Tag: Pine Grove

Attorney Writes the Board on My Behalf

jmacmidwife

By now, I am more than sick of dealing with the LSBME and its list of drug and alcohol facilities that won’t accept me for an evaluation– I am not even trying to be admitted to their program! They won’t even let me in the door to take my $5,000 to tell me I do not fit their criteria. Except Jessica Brook, who has worked with my Compliance Officer, ES, several times. Before calling ES she stated that Pine Grove was not a good fit for me because once again, I do not have any mental health nor drug and alcohol disorders preventing me from practicing midwifery. However, after Jessica contacted ES all of a sudden it was like clouds parted and she knew I needed a “Comprehensive Evaluation,” which was $2,000 more than the original basic evaluation they normally offer patients. So, I went from not needing an evaluation to all of a sudden needing all the bells and whistles. HUH, that doesn’t’ seem legitimate at all! So, in desperation, I reach out (again) to an attorney. She is once again, more than helpful and kind— she offers to reach out to them on my behalf. I cannot thank this woman enough. I think I may have to give her my first born at this point. LOL

5/4/2018 Attorney, 
Do I have any choice or do I actually have to do this? It’s such a scam I actually can’t believe it. I don’t trust any of these centers and again I don’t have any substance abuse issues. JM

5/11/2018 JM, Wow… I totally understand where you are coming from. 
And yet, I do think you will have to do this in order to have a chance of closing the issue with the Board… 
That said, I also know that these boards can keep moving the ball. So… At this point, let’s contact the Board and tell them about this program, and get written verification from them that this will satisfy the requirement. Who is the person you have communicated with from the Board? How about I contact them for you? Attorney

5/13/2018 Attorney, As always, Thank you for helping me through this. I can’t be more grateful for your assistance, time, and expertise. Yes please reach out to Louisiana on my behalf and see if this will ever be over. I agree that I feel like they are dragging this out with no end in sight. 
Also since you are requesting this to be put in writing, I have yet to get a response to what they want with number three on my sanctions. It states that “Ms. Macaluso shall demonstrate her understanding of the Board’s rules and regulations regarding Midwife practice in this state, in a manner determined by the board.” Can you pls get clarification as to what they want so I can begin to check this off my list?
Yes I find it suspicious that the email prior to this one Jessica thought I needed a fitness for duty related to skills but now it’s turned into comprehensive psych. It’s insane.
And idk if you read her email to me. But Jessica contacted the board so they already know about her program. It sounds like they are patting each other’s backs. My concern is that they will find something wrong and I’ll be stuck in a treatment center for three months or need five years of therapy and a follow up 5k assessment to complete my requirements. For someone who didn’t have a reason for a psyche or med eval to be in the original board order I’m in disbelief that this is legal. I’ve read reviews for pine grove treatment facility and they require polygraph tests and followup visits for years in addition to treatment at their center at a cost of thousands per week.  
And sorry to keep asking but could you see if you can find out what exactly the psych eval is for since it doesn’t state anywhere in my board order and two facilities have said it’s a skills exam they seem to be looking for. Thanks. 
JM

The letter she wrote on my behalf is below. I cropped out her identifying information because she is technically not my attorney, well only out of the kindness of her heart.  This was sent May 18, 2018. 

My Compliance Officer, ES, did not reply promptly or at all to my attorney, even though in her last communication with me she threatened not to communicate with me unless I had done this. Apparently she doesn’t have to reply to me or my attorney. So, on June 25, 2018 I emailed her and did get a prompt response. It was more of a half response and basically just repeated everything she had already told me, so not explaining anything more. And she wonders why it feels redundant to email me? Because she never clarifies or answers my questions. 

6/25/2018 ES, I was wondering if there was any reply. I was just Following up. Thanks. JM

6/25/2018 JM, I am responding to the email sent on May 18, 2018.  Please review my comments in bold with regard to each stipulation in your Decision Order dated April 13, 2015:

1)    Ms. Macaluso shall undergo a mental/physical evaluation by a physician or group of physicians who have been pre-approved in writing by the Board, and be deemed competent to resume the practice of midwifery.  Previously I provided the list for the approved evaluation centers.  Please advise if you need this sent again. The comprehensive evaluation offered by Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services described by Jessica Brook, DPT, Program Coordinator will satisfy the Board’s requirements.  The cost of the evaluation is determined by the facility for services rendered and the Board does not receive any financial gain.

