DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License renewed & current as of 1/30/2015
CALIFORNIA—Dr. James Sears, the star of the hit television show The Doctors, is leaving the show because the police are investigating him. According to TMZ, Dr. James Sears is under investigation for threatening to kill a man, and it’s all over a woman with whom Dr. James Sears was involved.
The strange incident took place some time last month. According to authorities, a woman was at the home of Dr. James Sears in Huntington Beach, when suddenly things took a strange twist. The specific details of what happened have not been made public, but the woman is said to have become uneasy or uncomfortable at his home and decided to call her ex-boyfriend to come and give her a ride home.
When the ex-boyfriend arrived, he helped escort the woman from the home, and that’s when all hell broke loose. The woman told law enforcement authorities that Dr. Sears called the ex-boyfriend on the phone and began hurling insults at him. The ex has been identified as Pete Scalisi. Dr. Sears also told the man that he had kidnapped the woman from his home. The already bizarre situation worsened after Dr. James Sears arrived at Scalisi’s home, where he chased and threatened to kill him.
According to his bio, Dr. James Sears follows a long line of doctors, including his own father, William Sears, and his brother, Robert Sears. He attended the St. Louis University School of Medicine, and specializes in Pediatrics. The Emmy winning physician is also a published author, and has appeared in several television shows. A background check reveals that he is also known as Jim Sears and James Michael Sears.
No exact word on when Dr. Sears will officially leave the show, and the police investigation is still ongoing.
The Doctors TV show currently airs weekdays, according to their Facebook page. It made its television debut on September 8, 2008. The show was considered a spinoff of Dr. Phil, and later became a direct competitor to The Dr. Oz Show upon its debut in 2009. The episodes have presented a variety of health topics based on the latest trends in medical technology and medical questions from around the world. The Doctors is currently in its seventh season. For further reading, the Inquisitr reported on the case of a prominent cancer doctor who was arrested for intentionally diagnosing perfectly healthy people with cancer. (LINK) — 1/12/2015
DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License renewed & current as of 1/30/2015
CALIFORNIA—A physician with a practice in Pittsburg was arrested late last week on multiple felony counts of possession of child pornography, authorities said.
Dr. Michael Russell, 74, who lives in Brentwood, was charged by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office with one count of aggravated child pornography possession after a search of his home last week revealed he was in possession of more than 600 images and videos depicting children under the age of 12 engaged in sexual conduct, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Bryce Flynn.
A licensed physician with the state of California, Russell was arrested Jan. 9, just two days after authorities executed a search warrant at his home in the 400 block of Chestnut Street.
Investigators found what Flynn described as a significant amount of child pornography stored on a computer. Police arrested Russell without incident at his home, and he was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, Flynn said.
He posted $150,000 bail the next day and as of Monday remained free on bond, Flynn said.Russell, an internal medicine doctor, was slated to be arraigned in Contra Costa Superior Court on Monday. Flynn said none of the pornography involved Russell’s patients.
The charges stem from an investigation conducted by members of the Contra CostaInternet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which consists of detectives from the Martinez, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Brentwood, Moraga, Concord, Pleasant Hill and San Ramon Police Departments, along with investigators from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, probation and the District Attorney’s Office.
Under state law, a person convicted of possession of aggravated child pornography faces a $2,500 fine and up to five years in prison. (LINK) — 1/13/2015
When James Duncan, M.D., a radiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, experienced intense pain in his abdomen in 2010, he rushed to a local emergency room. His doctors suspected kidney stones, but they wanted to be sure, so they ordered a CT scan. Duncan remained motionless as the machine captured a detailed, 3D image of his abdomen. He knew that the test was done when the machine stopped whirring. So he was surprised when the scanner kicked back on after a few seconds.
“I later learned that the technician running the CT mistakenly believed that the first scan didn’t include the top of my kidneys, and decided to acquire more images ‘just to be sure,’ ” Duncan says. “The irony: I was getting ready to give a lecture on reducing radiation exposure from medical imaging. And there I was, reluctantly agreeing to a CT scan and then getting overexposed.”
Duncan will never know whether that specific scan caused any long-term harm, because it’s almost impossible to link radiation exposure from any one medical test to a future illness. But like other researchers, he knows that doctors today order millions of radiation-based imaging tests each year, that many of them are unnecessary, and that the more radiation people are exposed to, the greater their lifetime risk of cancer.
X-rays have been used for almost 120 years, but the introduction of computed tomography, or CT scans, in the 1970s, was revolutionary. The new tests, which use multiple X-ray images, allowed doctors to see with unprecedented precision the inner workings of the human body, and earned the inventors of the device the 1979 Nobel Prize in medicine. Use of the tests grew quickly, rising from fewer than 3 million per year in 1980 to more than 80 million now.
But recent research shows that about one-third of those scans serve little if any medical purpose. And even when CT scans or other radiology tests are necessary, doctors and technicians don’t always take steps to limit radiation exposure.
All of that exposure poses serious health threats. Researchers estimate that at least 2 percent of all future cancers in the U.S.—approximately 29,000 cases and 15,000 deaths per year—will stem from CT scans alone. Even some standard X-rays, which expose you to much smaller amounts of radiation, can pose risks if you undergo multiple ones.
“No one says that you should avoid a CT scan or other imaging test if you really need it, and the risk posed by any single scan is very small,” says Marvin M. Lipman, M.D., Consumer Reports’ chief medical adviser. “But the effect of radiation is cumulative, and the more you’re exposed, the greater your cancer risk. So it’s essential that you always ask your doctors why they are ordering an imaging test and whether your problem could be managed without it.”
Given those risks, why are we—and our doctors—so scan-happy?
15,000
That’s the number of people estimated to die each year because of cancers caused by the radiation in CT scans alone.
