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Apr. 03, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Gibbons changes board temporarily

Three LV physicians to help with outbreak

By ANNETTE WELLS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Hepatitis C Investigation

Dr. Edwin Homansky
Emergency room physician to serve on state Board of Health

Dr. Ronald Kline
Pediatric hematologist given temporary appointment to medical board

Three Las Vegas physicians will temporarily replace members of the state's Board of Medical Examiners during proceedings involving the hepatitis C outbreak, Gov. Jim Gibbons announced Wednesday.

Doctors Ronald Kline, a pediatric hematologist oncologist, Beverly Neyland, a pediatrician, and Robert Wiencek, a cardiovascular surgeon, are to fill the seats.

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Board members Sohail Anjum, Javaid Anwar and Daniel McBride agreed to recuse themselves from matters relating to the hepatitis C outbreak because of their professional and personal relationships with Dr. Dipak Desai, majority owner of the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada at 700 Shadow Lane.

Health officials believe six people acquired hepatitis C at the ambulatory surgery center due to unsafe medical practices. Roughly 40,000 patients of the Shadow Lane facility were sent letters from health officials urging them to get tested for hepatitis and HIV because of possible exposure.

Gibbons also appointed Dr. Edwin "Flip" Homansky, a Las Vegas emergency room physician, to the state's Board of Health. Homansky replaces Dr. Vishvinder Sharma, a Las Vegas gastroenterologist and co-owner of Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center at 4275 Burnham Avenue.

The center is affiliated with the Shadow Lane facility and is believed to be source of a seventh hepatitis C case, which stems from an endoscopy procedure performed on a male patient in 2006.

Sharma resigned from the board of health last month.

Homansky, who spent three years on the Nevada State Athletic Commission and more than 20 years as a boxing ringside physician, said his job is to make sure the highest level of care and safety is being provided to all Nevadans.

"I know it sounds trite, but I don't think it has been done in the past,'' Homansky said about state regulatory agencies ensuring the safety of medical care in Nevada. "I think that the vast majority of health care providers in our community do their very best and I think the regulatory agencies have tried, in the past, to make sure standards are met. Sometimes that's difficult, for whatever reason. Also, I know that confidence in health care is poor in Nevada right now.''

Homansky said his goal is to try and restore faith in the medical community. He knows of Desai and affiliated doctors, but said he does not have relationships with them.

Desai was head of gastroenterology at Valley Hospital where Homansky is an emergency room physician.

"I knew Dr. Desai and most of the gastroenterologists involved,'' he said. "I have no social relationships with them. I have no financial or business relationships.''

Kline, who is a shareholder of Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, said his role on the medical board "is going to be to look at the facts and figure out what happened.''

"We will discipline those who need disciplining if we find that people did things wrong,'' said Kline, 46. "Our job is also to make sure this doesn't happen again.''

Kline is past-president of the Clark County Medical Society and secretary of the Nevada State Medical Association.

Neyland is professor of pediatrics at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. She is also president of the Nevada Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Contact reporter Annette Wells at awells@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0283.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Who Cares wrote on April 17, 2008 09:53 AM: I hope they raise TAXES on the CASINO'S. I'm tired of the CASINO'S running this town. IT'S TIME FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE IN SOUTHERN NEVADA TO USE THEIR VOTING POWER. GET RID OF THE GOOD OLD BOY'S POLICY. I WORK FOR A CASINO AND GET $6.00 AN HOUR AS A DEALER. THE CASINO'S PAY NOTHING FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT WORK FOR THEM. WE AS VOTERS SHOULD GET RID OF MOST OF ARE COUNTY COMMISIONERS. SICK wrote on April 06, 2008 12:47 PM: Let me get this straight. Are health department hadn't checked out the clinic's in years. I beleive 7 years, what are they doing? Then there's the heavy lobbying for the medical cap by the Doctors. Also they started their own insurance company for mal pratice suits. To me this is a conflict of interest. The State of NV and Clark county should be sued. Then lets talk about the budget!Don't forget who is the majority leader in Washington DC. If he doesn't do his job from these greedy Dr's he should be impeached. Good Luck! I contracted HCV in 2005 at the Burnham clinic. I found out over a year later that I had HCV. a long time pediatric nurse wrote on April 03, 2008 11:09 PM: Dr. Neyland is an excellent pick. She knows " the old las vegas medical community" and has stayed active through the years of growth. a woman of great skill and integrity and no hidden agendas. a top notch person and a caring and proficient pediatrician. The board will be wise to listen and follow her counsel. badtoworse wrote on April 03, 2008 03:27 PM: Homansky?? Is this a joke? Why didn't Gibbons just appoint Desai? Over 5,000 physicians in Nevada and Gibbons picks Valley Hospital's fat little lap dog? In my humble opinion, Desai very much enjoys the fact that Valley Hospital is nestled right on the same tree-lined shady street as his endoscopy center. It's very convenient. RNO wrote on April 03, 2008 02:35 PM: I'm surprised that physicians from northern Nevada weren't appointed, so as to avoid any potential conflict of interest with patient refererrals. Not in my colon wrote on April 03, 2008 02:20 PM: While all the Doctors and politicians are doing the "Don't Step on My Toes" two step, we ordinary Nevadans would be well advised to go out of state for medical care. A+ for Gibbons wrote on April 03, 2008 12:03 PM: It appears the governor has done 2 things right in the past few days. The first was reported by John Smith, and now these appointments. I like this Homansky, this guy knows what a conflict of interests is and clearly said, he knows the doctors, but has no financial or business interests with them. Now, why can't our judges and other government officials follow his steps and be forthright and honorable. Fred Frazzetta wrote on April 03, 2008 11:59 AM: Governor Gibbons: You have more problems Jim...you need to take a look at your inept State OSHA organization, State Contractor's Board, and of course the Nevada Gaming Commission. Do you enjoy Mr. Gibbons being the Governor of the biggest joke of a state in the Nation - NEVADA? Do you think you are doing a good job leading the State? You have too many people in the Nevada Government Structure that are not doing their jobs, and it starts with the leaders and trickles down. Could you possibly try to raise the bar & attempt to start to make people accountable for both their inactions and actions! Enough is enough lead Jimbo or resign...and be sure to take the other inept people with you. You are an embarrassment to yourself, your family and all of the citizens of this state, except of course the ones that you are protecting. Whether you realize it or not you are part of the problem Governor...a true leader is part of the solution. Your complaint system...you know the one that you get three return calls with three whole rings each call and then you are out - they don't even have the decency to leave a message...your system sucks. I am still waiting for my return email telling me that you can't & won't help with the situation here in Las Vegas - not that I had high expectations anyways. Harrah's must have contributed nicely to your campaign. Did you catch the article written about you...the one some guy accuses you of taking a briefcase with $100,000.00 cash in it - probably just made up to make you look bad, right Jim? Your future is not looking to bright Governor Gibbons, but then again you have proven your ineptness time after time... ET wrote on April 03, 2008 09:22 AM: Is Desai, still alive ? We thought he was hung . TM wrote on April 03, 2008 07:14 AM: How about the resignations/terminations of Anwar, Anjum and McBride? And while we were at, it seems we forgot about the executive director.