Just over four months after she was fired, one of two former Bronson Rambling Road pediatricians has filed a defamation lawsuit against the healthcare system.
In court documents, Bunka's attorney alleges that four Bronson administrators began a smear campaign against her to justify her termination.
One of the administrators is accused of disparaging her on social media under an alias.
Bunka's attorney, Katherine Smith Kennedy, is from the law firm of Pinsky Smith in Grand Rapids. She said Bunka was fired for “sounding the alarm” about patient care.
“And then when she started speaking out and wanting to be reinstated and finding all the support, that's when there's a concerted effort to damage her reputation,” said Smith Kennedy.
Bunka says she and her colleague, Dr. Randall Dyk, were fired on January 29. She says she was escorted from the building in front of patients and staff. The dismissal came after both doctors questioned new policies they believed would lower the quality of care.
"Being fired from Bronson was devastating to me," said Bunka, who initially hoped to be reinstated.
"This has really hurt even more, knowing that I was fired, but also, afterward, was disparaged."
Within a month of her firing, more than 4,000 patients and colleagues signed an online petition demanding that both doctors be reinstated.
Bunka, who also filed a wrongful termination claim with the National Labor Relations Board, said her lawsuit is not about money.
“It's about sounding the alarm that physicians are often being forced to meet strict metrics to satisfy a health system's bottom line.”
In an emailed statement from Bronson, the healthcare system said it was "disappointed that Dr. Bunka chose to file this lawsuit. We disagree with her allegations. We will continue to focus our time and attention on our patients while our attorneys respond to the lawsuit in court.”
A new practice
Bunka also announced her plans for the future.
“Dr. Dyk and I are opening our own pediatric practice. It's called Kalamazoo Pediatrics. And that will be open sometime soon. We're hoping for late summer.”
Bunka said Kalamazoo Pediatrics will be located at 670 Mall Drive in Portage.