For one thing, patients aren’t necessarily aware of the danger. A new Consumer Reports survey of 1,019 U.S. adults found that people are seldom told by their doctors about the risks of CT scans and other radiology tests. It’s no surprise, then, that only 7 percent of those who had a nondental X-ray and 2 percent of those who had a CT scan thought they might have received the tests unnecessarily. And only 4 percent ever told their doctor they did not want a CT scan. “That’s worrisome,” says Lipman’s colleague at Consumer Reports, Orly Avitzur, M.D. “Patients need to take the lead on this because their doctor may not.”
Other studies show that doctors themselves often underestimate the dangers CT scans pose. Moreover, some doctors may actually have a financial incentive to order the tests.
“Health care professionals shouldn’t have the right to image children or adults unless they first show that they can do it safely and appropriately, and most of the time in this country, that’s not happening,” says Stephen J. Swensen, M.D., medical director at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “If the scan isn’t necessary or emits the wrong dose of radiation, the risks far outweigh the benefits.”
L.A. doctor, 4 others arrested in prescription drug ‘pill mill’ case
Federal authorities in Los Angeles on Tuesday announced charges against seven people who allegedly ran a trafficking ring of illegally-obtained prescription drugs out of a Los Angeles clinic. Pictured here are prescription drugs seized in unrelated raids in California. (Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times)
More than 80% of the prescriptions written by doctors at a clinic were for Vicodin and Xanax
Federal authorities arrested five people Tuesday in connection with a “pill mill” that allegedly sold narcotics prescriptions at an L.A. clinic and supplied illegally-obtained prescription drugs to Texas.
The five, including the operator of a now-shuttered Harvard Heights clinic and a doctor who worked there, were charged in a grand jury indictment last week with narcotics trafficking and selling prescriptions for potent and addictive painkillers, anti-anxiety medication and cough syrup that are popular among addicts.
Two others accused of being part of the scheme are still being sought.
More than 10,000 presciptions were issued by Dr. Madhu Garg at Southfork Medical Clinic on South Western Avenue over a 15-month period tracked by investigators, authorities said.
More than 80% of the prescriptions were for hydrocodone – commonly known by brand names Vicodin, Norco and Lortab – or alprazolam, best known as Xanax, mostly at their maximum dosage, according to prosecutors.
Garg, 63, had her medical license revoked in late 2013 by the state medical board, which accused her of being a controlled substances abuser.
The prescriptions issued by Garg and her employees, sometimes forged under a second doctor’s name, allowed “a countless number of highly addictive prescription opioids to hit the streets of Los Angeles and Texas,” Anthony D. Williams, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s L.A. field office, said in a statement.
Los Angeles, acting U.S. Atty Stephanie Yonekura said, has become a “major source” of prescription drugs diverted to be sold on the street in the western United States.
Authorities seized nearly 10,000 pills in a 2013 raid on the Los Angeles residence of Jagehauel Gillespie, Southfork’s operator, in addition to 13 California driver’s licenses in other peoples’ names.
He and another defendant were also caught in July 2010 driving across Texas with large amounts of prescription drugs and 28 prescriptions for controlled substances issued to other people.
Gillespie charged up to $500 for prescriptions, prosecutors alleged.
Also arrested Tuesday were Diane Nunez, 24, who oversaw the clinic’s day-to-day operations; Daniel Clay, 45, who allegedly shipped the drugs to Texas; and Ray Steven Benton, 56, accused of recruiting patients to obtain prescriptions at the clinic.
Authorities were still seeking Jessica Poe, 32, Gillespie’s girlfriend, who is suspected of having forged a doctor’s signature on prescriptions, and Joseph Tyree Boyance, 35, who allegedly recruited patients. (LINK) — 1/13/2015
Ex-doctor pleads guilty to selling pain pills to addicts
A former doctor at the center of a now-closed sham medical clinic in Los Angeles that charged addicts up to $500 for painkiller prescriptions pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges.
Madhu Garg, 64, of Glendora, pleaded guilty to one count of illegally distributing oxycodone — best known by the brand names OxyContin and Percocet – – and one count of money laundering for transferring the proceeds of criminal activity to a Malaysian bank account, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
Garg and four others were charged in a grand jury indictment last year with narcotics trafficking and selling prescriptions for potent and addictive painkillers, anti-anxiety medication and cough syrup popular among addicts.
More than 10,000 prescriptions were issued by Garg at Southfork Medical Clinic on South Western Avenue over a 15-month period tracked by investigators, authorities said.
Most of the prescriptions were for hydrocodone — commonly known by brand names Vicodin, Norco and Lortab — or alprazolam, best known as Xanax, mostly at their maximum dosage, according to prosecutors.
Garg had her medical license revoked in late 2013 by the state medical board, which accused her of being a controlled substances abuser.
The conspirators used Los Angeles as a base of operations to acquire and deliver bulk shipments of prescription drugs to Texas, according to the indictment.
An investigation resulted in the seizure of multiple drug loads, including a January 2013 seizure of nearly 10,000 pills from clinic operator Jagehauel Gillespie’s home, and a July 2010 seizure of 48 bottles of promethazine with codeine from a car being driven across Texas by Gillespie and another defendant, according to prosecutors.
Gillespie was sentenced in October to six years behind bars. (LINK) — 02/04/2016
Addicts’ pain-pill doc gets 18 months in fed prison
A former doctor at the center of a now-closed sham medical clinic that charged addicts up to $500 for painkiller prescriptions was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison.
Madhu Garg, 65, of Glendora, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt to serve three years of supervised release after she is released from prison.
In arguing for a three-year prison sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Barron said that “corrupt doctors” like Garg “contribute to the impact these drugs make” on addicts and their families.
“Issuing (illegal) prescriptions for these addictive and dangerous drugs is unacceptable,” the prosecutor said, adding that Garg was motivated by “greed.”
Kronstadt, however, said Garg’s “very substantial physical, mental and addiction issues” are significant enough to warrant a lesser sentence.