2)    Ms. Macaluso shall obtain additional education in the following areas:

1. Medical Record Keeping;  2.  Medical Ethics; and  3.  Evaluation and Identification Of High Risk Pregnancies. All courses shall be comprehensive in nature and pre-approved in advance by the Board.  The course information that you submitted http://www.aafp.org/cme/programs/also.html (Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO®)) will be sufficient for #3 of this stipulation.

3)    Ms. Macaluso shall demonstrate her understanding of the Board’s rules and regulations regarding Midwife practice in this state, in a manner determined by the Board.  When you have completed an evaluation at one of the approved evaluation centers, you may contact me to obtain the testing information.

4)    Ms. Macaluso shall pay a fine of $300 and all costs of these proceedings.  On November 29, 2017, you were emailed a notice that detailed the cost of proceedings to cover attorney fees, court reporter fees and the $300 fine totaling $17,669.00.  Please advise if you need this sent again. ES

As expected, my Compliance Officer, ES, was vague and unhelpful in answering most of the questions. Of course she didn’t answer all of them. What is her job again? Is she supposed to help or hinder me accomplishing these sanctions? I am beginning to think her job is to make it impossible for me to get off suspension. And regarding the third sanction—I have to complete the mental evaluation before I can find out how to complete the rules and regulations regarding Midwife practice in this state? Where is the law regarding that? Surely that cannot be legal either. Sigh. I was hopeful we would get somewhere, but not surprised that we didn’t. That only wasted a few months of my life. 

Jessica at Pine Grove: I don’t fit your criteria until you speak with my Compliance Officer. Huh, no kidding.

jmacmidwife

2/21/2018 Pine Grove/Forrest General/Jessica Brook, 
Hi Can you provide a Board ordered fitness for duty evaluation not related to substance use? Thanks for info. JM

2/23/2018 JM, 
Thank you for you recent email to Pine Grove.  We do offer evaluations, however we do not evaluation clinical skills, judgement.  We evaluate things such as substance use, disruptive behaviors, cognition, or boundary crossing.  For more information, please call our admissions office at 601-288-4799. Jessica Brook

2/25/2018 Jessica 
You did not answer my question. Do you provide Board ordered fitness for duty evaluations not related to substance use? Thanks. JM

2/26/2018 JM, 
We would need a bit more information regarding what your board deems as a “fitness for duty” evaluation.  As stated, we do not evaluate clinical skills/judgement, etc.  However, we do offer several types of evaluations:  substance use or disruptive behaviors or cognition or boundary crossing.  If your board needs you to have an evaluation for one of those concerns, then it is likely something that we would be able to facilitate. Jessica Brook

2/26/2018 Jessica 
Can I send you the board order so that you could determine what is needed? Pls. let me know what email to use. JM

4/13/2018 Jessica 
Do you provide board ordered fitness for duty evaluations NOT related to substance abuse? JM

4/14/2018 Jessica, Could I send you my board order and you could evaluate it? The psyche/med evaluation is towards “being deemed competent to resume the practice midwifery.” Would this be considered clinical skills/judgement? Thanks for you help in figuring out the best fit for me. I’m sure you wouldn’t ethically want to admit me if I didn’t fit the criteria for Pine grove. With much appreciation, JM

4/16/2018, JM, We provide a few types of evaluations:
Psychosexual:  The focus of this evaluation is sexual behaviors or professional boundary crossings. 
Comprehensive:  This evaluation is broad in scope and can be tailored to encompass questions of disruptive workplace behavior, psychiatric problems, personality disorder, trauma, eating disorder, or questions about cognitive or intellectual functioning. 
Neuropsychological Evaluation:  Comprehensive assessment to determine presence, nature and degree of cognitive or emotional deficits. 
Adult ADHD

Please note:  We do not provide evaluations to determine clinical skills, as a true “fitness for duty” evaluation would. Jessica

4/16/2018 JM, 
Yes, you can send your board order over via email or fax 601-288-8074 and I’ll take a look. Jessica

4/19/2018 Jessica, 
Thank you for agreeing to take a look at the order. I appreciate your help in this matter. Can I get your email address? JM

4/25/2018 (after sending me her email address on 4/23/2018)
Jessica. Just making sure Did you get my order? I sent it a few days ago. Thx JM

5/3/2018 
Hi Jessica. I’m just following up to see if you received the order? I haven’t heard from you and am trying to make decisions on where to get a psyche eval. Thanks! JM

5/3/2018, JM, I apologize, I have responded 2-3 times.

