DAILY LOBO new mexico
Bullying Biden
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October 16, 2012
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Doctor speaks on petition controversy
MEDIA DAY
Ulwelling explains letterhead, motivations by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com
The psychiatrist who identified himself as a UNM professor in a petition to remove post-traumatic stress disorder from New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program (MCP) says he did not know that his contract with UNM had been terminated. William Ulwelling said he was not notified by the University that his appointment as a volunteer professor expired in 2007. He said he learned about his termination only after a television reporter told him about it during an interview after news about his controversial petition broke. “Unbeknownst to me in 2007, they didn’t send me the request to remove letter, which they usually do,” he said. “I really don’t know why it lapsed. Certainly if I had known, I would have changed my letterhead.” Ulwelling said the University may have failed to contact him if they tried to reach him at his office number, which was already deactivated at the time. He said he closed his medical practice in 2006. “I think it was just a communication oversight,” he said. But UNMH communications director Billy Sparks said Ulwelling was notified by the University in writing shortly after his position expired. “The correspondence sent to him stated that his voluntary position expired on Dec. 31, 2007,” Sparks said. Sparks would not say whether the University confirmed that Ulwelling received the letter. He declined to comment further and ended the interview. Ulwelling said he did not intend to represent UNM’s stance on the use of medical marijuana for PTSD patients in his petition by signing it as an assistant professor of the University. He said he only used the title to establish the legitimacy of the petition. “I never claimed in my petition that I endorsed (the University),” he said. “I just wanted to show that I’m in good standing with my fellow professionals, and that I’m board certified.” The Daily Lobo cited on Oct. 5 a letter that psychiatric nurse practitioner Bryan Krumm sent to Ulwelling challenging Ulwelling’s petition. In the letter, Krumm cited Estate of Eric Haar v. Ulwelling and quoted from the appellate judge’s opinion in the case, saying “…Eric Haar described you (Ulwelling) as ‘cold, impersonal, and didn’t really care or didn’t want to take the time to care.’” Ulwelling said that, contrary to what the Daily Lobo reported in an Oct. 5 article, the claim he filed a lawsuit against his former patient Eric Haar is untrue. He said Haar’s
Inside the
estate filed the 2003 lawsuit against various medical practitioners in New Mexico after Haar committed suicide in 2000. Ulwelling said that because the Medical Cannabis Program was not legalized until 2007, he was not able to prescribe medical marijuana to Haar. According to case detail from the New Mexico Courts, Haar’s family and friends filed against Ulwelling and six other medical practices and practitioners for “wrongful death.” Judge Valerie Huling removed Ulwelling from the lawsuit in June 2007, according to court records. Ulwelling said the main reason behind his petition is that studies suggest that PTSD patients are more vulnerable to substance abuse. He said 60 percent of PTSD patients become addicted to a specific substance, which causes psychotic symptoms, such as paranoia and hallucinations. But Ulwelling said that, despite having sufficient experience treating PTSD patients, he never prescribed medical marijuana to his patients because he closed his medical office before the MCP was legalized in 2007. “I certainly have had plenty of experience with PTSD patients, but I stopped seeing patients before medical marijuana was legalized,” he said. “Any treatment needs to be shown as safe and efficacious before it should be used for patients.” Ulwelling said he is working on an action paper that urges the American Psychiatric Association to adopt his point of view about the ineligibility of PTSD for medical marijuana prescriptions. He said the paper was approved by the APA’s Council on Addiction in April, and by the New Mexico Psychiatric Association and the National Assembly of the APA in May. For his paper to be officially accepted by the APA, Ulwelling said he has to attend a hearing before organization’s board of trustees. He said he plans to get the board’s approval at its next meeting in December. Ulwelling said that on Wednesday, he will pitch his case to the MCP’s Medical Advisory Board. “I think it would be a harmful thing to keep PTSD in the MCP,” he said. “It’s important that I present this as a doctor. After that, it’s out of my hands.” Ulwelling said he will continue to push through with his petition and his action paper, despite threats by other practitioners to file a complaint against his medical license. He said he is positive his initiatives will succeed. “It’s not a good idea to experiment with the people of New Mexico to determine whether the treatment is safe and efficacious,” he said. “Just because people disagree with me and threaten me doesn’t mean I will withdraw the petition.”