Garg pleaded guilty in February to one federal count of illegally distributing oxycodone — best known by the brand names OxyContin and Percocet – – and one count of money laundering for transferring the proceeds of criminal activity to a Malaysian bank account, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
Garg and four others were charged in a grand jury indictment last year with narcotics trafficking and selling prescriptions for potent and addictive painkillers, anti-anxiety medication and cough syrup popular among addicts.
More than 10,000 prescriptions were issued by Garg at Southfork Medical Clinic on South Western Avenue over a 15-month period tracked by investigators.
Barron said the ex-doctor raked in more than $300,000 for her part in the scheme.
Most of the prescriptions were for hydrocodone — commonly known by brand names Vicodin, Norco and Lortab — or alprazolam, best known as Xanax, mostly at their maximum dosage, according to prosecutors.
Garg had her medical license revoked in late 2013 by the state medical board, which accused her of being a controlled substances abuser.
The conspirators used Los Angeles as a base of operations to acquire and deliver bulk shipments of prescription drugs to Texas, according to court papers.
An investigation resulted in the seizure of multiple drug loads, including a January 2013 seizure of nearly 10,000 pills from clinic operator Jagehauel Gillespie’s home, and a July 2010 seizure of 48 bottles of promethazine with codeine from a car being driven across Texas by Gillespie and another defendant, according to prosecutors.
Gillespie was sentenced in October to six years behind bars. (LINK) — 06/01/2016
Man accused of punching Lower Paxton Twp. cop in the face following alleged road rage incident
A West Hanover Township man was arrested Saturday after police said he was accused of punching a Lower Paxton Township police officer in the face and drunkenly harassing a woman in an alleged road rage incident.
Walter C. Peppelman, 55, has been charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, driving under the influence, harassment and public drunkenness, according to charging documents.
Police initially received a call around 6:10 p.m. from a woman who reported that someone driving a white Jeep Grand Cherokee with the license plate “Pepboys” was following her.
The woman told police that the driver of the Jeep had cut her off on Jonestown Road, leading her to beep her horn. The driver of the vehicle then began slamming on his brakes and later followed the woman for several minutes in the parking lot of Kohl’s, she told police.
Lower Paxton Township police Officer Brian Egli arrived at the parking lot and spoke with the woman, he reported in charging documents. During their conversation, the officer heard another woman scream across the parking lot, and he reported walking toward her.
The officer said he found the other woman, Peppelman’s wife, crying and visibly upset. After asking her what was wrong, Egli said Peppelman approached him and chest bumped him while saying there was no problem.
After telling Peppelman he was under arrest, Egli said Peppelman punched him in the left temple. The officer then called for backup, which eventually led to Peppelman being handcuffed and taken into custody.
Police reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol on Peppelman as he was placed under arrest. They also said they confirmed he was the driver who followed the woman in the earlier alleged road rage incident.
Peppelman, of the 7100 block of Sterling Road, was released from custody after his bail was set at $5,000 unsecured, court records show. He has a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for Feb. 13. (LINK) — 1/14/2015
MEDICAL BOARD RECORD—039170 DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS—License Revoked — 1/28/2016
Doctor’s license suspended following cosmetic surgery deaths
Doctor’s license suspended following cosmetic surgery deaths
A metro Atlanta doctor under investigation following two deaths at her Kennesaw med spa has been ordered to stop practicing.
CBS46 News began investigating Dr. Nedra Dodds seven months ago and has reported on accusations of misconduct.
The State Medical Board suspended Dodds’ license Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, saying, “The Board finds that Respondent’s continued practice of medicine poses a threat to the public health, safety, and welfare and imperatively requires emergency action and hereby ORDERS that Respondent’s license to practice medicine in the state of Georgia be and is hereby SUMMARILY SUSPENDED…”
An employee at Opulence Aesthetic Medicine in Kennesaw told CBS46 News Monday that Dodds was out sick. The employee also said she was unaware that Dodds’ license has been suspended.
April Jenkins died over a year ago while undergoing liposuction performed by Dodds.
The medical examiner found a perforation in Jenkins’ diaphragm, as well as multiple puncture wounds to her liver.
“Someone that’s supposed to be professional and they let something like this happen to her. I can’t understand it,” Hal Jenkins, April Jenkins’ father, said.
Four months after April Jenkins’ death, another woman, Erica Beaubrun, died during a buttocks reduction performed by Dodds.
First responders found her lying in a pool of blood, and according to medical records, she was in a state of cardiac arrest for 22 minutes before 911 was called.
“Why so long? Not even five minutes, a minute is a lot. A minute is a lot. You know what can be done in one minute? You can save a life,” Beaubrun’s mother, Elsie Albert, asked.
“I know that it is very painful for a parent to believe, at the same time those are not the facts,” Dodds said.
Hal Jenkins responded to the board’s action and told CBS46 News, “I’m glad they took action, but I think they should have taken action from the beginning.”
Albert told us, “Although it’s too late for my daughter, it’s not too late for others, so I’m pleased to hear the news.” (LINK) — 12/15/2014
Doctor at risk of losing license following patient deaths
ATLANTA (CBS46) -A metro Atlanta doctor could lose her medical license following the death of two of her patients.
TCBS46 previously reported how the state medical board ruled that Dr. Nedra Dodds failed to conform to the minimum standard of acceptable and prevailing medical practice.
On Tuesday, Dodds took the stand to try and defend her medical license at the Office of State Administrative Hearings.
“These events have been devastating to me. Not because of my ego, but because I feel for any loss of a patient,” Dodds said. “I’m asking this court for justice, for fairness. I’m not the first physician to lose a patient.”
The state medical board suspended Dodds license in 2014 after a CBS46 investigation revealed that April Jenkins died following a liposuction procedure performed by Dodds at her Kennesaw med spa. The medical examiner’s report showed a perforation in Jenkins diaphragm, as well as multiple puncture wounds to her liver.
