GRAND RAPIDS -- When they found out a Grand Rapids doctor might have exposed them to hepatitis and HIV, many of his patients were scared.
When they learned Dr. Robert Stokes' habit of reusing sutures, hypodermic needles and other instruments without proper sterilization did not violate any criminal law, their fear turned to anger.
"Something's got to be done," said Bob May, the mayor of Hastings who was treated by Stokes for skin cancer. "It should be legally improper to do what he did, as well as morally. We cannot allow these doctors to do this to the public."
Stokes, a dermatologist, was sentenced last December to 10 1/2 years in federal prison for insurance fraud, not for potentially exposing thousands of patients to life-threatening infections. Investigators could find no federal law against his practice of reusing surgical materials and instruments intended for one-time use. State law provides only civil, not criminal, penalties.
The state board that licenses osteopathic physicians revoked Stokes' license in March, the strongest penalty available under current law, said Ray Garza, director of the health regulatory division of the state Department of Community Health. Stokes can apply for reinstatement in five years, Garza said, although, barring a successful appeal, he likely will still be in prison.
Eighteen of Stokes' former patients sued him for medical malpractice last year, and some of those cases have been settled through mediation. But several of his former patients say civil penalties aren't enough. They've joined together in urging for a tougher state law making it a crime for a medical provider to expose patients to disease, and they have formed a loose alliance with another group pushing for a similar federal law.
State Rep. Michael Sak, D-Grand Rapids, is having a bill drafted that would set tougher penalties. State Sen. Bill Hardiman, R-Kentwood, recently introduced a bill prohibiting health care providers from reusing medical devices intended for a single use, even if they have been reprocessed, unless the patient provides written consent.
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