aut2no
Member
a local story we don't need as gunowners in Mass. Interesting tidbit - public record of substance abuse yet still got LTC A (our carry permit). His hometown of Gloucester is a friendly town for permit issuance.
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/04/s/sstory.pl?sgun
Doctor suspended after leaving loaded gun in Salem hospital restroom
By Jill Harmacinski
Staff writer
SALEM — A doctor who brought a loaded revolver into the emergency room at Salem Hospital, and inadvertently left it in a restroom, has been suspended indefinitely.
Dr. Richard L. Pinegar, 52, of Gloucester, brought the gun to work with him Friday night and left it behind in a restroom in the emergency department when he went to answer a phone call. Another staff member found the gun and alerted a supervisor, who called police.
Pinegar has a valid firearms identification card that allows him to legally carry the revolver, according to a police report. But Salem Hospital has a "weapons free" policy, which bars any employee from bringing a weapon onto hospital property.
Reached at his home yesterday, Pinegar had little comment on the incident, but did say he knows "a number of people are upset."
"It's unfortunate," he added.
He said he is discussing the incident with hospital management and declined further comment. He would not say why he brought the gun to the hospital.
It's unclear what type of weapon Pinegar had on him. A police report described it as a "firearm-revolver."
Security guards at Salem Hospital do not carry guns. Police officers who visit the hospital are asked to lock their revolvers in safes when visiting various areas, including psychiatric units.
The emergency room routinely handles disorderly, mentally ill and intoxicated patients who, at times, can be aggressive and unpredictable. It's unclear how busy the emergency room was that night or how long the firearm was left unattended.
The incident alarmed some hospital staffers, including nurses, who have raised their concerns with hospital management.
At 8:32 a.m. last Saturday morning, Elizabeth Coombs, emergency room nurse manager, called police after a staff member found the revolver in a restroom. "She was concerned that a doctor was carrying a firearm, and she could not see why he was carrying a gun," Patrolman Mark Fabiszewski wrote in his police report.
Other nurses contacted Fran O'Connell, president of the 560-member nurses' union at Salem Hospital.
"We are fully aware and concerned and have made our opinions known to the hierarchy of the institution," O'Connell said yesterday. She said the hospital is conducting an internal investigation.
In a prepared statement released yesterday, Arthur Bowes, senior vice president of human resources at the hospital, confirmed that Pinegar was suspended "pending a full investigation."
"North Shore Medical Center is deeply committed to the safety of its patients," Bowes said in the statement.
"We take this incident very seriously. Our policy clearly prohibits possession of firearms or other weapons on North Shore Medical Center (Salem Hospital) property."
Salem Hospital spokeswoman Lauren Fish, who issued Bowes' statement yesterday, said hospital management would not make any further comment on the issue. It was unclear if Pinegar was suspended with or without pay.
Pinegar was not charged by police as a result of the incident. There is no law against bringing a firearm into a hospital, although state law prohibits firearms in schools, Salem police Lt. Thomas Griffin said.
When he was interviewed by Fabiszewski Saturday morning, Pinegar said he was finishing up an overnight shift as an emergency room doctor. When he went to the restroom, he said, he removed the revolver from his hip. As he went to leave the restroom, he was "distracted by a phone call from a consultant and left the bathroom and weapon behind," according to the police report.
Pinegar has worked at Salem Hospital for just three months, according to the Salem police report.
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine took disciplinary action against Pinegar from 1995 to 2000, according to information posted on the board's Web site, but no details were available from the board yesterday. However, information posted on a similar Web site in Iowa, where Pinegar is also licensed, indicates his medical license in Massachusetts was placed "on probation for substance abuse" from 1995 to 2000.
A 1978 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Pinegar specializes in emergency room and internal medicine. In 1987, he was medical director of the regional chapter of the state's Emergency Medical Services council. He also served on the Gloucester Council on Aging and Board of Health in 1989 and 1990, according to information posted on the Massachusetts board's Web site.
In the past decade, Pinegar has had no criminal convictions, medical malpractice claims or record of hospital discipline, according to the medical board's profile.
_____________________
?I didn't know that hospital was a "gun free zone". Never seen a sign. what an insult to have officers check their sidearms. I'm certainly armed when I'm in there - which is quite often.