issue 40
Frank backs planned hospital by Svetlana Ozden news@dailylobo.com @SvetlanaOzden
UNM President Robert Frank and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce have publicly expressed support for the proposed $146 million addition to UNMH. The proposed addition will create an adult-care hospital that will include 96 hospital beds to decrease emergency waiting room time, which is about 24 to 36 hours on average, by making space available for patients who require inpatient care. The hospital, which will be located near Lomas Boulevard and I-25, will allow emergency room beds to be used exclusively for emergency cases. On Sept. 17, UNM representatives sent a letter to the State of New Mexico Board of Finance asking to postpone final approval of the expansion after members of New Mexicans for Equal Health Care Access and the Rio Grande Foundation said the purpose of the hospital was unclear and that approval for the hospital did not include sufficient public conversation. The adult-care hospital was approved in public meetings by the Board of Regents and its Finance and Facilities Committee, the Health Science Center Board of Directors, the UNM Hospital Board of Trustees and the New Mexico Higher Education Department. Approval from the State Board of Finance was on the agenda for the Sept. 18 State Board of Finance meeting, but was postponed.
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Daily Lobo volume 117
Adria Malcolm/@adriamalcolm/ Daily Lobo UNM senior forward-guard Chad Adams takes a break from answering questions at the media day Monday afternoon at The Pit. The Lobo men’s basketball team held a practice open to the media to share players’ thoughts on the upcoming season. Following two exhibition games on Oct. 31 and Nov. 5, UNM begins the season with ESPN’s 24 Hours of College Basketball marathon. The Lobos will host Davidson at The Pit for a midnight tip-off on Nov. 12. UNM enters the season after winning the Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament titles last year. The Lobos also earned a berth in the NCAA national tournament, making it to the second round. Despite its recent success, UNM is not receiving as much attention as other teams in the MWC. According to the MWC website, UNM has 11 televised games. UNLV has 23 and San Diego State has 20. The Lobos are embracing their role as a dark horse. “We’re feeling real confident,” redshirt junior guard Demetrius Walker said. “Everybody’s counting us out, which is perfect. We’re the underdogs, and that’s exactly where we want to be.” ~J.R. Oppenheim
In response, the Board of Regents and members of UNMH set up four public meeting dates this month to address the concerns. In a letter to the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday, Frank said an increase in hospital beds and jobs are critical to the health of New Mexicans and the economy. He said that, according to the UNM Bureau of Business and Economic Research, the construction of the hospital may employ about 1,000 workers and the hospital may include about 530 new jobs.
“This clearly shows that UNMH does not have the need for another hospital at taxpayers’ expense” ~Kim Moss spokeswoman New Mexicans for Equal Health Care Access “The approval of UNM’s proposed adult-care hospital would be a shot in the arm to both,” he said in the letter. “The expansion of the hospital … would provide 96 inpatient beds to ease the chronic backlog in our emergency room.” Frank said that as long as he is president of UNM, standard business practice will include preference for employing in-state workers for future
projects. He said about 95 percent of the money the University has spent on subcontractors has been paid to subcontractors within the state. “We are partners in building this economy and community that is so vital to us all,” he said. “Working together to promote employment opportunities for New Mexico as we strengthen the health care delivery infrastructure is a win-win for the citizens of our state.” In a letter to Regent President Jack Fortner on Sunday, Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Terri Cole said the chamber supports the new adult-care hospital because the addition is necessary to fulfill UNMH’s mission to provide ample patient care. She said the occupancy rate forces some patients to seek care out of state and that the project will ensure that patients stay within New Mexico. “New Mexico’s health care systems are an important part of creating a competitive community,” she said in the letter. “The Chamber’s principle health care focus has been and continues to be to support projects and policies which promote the quality of health care and its affordability.” But in a press release on Oct. 2, New Mexicans for Equal Health Care Access spokeswoman Kim Moss said UNMH representatives’ claims regarding high occupancy rates are false and that the national standard hospital occupancy rate is 75 percent, which is higher than UNMH’s
see UNMH PAGE 3
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