A second patient, Erica Beaubrun, died just four months after Jenkins following a buttocks reduction procedure also performed by Dodds.
“If I did anything wrong in both cases, I stepped out of the room and allowed another physician and certified staff member to continue the procedures,” Dodds said.
Other cosmetic surgeons testified for and against Dodds during Tuesday’s hearing, some in favor of the care she provided, others against.
“The surgeon in charge has to be there when the patient is in trouble,” cosmetic surgeon Dr. Elizabeth Morgan said.
“Do you believe that Dr. Dodds did everything she could to save her (Jenkins) life?” Dr. Dodds’ attorney asked.
“Yes,” cosmetic surgeon Dr. Thomas Lock said.
At the end of the day, a judge will determine whether to revoke her license, which the victim’s family members believe is the only option.
“She asked the judge for fairness and justice and that’s what I want for my family, fairness and justice,” April’s sister, Audrey Jenkins, said.
In a strange turn of events, Dodds’ defense team tried to call CBS46’s Adam Murphy to the stand to find out whether his reporting influenced the medical board to suspend Dodds license. The judge dismissed the idea saying it wasn’t relevant.
A ruling on Dodds license is expected this week. (LINK) — 09/22/2015
VIPD TO INVESTIGATE NEDRA DODDS AND J.F.L. OFFICIALS AS SCANDAL TAKES NEW TURN
ST. CROIX — Virgin Islands Police Department Commissioner Delroy Richards told Atlanta’s CBS 46on Thursday that he would meet with the territory’s attorney general and district attorney to determine whether to press charges against Nedra Dodds and possibly Juan F. Luis Hospital officials, following news that Dr. Dodds was recently indicted on felony-murder charges in connection with the deaths of two patients who died after surgery at her now-defunct practice.
At least part of the investigation, if pursued, will seek to determine whether a clause in a contract signed between J.F.L. and Dr. Dodds forbids anyone who has had their license suspended from working at the facility in any capacity. If so, hospital officials involved in the matter could find themselves in a quandary.
CBS 46 contacted the VIPD after becoming aware of The Consortium’s exclusive interview with Dr. Kendall Griffith, former CEO of J.F.L., who was at the helm of the hospital when Dr. Dodds was hired. He told the publication on Tuesday that while he was ultimately held accountable for Dr. Dodds, he was not the one who invited her to work at the facility, did not know of her before she arrived at J.F.L., and even after initially refusing to hire her, she was already at the hospital without his consent looking at operations; brought by the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mavis Mathew.
The former CEO said that as a leader, he “backs up” the decisions of his subordinates, and “if things go well, they get the credit, and if things go bad, I get the blame.” But with the Nedra Dodds issue, in hindsight, “I probably could have been a bit more transparent with what actually happened. But at the time I didn’t think it was necessary because we were trying to build a strong team, be cohesive and trying to bring J.F.L. to the next level,” Dr. Griffith said.
He added: “Let me just clarify, Nedra Dodds was someone I hadn’t met before. I had never met the woman before in my life. I was in the emergency room when the chief of the ER told me about this physician, and that she could help us out with processes and so forth.” Dr. Griffith said he was then told that Dr. Dodds had been having challenges with her practice in Atlanta, and he immediately refused to hire her.
“Immediately I said no. I said I’m not interested. We are too much under the CMS scrutiny to even think about bringing anybody like that into the organization. Then someone called her and told her that the CEO was in the ER, and just when I was in the parking lot getting ready to leave, I was flagged down and told that Dr. Dodds was here.
“So I had a conversation with her, and she confirmed that she had been in our hospital looking at our processes, and think that she could help. She said that she had a thriving practice in Atlanta.” Dr. Griffith said he then asked Dr. Dodds about the issue with her license in Georgia, and she confirmed that some patients had died, however it was her colleague who was responsible for those deaths. “But because I own the practice, my license is being pulled in,” Dr. Griffith said, quoting what Dr. Dodds told him.
He went on to say that at the time, the hospital was working to make the emergency room a paperless operation, but did not have an employee who could perform the task. “So I said, let me discuss it with our chief medical officer, who was the one who brought Nedra Dodds to the hospital.”
“The CMO said it was my decision,” Dr. Griffith recalled. But because Dr. Mathew was the one who brought Dr. Dodds to the hospital, he said he told her that he would trust her judgement. “The contract then showed up on my desk,” Dr. Griffith added. “So the conversation that we had had, was that she would not be licensed to practice; she would not be able to touch any patients — she was simply there to just look at the billing processes.”
Asked directly was it a mistake to hire Dr. Dodds, Dr. Griffith was direct: “Yes, it was a mistake. In hindsight I should have just left that one alone.” Dr. Griffith said he later asked his CMO who was Dr. Dodds and how did she come to St. Croix, and was told that he was sent an email detailing her past.
“I left it alone, but I thought, something like that warrants a discussion; and an email was not good enough.” And while Dr. Griffith admitted that he should have been more forthcoming, “I was just trying to be leader. I was trying to backup my colleagues, and to me, that’s what a leader does. You are in charge, you are at the helm, and that’s what you do. When things are bad you take the brunt of it, and when things are good, you give your subordinates the glory, and that’s what I did.
“But that was one of the most difficult challenges of not only of my CEO tenure, but of my life.”
Dr. Dodds has been in custody at the Cobb County, Georgia jail for seven days. According to the Cobb district attorney, no bound hearing has been set for Dr. Dodds, and she had no legal representation on file as of Thursday evening, according to CBS 46. (LINK) — 02/05/2016
Murder charges dropped against Cobb doctor, assistant
Murder charges against a Kennesaw cosmetic surgeon and her assistant were dropped Wednesday after Cobb prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to pursue the case.