I have looked over your paperwork and I have a few more questions:

Namely, we can do evaluations that look at “fitness for practice” in terms of cognition, behaviors, personality, etc.  We do not, however, look at “fitness to practice” in terms of clinical skills, education, etc.  It looks like the board is concerned about the later.  However, if you would grant me permission to speak with them (and provide a name and contact information) then I am happy to reach out to them to clarify.  I think that if I am able to speak with someone there I could let you know for sure if this is the type of evaluation that we can assist with. Thanks, Jessica

TIME OUT. I bolded a few of Jessica’s sentences above. Jessica just said she doesn’t believe Pine Grove is appropriate for me because it looks like after reading my Board Order that I do not require a Fitness to practice evaluation in regards to mental health or other abusive issues. (She misspells latter, but I know what she means.) Apparently, I need a Fitness for practice evaluation in terms of clinical skills and education, which they do not provide and honestly none of these facilities provide because they are all drug and alcohol treatment centers. This is the same consensus two other facilities have come to– that I do not qualify for admission at their facilities. So why did the LSBME require me to admit myself into a facility I cannot admit myself in? I am glad I can waste six months trying to get myself admitted to a facility that I do not qualify for and that won’t take me. How again is this relevant to my suspension? Aside from keeping me from earning a living, it isn’t. It is causing me stress, wasting my time, and money. The LSBME has no desire to rehabilitate me nor provide me with legal, realistic, or unburdensome sanctions. 

5/3/2018 Jessica, No worries. Must’ve went to my spam box. Thanks for returning my email. 
Yes the LSBME won’t tell me what the evaluation is for. I’ve asked several times just because it’s hard to communicate with the facilities what I actually need this accomplished. They have given me five facilities to contact regarding possible evaluations thus far and two have responded that they cannot conduct the evaluation and I’m assuming your facility is not a good fit either. For what it’s worth I’m living in Florida. 
Yes I can give you permission on my behalf to contact the board to figure out what exactly they are looking for.  Pls let me know what you have heard from them. And I’d prefer you contact them via email so that I can have the boards requirements for evaluation in writing to pass along to my attorney. Thank you so much. JM

5/3/2018 JM, 
Thank you for the information.  I will contact her shortly.  Ronnie and I have worked together on several cases so hopefully I’ll be able to reach her quickly. Jessica

5/3/2018 JM, I spoke with the board and gathered some information.  They are referring you for what we term a “Comprehensive Evaluation”.  This eval focuses on fitness to practice, behaviors, and cognition.  There are also other areas covered such as addition screeners.  This eval is a 3-day process for us and costs $4,800.  If you want to move forward, I am happy to facilitate that and we can get you started.

TIME OUT AGAIN. Wait, you just said I did not qualify for a Fitness to practice for mental health issues. But after you call the Board, you now think I need a “Comprehensive Evaluation” and some “addition” screeners? Whatever that is… I think Jessica probably needs to spend more time proofreading her emails, but I digress. And I am sure she will be happy taking $4,800 from me for no reason. I am skeptical at best and begin questioning her shadiness. There is absolutely NO transparency here. It all seems made up on the fly in some back alley in New Orleans. Its disgusting and they call this making midwifery safer by having licensing boards? HA!

5/4/2018 Jessica, This is 2000$ more than what I was originally quoted for a psyche evaluation. What exactly are the other areas that will be screened? What are you looking for? Can I get a list of tests please?
I’m re reading this. Is math going to be involved? What are addition screeners? Also. I have never had nor currently possess a drug or alcohol or substance abuse problem. Why is this being assessed? Is there a state agency that you are accredited through? I’ve read several reviews that say this is a huge waste of money and a scam. Also that poly graph tests are required as well as monthly revisits to your facility. Can you speak to any of this? JM

5/4/2018 JM, Our eval will consist of addiction assessment, psychiatric assessment, lab work, history/physical, psychological testing, collateral information, neuropsychological screen.  Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you a list of the psychological tests ahead of time, as those are compiled on an individual basis in order to fit your needs. Jessica

What a load of horse pucky. Again, why am I having an addiction assessment? I can just give you the $5,000. I do not need any of this. And wow, I find it so surprising that I you won’t tell me what tests I’ll be charged with. The reviews online tell horrible tales of these facilities. They suggest you go to AA meetings at night because you have nothing else to do and you want to seem compliant. Then when you say after your three-day assessment that you are leaving because again you do not have a problem. They chart how you left the facility in the middle of your treatment aka AA meetings to which they tell you you have to finish the series. So they write that you are non compliant and not finishing treatment requirements. Then you are stuck there for three months wasting $40,000 because insurance doesn’t cover it anyway getting “treated” for something you didn’t have a problem with in the first place. WOW, this sounds fun. Where do I sign up? Jessica tries to persuade me that her facility is not as shady as the reviews claim. I call BS. I don’t have sexual boundary crossings, but the thought of having to take a polygraph suggests criminality–what kind of warped facility treats people it is trying to rehabilitate as criminals? How is that healthy? And if you offer 1-week visits, well guess what– I do not live near you so that just won’t work, in the off chance I need therapy, which I am sure Pine Grove will find or make up a reason for.

