital, particularly concerning gender-related treatments for minors, with certain doctors being labeled as “activists.”