Dr. Nedra Dodds and her assistant, Kevin McCowan, were indicted by a Cobb grand jury in January 2016 on two counts of felony murder in connection with the 2013 deaths of two patients Dodds operated on. Both April Jenkins and Erica Beaubrun had come to Dodds’ Chastain Road practice for liposuction procedures.
Dodds and McCowan had also been charged with two counts of aggravated battery and two counts of theft by deception related to the deaths. Those charges were also dropped as a result of the nolle prosequi or “do not prosecute” order signed by Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark, which said that negligence could not form the basis for the aggravated battery charge — the underlying offense for the felony murder counts. The orders had been presented to Staley Clark by Chief Assistant District Attorney John Melvin, who had been assigned the case.
“Upon a wider review of the facts, prosecutors determined the evidence did not meet the elements of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Kim Isaza, spokesperson for the Cobb District Attorney’s office.
According to the indictment and records from the Georgia Composite Medical Board, Jenkins died Feb. 19, 2013, while Beaubrun died June 20 of that year. Dodds’ medical license was suspended in 2014 and revoked in 2016 in the wake of the two deaths, with state officials citing Dodds’ failure to “conform to the minimum standard of acceptable and prevailing medical practice” in record keeping, surgical techniques and ability to recognize and react to life-threatening complications in regards to Jenkins’ death, among other factors.
The records also noted that Dodds’ records surrounding Beaubrun’s death did not reflect any vital signs or measurements when Beaubrun’s cardiac rhythm changed as she recovered from surgery, which led to life support procedures being initiated while still at the practice’s office. Beaubrun was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital and died after 90 minutes of unsuccessful resuscitative efforts. (LINK) — 1/11/2017
Doctor Phillips’s past includes problems with alcohol and painkillers, jail time
The man arrested at the Chimo Hotel in Ottawa and facing criminal charges after the discovery of a hazardous chemicals cache in Halifax was diagnosed in 2008 with a mood disorder, an addiction to painkillers, an alcohol problem and narcissistic tendencies, court documents show.
The April 2008 report from a Texas psychiatric hospital is among reams of U.S. court documents that also reveal Christopher Phillips once did a short stint in jail and took methadone to ease the pain of a crippling injury to his feet — something that made it difficult to stand for any length of time, even after seven surgeries.
Ottawa police arrested Phillips, 42, on the sixth floor of an east-side hotel on Wednesday morning as part of an overnight investigation linked to the evacuation of two areas in Halifax where police found a large quantity of mysterious chemicals — some of which they’ve described as “volatile” and “dangerous.”
Dr. Chris Phillips, shown in a 1999 file photo, taken at his wedding to Olympian Shannon Miller. The two later separated.
Phillips was transported back to Nova Scotia on Thursday. He was charged in Halifax with one count of threatening police with bodily harm or death, and a count of possessing a weapon. That weapon is identified as osmium tetroxide.
Police allege in a sworn information at provincial court that Phillips threatened a police officer.
The document alleges the offences took place between Boxing Day and Wednesday in Cole Harbour, a suburb of Halifax. An investigation into the discovery of hazardous chemicals at two residences linked to Phillips’s wife — one a home assessed to be worth about $515,000 in Cole Harbour and a second a tiny coastal cottage with peeling red paint — prompted separate evacuations earlier this week.
They alleged they found a “large quantities” of chemicals during their searches.
RCMP Cpl. Greg Church said two chemists from Health Canada were helping with the investigation. Church said an evacuation that was ordered around the cottage in Grand Desert, N.S., about 35 kilometres east of downtown Halifax, was expected to remain in effect overnight.
“We have here of course a situation with several unknowns,” Church said Thursday. “We do have two very serious criminal charges that have been laid against the individual.”
He said there was no reason to believe that the areas that were evacuated were contaminated. He declined to comment on whether the osmium tetroxide listed in the sworn information was found at the residences.
John Holmes, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Ottawa, said that in fine powder form and inhaled, osmium tetroxide is hazardous and can cause death by damaging the lungs.
“One would handle it with great care,” he said. “If it’s in a screw top jar it’s safe to handle. If it’s a sealed container it’s not dangerous. “If you inhaled it as a powder it would be lethal.”
Church declined to say why the alleged offences span nearly a month, adding that he had “no idea” what the suspect’s motivation may have been with the chemicals.
American court documents say Phillips was an ophthalmologist prior to moving to Nova Scotia, where his wife lives and works. Documents from his various U.S. court cases fill in some of the blanks surrounding Phillips’s past, particularly when it comes to his medical history.
Phillips suffered an undisclosed “traumatic injury” to his feet while serving in the U.S. navy, which granted him a medical discharge, say court documents he filed in Washington state in 2011 as part of a lawsuit against a former colleague.
“Phillips is rated as 100 per cent disabled by the military due to a feet condition associated with significant pain,” says the document, which Phillips himself wrote. “Phillips also receives additional disability for loss of use of both feet due to pain.”
Separate documents filed as part of his bankruptcy case show he received a monthly military disability payment of $3,145 — which amounted to $87,244 between 2006 and the first four months of 2008.
He chose to become an ophthalmologist, a profession that “does not require Phillips to be on his feet for extensive periods and allows Phillips to examine patients and perform surgery while sitting down,” one of the court documents says. “Phillips’ injury ultimately required numerous surgeries to fuse major joints in both feet and resulted in chronic pain.”
He had seven surgeries between 1993 and 1995. He was prescribed methadone for the pain in his feet. He also suffered two gastrointestinal bleeds from “chronically” taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, the court document says.
Nearly seven years ago, Phillips was admitted to the Menninger Clinic in Houston. His discharge papers show he was diagnosed in April 2008 with a substance-induced mood disorder, physiological opiate dependence, alcohol abuse and narcissistic personality traits.
The clinic rated as “severe” Phillips’s problems with work, his finances, his medical issues and his relationship.
He was guarded during group therapy sessions, according to the discharge papers, fearful that anything he revealed to the other patients would be used against him. He eventually grew angry and resentful toward clinic staff, the documents say.
