1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 MINUTES Board of Veterinary Medicine Hampton Inn & Suites, Downtown St. Petersburg 80 Beach Drive NE St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 CALL TO ORDER Dr. Leonard, Chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Pledge of Allegiance MEMBERS PRESENT Dr. Robert B. Leonard, Jr., Chair Dr. Harvey Partridge Dr. Sharon Powell Dr. Rudd Nelson Ms. Connie Johnson MEMBERS ABSENT Ms. Suzanne Inzina-Excused OTHERS PRESENT Ruthanne Christie, Executive Director Clark Jennings, Board Counsel Elizabeth Henderson, Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Senn, Government Analyst Integra Reporting Group, LLC- 813-868-5130 PROBATION ROLL CALL Dr. Leonard asked Ms. Senn to call the roll. The following probationers were present; Gene Rinderknecht, DVM Scott McAbee, DVM Richard D Amico, DVM Thomas Fish, DVM Anthony Weirather, DVM Ram Prasad, DVM Rafael Gomara, DVM Page 1
44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Roger Swearingen, DVM Gregory Burbelo, DVM Richard Jaffe, DVM Marcia Martin, DVM Steven Odland, DVM Kermit Harvey, DVM APPROVAL March 1, 2018 meeting and April 12, 2018 Teleconference minutes. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made a motion to approve the March 1, 2018 minutes. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made a motion to approve the April 12, 2018 minutes. DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS Abdel-Hakim Hamici, DVM Case number 2016-032352 VM 19644 Dr. Hamici was present and represented by Attorney Bryan Reynolds. Dr. Powell was recused from this case due to her participation on the Probable Cause Panel. Dr. Hamici was charged with violation of 474.214, F.S., being guilty of incompetence or negligence by failing to practice medicine with that level of care, skill, and treatment which is recognized by a reasonably prudent veterinarian as being acceptable under similar conditions and circumstances. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made a motion to reject the settlement stipulation as presented. Page 2
87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion for $2000.00 in fines to be paid within 30 days of the filing of the final order, 1 hour of client communication, 2 years probation to begin after the end of current probation, and annual inspections with 5 medical records to be pulled and reviewed by the board chair. Attorney Reynolds accepted the counter offer on the record. William Robert Kroll, DVM Case number 2017-011868 VM5194 William Kroll was present with Attorney Bryan Reynolds and sworn in by the court reporter. Dr. Powell was recused due to her participation on the probable cause panel. Dr. Kroll was charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(ee) Failing to keep contemporaneously written medical records as required by rule of the board. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion for $500 in fines and $282.44 in costs to be paid within 30 days of the filing of the final order, 2 hours of continuing education in pain management, and this is the only required appearance. James L. Shewmaker, DVM Case number 2016-002806 VM 1268 Dr. Shewmaker was present with Attorney Bryan Reynolds and sworn in by the court reporter. Dr. Powell was recused due to her participation on the probable cause panel. Dr. Shewmaker was charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(ee) Failing to keep contemporaneously written medical records as required by rule of the board. Page 3
131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 MOTION: Dr. Nelson made a motion to accept the settlement stipulation with $2000.00 in fines and $587.78 in costs to be paid within 30 days of the filing of the final order, 2 hours of continuing education in pain management, 1 year of probation and this counts as the first appearance. SECOND: Dr. Partridge. Marylyn Kay Paschall, DVM Case number 2017-031352 VM 2824 Dr. Paschall was present and represented by Attorney Ed Bayo. Dr. Powell was recused due to her participation on the probable cause panel. Dr. Paschall was charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(ee) Failing to keep contemporaneously written medical records as required by rule of the board. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to accept the settlement stipulation with the $500 fine and $328.31 in costs to be paid within 30 days of the filing of the final order, 2 hours of continuing education in medical records, 1 year of probation, and a records pull 60 days prior to end of probation containing 5 records for review. Kerri Ann Zavota, DVM Case number 2016-042163 VM 11356 Dr. Zavota was present and represented by Attorney Brian DeGailler. They were sworn in by the court reporter. Dr. Powell was recused from this case due to her participation on PCP. Page 4
