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Archives for : Senator Maria Sachs

U.S. Surgeon General Speaks Out

August 31, 2015: Screening “An American Epidemic” – Community Education

FedUP is going local in Broward and Palm Beach

Please join this event being held on

“International Overdose Awareness Day”.

Grass roots advocacy groups, United Way of Broward County and Palm Beach Coalition on Substance Abuse are collaborating to end the STIGMA and save lives.

Community education

Rev_IOAD-8_31_15 Event Flyer

Pain Doc Charged With 3 Deaths: > 17 per DOH records – FL Medical Board has done nothing

A pain management doctor in Pinellas Park is facing the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison after three people died because he prescribed them drugs they didn’t need, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Dr. Edward Neil Feldman
Dr. Edward Neil Feldman
Credit Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

At least 17 more deaths due to this FL licensed physician.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/doctor-accused-in-three-overdoses-but-records-show-more-patients-died/2213203#gig_comment_id=$commentID$ 

 

Dr. Edward Neil Feldman was arrested Tuesday and charged in three counts tied to the deaths. He and his wife, Kim Xuan Feldman, are also being charged with five counts related to drug conspiracy, money laundering, and other illegal financial transactions, according to the Times.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/grand-jury-blames-pinellas-park-pain-doctor-for-deaths-of-three-people/2212764

According to the FL DOH, Dr. Feldman has 3 Administrative Complaints (from the public) dating back to 2010.  All 3 complaints are about him over prescribing oxycodone, otherwise known to the general public as running a Pill Mill.  He is a “controlled substance prescriber” and a “dispensing practitioner” with a clear and active medical license. (Dispensing narcotics from a physician office became illegal during the 2010 legislature – thanks to Senator Fasano)

LINK to complaints NOT yet heard by the FL Medical Board after an almost 5 year delay:

https://appsmqa.doh.state.fl.us/FinalOrderNet/folistbrowse.aspx?LicId=19778&ProCde=+1501&discpln=AC+Filed

What has the FL Board of Medicine done? Nothing as usual even though their mission is to “protect the public health safety of FL citizens”. Nor has the FL Surgeon General John Armstrong done anything. He has the power to emergently suspend a physician license if “lives are in imminent danger”.
Florida is, and will remain the Pill Mill Capitol of the US. This is the reason why FL is not seeing a big spike in heroin deaths like other states  – because the Pill Mills are still here!

One can conclude that the governor appointed medical boards are fully responsible for this PHYSICIAN prescribed drug epidemic whose epicenter is Broward County. It is now a national, CDC declared epidemic, morphing into a heroin epidemic. But keep in mind, there are more deaths from PHYSICIAN prescribed drugs than heroin.  Let’s keep our eye on the ball – the PHYSICIAN,

And, the FL PDMP (E-Forcse) is not mandatory for physicians to use – see previous blog. REALLY? Nor will Senator Sobel, or any Senator for that matter, step up to the plate to protect the citizens they represent. Shameful!

More FL licensed physicians still practicing medicine with 53 deaths associated with their medical practice:

Florida: Home of the largest Pill Mills in the US

Cynthia Cadet, MD:  https://appsmqa.doh.state.fl.us/irm00Praes/PRASINDI.ASP?LicId=83379&ProfNBR=1501

Joseph Castronuovo, MD: https://appsmqa.doh.state.fl.us/IRM00PRAES/PRASINDI.ASP?LicId=101304&ProfNBR=1501

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-08-25/health/fl-hk-george-pill-mill-20110824_1_pain-pills-pain-clinic-prescription-drugs

Not only SHAMEFUL but CRIMINAL!

Naloxone in FL? Board of Medicine says YES!

555011_711685038848511_1183186764_n The Skeeterhawk Experiment

On Friday, December 5, 2014, the Florida Board of Medicine said “YES” to a Florida physician who was asking permission to prescribe naloxone to his patient at risk of opioid overdose, for administration by a third party to that patient, via intramuscular(IM) kits, off-label intranasal (IN) kits, or auto-injector.