During his one-on-one sessions with a therapist, however, Phillips acknowledged that “partying with friends until a few hours prior to work, working to the point of exhaustion and drinking alcohol while on methadone” were some of his bad habits, according to the discharge papers.
The clinic recommended he attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and abstain from alcohol, opiates and other drugs.
Phillips had a brush with the law in 2011 when police were called to his home in Renton, Washington. He was charged with providing alcohol to minors, breach of peace and making a false statement to police. He spent 10 days in the Renton Municipal Jail. Phillips said the jail time “severely damaged” his relationship with his family — which includes his wife, Gosia, and the couple’s young daughter.
He had previously been married to Shannon Miller, a gymnast who was part of the U.S. squad that won the team gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. That marriage — which Miller has called “a painful experience” — lasted seven years before ending in a messy divorce.
Phillips filed for bankruptcy on July 2, 2008, claiming assets of $962,109 and liabilities of nearly $4.7 million. (LINK) — 1/22/2015
Double Olympic gold-medalist Shannon Miller’s doctor/ex-husband charged ‘after bomb disposal experts discovered him with a cache of hazardous chemicals’
Charged: Christopher Phillips is the man Canadian police arrested this morning in connection to a chemical threat in Nova Scotia
The ex-husband of decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller has been charged over an investigation into hazardous chemicals in Nova Scotia.
Police allege Christopher Burton Phillips, 42, possessed a chemical called osmium tetroxide for a dangerous purpose.
The discovery of hazardous chemicals prompted the evacuation of two neighborhoods in Halifax this week and an Ottawa hotel where Phillips was arrested.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police refused to identify the suspect who was apprehended at a hotel in Ottowa on Wednesday.
However Miller’s business manager confirmed the wanted man was her ex-husband Christopher Phillips, an American former biochemical weapons expert.
Phillips has been charged with uttering threats against police and possessing a dangerous chemical, police announced Thursday.
The hunt for Phillips began Tuesday after police found large quantities of dangerous chemicals at two Nova Scotia homes connected to his family.
His current wife warned police that he was on his way to Ottowa, about a 14 hour drive west, in a van that could possibly be packed with even more hazardous materials.
A Canada-wide alert issued Tuesday night stated that the suspect was an ex-military weapons specialist with possible mental health issues.
After Phillips’ van was spotted in the parking lot of an Ottowa hotel Tuesday night, the building was evacuated and he was arrested without incident the following morning. A subsequent search found no chemicals at the hotel or in his van.
Court documents allege the offenses took place between Dec. 26 and Jan. 21 in a Halifax suburb. Police did not elaborate on the charges.
Happier times: U.S. Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller and ex-husband Christopher Phillips are pictured on their wedding day in June 1999. Phillips has been charged with threatening police and possession of dangerous chemicals
Dangerous: An arrest warrant was issued for Phillips Wednesday morning after hazardous materials were found at two properties connected to his family in Nova Scotia, and his wife called police to inform them that he was travelling to Ottowa. Above, a member of the RCMP explosive disposal unit prepares to enter a residence in Cole Harbour, a Halifax suburb, on Tuesday.
Stockpiles: The above cottage in Grand Desert is one of two homes where authorities found hazarous chemicals. Firefighters and other emergency personnel seen gathered around the building on Wednesday. Authorities would not say what type of chemical was found inside, or how much.
Arrested: Phillips was tracked down to a hotel in Ottowa on Tuesday night, and he surrendered to poice without incident the following morning - his 42nd birthday. Ambulances and police are shown at the scene on Wednesday
Phillips, a former ophthalmologist, married U.S. Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller in June 1999, three years after she won two gold medals at the 1996 Atlanta, Georgia Olympics.
However, they separated in 2004 and officially divorced in 2006 and Phillips later moved to Canada.
‘I’m thankful that the brave men and women of the Ottawa police department and other law enforcement agencies were able to apprehend him and (defuse) the situation without incident,’ Miller said in a statement released by her manager, Nick Furris.
Miller now works as a motivational speaker.
Decorated athlete: Phillips and Miller have been divorced since 2006. Miller pictured on the left accepting her gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina. On the right, at an event in New York City leading up to the London Olympics in 2012.
Police in Nova Scotia were first alerted to a possible threat Monday night around 9:20pm when they received a call about a suspicious package at a local home.
They went on to investigate three homes connected to Phillips in two neighborhoods which were evacuated over the dangerous materials thought to be inside.
Of the three buildings searched Tuesday, ‘hazardous and volatile’ materials were found in two - one home on Lakeridge Crescent owned by Phillips’ current wife Gosia Phillips and a cottage on Dyke Road registered to a Marian Sue Phillips of El Reno, Oklahoma. It’s unclear the relationship between Marian and the suspect.
‘The chemicals are of a nature that we need to employ a chemist to help us identify what type of chemicals that they are,’ RCMP Corporal Greg Churcd said of the materials found in the cottage.
Police would not elaborate on how many chemicals were found, or what type. However, residents in the Grand Desert neighborhood of the Dyke Road cottage remained evacuated Wednesday evening.
Suiting up: A member of the RCMP explosive disposal unit prepares to enter a residence in Cole Harbour, a Halifax suburb, on Tuesday. Police evacuated homes within 100 meters of the house after finding a suspicious package.
Family connections: Another home registered to Phillips’ wife Gosia on Lakeridge Road was found with chemicals as well. Above, the cottage on Dyke Road where ‘large quantities’ of chemicals were found and a mass evacuation was issued.
Leaving: Residents in Cole Harbour flee their homes with a few belongings on Tuesday after reports of a suspicious package at a local home.
Do not disturb: Those staying at the Chimo Hotel (pictured above) were told to quietly leave their rooms Tuesday night after it was suspected Phillips might have brought chemicals into the building. No hazardous materials were found, but police were able to apprehend Phillips staying in one of the rooms.