174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 Dr. Zavota was charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(ee) Failing to keep contemporaneously written medical records as required by rule of the board. Dr. Zavota was also charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(r) Being guilty of incompetence or negligence by failing to practice medicine with that level of care, skill, and treatment which is recognized by a reasonably prudent veterinarian as being acceptable under similar conditions and circumstances. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to reject the settlement stipulation. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion for $500.00 in fines and $851.81 in costs to be paid within 30 days of the filing of the final order, 1 year of probation and this counts as first appearance. SECOND: Dr. Partridge. The counter offer was accepted on the record. Peter Birzon, DVM Case number 2016-038897 VM 4053 Dr. Birzon was present and represented by Attorney Juan Santos. They were sworn in by the court reporter. Dr. Polles from PRN was present and sworn in by the court reporter. Dr. Powell was recused due to her participation on PCP. Dr. Birzon was charged with violation of 455.227(1)(u) F.S. Termination from an impaired practitioner program as described in s. 456.076 for failure to comply, without good cause, with the terms of the monitoring or participant contract entered into by the licensee or failing to successfully complete a drug or alcohol treatment program. MOTION: Ms. Johnson made the motion to open this case for reconsideration of the March 2018 decision. Page 5
218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 SECOND: Dr. Partridge. MOTION: Dr. Leonard made the motion that there were no disputed issues of material fact. SECOND: Dr. Partridge. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept the allegations of fact. SECOND: Nr. Nelson. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to adopt the conclusions of law. Vote was called: Dr. Leonard- yes, Dr. Nelson- yes, Dr. Partridge- yes, Ms. Johnsonyes MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to only impose investigative costs of $371.79. A vote was called: Dr. Leonard-no, Dr. Nelson-yes, Dr. Partridge-yes, Ms. Johnsonyes. Fernando Cardenas, Jr., DVM Case number: 2017-035667 VM 9100 Dr. Cardenas was not present or represented by counsel. Dr. Powell was recused from this case due to her participation on the Probable Cause Panel. Page 6
261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 Dr. Cardenas charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(b), Having a license or the authority to practice veterinary medicine revoked, suspended, or otherwise acted against, including the denial of licensure, by the licensing authority of any jurisdiction, including any agency or subdivision thereof. The licensing authority s acceptance of a veterinarian s relinquishment of a license, stipulation, consent order, or other settlement, offered in response to or in anticipation of the filing of administrative charges against the veterinarian s license or authority to practice, shall be construed as action against the veterinarian s license or authority to practice. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept the allegations of fact. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to accept the conclusions of law. SECOND: Dr. Partridge. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion for $5000.00 in fines and $119.60 in costs with one year of suspension; suspension to be stayed after the first month if all requirements of probation are satisfied. William Alphonso Steward, DVM Case number: 2014-016664 VM 10999 Dr. Steward was not present at the board meeting and a request for continuance was submitted by his attorney Letta Gorman. Dr. Powell was recused from this case due to her participation on the Probable Cause Panel. MOTION: Dr. Leonard made the motion to accept the request for continuance to the September 2018 board meeting. Page 7
305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 William H. Lovett, DVM Case number: 2016-016828 VM 2338 Dr. Lovett was not present at the board meeting and submitted a request for continuance to the board. Dr. Powell was recused from this case due to her participation on the Probable Cause Panel. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to grant the request for continuance to the September 2018 board meeting. Jerry P. Shank, DVM Case number: 2017-008012 VM 1605 Dr. Shank was not present or represented by counsel at the board meeting. Dr. Powell was recused from this case due to her participation on the Probable Cause Panel. Dr. Shank was charged with violation of 474.214 (1)(ee) Failing to keep contemporaneously written medical records as required by rule of the board. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept that Dr. Shank has waived his rights by failing to respond to the administrative complaint. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept the allegations of fact. Page 8
349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 Dr. Partridge made the motion for $4000.00 in fines and $669.87 in costs to be paid within 30 days of the filing of the final order. Subjects license shall be suspended until the fines and costs of the case are paid and Dr. Shank presents himself to the board at a future scheduled meeting. If terms of the final order are met, subjects license shall be placed on 2 years probation. Review/Approval of Applications Armando Guardia, DVM Initial License by Endorsement Dr. Gaurdia was not present at the meeting. MOTION: Dr. Powell made the motion to deny the application for failure to meet the statutory requirements of 474.207(2)(b). SECOND: Dr. Partridge. Judy Jean- Initial by Examination Dr. Jean was present and sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to approve the application. Richard Demmerle-Initial by Endorsement Dr. Demmerle was present and sworn in by the court reporter. Page 9
