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Archives for : October2014

A License to Kill

As pills killed kids, the state shrugged

State health officials fretted about pill mills, and how adult addicts were dying. Nobody realized that the storefront drug dispensaries were killing kids by the dozens.

“In the nondescript shopping plazas dotting Florida, the unchecked prescription drug marketplace was thriving. Called pill mills, the storefront cash businesses operated with the rush and thrill of candy stores, with long lines of pill-popping addicts chasing their next high. Collectively, it was an incubator for child deaths. Since 2008, 123 children have died after DCF had been told that one or both parents were abusing prescription drugs, a Miami Herald investigation found. More than 85 percent of the children were 2 or younger.”

LINK:  http://media.miamiherald.com/static/media/projects/2014/innocents-lost/stories/pill-mills/

Bernard Cantor, MD

Primary prescribing and dispensing physician at this DEA busted Pill Mill

The “owner” of this clinic and many other clinics, Vincent Coangelo, is sitting in federal prison.

LINK:  http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/07/vincent_colangelo_gets_20_year.php

Dr. B Cantor is now rising star now, he is teaching medical students!

He has a clear and active medical license and no discipline on file with the FL Board of Medicine

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License Verification

 

Are you ok with this type of “public health safety”, the mission of the FL DOH/MQA and Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy?

 

Overdose deaths thru 2013

Visit www.stoppnow.com; Dishonorable Tab: “Wall of Shame”

Let’s place the shame where it belongs!

Pill Mill Closed: Doctors STILL Practicing Medicine

Clinic owner charged with running $15 mill. pill mill

Wellness Center of Broward is closed.  But, guess who still retains the privilege of practicing medicine in the state of Florida today 10/23/14?

Dana Richard, DO and George P Jones, MD.

Dr. Richard was previously disciplined for over-prescribing narcotics.

Dana Richard, DO  Dana Richard, DO

This PHYSICIAN prescribed drug epidemic will never end until the FL Medical and Osteopathic Boards do their job, and uphold their mission of “protecting the public health safety of FL citizens”.

 The owner was extradited to Kentucky – yet the physicians are still practicing medicine.  You can’t have a “pain clinic/wellness center/urgent care center without a PHYSICIAN.

The PHYSICANS are the root of this national epidemic.

Joel Shumrak
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The owner of a South Florida pain clinic is accused of writing prescriptions for trouble, supplying out of state dealers and drug addicts with some popular pain pills. Investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero has the exclusive.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — According to federal authorities, $15 million in pain pills traveled through the Pain Center of Broward and into the hands of addicts and drug dealers in Kentucky.

7Skyforce hovered over the scene on Tuesday as the Fort Lauderdale clinic was raided and the clinic’s owner, Joel Shumrak, was arrested. The 66-year-old is accused of running a pill mill.

Carmel Cafiero: “Good morning. Are you Mr. Shumrak?”

Joel Shumrak: “No.”

Carmel Cafiero: “You’re not?”

It was 2012, and it was Shumrak. Carmel Cafiero was questioning Shumrak about Dr. Leonard Haimes, who worked for Shumrak until the doctor’s license was suspended.

The state accused him of prescribing more than 10,000 highly addictive oxycodone and other pain pills to five patients.

Cafiero: “I’d like to talk with you about Dr. Haimes and the suspension.”

Shumrak: “I can’t talk about Dr. Haimes.”

Cafiero: “Why not? This is your clinic. He’s been accused of failing to…”

Shumrak: “Dr. Haimes doesn’t work here anymore.”

Cafiero: “Right, but he was working here when the state claimed.”

Haimes’ license was later revoked, but Shumrak continued in business, until now.

“Thank you, God, that the DEA in Kentucky worked in conjunction with our DEA, federal and closed them down,” said Janet Colbert of  STOPP Now, a group that rallies against pill mills.

Activists have protested at the clinic for years and consider Shumrak’s arrest a success.

Maureen Kielian, also of  STOPP Now, asked, “My question now, this clinic’s closed, what about the doctors? Because you can’t have a pill mill without a physician. They are the root problem. Florida has failed its citizens.”

The clinic was accused of causing the overdose deaths of two of those citizens. Heather Belleme and her boyfriend, Chance Wilson. The claim was settled, but the families’ attorney thinks the clinic should have been closed long ago. “How was he permitted to operate this clinic on a federal highway for three years after my clients had died?” said Attorney Jeffrey Fenster. Federal authorities have seized Shumrack’s assets, including 43 bank accounts, three cars and his Boca Raton home. The business is closed, and there is an eviction notice on the door.

Today (6/5/14) the only ones celebrating are activists who worked to get the clinic closed.

Shumrak will be sent to Kentucky to face the charges. His attorney said his client is pleading not guilty.

LINK:  http://www.wsvn.com/story/25706925/clinic-owner-charged-with-running-15-million-pill-mill

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A doctor’s office with an armed security guard is

“good medicine”?

Yep, that’s Florida!

