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Med board slaps Tiburon doc Marin General surgeon given three years probation for alleged negligence by Ronnie Co he n
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he state medical board has disciplined a Marin General Hospital orthopedic surgeon for allegedly botching his care of four patients over two years. Dr. Robert Ferretti’s emergency surgeries unnecessarily left a 5-year-old girl who fell off a swing with a deformed elbow and a 63-year-old man who crashed his racecar with a permanently injured leg, according to a board accusation. The board also accused the Tiburon surgeon of gross negligence or incompetence in his treatment in Marin General Hospital’s emergency room of a 5-year-old boy Dr. Robert Ferretti who fell off a couch and an 86-year-old woman who tripped over a tree branch. Ferretti faced losing his license to practice medicine because of the accusations. But last week, after he and the medical board agreed to settle the matter without a hearing, the board disciplined the surgeon, who has been practicing medicine for 38 years, by placing him on three years probation. Ferretti continues to practice in San
Francisco but no longer maintains a Marin County practice. He did not return telephone calls for comment. His attorney also did not respond to telephone messages. Ferretti continues to have courtesy staff privileges – which allow him to assist a hospital staff member in surgery – at Marin General Hospital, but he no longer has admitting privileges, according to hospital spokesman Barry Blansett. Ferretti operated on the racecar driver’s leg at Marin General Hospital in August 2004. The driver, identified only as J.B. in the board accusation, settled a medical malpractice lawsuit against Ferretti and the Greenbrae hospital in 2006. Reached by telephone, J.B. said the settlement forbid him from discussing its terms. On the condition of maintaining his anonymity, however, J.B. spoke about the medical board’s disciplinary order against the physician whose actions he believes necessitated multiple additional surgeries, scars and limited use of his leg. “I’m encouraged there has been some 10
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›› NEWSGRAMS Marin places 21 measures on Nov. 2 ballots Marin’s breaking records again, this time with its longest county ballot measure program ever—featuring a whopping 21 proposals. And those are in addition to the nine or more state propositions fighting for space on the ballot. Twenty-one measures for the Nov. 2 election may seem hard to believe—but don’t have a heart attack over it. At least not yet—because 13 of the proposals are about extending parcel taxes for paramedic and emergency services in Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Marinwood, Sleepy Hollow, Kentfield and West Marin. Aside from the ambulance intransigence, ballots will also include competing desalination proposals, measures S and T. Measure S is an ordinance that would require voter approval before the Marin Municipal Water District finances any construction on a desalination facility; Measure T would require voter approval before MMWD finances any planning or work on a desal facility. Other proposals of note include Measure A, which seeks $41million in bonds for the Ross Valley School District to replace or repair equipment, sites and facilities at schools; Measure B would levy a $10 auto registration fee on Marinites to pay for roads, transportation for seniors and school crossing guards; Measure F would hike sales tax in Novato by a half-cent to prevent future cuts to city services. ‘Here’ today, gone tomorrow The Marin IJ has officially pulled the plug on its arts-andentertainment weekly, here magazine, after a brief nearly two-year run. Its final issue left the racks last week. For those unfamiliar with the publication, here was a mixture of entertainment listings, food and news briefs reprinted from the IJ’s daily paper, and syndicated material from other newspapers across the country—combined with one main feature about a local topic. In the magazine’s farewell issue, here editor Vicki Larson listed the economy as the No. 1 reason here failed to take off. “Though we’re sad to be saying goodbye, we’ve had fun,”wrote Larson.“I hope [readers have] enjoyed thumbing through here as much as we had making the Weekly Miracle—as it came to be known, among other names when we were feeling snarky— happen.” Here launched in October 2008 as a glossy-covered racks-only version of the paper’s IJ Weekend, which called it a day in 2007. In other news, the Pacific Sun was awarded first prize for“lifestyles coverage”in the weeklies division of the 2010 California Newspaper Publishers Association awards. For an extensive listing of events on the Marin arts and entertainment scene, visit our community calendar at www. pacificsun.com and check out our brand new music page at www.pacificsun.com/music.
Sarah Nome, 1922 - 2010 Sarah Nome, the San Anselmo resident whose 14-month“squat” at Kaiser Permanente in Terra Linda made headlines in 2005, died Monday of natural causes at age 87. Nome had been living at a Lafayette senior care center since a Marin judge ruled that she be placed under the county’s care following the Kaiser showdown. Born in Oakland, Nome’s family moved to Marin when she was a girl and she attended both Tam High School and the College of Marin before going for a long career working at the Maritime Museum in San Francisco. She became known as one of San Anselmo’s most vocal community gadflies. She is survived by her daughter Jane Sands and son Mathew Sheldon. No service is yet planned.—Jason Walsh EXTRA! EXTRA! Post your Marin news at ›› pacificsun.com 8 PACIFIC SUN AUGUST 20 - AUGUST 26, 2010