Frank Ruelas (francisco.ruelas@dignityhealth.org) is a Facility Compliance Professional with Dignity Health in Phoenix, AZ.

The fear of retaliation may be one of if not the most significant barrier for members of an organization to overcome in their efforts to participate and support their organization’s compliance program. For this reason, it is imperative that new members clearly understand the organization’s position and policy that retaliation against those who make a good faith report involving a compliance concern will not be tolerated. Of course, getting people to believe that they should not fear retaliation is much easier said than done. However, that does not mean that a compliance professional should not make and continue to make the effort to communicate this as effectively as possible.