 

 

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“You sold your souls to the devil Ms. Blackburn and Mr. Marino — at the cost of loss of lives in the tens of thousands to addiction and death. “

Congressman Tom Marino (PA) and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN) “prescribe” Walgreens be unaccountable for errors in loss of lives… Why?

“Representatives from Stoppnow attended the Fed Up Rally in Washington, DC last month and scheduled a meeting with Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN) to discuss a bill co-sponsored by the congresswoman — HR 4709. The bill was sponsored by Congressman Tom Marino (PA) and passed unanimously in the House of representatives and is on its way to the Senate.”

LINK: http://www.globalnewscentre.com/congressman-tom-marino-pa-and-congresswoman-marsha-blackburn-tn-prescribe-walgreens-be-unaccountable-for-errors-in-loss-of-lives-why/#more-4726

(10/20/14)

Peaceful Protest

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PEACEFUL PROTEST
FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE
Broward College
3501 SW Davie Rd
Davie, Fl 33314
Wednesday, October 15th 2014
6-8p

There is No strategy to end the 110 deaths/day from drug overdose

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing:  Edmund Burke

Making Change

Stoppnow attended the Fed Up Rally this weekend,September 28th 2014 and marched to the White House. Much needs to be done as evidenced by the 2000 in attendance and those also suffering loss that weren’t able to attend. The reception was held Saturday 9/27/14. As they were showing pictures of lost loved ones I could hear sobbing and visually see uncontrollable shaking from the person sitting next to Maureen. It turned out to ba a young man. Mark was there from Massachusetts with his sister. They had just lost their mother 4 weeks earlier. Mark said that the pills are still coming from Florida.
We had scheduled meetings with offices of Senators and Representatives. One must wonder where the Surgeon General is in all of this. The CDC has named the prescription drug deaths to be a national epidemic for years now. gone are the days when we had a Surgeon General speak out against irresponsible companies “Big Tobacco”. Rear Admiral Boris D Lushniak,MD.,MPH., is acting Surgeon General since 2013, no permanent appointment has been made;But he is Not Acting like a Surgeon General. He is silent.
I must share one meeting that we had with Karen L Summar, MD,MS Legislative Assistant to Congressman Blackburn 7th District Tennessee U.S. House of Representative. I asked Karen Summar if she could explain HR 4709 co-sponsored by Representative Blackburn and sponsored by Representative Tom Marino 10th Congressional District Pa.(HR 4709 passed unanimously in the House). And that we feel it ties the hands of the DEA. She stated that if a pharmacy makes one mistake then the DEA is taking away their license. I asked if she could give us one example since this is not the case in Florida. I had files with me pertaining to Walgreens and their Jupiter Distribution Center. They were cited for clear diversion of prescription drugs.

Oxycodone Purchases by Dosage Unit

Location                                   2009                                  2010                            2011

Hudson,Fl                             388,100                            913,900                       2,211,700

Ft.Myers,Fl                              95,800                              496,100                  2,165,900

Oviedo,Fl                               80,900                              223,500                     1,684,900

Port Richey, Fl                     344,000                              849,000                     1,406,000

Ft. Pierce,Fl                          250,000                             881,400                      1,329,600

Ft Pierce, Fl                          153,500                               507,100                 1,192,000

All of the above are still licensed.  In addition I stated that I had put one in particular aside for Representative Blackburn as it directly relates to her bill.  The Walgreens customer was issued too many pills. The store called the individuals house in an attempt to retrieve the pills.  The store was told by the customers girlfriend that he is a drug dealer and is out selling the pills and he told his girlfriend that he hit pay dirt today. Despite this incident the pharmacy continued to fill his prescriptions. Ms Summar took that Walgreens report. Maureen asked her how she felt about the PDMP. I said that we would like it to be mandatory. She abruptly stood said this meeting is over and left. The meeting lasted less than 5 minutes and was hostile in nature. It was very bizarre and as we gathered our things and walked out she was nowhere to be found.

The Bill is now in the Senate as S-2862 sponsored by Senator Whitehouse and Senator Hatch, changes have been made and it is an improvement over HR 4709 however it is still compromising to the DEA.

We met with the DEA in Arlington, Va on Wednesday October 1st.  What a welcome change, totally different tone. We were with them from 930a-12p. One of their requests of us was to help Legislatively and specifically mentioned Representative Blackburns and Representative Tom Marino of Pa. Bill HR 4709 I explained all of the above.  Maureen is sill in Pennsylvania for a few more days and has been unable to be granted a meeting with Representative Marino’s office

We will be having a follow-up conference call with DEA today.  My goal is still to reduce production. We do not need 114 tons of pills.

I ask all of you to contact your state Surgeon Generals office and request to have the 5th vital sign, that of pain (paid for by pharmaceutical) to be revisited. There does not need to be a standing order for a 30 day supply of opiates for a post-op patient nor for a large amount of them being prescribed by dentists after extraction of wisdom teeth.The public perception of those not touched by this epidemic is to trust their doctor and take as prescribed. They are not  aware that this is a highly addictive drug.

Stay tuned