Florida takes a HUGE step!

It has been a lot of work since our little One Spark project, but it has been worth every blood, sweat and tear.

Thank you, doctors, for exhibiting tremendous courage!

StoppNow (Maureen Kielian)logoand Suncoast Harm Reduction Project Suncoast Harm Reduction Project (Julie Negron and Wendy Nebrija) were in attendance to support the efforts of Skeeterhawk’s Kelly M Corredor.

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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

cantor web

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cantor 291 E commercialcantor 1409

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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!

Position Statement: FL PDMP and “Controlled Substance Prescribers”

9-8-14-revision_stoppnowControlled Substance Prescriber Definitio1

Maureen and I did some traveling this week

We met with DOH, chief Bureau of Enforcement. He recognizes the need to restructure the DOH to better investigate and discipline/remove bad doctors. We have faith in his ability and will remain in touch. We spoke about the need for DEA to reduce the production amount in order to save lives and the DOH part in this to make sure the bad doctors are eliminated from our system. He informed us that CVS and Walgreens have placed self-imposed quota’s already We are going to try to quantify this before going to Washington as this information will help our cause.
We also scheduled meetings to garner support for the Bill Senator Eleanor Sobel has agreed to write to make the PDMP mandatory for doctors to use in Florida and to participate in the inter-state exchange. Many we met with have heard from people in their districts in chronic pain and not being able to get their prescribed opiates. Your Senators and Congressman both state and National must hear from you to tell of the suffering keeping this drug on the market in such quantities is causing.
. Representative Matt Hudson District 80 — met with Legislative Assistant
This meeting was not as positive as we had hoped. The person we met with felt the Fl pill mill situation is solved. Much more concerned with the people suffering from not being able to get their opoiates. (I am including contact information for those of you who would like to share your view 239 417-6270 E: [email protected]
.U.S. Congressman Vern Buchanan — Met with District Director who expressed a great interest in the information we shared. She too, as all have heard from the chronic pain sufferers but also from mothers that have lost children due to the presciption drug epidemic. We would like Vern Buchanan to support S-1657 and also to direct us regarding the Senate Investigation letter of Purdue Pharma which continues to sit in the Finance committee And no investigation is taking place. We will continue to be in touch with this office and believe the help we seek will not be ignored. 941 951-6643 [email protected]
.Senator Jack Latvala— Met with Legislative Assistant. She also has heard from both sides and is able to view problem with empathy. She was very helpful to us and will review information we spoke of with the Senator. 727 793-2797 [email protected]
.Senator Maria Sachs We had a scheduled meeting on Monday June 30th 2014 at 2p. She stood us up. We spent 45 minutes with her aid and left much information asking for her support to strengthen the PDMP. Her aid apologized to us stating that she said she was going to be there. There has been no follow up to date.
.Ellyn Bogdanoff will be running against Maria Sachs in November. We have a meeting scheduled with her on Monday.
. Joe Kaufman who is running for Congress against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. This would be a big upset but we would have someone in office who would be supportive of our efforts. He spent time with us and listened to all our needs.
*** We have meetings scheduled in Washington DC when we will be there to support the FED UP RALLY
Senator Manchin’s office, Senator Feinstein’s office, Senator Grassley’s office, Senator Udall’s office, Representative Blackburn’s office and thanks to a mom from Kentucky, Emily Walden, a meeting with the DEA in Arlington Va.

Stay tuned

FYI:  Florida: (August 12, 2014) Congressman V. Buchanan’s Safe Prescribing Act has been co-sponsored by over 50 bipartisan members of Congress including five distinguished Committee Chairmen.
“Today’s announcement is a win for every man, woman, and child who has endured the horrors of prescription drug abuse,” said Buchanan, the House sponsor of the Safe Prescribing Act of 2013 (H.R. 1285). “We are one giant step closer to curbing an epidemic that wreaks havoc on countless families and communities across our state.”