Registered Nurse Vanessa Sivadge has been fired from the Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) after claiming to expose Medicaid fraud associated to a program providing transition-related care to minors.
Sivadge had previously backed the testimony of Dr. Eithan Haim who had, according to the National Review, exposed a program giving minors puberty blockers and hormone treatment. The revelation caused outrage in conservative circles, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opening an investigation and the tate Legislature passing a related ban within days.
Sivadge came forward in May 2023 as an anonymous whistleblower in a story published on Christopher F. Rufo's Substack.
"I knew what Dr. Haim reported to be true because I worked in the endocrine clinic, and had first-hand knowledge of patients being prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones despite the hospital repeatedly and publicly denying the program's existence," Sivadge wrote on GiveSendGo, a website she's using to raise money for her legal defense.
According to the Texas attorney general's website, days after Sivadge's whistleblower story was published on Substack, Paxton began investigating the hospital's gender-affirming care program to see if any laws were broken.
"I've been clear that any 'gender transitioning' procedures that hurt our children constitute child abuse under Texas law," said Paxton. "Recent reports indicate that Texas Children's Hospital may be unlawfully performing such procedures, and my office is working to uncover the truth. I am committed to investigating any entity in our state to ensure that our children are protected. Though many unhinged activists compromising the healthcare field think otherwise, children are not to be treated as science experiments."
Soon after, state legislators passed SB 14, a bill that would ban such procedures for minors. The hospital allegedly continued performing transgender medical interventions secretly.
Now, Sivadge is saying that the TCH "is using Medicaid to cover transgender treatments and cross-sex hormones."
Sivadge told TCH that she no longer wanted to take on the responsibility of working in the endocrine clinic and would prefer to transfer to a different department. However, TCH denied her transfer request and instead fired her on August 16.
"Soon after I anonymously came forward to corroborate Dr. Haim, two agents from the FBI came to my home and threatened me," Sivadge wrote in a GiveSendGo statement. "They and told me they were aware of my strong views against 'gender-affirming care' and asked to recruit my help in order to expose Dr. Haim. They said they could make my life difficult, and said I was not safe unless I helped them. I felt scared, intimidated, and overwhelmed."
Sivadge shared with Rufo in a statement that after being fired she retained legal counsel and is currently challenging TCH in court.
EXCLUSIVE: Texas Children's Hospital has fired Vanessa Sivadge, the nurse who exposed alleged Medicaid fraud at the hospital's child sex-change program. TCH denied Sivadge's request to transfer, then terminated her employment after she blew the whistle. pic.twitter.com/j6yxBA7B9s
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) August 19, 2024
"I am relying on the public who is generously supporting my legal defense through donations to my Give Send Go," Sivadge wrote. "Thank you for your continued support telling my story, which is saving children's lives, and encouraging other whistleblowers like me to come forward."
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