HAWAII — In a letter sent to the Department of Defense, Hawaii's congressional delegation calls for an investigation into allegations made against Blaine McGraw.
McGraw is the former Fort Hood obstetrician-gynecologist accused of secretly recording patients during private examinations.
According to his service record obtained by 25 News, McGraw served as an OBGYN intern at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii from June 2019 to July 2020. He then served as a OBGYN resident from July 2020 to August 2023.
In the letter, delegates says the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s (CID) investigation into McGraw must "be extremely thorough," and include a review of his clinical rotations at civilian institutions in Hawaii.
"We urge the Department of Defense to move swiftly and thoroughly in the investigation to address these allegations. Any investigation must also be conducted with special care by Department investigators to protect the rights of patients and victims and follow federal privacy laws." The letter continued, "Furthermore, we urge the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (DoD IG) to conduct an urgent inquiry into how the Army and the Department of Defense, the Defense Health Agency, and Major McGraw’s supervisors failed to stop these alleged actions from occurring."
The delegates request an update on the investigation within six months, and seek answers to these questions:
1. Will the Department commit to a thorough investigation of all patient complaints regarding Major Blaine D. McGraw?
2. What external and internal trauma-informed resources and support services will the Department and Army provide to former patients and their families during and after the investigation?
3. How will Army CID’s investigation uphold federal privacy protections of Major McGraw’s former patients, while also ensuring alleged victims can provide valuable testimony and evidence to investigators?
4. Has the Department and Army notified the Hawaii Medical Board of the suspension and active criminal investigation of Major McGraw?
5. Has the Department notified civilian medical institutions where Major McGraw practiced during his postings at Tripler Army Medical Center and Fort Hood of its CID investigation and extended resources and support services to their potentially impacted patients?
6. Will the Department commit to identifying and assessing any systemic failures that allowed Major McGraw to engage in this alleged behavior for as long as alleged? Will the DoD also commit to providing information on how it will address these failures?
7. Will the Department conduct a review of the Defense Health Agency’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs?
a. Will the Department commit to investigating any medical providers who supervised Major McGraw or may have had knowledge of the alleged misconduct?
8. What programs, policies and procedures will the Department and DoD IG review to ensure that victims of sexual assault or misconduct by physicians and other medical providers feel empowered to file complaints and that their complaint will be taken seriously?
The Army suspended McGraw from his position on Oct. 17 following a patient's allegations. Since then, military officials have established a dedicated call center, assigned special victims counsel and created a patient support line to ensure those affected have access to resources and assistance during the ongoing investigation.
