The meeting was called to order at 10:15 a.m. by Robert Ferrell, M.D., President of the Board. Present for roll call were James Reynolds, M.D., Milton Mutch, M.D., Richard Porter, M.D., Brent Lindbloom, D.O., and Robert Raszkowski, M.D. Board members not present for the meeting were Bernie Christenson, Alex Falk, M.D., and Patrick Burchill. Staff members present were Margaret Hansen, Dennis Duncan, Donald Srstka, and Jane Phalen. Paul Jensen was in attendance serving as an advisor.
To begin the meeting, Dr. Ferrell welcomed Dr. Raszkowski as one of the Board’s newest members, Margaret Hansen as the Board’s new executive director, and Donald Srstka as the Board’s new legal counsel. Dr. Ferrell then expressed the Board’s appreciation to Paul Jensen for his assistance as acting executive director prior to the appointment of Ms. Hansen.
The Board met with Travis Sanger, M.D., and his attorney, Jeffrey Hurd, at 10:30 a.m., regarding his application for a license to practice medicine in South Dakota. Dr. Sanger had applied for licensure in June of 2004 but was not eligible based on a felony conviction in Nebraska. At that time, Dr. Sanger withdrew his application for licensure until he was able to apply for a pardon from Nebraska. Dr. Sanger has now obtained a pardon for his felony conviction and would like to practice in Chamberlain, S.D. He has not practiced medicine for one year. After meeting with Dr. Sanger and Mr. Hurd, Dr. Ferrell excused them from the meeting and discussion was held regarding this issue. After discussion, Dr. Mutch moved that the Board grant a license to Dr. Sanger for five years with the condition that he practice with a mentor and authorize the mentor to provide reports to the Board concerning Dr. Sanger’s practice. The motion was seconded and carried. Discussion continued and the first motion was amended by Dr. Mutch when he moved that the Board grant Dr. Sanger a conditioned license that would require Dr. Sanger to be evaluated for substance abuse by Mike Coley, Director of the Health Professionals Assistant Program, to follow any recommendations Mr. Coley may have regarding treatment or follow up reports, to practice with a mentor and authorize the mentor to provide annual reports for a period of five years, to require Dr. Sanger to self-report any future substance abuse issues, and to require that Dr. Sanger not have any drug or alcohol incidents for a period of five years. The amended motion was seconded and carried.
The Board met with Michael Whirlwind Soldier at 11:30 a.m. regarding his request for the Board to grant him a student status permit which would allow him to obtain advanced training as an Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate/85 (EMT-I/85). Mr. Whirlwind Soldier is currently an Emergency Medical Technician - Basic and was not able to obtain the student status permit for advanced training due to a felony conviction in North Dakota. The North Dakota Pardon Advisory Board has provided a letter to this Board stating that they would grant a pardon, without record expungement, if this Board will provide a letter to them stating that the Board would grant him a student status permit based on this pardon, without record expungement. After meeting with the Board, Dr. Ferrell excused Mr. Whirlwind Soldier and discussion continued regarding this issue. After discussion, Dr. Porter moved that Mr. Duncan and Mr. Srstka compose a letter to the North Dakota Pardon Advisory Board stating that this Board will grant a student status to Mr. Whirlwind Soldier conditioned upon his obtaining a pardon, without record expungement, from the North Dakota Pardon Advisory Board. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board reviewed the minutes of the meeting held June 7, 2005. Dr. Mutch moved to accept the minutes as written. The motion was seconded and carried. The Board then reviewed the minutes from the conference call held August 17, 2005. Dr. Mutch moved to accept the minutes as written. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board reviewed the July 2005 financial report. Dr. Reynolds moved to accept the financial report for information. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board then reviewed the corporate authorization resolution. Dr. Mutch moved to accept the corporate authorization resolution and delegate authority for payment of board expenditures to Margaret B. Hansen as executive director. The motion was seconded and carried.
