Tag: fees

Public Records request never answered. Why does this not surprise me?

jmacmidwife

I press on, despite the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners best interest. I am not sure how many times this year I have stated that I cannot make this stuff up, but I really cannot make this stuff up. It is not only frustrating, but pathetic how corrupt and incompetent this group of people who are supposedly protecting the citizens of Louisiana are. Sigh. Keep writing emails. Keep complaining. The irony is I don’t think they even read their own emails nor keep track of what they said. They constantly change the rules to fulfilling these sanctions. Wonder why its taken me so long? haha. I write this email to my compliance officer, and Drs. Culotta and Cresswell. I include the doctors, because no matter how many times I tell my compliance officer, she doesn’t believe me that her calculations for the payment plan are incorrect. Ummmmmmm, I am not sure how many ways I can say do the math again. I know I am a midwife for a reason–calculus was not my best class–but I can add. Hopefully, someone else will catch her mistake and correct it…..

Dear LSBME, I was not aware that my emails have been shared so freely and unknowingly throughout the LSBME. So, I am unsure who to address this to as I have no idea who will be responding. 
As usual, I appreciate the prompt email. I have not yet digested it all, and will be communicating my questions surrounding it soon. However, you did not answer all my questions in my emails, specifically:
1. Ms. Spooner miscalculated my payment plan. I have asked her several times to revisit the numbers. She has not done this. 
2. I’ve asked for a new compliance officer be assigned to me as Ms. Spooner does not seem to be able to fulfill her job requirements competently.
3. I requested a breakdown of the costs associated with my hearing i.e. attorney fees, copies, expert witness, judge, transcriptionist/court reporter, etc. 
4. When the LSBME has spent tens of thousands of dollars on computer software and equipment, why is my test I need to take to fulfill one of my sanctions not online yet? Why can it not be emailed to me? What is taking so long? The LSBME is obstructing justice by withholding the test I need to take to fulfill sanctions. 
5. What tests do I need to have administered by a doctor in order to fulfill my psyche evaluation? I have been asking for my diagnosis for over a year and the LSBME has failed to answer my simple question. I cannot simply call a doctor and ask for a psyche evaluation. Surely the medical board understands this. I need to know what tests need to be administered in order to even consult with doctors to see if they are able to conduct a psyche evaluation. Thank you, JM

Dr.Culotta, the Executive Director, acknowledges this public records request and responds that he will have another email following in the first of the new year…. but that never happens. See February 27, 2019 when I sent Dr. Culotta a follow-up email regarding his lack of response.

Dear Ms. M, This will acknowledge your public records request and this is the first I have heard your complaints. I will begin to address them today and the formal response to the public records request will be after the first of the year. Regards, Dr. Culotta

In Dr. Culotta’s defense, he did get the ball rolling on my quiz, which only took over a year.

Hi Mrs. J, Dr. Culotta asked me to get in touch with you to assist with account setup and access to our training courses.
I attempted to contact you via your cell phone in LSBME records, but that number seems to belong to someone else.
Please feel free to call me at my direct line (504) 568-1078 at your earliest convenience.
All of our training materials are at this site: (LSBME)
Once there, you can click on the button on the bottom right of the welcome screen to create an account.
Once completed, you will receive an email with a confirmation link – please click on that link to confirm your email address.
Once confirmed, please contact me and I will manually enroll you in the quiz – this should take very little time, and you should then be able to begin immediately.

No total yet and still waiting for reason for mental exam

jmacmidwife

11/28/2017 ES, I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was well. 
I need to seek preapproval for this Institute to do a psyche eval, despite the fact that there is no basis for the psyche eval. Please let me know if it is acceptable. https://ridgeviewinstitute.com/recovering-professionals/ 
“The Recovering Professionals Program is offered at our Ridgeview Institute Smyrna location.
Ridgeview Institute began treating health professionals in 1977. We learned that professionals in other fields experience similar stressors, develop similar coping styles, and often require the same kind of intervention and treatment to bring about recovery. In 1987, our program expanded to include treatment for all professionals with addiction and dual diagnosis disorders. Since 2004, we have earned a national reputation for also treating professionals with a primary psychiatric illness. Safe Drug Use for the Recovering Addict or Alcoholic.Professionals may self refer, be referred by an employer or mandated for evaluation by a licensing board or agency to determine both the nature and extent of current problems in functioning. Upon admission, our multi-disciplinary team will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the patient’s physical, psychological, and spiritual health. Additional testing or screening may be provided, as needed. At the conclusion of the evaluation, the professional and referring organization receives a diagnostic summary and recommendation for further treatment at the inpatient, day hospital, intensive outpatient level. Aftercare is available to assist the professional in the transition after treatment.”
Likewise, will my primary care doctor (Dr. Lee or another doctor at OLOL Primary Care physicians in BR) be adequate for a physical exam? What exactly are you looking for? Any certain tests?
Also, the Louisiana State Board of Nursing has already compiled a list of acceptable remedial courses, I am seeking preapproval for one of these courses in either ethics and medical documentation from this list. Please let me know asap which courses are acceptable. http://www.lsbn.state.la.us/Portals/1/Documents/rnp/ResourcesCECourses.pdf
“Preferred Continuing Education Providers for disciplinary remediation. If you wish to take a course not on this list to fulfill your CE requirements as stipulated in your Board Order or Agreement, please e-mail a course description with the provider name to monitoring@lsbn.state.la.us for pre-approval.”National Council State Boards of Nursing Learning Extension http://learningext.com• Righting a Wrong: Ethics and Professionalism in Nursing- Renew your commitment to ethical and professional conduct.• Ethics of Nursing- Balance your values and the right of your patient to self determination.• Medication Errors- Understand dangers and minimize risk of nursing medication errors.• Documentation-Help doctors prescribe care based on accurate nurse charting.
American Nurses Association (ANA) http://ananursece.healthstream.com• Applying ANA’s Code of Ethics to Everyday Practice (exp. 12/31/2016)• The Sacred Ethos of the Everyday World of Nursing (exp. 12/31/2014)
RN.org www.rn.org/• Documentation: Accurate and Legal• Legal: Ethics for the Professional Nurse
Nurse.com http://ce.nurse.com• Document it Right: A Nurse’s Guide to Charting (exp. 06/22/2015)• Document it Right: Would Your Charting Stand Up to Scrutiny (exp. 06/22/2015)
RN.COM http://www.rn.com• Professional Documentation: Safe, Effective and Legal (exp. 06/01/2015)

Thanks for the assistance. I look forward to hearing from you soon. And I am still waiting for the total of court fees. 

11/28/2017, ES, I forgot to add would any of these courses suffice for ethics or medical documentation? They are from the Massachusetts Medical Society. Thanks, JM

It has been two weeks in addition to two years of waiting for the LSBME to add up the total for my hearing. A four-year old could add this up faster. One has to wonder how ethical this is? Doesn’t the LSBME have to submit a budget to the state? Doesn’t the LSBME have to balance its books so-to-speak? How is the fact that they didn’t have a total yet legal? Additionally, I am now doing my own research to find what courses will suffice and still asking about mental health evaluation criteria. I ask if my personal general practitioner is good enough for the physical part and if a local treatment center in Georgia is good enough.