Gosia Phillips allegedly told police that her husband was en route to Ottowa in a Chevy cube van, that was feared to be packed with even more dangerous chemicals.
Police issued a Canada-wide alert for the van Tuesday night, saying the suspect driver was an ex-military weapons specialist with possible mental health issues and an ‘anti-police’ attitude.
‘Person reported to have mental health issues/PTSD and has issues with law enforcement personnel. Person may have chemicals or hazardous materials in the vehicle,’ the report read.
It was later revealed that police believed Phillips was carrying the chemicals osmium and osmium tetroxide in his van. The lab chemicals are highly dangerous and can easily penetrate the skin. About a decade ago, the chemicals were feared as a possible terrorist weapon.
Around 10pm, an Ottowa police officer spotted a van matching the description in the parking lot of the Chimo Hotel.
All of the guests were called and told to quietly evacuate so police could search the building for chemicals and the suspect.
Authorities also closed down several roads surrounding the hotel as a precaution.
Phillips was apprehended the following morning - his 42nd birthday - without incident from a room on the sixth floor of the hotel.
Police finished searching the building and Phillips’ van later that afternoon without finding any chemicals.
Phillips LinkedIn page shows a diverse academic background with advanced degrees in medicine, law and business.
Re-married: Phillips pictured above in a picture posted to Facebook. He is reportedly married to Harvard University-educated a sleep doctor named Gosia Phillips.
He studied medicine at the University of Oklahoma and Boston University before pursuing opthamology at the University of Texas. He also has a law degree and MBA from Suffolk University.
It has been reported that Phillips was a former biomedical weapons expert for the U.S. Army. However, the U.S. military says they have no record of Phillips, though the records only date back to 1999.
His LinkedIn page lists his current job as the manager of Neurology and Sleep Medicine Associates Inc, which was searched Tuesday and found to contain no hazardous materials.
His wife Gosia Phillips is equally accomplished. She attended Harvard University and is a specialist in sleep medicine, in addition to teaching medicine at Dalhousie University.
Records show that Gosia Phillips changed her name from Malgorzata Ewa Klonowska in February 2010.
Before he moved to Canada and married Gosia, Phillips’ career appears to have been plagued by complaints of botched surgeries.
The Washington State Health Department investigated Phillips over several complaints from former patients at his laser eye care clinic and he eventually agreed not to renew his expired license to practice.
And in 2008, Phillips reportedly stopped going to work because of psychiatric issues.
According to a documents obtained by the Ottowa Citizen, Phillips was hospitalized between March 3 and March 7, 2008 and March 22 and April 18, 2008 for an unknown psychiatric diagnosis.
‘The records from this hospitalization contain diagnoses which would make it very difficult or impossible for (Phillips) to obtain employment as an expert witness,’ the documents state.
Nova Scotia court records also show that Phillips was charged for uttering threats and possession of a weapon between December 26 and Wednesday.
Renton eye doctor in hiding keeps court date
RENTON, Wash. – The ophthalmologist who disappeared after abruptly shutting down his business last month finally made a court appearance on Monday.
Dr. Christopher Phillips could not be found after he shut down the well-known Lomas Lasik and Eye Care Center in Renton, leaving his patients and his employees in a lurch without an explanation.
On Monday, KOMO News caught up with Phillips when he finally reappeared in the public eye in order to answer to charges that stemmed from a party at his home.
But Phillips refused to answer any of KOMO’s questions about the clinic, only responding with silence. His attorney also refused to comment.
Phillips reportedly told his staff on a Friday that the day would be their last at the clinic. Even Dr. Richard Lomas, who founded the clinic and built its sterling reputation for years before recently selling the practice to Phillips, was booted out.
“This guy (Phillips) took less than five months to bring it (the clinic) down to nothing. There’s something there,” said former employee Jennifer Westbay said.
Thousands of patients of the business built on 30 years of trust were suddenly left abandoned.
Westbay has just about given up on ever getting an explanation from Phillips. All she wants now are her medical records.
“All of the sudden boom, done. Trying to figure out what happened to our records, can’t get any answers on it,” she said.
It is not illegal for any shop to go out of business. However, the state’s Department of Health has been investigating the matter.
Investigators have heard complaints from 57 patients, 49 of which remain open.
Phillips appeared in court on Monday due to a different matter, however. According to court documents, he pleaded not guilty in January to three charges related to what police reports describe as a loud party at his Renton home. Phillips has been charged with supplying liquor to a minor, making a false statement and breach of peace.
After Phillips’ abrupt disappearance in March, KOMO News tracked down his address, but no one answered the door. Neighbors said Phillips left his home about two weeks ago and has a former employee watching his house for him.
That former employee said Phillips went to Eastern Canada to be with his wife, but said he did not know why Phillips shut down his business so suddenly.
Phillips is no stranger to the headlines, first marrying then divorcing Olympic gold medalist gymnast Shannon Miller. In published reports, Miller called their relationship “a painful experience."
Phillips has a valid license and has had no prior complaints about his practice until now.
The Department of Health has a new number for patients who have had past problems with the Lomas Lasik and Eye Care Center – (360) 236-4700. (LINK) — 4/28/2008
Bakersfield doctor accused of negligence by state board
CALIFORNIA—A local ob-gyn accused of negligence could lose his medical license following the death of his patient’s unborn child.
A complaint filed Jan. 13 by the California Medical Board alleges that Dr. Philipp Melendez failed to properly manage a high-risk pregnancy, wherein the mother had chronic hypertension and diabetes, among other health problems.
According to the complaint, the patient, referred to as only “A.R.,” was admitted to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital in late November 2011, where an emergency cesarean section was performed about 36 weeks into the pregnancy. The baby, however, had already died.