Discussion was held concerning the Board’s local checking account. After discussion, Dr. Lindbloom moved to reaffirm the Board’s position that they will continue to keep the checking account in Sioux Falls with an adequate amount of money in the account to continue to do business on a monthly basis. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board reviewed a spreadsheet containing information reflecting current renewal fees and proposed renewal fees for the coming renewal year. The proposed fee change will be necessary in order to fund the transition of the Board office to a new location. After reviewing the information and discussing the proposed change to renewal fees, Dr. Raszkowski moved to amend the spreadsheet to increase the renewal fees for medical assistants from $5.00 biannually to $25.00 biannually. The motion was seconded and carried. Discussion with the physician assistant subcommittee revealed that many physician assistant practitioners have one or more locum tenens license and that to renew each locum tenens license at the proposed fee of $100 would be financially prohibitive for the licensees. Dr. Lindbloom moved to amend the spreadsheet and decrease the proposed licensure renewal fee for physician assistant locum tenens licenses from $100.00 to $50.00 annually. The motion was seconded and carried. Dr. Mutch moved to accept the amended licensure renewal fee increase spreadsheet. The motion was seconded and carried.
Discussion was held concerning the medical license of Michael Lastine, MD. His license was disciplined in another state and the Board reviewed the drafted order and agreed disposition which will place the same restrictions on Dr. Lastine’s South Dakota medical license. Dr. Reynolds moved to approve the order and agreement. The motion was seconded and carried.
At 1:00 p.m. the Board met with Dr. Greg Wittenberg from Rapid City. He requested that the Board consider allowing licensed practical nurses to perform laser hair removal, provided they obtain appropriate training, show competence, and perform this procedure only if the physician provides on-site supervision. Dr. Wittenberg stated that the actual laser hair removal treatment takes a considerable amount of time to perform and complete. He indicated that, if a licensed practice nurse could perform the laser hair removal treatment, the physician would be more readily available to treat patients requiring more advanced medical procedures. The Board directed Dr. Wittenberg to contact the American Dermatological Association, obtain a copy of their mission statement and clarification of their policy regarding the use of lasers and laser hair removal, and provide this information to the Board. Dr. Ferrell excused Dr. Wittenberg from the meeting and discussion continued. Dr. Raszkowski moved to table this issue until the Board is in receipt of the information from the American Dermatological Association. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board reviewed the listing of new licenses for physicians and allied health professionals. Dr. Porter moved to approve the listings. The motion was seconded and carried.
The quarterly report on malpractice was reviewed. Dr. Lindbloom moved to accept this report for information purposes. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board discussed a letter from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine regarding the physician scientist (MD/PhD) program. After discussion, Dr. Mutch moved to direct Ms. Hansen to obtain further information concerning this issue and report at the December meeting. The motion was seconded and carried.
The Board met with physician assistant subcommittee members Jim Cody, PA-C, Rod King, PA-C, and Jan Hines, PA-C. Discussion was held regarding a proposed change in statute which would allow physician assistants to prescribe schedule II opiods for a period of 30 days, rather than the current 48 hour period. Dr. Reynolds moved to prepare a bill to be sent to the legislature in order to change the time frame in statute from 48 hours to 30 days. The motion was seconded and carried. Discussion continued concerning an article from the Rapid City Journal which indicated that two certified nurse practitioners opened a clinic in Rapid City and appeared to be engaging in independent practice. After discussion, Dr. Reynolds moved that the Board direct Ms. Hansen and Don Srstka to gather more information and report to the Board at the December meeting. The motion was seconded and carried. Mr. Cody then distributed suggestions from the American Academy of Physician Assistants with guidelines as to how physician assistants may offer assistance during a natural disaster
The Board revisited an earlier motion regarding the licensure application for Dr. Travis Sanger. This motion was amended to include a requirement that Dr. Sanger complete a refresher course in family medicine by the end of this year. In the event that Dr. Sanger can not complete this refresher course, he will report to the Board to provide the reason for non-compliance. Dr. Raszkowski moved to accept the amended motion. The motion was seconded and carried.
The annual election of officers was held. Dr. Mutch moved to elect Dr. Robert Ferrell as President, Dr. James Reynolds as Vice-President, and Dr. Richard Porter as Secretary. The motion was seconded and carried.
Discussion was held to address the need to strengthen the statute concerning confidentiality of Board records. The Board directed legal counsel to draft legislation to strengthen confidentiality of Board records in statute and then present a progress report to the Board at the December meeting.
The Board discussed the petition by Dr. Steven Schwartz to allow his license to be returned to an unrestricted status. Dr. Schwartz has completed the training requirements imposed by the Board in his Stipulation and Agreed Disposition. As Dr. Schwartz has fulfilled this portion of the agreement, the Board will return his license to an unrestricted status so that he is eligible to complete the next requirement and obtaining specialty board certification. The Board also declared that the additional requirements imposed by his Stipulation and Agreed Disposition are still binding.
The date for the next meeting was set for December 6, 2005. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