Rant Alert - so much for Homeland Security for soft targets like hospitals - and to advertise the fact in the media!!
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/04/s/sstory.pl?sgun
Doctor suspended after leaving loaded gun in Salem hospital restroom
By Jill Harmacinski
Staff writer
SALEM — A doctor who brought a loaded revolver into the emergency room at Salem Hospital, and inadvertently left it in a restroom, has been suspended indefinitely.
Dr. Richard L. Pinegar, 52, of Gloucester, brought the gun to work with him Friday night and left it behind in a restroom in the emergency department when he went to answer a phone call. Another staff member found the gun and alerted a supervisor, who called police.
Pinegar has a valid firearms identification card that allows him to legally carry the revolver, according to a police report. But Salem Hospital has a "weapons free" policy, which bars any employee from bringing a weapon onto hospital property.
Reached at his home yesterday, Pinegar had little comment on the incident, but did say he knows "a number of people are upset."
"It's unfortunate," he added.
He said he is discussing the incident with hospital management and declined further comment. He would not say why he brought the gun to the hospital.
It's unclear what type of weapon Pinegar had on him. A police report described it as a "firearm-revolver."
Security guards at Salem Hospital do not carry guns. Police officers who visit the hospital are asked to lock their revolvers in safes when visiting various areas, including psychiatric units.
The emergency room routinely handles disorderly, mentally ill and intoxicated patients who, at times, can be aggressive and unpredictable. It's unclear how busy the emergency room was that night or how long the firearm was left unattended.
The incident alarmed some hospital staffers, including nurses, who have raised their concerns with hospital management.
At 8:32 a.m. last Saturday morning, Elizabeth Coombs, emergency room nurse manager, called police after a staff member found the revolver in a restroom. "She was concerned that a doctor was carrying a firearm, and she could not see why he was carrying a gun," Patrolman Mark Fabiszewski wrote in his police report.
Other nurses contacted Fran O'Connell, president of the 560-member nurses' union at Salem Hospital.
"We are fully aware and concerned and have made our opinions known to the hierarchy of the institution," O'Connell said yesterday. She said the hospital is conducting an internal investigation.
In a prepared statement released yesterday, Arthur Bowes, senior vice president of human resources at the hospital, confirmed that Pinegar was suspended "pending a full investigation."
"North Shore Medical Center is deeply committed to the safety of its patients," Bowes said in the statement.
"We take this incident very seriously. Our policy clearly prohibits possession of firearms or other weapons on North Shore Medical Center (Salem Hospital) property."
Salem Hospital spokeswoman Lauren Fish, who issued Bowes' statement yesterday, said hospital management would not make any further comment on the issue. It was unclear if Pinegar was suspended with or without pay.
Pinegar was not charged by police as a result of the incident. There is no law against bringing a firearm into a hospital, although state law prohibits firearms in schools, Salem police Lt. Thomas Griffin said.
When he was interviewed by Fabiszewski Saturday morning, Pinegar said he was finishing up an overnight shift as an emergency room doctor. When he went to the restroom, he said, he removed the revolver from his hip. As he went to leave the restroom, he was "distracted by a phone call from a consultant and left the bathroom and weapon behind," according to the police report.
Pinegar has worked at Salem Hospital for just three months, according to the Salem police report.
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine took disciplinary action against Pinegar from 1995 to 2000, according to information posted on the board's Web site, but no details were available from the board yesterday. However, information posted on a similar Web site in Iowa, where Pinegar is also licensed, indicates his medical license in Massachusetts was placed "on probation for substance abuse" from 1995 to 2000.
A 1978 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Pinegar specializes in emergency room and internal medicine. In 1987, he was medical director of the regional chapter of the state's Emergency Medical Services council. He also served on the Gloucester Council on Aging and Board of Health in 1989 and 1990, according to information posted on the Massachusetts board's Web site.
In the past decade, Pinegar has had no criminal convictions, medical malpractice claims or record of hospital discipline, according to the medical board's profile.
_____________________
?I didn't know that hospital was a "gun free zone". Never seen a sign. what an insult to have officers check their sidearms. I'm certainly armed when I'm in there - which is quite often.
Rant Alert - so much for Homeland Security for soft targets like hospitals - and to advertise the fact in the media!!