Aiding and abetting the unlicensed practice of medicine—1/31/2014
Arizona Board placed limitations on Dr. McGroarty’s Arizona Medical License. Effective 06/06/2013 restricted from the practice of medicine.
CALIFORNIA—(ARIZONA) On June 19, 2012, the Arizona Medical Board issued an Interim Order for Practice Limitation and Consent to the Same. The order contains findings that respondent has recognized that he has a medical condition that may limit his ability to safely engage in the practice of medicine, and that the Interim Order was necessary to mitigate danger to the public health and safety. Under the terms of the order respondent was prohibited from practicing medicine in Arizona and from prescribing any form of treatment including prescription medications and the writing of Medical Marijuana Certifications until he applies to the Arizona Medical Board and receives permission to do so.
On June 10, 2013, the Arizona Medical Board issued an Order for Practice Restriction and consent to the Same. The order contains factual findings which include: Respondent issued Medical Marijuana Certifications which contained false attestation and which violated the Arizona Medical Practice Act; respondent underwent a neuropsychological evaluation on June 6, 2012, which concluded that he was unsafe to practice as a physician; a review of some of respondent’s patient charts revealed that he deviated from the standard of care in prescribing narcotic pain medication.
Respondent’s conduct and the actions of the Arizona Medical Board as set forth above, constitute unprofessional conduct within the meaning of the law in California.
Respondent underwent a full psychiatric evaluation in California by a board certified psychiatrist who concluded, based on his own evaluation and on the results of extensive neuropsychological testing, that respondent suffers from cognitive difficulties which greatly impair his ability to practice and safely function as a physician.
The West Virginia State Police along with the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, and the FBI arrested an emergency room doctor on drug charges following an investigation involving prescription pills.
Police arrested Robert Timothy Hogan II, 32, from Coolville, OH, after police say he allegedly wrote out multiple prescriptions for Oxycontin without performing physical exams while working as an emergency room doctor at Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, WV.
Police also say Hogan allegedly required patients to give him half of the pills in exchange for the prescriptions.
Hogan has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance, and is currently lodged in the North Central Regional Jail, on a $250,000 bond. (LINK) — 2/22/2014
Ohio doctor sentenced to 48 months behind bars for bogus painkiller prescriptions
OHIO—A physician who admitted to prescribing painkillers to people who didn’t need them for medical reasons was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Dr. Robert Timothy Hogan II, 33, of Coolsville, Ohio, had admitted in October to traveling in interstate commerce and using a communications device to facilitate a felony, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said.
“It’s appalling that a licensed physician would pump illegal pills into our communities like this,” Goodwin said. “Every time we put a law-breaking doctor out of business is a big step toward getting this problem under control.”
Hogan wrote bogus prescriptions for controlled substances to an individual who was not his patient and who had no legitimate medical need for the drugs, Goodwin said. He wrote more than 60 illegal prescriptions for more than 17,000 pills between January 2013 and February 2014, for which there was no legitimate medical purpose for receiving half the pills after the prescriptions were filled. Hogan told the court he used his cellphone to facilitate the arrangement while he was traveling between Athens and Wood counties.
West Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation oversaw the investigation. (LINK) — 1/13/2015
Eleven People Charged for Involvement in Oxycodone Case
Earlier this month a Parkersburg doctor was sentenced to two years in prison for writing illegal Oxycodone prescriptions. Eleven more people now face charges for their involvement in the case.
West Virginia State Police say nearly 17,000 Oxycodone pills were discovered in their investigation.
Now they say Stephen Wood, Benjamin Berry, Ethan Kline, Mary Cook, Courtney Ross, Jason Clayton, Andrew Hooper, Justin Cline, Leander Cline, Brady Lewis and Stanford Gibson face a variety of felonies including Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Fraud and Conspiracy to Obtain a Controlled Substance by Fraud.
UPDATE 10/16/2014 1:25 PM
A Coolville man pleads guilty in West Virginia federal court for writing false prescriptions.
Robert Hogan II admits to going from Ohio to Wood County writing prescriptions for a person who wasn’t his patient and had no legitimate reason for the drug.
Hogan admits to writing more than 160 illegal prescriptions for more than 17,000 pills.
Sentencing is set for January 12.
Hogan was an internal medicine doctor at Camden Clark Medical Center.
UPDATE 2/24/2014 10:05 AM
The case of a Coolville doctor accused of illegally prescribing a whole lot of pain pills will now be turned over to federal authorities.
32-year-old Robert Hogan, II was arrested Friday night and then arraigned just hours later.
Hogan is an internal medicine doctor at Camden Clark Medical Center.
West Virginia State Police say for two years, Dr. Hogan wrote hundreds of illegal prescriptions for oxycodone without performing physical exams.
And in exchange for their prescription, Hogan’s patients gave him half of the pills.
Investigators say it all adds up to somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 pills illegally obtained on both sides of the river.
“Street value, they would run $30 to $40 a pill so we’re looking at well over half a million dollars,” says West Virginia State Police Trooper C.S. Jackson. “The level of the crimes, the doctor being a public figure, a trusted figure, we’re going through a process now to transfer the case from state level to federal level”
In a response Saturday, CCMC says the doctor was quote “not an employee of Camden Clark, but contracted by the agency that works with and staffs our emergency department. We have strict controls regarding pharmaceuticals at the hospital. For that reason, it is important to understand that the drugs in question most likely did not originate at Camden Clark.”
Hogan is charged with delivery of a controlled substance.
He’s being held in the North Central Regional Jail on $250,000 bond.
Dr. Robert Hogan II was arrested Friday evening and arraigned for writing illegal prescriptions.
According to West Virginia State Police a long term investigation of the Camden Clark internal medicine doctor has landed him under arrest.
Dr. Hogan has been found writing illegal prescriptions.
The investigation was conducted by the West Virginia State Police, Wood County Sheriff’s Department and the F.B.I. concerning the drug operation. (LINK) — 1/26/2015
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