392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 MOTION: Dr. Powell made the motion to deny the application for failure to meet the statutory requirements of 474.207(2)(b). SECOND: Dr. Leonard. A vote count was requested by the applicant. The vote was unanimous to deny the application. Gwendolyn Pfouts, DVM- Initial by Endorsement Dr. Pfouts was present and sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to approve the application. Mary Danley, DVM-Initial by Endorsement Dr. Danley was not present at the meeting. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to approve the application. Ryan Navarro-Initial by Examination Dr. Navarro was present and sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to approve the application. SECOND: Dr. Partidge. Page 10
436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 Vacques Hines-Initial by Examination Dr. Hines was not present at the meeting. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to approve the application. SPECIAL AGENDA ITEMS Jerry Alan Green- Declaratory Statement Dr. Green was present at the board meeting. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to deny the petition for declaratory statement. Gregory Murray-Renewed motion to lift stay of suspension Dr. Murray was present along with Attorney David Romanik and Dr. Pilip. All were sworn in by the court reporter. After extensive discussion by the board, this matter was continued to a later board meeting. MOTION: Ms. Johnson. PROBATION Gene Rinderknecht, DVM Page 11
480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 Dr. Rinderknecht was present at the meeting and was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made a motion to accept Dr. Rinderknecht s 5 th probation appearance. Scott McAbee, DVM Dr. McAbee was present at the meeting and was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made a motion to accept Dr. McAbee s final probation appearance. Richard D Amico, DVM Dr. D Amico was present and sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Ms. Johnson made the motion to accept Dr. D Amico s final probation appearance. Thomas Fish, DVM Dr. Fish was present at the meeting and was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Ms. Johnson made a motion accept Dr. Fish s 7 th probation appearance. Page 12
524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 Anthony Weirather, DVM Dr. Weirather was present at the meeting was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made a motion to accept Dr. Weirather s 3 rd and final appearance. Ram Prasad, DVM Dr. Prasad was present at the meeting and was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept Dr. Prasad s 10 th appearance and it was confirmed at during discussion that Dr. Prasad was no longer required to have records reviews submitted to the department. Rafael Gomara. DVM Dr. Gomara was present at the meeting and was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Powell made the motion to accept Dr. Gomara s 4 th appearance. Roger Swearingen, DVM Page 13
568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 Dr. Swearingen was present at the meeting and was sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to accept this as Dr. Swearingen s 3 rd appearance and the board informed Dr. Swearingen that he would need to attend the September 2018 board meeting. Gregory Burbelo, DVM Dr. Burbelo was not present at the meeting. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion not to count an appearance for Dr. Burbelo. Richard Jaffe, DVM Dr. Jaffe was present and represented by Attorney Ed Bayo. Both were sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to terminate the monitoring requirement as part of Dr. Jaffe s final order requirements. Marcia Martin, DVM Dr. Martin was present and sworn in by the court reporter. Page 14
612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept this appearance. Steven Odland, DVM, Dr. Odland was present and sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Nelson made the motion to accept this appearance. SECOND: Dr. Partridge. Kermit Harvey, DVM Dr. Harvey was present and sworn in by the court reporter. MOTION: Dr. Partridge made the motion to accept this appearance. RATIFICATION OF APPLICATIONS Licenses MOTION: Dr. Partridge made a motion to accept the licensure list. Dr. Nelson voted NO on approving the license list. Continuing Education MOTION: Dr. Leonard made a motion to accept the continuing education list. REPORTS Page 15
656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 Executive Director Ruthanne Christie Ms. Christie reviewed the financial reports. Board counsel Clark Jennings None Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth Henderson Ms. Henderson reviewed her report with the board. Board Chair Dr. Leonard OLD BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS None PUBLIC COMMENT The Florida Veterinarian Technicians Association was present and addressed the board briefly. PROBATION ROLL CALL Ms. Senn called the probation roll and all were present. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 3:56 P.M. Page 16