Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu. (Tripler Army Medical Center)
The criminal investigation into claims that a Fort Hood OB-GYN secretly recorded his exams with patients has grown, with the Army confirming it is contacting roughly 1,600 women under his care at a previous duty station.
Those letters alert patients from Tripler Army Medical Center in Oahu, Hawaii, that they saw Maj. Blaine McGraw, a doctor now under criminal investigation, and include a link to an online survey to help criminal investigators understand each patient’s interactions with him. McGraw was suspended Oct. 17 from Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas, after hospital officials received a report of misconduct.
Combined with the 1,400 letters sent to patients at Fort Hood, there are now roughly 3,000 women who could be questioning their visits and the medical care they received. Some women were contacted directly by Army Criminal Investigation Division because images of their exams were found on devices collected from McGraw, according to legal filings.
The legal filings against McGraw and the Army describe allegations of the doctor secretly recording exams, groping women, forcing them into unnecessary procedures and making lewd or inappropriate comments that made them feel uncomfortable.
“We rely on our doctors to do what’s best for us,” said Christine Dunn, an attorney with experience litigating sexual violence who is representing some of McGraw’s former patients. “Now, looking back and knowing that you had a doctor who had ulterior motives and patient care was not his primary focus, of course you’re going to question every touch, every medical procedure, every decision that he did.”
The doubt will follow them into every future medical appointment, she said.
McGraw, 47, has not been charged with a crime as Army CID is continuing to investigate and speak with former patients.
“The Army is committed to supporting patients affected by these allegations,” said Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokeswoman. “We have swiftly established a call center, assigned a Special Victims Counsel, and are actively notifying patients. Additionally, we have created a patient support line to offer access to resources and assistance. We encourage anyone with information related to the investigation to contact the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.”
The Defense Health Agency said Friday the top concern is patients and their families.
“We have launched a comprehensive internal review staffed by clinical experts to ensure accountability, review systemic safeguards, and rebuild the confidence of our community in the hospital. In addition, we are also reviewing clinical protocols, supervision mechanisms, and reporting and complaint procedures across the entire enterprise to ensure that our hospitals remain a safe and secure environment for our beneficiaries and personnel,” the agency said in a statement.
Andrew Cobos, an attorney representing the woman who filed a lawsuit in Bell County under the name Jane Doe and about 60 other women, said the new batch of letters likely stems from an expansion of the criminal investigation beyond Fort Hood. He said his firm represents women from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
“This is an Army OB-GYN, but it is an epidemic that exists in the military,” Cobos said. “What we see is one assault after another, after another that gets investigated and that no change ever gets made. No meaningful change ever occurs and now we have the largest sexual assault case in the history of the military.”
Before McGraw attended medical school and began in 2019 as an intern at Tripler, he was in the Army Reserve as a physician assistant at Fort Campbell, Ky., from 2010 to 2013, according to his service record released this week by the Army. He first entered the Army in 2006, serving in the infantry at Fort Campbell.
He deployed to Iraq twice and Afghanistan one time, according to his service record.
The earliest report of misconduct Cobos said he has received dates to 2020, while McGraw was assigned to Tripler.
Next month, Cobos said, a group of victims will rally at Fort Hood’s Vanessa Guillen Gate.
“What we’re asking is that the Army takes accountability for allowing this type of tolerance to exist in the first place,” he said.
