COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A doctor is now being investigated for his possible role in the deaths of three patients.
A former Adena Health System doctor is at risk of losing his license because of medical mistakes during 3 surgeries he performed while employed there. A letter obtained by NBC4 Investigates shows the doctor was able to keep performing surgeries after the first patient died.
The doctor is named in that letter from the state medical board, but we are not naming him because he has not been charged with a crime. Now, one family who lost their loved one over two years ago is hoping for some accountability.
"You're supposed to put your hands in the doctor's care, you know, and believe and trust in what they're doing," Jodie White Robertson said. Her little brother, Jeff Roberts, went to Adena Health for surgery. "He was kind of a free spirit. He just did what he wanted to do, pretty much. He's my baby brother," White Robertson said.
Attorney for man accused in New Albany mass shooting requests competency hearingIn October 2022, Jeff Roberts needed an aortic root repair. It’s a less common procedure, with a high survival rate that involves repairing or replacing the upper part of the aorta. "I know that paragraph C of number two in there, highlighting all of the procedures and the dateline of the way everything transpired," Jeff Roberts' nephew Keith Wade said.
A document from the State Medical Board of Ohio shows Jeff’s doctor at Adena Health in Chillicothe “failed to adequately repair the dissection,” and a choice the doctor made with a clamp led to further damage.
"This has been horrible. Horrible," Jeff Roberts' niece Kelley Jones said. Jeff needed another surgery in December, then another in February.
"72 hours after the surgery, February 16th, we get the phone call that said that he had a massive stroke and would have to be taken to OSU and then he passed away on February 17th," Wade said. Even after Jeff Roberts died, Adena allowed the doctor to operate for another year and that same Ohio medical board document shows two of the doctor’s other patients died.
This doctor is now being investigated by the medical board two year later, with the document stating he: “inappropriately treated and/or failed to appropriately treat and/or failed to appropriately document [the] treatment of these patients.”
"It hurts for us as a family," Wade said. "Who else or what other damage is he going to cause to another family or another patient before the medical board finally says, hey, enough is enough." NBC4 Investigates first reported this doctor and one other were fired in 2023 and Adena’s cardiac program was paused. That was a year after Jeff Roberts’ surgery.
Lack of funds ends program sheltering the homelessAdena Health said the surgeons’ departure was a mutual decision. "When they tell you something, you just think, okay, they know what they're doing. Well, evidently, we trusted the wrong person," White Robertson said.
A spokesperson for the Ohio Medical Board tells NBC4 it receives around 6,000 complaints a year and takes action on what they deem to be the most serious, which is about 6-10%.Investigations are complaint-driven and can be from patients, other doctors or even family members.
The board investigates claims and decides if they are concerning enough to warrant action, like the hearing they will have for Jeff’s doctor. Jeff’s family wants this doctor to lose his medical license and wants Adena to answer some questions.
"Why did they do that? Why did you tell him to stay? Why did you cover up stuff for him?" White Robertson said. NBC4 Investigates spoke with this doctor’s lawyer. She said they can’t comment at this time.
Adena health would not make anyone available for an interview. They sent a statement saying: "We cannot comment on specific ongoing litigation however we take our role as caregivers very seriously. We understand the value of the trust patients put in Adena Health. In compliance with federal and state laws, and out of respect for the patient and their loved ones, we must maintain the privacy and security of protected health information. It is our policy to address all complaints promptly, and with the utmost seriousness. Any breach of our code of conduct is taken extremely seriously, investigated and appropriate actions are taken. We continuously strive to foster an environment where both patients and staff feel secure, valued, and heard."
Right now, this doctor has an active medical license and is able to practice but has a note about the board hearing on his Ohio license. That hearing is in September. He also has an active medical license in Indiana.
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