5/4/2018 JM I reference to the substance assessment, this is a standard part of all of our evaluations.

We are accredited through DNV, which is a national accrediting agency.

Polygraphs are generally only incorporated if there is a concern about sexual boundary crossings. 

Additionally, we do have a treatment program that encourages yearly or bi-yearly 1 week visits back for those patients who we think need the additional accountability.  This is not part of any evaluation process and is only part of that single program. Jessica

Still No Total nor Reason for Mental Evaluation

jmacmidwife

11/21/2017 ES, Thank you for the information. Is the test taken in Hattiesburg? 
What do you mean by reinstatement application? Can you give me more information?
Is there a list of doctors that do physical and mental or are both at that facility in Hattiesburg? Thanks for the help. JM

11/21/2017 ES, Also. I have to pre approve everything in my order. How do I go about doing this? Will sending my courses and selected doctors to the board via certified mail suffice? I don’t live in Louisiana. Thanks, JM

11/21/2017 
Good morning,
Yes the evaluation will take place in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Ms. Brook will set everything up once you contact her. A separate list of providers is not necessary as you will be evaluated by the treatment team at Pinegrove. When I discussed your case with Dr. Mouton, she instructed me to give you the contact information for Pinegrove to have your evaluation completed. You will need a reinstatement application because you have not had an active license since December 19, 2014. ES

*Take note that Dr. Mouton is the women who has been terrorizing healthcare providers under her authority. She will finally be removed from this post in the summer of 2018, but until then she continues to destroy people like myself. And just to extort more money out of me, the LSBME is making me reinstate a license they have put on suspension. How can this be legal to make me pay for a license I cannot use and they suspended? 

11/21/2017 ES, You said there was a list of psychologists in Louisiana. Can I have access to the list? The contact you gave me in Mississippi seems a bit much for having no diagnosis. They want a three day evaluation for $3,000.  That’s insane especially when there was no reason for this Court order.  I’m located in Georgia. Is there a closer facility or doctor where a basic psych exam can be accomplished. Usually most courts require a 2 hr one which is a few hundred dollars. This is extortion to require me to have an expensive in patient evaluation for no reason. Does my attorney need to contact you for the list? Thank you for your time. JM

11/21/2017 ES, I spoke with Jessica brook and again I need to give a reason for the evaluation and I haven’t got one. Can you please give her a reason? Since my case was not based on drugs or alcohol or any mental issues I don’t know what you are looking for. 
Can you send a link or tell me what needs to be done for reinstatement? How much is there a form? What’s required. Thank you. JM

I ask repeatedly for Ms. Spooner to tell me what needs to be done to reinstatement, besides the obvious fulfill requirements. I am wondering if I need to fill out a form and how much reinstatement will cost. She seems not to comprehend what I am asking. Sadly this won’t be the first or last time we have issues communicating. However, I am more than willing to fulfill my egregious requirements, I just need information to get them going. The deliberately keeping information away from me has been hindering my ability to get my sanctions accomplished. 

11/21/2017 JM, I did not know that you were in Georgia. A basic evaluation will not suffice. I have to discuss this with Dr. Mouton and I will get back to you. If you want to have your license reinstated, you must comply with the stipulations in your Order. ES

Ah, yes, Dr. Mouton strikes again by telling me I need more than a basic evaluation, but won’t tell me why or what exactly I need.

Again, I am not questioning that I need to comply with stipulations to have my license reinstated. I get that.  I am asking for the cost and forms associated with it, because naively, I thought I would be getting off suspension soon. hahahahahahaha.

And seeing that it has been over two and a half years since my hearing and they still do not have a total for fees, something tells me accounting is not there specialty.

And who cares if I am in Louisiana anymore? How is that relevant?

11/21/2017 ES, Why won’t a regular assessment suffice? Especially when There isn’t a reason on the order for the psych or medical evaluation. 
I understand that I must comply but you aren’t explaining what that means. What does reinstate mean? What do I need to do to reinstate? Do you mean just comply with orders or is there more that y’all are going to tack on? 
The lsbme cannot make requirements that are burdensome and egregious. it’s unethical at the very least to require me to undergo medical and psych evaluation for no reason other than on the whim of dr mouton. You haven’t provided a reason to me to have to have an extensive assessment. Its wrong and borderline illegal. JM