Doctors censured by state board

Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | 8:18 a.m.

RENO - A Las Vegas anesthesiologist was reprimanded last week by the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners for his conduct after his arrest, including threatening a police officer and grabbing a nurse.

The board, in a unanimous decision Friday, said Dr. Ronald H. Foote brought disrepute to the medical profession by his actions. It ordered him to pay $9,575 for the investigation and hearing costs. And it required him to stay in a drug and alcohol diversion program.

The board also revoked the license of Dr. Mohammad H. Fani-Salek of Las Vegas and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine for fraudulently representing that he had graduated from a medical school in Iran. Fani-Salek had voluntarily ceased his practice in Las Vegas. And he was ordered to pay $10,886 in costs incurred by the board.

Foote and Fani-Salek were two of seven doctors disciplined by the board. None was present at the board meeting.

Douglas Cooper, chief of investigations for the board, said there were still more than 600 pending complaints against physicians. He told the board that the two investigative committees had recently closed 217 cases. Out of those cases, eight complaints were filed against doctors, and 12 will receive "letters of concern."

The complaint against Foote said after he left the Luxor in the early morning of Sept. 3, 2004, he was involved in a traffic accident and left the scene. He was later arrested by police and taken to University Medical Center for treatment.

Police said Foote was agitated, his eyes were bloodshot and he smelled of alcohol. According to the complaint, he became combative at the hospital, swinging his arms and legs and grabbing a male nurse in the crotch. He also allegedly threatened the arresting officer, telling him, "You had better not ever come into my ER in need of intubation because I will not save your life."

When the officer left the hospital, Foote disconnected an IV attached to his arm and left the hospital without informing anyone.

Fani-Salek said he would produce proof of his graduation from Shahid Beheshti medical school but failed, despite repeated chances to get the documents.

The board revoked the license of Dr. David McCann and fined him $3,000 for failing to notify the board that he had surrendered his medical license in California after an arrest. Edward Cousineau, deputy general counsel for the board, said McCann had been arrested in California for child pornography and battery.

The board also accepted settlements of disciplinary cases filed against three other Las Vegas doctors: